Naso Tjër Di Comarca

The Naso Tjër Di Comarca is an indigenous region of Panama, located in the extreme northwest of the country, on the banks of the Teribe River and adjacent to the border between Costa Rica and Panama. The region is inhabited mainly by the Naso ethnic group, which is made up of about 5000 people. It was created on December 4, 2020 and has an area of 1606.16 km2, of which 1468.63 km2 (91% of the territory) are protected areas of the La Amistad International Park and the Palo Seco Protective Forest.[1]

Naso Tjër Di
Comarca indígena
Country Panama
CapitalSieyic
Area
 • Total1,606.16 km2 (620.14 sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-5 (ETZ)

History

The Naso people, through their king, have been claiming in recent years the formation of an indigenous region, seeing that the other indigenous ethnic groups in Panama had their own, and also as a way to protect the cultural identity of that ethnicity.[2]

On October 25, 2018, the National Assembly of Panama approved decree 656 that created the comarca;[3] however, the president of Panama at that time, Juan Carlos Varela, vetoed it on December 14 of that same year, taking into account the concerns of environmental sectors that an indigenous region cannot be erected in a protected area and that it could be in conflict with articles 4 and 120 of the Constitution of Panama.[4]

The case was taken to the Supreme Court of Justice of Panama, where on November 12, 2020, it issued a ruling indicating that the decree does not conflict with the Constitution and also added that the Naso people are one of the seven indigenous peoples that ancestrally have inhabited Panama, giving green light to the creation of the comarca.[5]

On December 4, the current president of Panama, Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, sanctioned Law 188, thus allowing the creation of the new region.[6][7][8][9][10]

Administrative divisions

The capital of the comarca is the community of Sieyic, where the Naso king is settled.[6]

The comarca is made up of the special district Naso Tjër Di, and in turn is divided into three corregimientos:[6]

References
  1. "Nueva comarca ocupará áreas protegidas en Bocas del Toro y Chiriquí". La Prensa. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  2. TVN Noticias. "Rey indígena de Panamá: si Varela no firma la ley, cerramos la frontera". Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  3. TVN Noticias. "Asamblea aprueba en tercer debate la creación de Comarca Naso". Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  4. La Prensa. "Por afectar áreas protegidas el presidente Varela veta proyecto de ley para crear la comarca Naso". Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  5. Corte Suprema de Justicia de Panamá. "EL PLENO DE LA CSJ REITERA QUE LAS COMARCAS INDÍGENAS SON PARTE DE LA HERENCIA HISTÓRICA DE NUESTRA NACIÓN". Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  6. "Ley 188 que crea la Comarca Naso Tjër Di" (PDF). Gaceta Oficial de Panamá. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  7. "Laurentino Cortizo sanciona ley que crea la comarca Naso Tjër Di, la sexta de Panamá". Panamá América (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-12-05.
  8. La Prensa. "Cortizo sanciona ley que crea la comarca Naso Tjër-Di". Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  9. "Presidente Cortizo sanciona ley que crea la comarca Naso Tjër-Di – En Segundos Panama" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-12-05.
  10. "Naso Tjër Di: Panamá convierte el último reino indígena de América en comarca". La Estrella de Panamá (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-12-05.


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