Indigenous Leaders and People in Panama Agreement with the Ministry of Government

At the meeting of the National Indigenous Committee for the National Development Plan, the 12 traditional organizations, through their legitimate traditional authorities, reiterated to the representatives of the Panamanian government and the United Nations Representative in Panama that the only valid delegates who represent their respective peoples and lands are the General Chiefs Dummad, Bulu, and Rey Tjerdi, and that they are the official spokespeople who represent the 7 Indigenous nations of Panama at the conference Along these lines, it was agreed that the 12 Indigenous organizations meet with government representatives the following week in order to come to an agreement on points of view, and to count on the participation of the United Nations representative as a guarantor, to be able to have a stated position as a country, as the government of President Juan Carlos Varela has committed to ratifying Convention 169 of the ILO, to recognize and respect constitutional norms and laws on the rights of Indigenous peoples, to promote development and autonomy of regional governments and collective Indigenous lands, to establish a fund for Indigenous peoples of Panama, to eradicate poverty and discrimination in all its forms, as well as the firm commitment to not use either force or weapons against any Indigenous people, among other commitments promised