Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Maya-Chortì of Honduras
CONIMCHH
Land preposal
August 2004
I.- Background
In 1994 an indigenous movement began for the recovery of land, a struggle which our
ancestors had begun, with an effort to organize ourselves. It was very important
concerning this that we realized while we had begun this organization and processes
such as development they contained specific risks and tensions between indigenous
peoples and land tenants, and indigenous peoples and government. It is important to
note that the land of the people of Maya Chorti is not significantly unique within
Honduras as their subsistence and reproduction comes from tangible factors. Also the
ancestral wealth that we lost in the past we have an obligation to recover, for the
transcendence of the spiritual and survival of our culture
Our population oscillates between 34,000 and 35,000 inhabitants, distributed over 66
communities that have meeting groups in the departments of Copan and Octoepeque in
the east of Honduras. At present the 66 communities are organized; 48 in the
department of Copan and 18 in the department of Ocotepeque, and all are represented in
the national council of Maya Chorti, CONIMCHH.
At these times maintenance of this priority, the struggle for the return of our ancestral
lands, has come with the support of the friendly institutions OCDIH, PATRONATO
REGIONAL OCCIDENTE, DIAKONIA, OXFAM, APSO. Together we´re developing important
efforts on coordination for the management and mobilization of resources, strengthening
institutional relations, and organizing education, health, human rights, culture, religion,
common vision of Maya, effective political and infrastructure, as well as others.
The recovery of our ancestral lands has been a very important struggle to organize, and
has only been realized these last 6 years. The processes we have developed have come
with many risks and tensions between indigenous peoples and the landowners and
government.
It is important to note that the land of the people of Maya Chorti is not significantly
unique as its subsistence and reproduction comes from tangible factors. Also the
ancestral wealth that we lost in the past we have an obligation to recover, for the
transcendence of the spiritual and survival of our culture
While the process of reinventing our lands was a notable moment of importance, there
have been markedly slow results in obtaining land treaties and the drive for other
initiatives and linking the development to the people of Maya Chorti. This is mainly
because of the death of our leader candido Amador Recinos, assassinated on the 12th of
April 1997 for the land treaties he worked on in Copan Ruinas. With Candido a total of 6
leaders have been assassinated to this date.
This was the impetus for the population of Chorti to begin a series of actions of pressure
culminating on the 12th of May in the same year with the agreement and signing of the
government of the republic and CONIMCHH. In this agreement the government agreed to
commit 14,700 hectares of agricultural land, resolved our problems with health,
education, human rights, infrastructure, legalization of our organization, technical
assistance, and began an investigation into the assassination of Candido Amador.
The Organs of the Organization
The social and political organization of the Maya Chorti People is structured into councils.
The communities’ scope is over the Rural Council, in each region there is a Council of
Regional Indigenous Maya Chorti, CRIMCH; and on national level a National Council of
Indigenous Maya Chorti of Honduras, CONIMCHH, carrying the most authority of the
organization.
Each one of the councils rural, regional, and national is integrated with 12 advisors with
specific responsibilities:
- Advisor senior
- Advisor junior
- Advisor Secretary
- Advisor of Land and environment
- Advisor of Women
- Advisor of Education
- Advisor of Health
- Advisor of Culture
- Advisor of Administration
- Advisor of Communication
- Advisor of the Aged
- Advisor of Finance
According to the agreement of our statute, the period of management for each Council is
2 years and the councils are reelected by the community.
II JUSTIFICACION
At this sensitive time the government can test out measures with the agreement of the
Indigenous Communities that have the opportunity to improve the conditions of life
through projects, productivity and social factors and that help to complete our objectives,
or to be a bridge of cooperation or mediating self management. When you know without
land there is no tomorrow you know it is necessary to repeat your rights and achieve
what you were promised.
Land priorities in order of payment
Total 2,582.50 Mz
Our Preposal:
In this document and for the wish of the Indigenous People of the Maya Chorti of
Honduras, we express and reiterate the causes and protections in the agreement No.
169 and the article No. 346 of the Constitution of the republic; The solicited Mr. President
of the Republic Manuel Zelaya Rosales has put forward the following demands of the
people Chorti.
1) Our expectations are focused on the urgent implementation of the writings in the
Government of Honduras and CONIMCHH, of the 13th of May 1997.
2) The agreement completed in conjunction with the themes and our just sentiment
on the basis of initial and continuing process of sustainable development in the
areas of farming development, health, education, infrastructure, human rights,
and basic justice
We recognize the effort and the government projects that have been carried out
for the resolution of our problem, however it is important to say that these efforts
are insufficient for everything, this is demonstrated with clarity by the problems of
political will power for carrying out signed obligations. This situation after 3 years
has begun to generate distrust and enormous frustration within our population.
In this atmosphere, we are preoccupied with the manner of slowness with which
the change has been effected and with which the process of carrying out these
changes has been implemented, irrespective of the Agreement No. 169 of the OIT
on Indigenous peoples and Tribes, of which the government of Honduras is a
subscriber
3) Order the relevant authorities to make the payment for the effective land
prioritized in the negotiations that have been the central message of our
organization. Because foreigners are buying land that was owned to our
people, we consider our organization is owed on the basis of Lps
40,000.00 forty thousand per manzana x 2,582.50 that is 103,300,000.00
(one hundred and three million three hundred thousand exactly). The
same lands are to have an evaluation of the measures and pending titles in the
expropriation directive No. 8 of the Agricultural reform, of the departments of
Copan and Ocotepepeque.
Article 346 Of the “constitution of the Republic” reads it is the duty of the state
to create measures for the protection and rights and interests of indigenous
communities existing in the country, especially the lands and forests their
ancestors owned.