And, this evening we did ask Commissioner of Indigenous Peoples' Affairs Greg Ch'oc for comment and shortly after we got a call from his Minister Dolores Balderamos Garcia. Here's what she told us in a statement via telephone:
Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, Minister of Indiginous Peoples Affairs
"What I have seen of what Minister of State, Mike Espat said on Saturday over the weekend, I believe that his comments were unfortunate. Certainly, this does not at all reflect the position of the government. We would never allow separate country in the Toledo District, because of the Maya land rights case. We believe that as a government we have acted completely responsibly. We have filed our FPIC protocol which we are now using. In relation to the position of Mr. Greg Ch'oc or commissioner he is working for the government, he has our confidence, he is our point person in Punta Gorda and all of the Toledo District and so far we believe that his job has been going fairly well. So, I do not believe that Minister Mike should be making that kind of comment. It is absolutely not helpful to the position of the government and the responsible position that we wish to take in balancing often competing interest in the Toledo District."
Jules Vasquez
"What do you make of the use of the word "Indian" rights? As you said I heard you loud and clear it's not helpful, but is this something that you will bring up at the cabinet level in terms of using language and concepts which are perhaps not in line with where the government should be?"
Dolores Balderamos-Garcia
"I will do what I need to do."
Espat's comments also underscored his frustration with the virtual stoppage in government arrangements with US Capital Energy. Balderamos acknowledged a slow down but said they are working through it. We'll have those remarks tomorrow.
