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Isseneru dredge…Situation escalates; gunmen storm dredge
The imbroglio between the Village of Isseneru, Region Seven, and a river dredge operator took an ugly turn on Tuesday night, with shotgun toting men storming the dredge and allegedly issuing threats to the workers.
The dredge
This is despite a team visiting the operation on November 18 and conducting a fact-finding mission. During that time, Minister of Governance, Raphael Trotman, had ordered a halt to the operations.
The operator, Suresh Ramkissoon, 48, has been a miner for 30 years. Ramkissoon (currently in Georgetown) related that according to what his crew would have told him over the phone, the ordeal started when a man of indigenous descent came unto the dredge at 10:00 hours, Tuesday.
According to his workers, the man appeared to be under the influence. Ramkissoon said that when challenged, the man proceeded to threaten the establishment unless the operation was halted, saying, “You all will see what will happen.”
Ramkissoon stated that the man then disembarked the dredge and the workers returned to their operation.
He related that his men closed off their operations at 21:00hrs yesterday. Ramkissoon stated that as his men were settling down for the night, the dredge was boarded by eight men, bearing shotguns, half an hour later.
According to the dredge operator, his men related that the gunmen then demanded that they halt their operations. He went on to reveal that after the exchange, the gunmen departed from the dredge. That was not before warning the men against restarting the dredge in the morning.
Ramkissoon stated that the men waited until yesterday morning to call him and report the incident. Ramkissoon immediately reported the matter to police at ‘F’ division, Eve Leary; the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners’ Association (GGDMA). Checks with police at ‘F’ division confirmed that a report of this incident was made.
The operator reaffirmed that his mining operation is located some 1.5 kilometres upstream from the hospital, school, ball field and church.
The Department of Natural Resources and the Environment (DNRE) conducted its fact-finding mission on Wednesday, November 18 as committed to by Minister of Governance Raphael Trotman. The multi-agency team was comprised of representatives of the DNRE, the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the GGMC.
It is understood that the team held consultations with the parties involved and data was collected.
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