PRESS RELEASE

CALL OF INCONSTITUTIONALITY AGAINST DECREE 40-97 AND 128-97 CONCERNING THE
PROTECTED AREAS OF CHAJUL.

The communities that make up the Ixil Maya People of the municipality of
Chajul and the organization Defensoría Maya make known the following to
national and international public:

1. Decree number 40-97, later reformed as decree 128-97, declares as a
"protected area" 45000 hectares of mountainous communal lands, the property
of different communities that form the municipality of Chajul in the
department of Quiché. The decree was issued and later implemented without
the consultation of the communities of the Maya People located in the said
municipality, despite the fact that the Accord concerning the Identity and
Rights of Indigenous Peoples establishes obligatory mechanisms of
consultation with indigenous peoples each time that legislative and
administrative measures that might affect the Maya, Garífuna and Xinka
peoples can be perceived as occurring.

2. From the date of the implementation of the said law, the communities and
inhabitants of the municipality of Chajul saw themselves and their lives
and relationship with mother nature affected. This has been the case
because they have been prohibited to make use of and work on the said land
and their right to collect, use and to prepare wood for their houses has
been negated. This situation has created a climate of desperation and
difficulty in the affected population.

3. Due to the disastrous consequences affecting the lives of the
communities, in 1997 the population of Chajul asked the Congress of the
Republic to overturn the law 40-97. The Congress however only made several
superficial reforms, throwing out the population's proposal to ensure that
the protected area would be utilised, conserved and administrated by the
population itself.

4. The population of the municipality of Chajul has been denied admission
to the protected area, and the content of the law has been interpreted as
the overturning of well-being and the usurption of the properties of the
Ixil Maya People. Concrete examples of the abuses carried out by elements
of the National Civil Police in the municipality moreover can be cited. For
example the recent detention of two people, one of whom achieved his
liberation by handing over 6000 Quetzales into the hands of a police chief
in Nebaj. These people were accused of taking wood illegally from the
mountain of Visis-Cabá, or the protected area.

5. The communities of Chajul are not against conserving and regenerating
mother nature, in fact, it has been the practice of grand-parents and Maya
elders to advise the new generations to take care of the trees, mountains,
rivers and other elements indispensable to the continuity of life. What
cannot and must not happen is the expropriation from the communities of
their lands and the prohibition of their using the natural resources of the
said lands, as has occurred through decree 128-97. It should also be
mentioned that the workers of CONAP have solicited photocopies of
identification cards (cedulas) and of property titles from people that
gather in the offices to ask for permission to cut down a tree or carry out
any other activity. This situation has provoked a fear in the population
that other small properties might be expropriated.

6. The Guatemalan State has been a signatory of Treaty 169 of the
International  Labour Organization – ILO – an instrument that guarantees
the rights of indigenous peoples and communities in relation to the right
of property and possession. This means that the state has a duty to
guarantee the rights of the people to the conservation, use and
administration of their lands. The Treaty also establishes that the law
must provide appropriate sanctions against all unauthorized intrusion upon
the lands of indigenous peoples or all unauthorized use of their lands by
persons or institutions external to their communities.

7. The articles of Treaty 169 violated by law 128-97 are: articles 13, 14,
15, 17, 18. The articles of the Political Constitution of Guatemala also
violated are: articles 66 and 67. Also the Accord Concerning the Identity
and Rights of Indigenous Peoples has been violated in chapter 4, F6.

8. As a result of the events previously described, and after initiating
dialogue and negotiation with the Congress of the Republic and the
municipality of Chajul, the communities of the Ixil Maya People and
Defensoría Maya have decided to gather together at the Constitutional Court
to present a claim of inconstitutionality. It is hoped that this proposal
will ensure that law 128-97 is taken out of effect and that the prohibition
against the use, conservation, management and ownership of the communal
land by the population of Chajul is lifted.

9. We solicit the support of all Guatemalans, especially of our Mayan and
non Mayan brothers and sisters who identify themselves with this problem,
to demonstrate their solidarity with our cause. We ask them to denounce any
violation of their rights. We also ask for the support of international
organisms and indigenous institutions throughout the world to provide us
with international legal support if it becomes necessary.
 

Guatemala, 19 August, 1998.
 

Articles of ILO Treaty 169 Violated by Decree 128-97.

Article 6

1. In applying the provisions of this Convention, Governments shall:
(a) Consult the peoples concerned, through appropriate procedures and in
particular through their representative institutions, whenever
consideration is being given to legislative or administrative measures
which may affect them directly;
 

Article 7

1. The peoples concerned shall have the right to decide their own
priorities for the process of development as it affects their lives,
beliefs, institutions and spiritual well-being and the lands they occupy or
otherwise use, and to exercise control, to the extent possible, over their
own economic, social and cultural development. In addition, they shall
participate in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of plans and
programs for national and regional development which may affect them
directly.
 

Article 13

1. In applying the provisions of this Part of the Convention governments
shall respect the special importance for the cultures and spiritual values
of the peoples concerned of their relationship with the lands or
territories, or both as applicable, which they occupy or otherwise use, and
in particular the collective aspects of this relationship.
 

Article 14

1. The rights of ownership and possession of the peoples concerned over the
lands which they traditionally occupy shall be recognized. In addition,
measures shall be taken in appropriate cases to safeguard the right of the
peoples concerned to use lands not exclusively occupied by them, but to
which they have traditionally had access for their subsistence and
traditional activities. Particular attention shall be paid to the situation
of nomadic peoples and shifting cultivators in this respect.

2. Governments shall take steps as necessary to identify the lands which
the peoples concerned traditionally occupy, and to guarantee effective
protection of their rights of ownership and possession.
 

Article 15

1. The rights of the peoples concerned to the natural resources pertaining
to their lands shall be specially safeguarded. These rights include the
right of these peoples to participate in the use, management and
conservation of these resources.
 

Article 17

1. Procedures established by the peoples concerned for the transmission of
land rights among members of these peoples shall be respected.

2. The peoples concerned shall be consulted whenever consideration is being
given to their capacity to alienate their lands or otherwise transmit their
rights outside their own community.
 

Article 18

Adequate penalties shall be established by law for unauthorized intrusion
upon, or use of, the lands of the peoples concerned, and governments shall
take measures to prevent such offenses.
 

Articles of the Accord Concerning the Identity and Rights of Indigenous
Peoples Violated by Decree 128-97.
 

6. The Government shall adopt or promote the following measures:

(a) Recognize and guarantee the right of access to lands and resources
which are not occupied exclusively by communities but to which the latter
have historically had access for their traditional activities and their
subsistence (rights of way, such as passage, wood-cutting, access to
springs, etc., and use of natural resources) and for their spiritual
activities;
 

(b) Recognize and guarantee the right of communities to participate in the
use, administration and conservation of the natural resources existing in
their lands;
 

(c) Secure the approval of the indigenous communities prior to the
implementation of any project for the exploitation of natural resources
which might affect the subsistence and way of life of the communities. The
communities affected shall receive fair compensation for any loss which
they may suffer as a result of these activities; and
 

(d) Adopt, in cooperation with the communities, the measures necessary for
the protection and preservation of the environment.
 

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