Tomorrow will make it one week since the Mayas of the south held a press conference in Santa Elena, Toledo from which the government was notably absent. They summoned GOB officials to meet them in their village, but the government had already planned a consultation session in Punta Gorda.
However, the Mayas say that the method of meeting in small groups won't work for them. They want to meet as a collective, especially since leaders like Cristina Coc are being accused of influencing the other villagers. They also rejected the one kilometer round-off proposal in the draft land tenure policy, and they say they're not willing to give up any of their land.
And last week we showed you how several village leaders tore up the draft proposal. Today we asked the PM his thoughts on that strong show of rejection.
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"I'm very disappointed that that leader acted that way, it was so unbecoming of that leader, and that leader was very shrill and making all kinds of accusations and so forth. If he were to look at what the CCJ has done, the CCJ has praised our government for working in trying to find how to move this forward. We already have the FPIC, we're going through the entire consultations and we're going from village to village extensively and sometimes to the frustration of the Cabinet we feel that this needs to come to an end, there's so many issues that needs to be addressed and that behavior will certainly not bode well when trying to build good will from both sides because you also have a lot of Belizeans living in the Toledo district, lots of indigenous people that feel differently from what they believe so as a responsible government we have to find a compromise that can be able to work for the benefit of everyone."
Reporter:
"How do you interpret what they interpret as a restriction on the amount of lands that they would be able to apply for as customary lands?"
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"Well we have to come up with something that's workable, we can't just give them and blank check and tel them take what you want. Obviously, that will not work, they might decide that they want not only the Toledo District, but the Stann Creek District, who knows? So it is important to be able to set some sort of parameters and then you, within those parameters, you negotiate and having set parameters, it doesn't mean that it can't be changed, that it can't be made larger or smaller but something has to be set to start the discussion and I think the minister, and I must commend her for the work that she's doing, went to great pains to explain in the National Assembly that these are not etched in stone, we just presented that and let's see where in certain areas we may need to extend some more and some areas we need to bring it a bit smaller but it's also important that wherever these villages would want to claim the amount of land that also they are able to prove that it is under customary use of indigenous people."
Courtney Menzies:
"But in their press conference they seemed very upset that the government didn't so to Santa Elena to meet with them, they said that they felt disrespected and that they will find you guys in your offices, they will go to you, find you anywhere, even here in Belmopan. Are you concerned that it might end up like the Caneros where they are blocking highways and all of that?"
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"Well I could give them my address, my address is #2 Dunn Street, they are welcomed in Orange Walk Town and they are welcomed to come and visit me anytime they want. But this is not how it works, not because you say come to Santa Elena, means we have to come there. We have been meeting regularly and why would you go into an area where you have a few hundred people that are not happy and you're going to get into a shouting match, that does not make sense. you remove from that area whereby people can sit down and speak rationally."
