Land rights

Chiefs reject bill

la prensa

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Chiefs from the indigenous Emberá, Wounaan and Kuna communities rejected a contentious article of the collective land bill currently under debate by the National Assembly’s Committee on Indian Affairs.

The bill, which was spearheaded by former Government and Justice Minister Daniel Delgado Diamange, still awaits its second debate, but could be affected by the indigenous leaders’ decision.

The Executive Branch insists on including the Wargandí and Madungandí in the respective districts of Chepo and Chepigana so as to offer the regions greater administrative control.

Many chiefs, however, don’t trust the government’s plan and suspect that their traditional authority in the area will be minimized if the bill passes.

Ignacio Rodríguez, director of Indigenous Policy, tried unsuccessfully to convince the community representatives that the bill’s principal aspiration of curbing the trespassing of non-indigenous settlers in the area would be guaranteed.