Chinese Landing residents “helpless” against invasion of titled lands

Jul 09, 2022 News

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…says Amerindian Affairs Minister failing to make representation

Kaieteur News – The failure of authorities to control miners moving into the titled lands of Indigenous persons living in the Region One community of Chinese Landing, has morphed into a dire situation with threats now being made against residents and leaders of the community.

Toshao Orin Fernandes, in an invited comment told the Kaieteur News the villagers now feel “helpless,” being unable to get the intervention of authorities to prevent the continued invasion of their lands for the purpose of mining.

Fernandes told this newspaper that Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukai, is the government official with responsibility for Amerindian issues and thus laid the escalation of the situation, squarely at her feet for failing to make representation on behalf of the residents of Chinese Landing.

“She represents the Indigenous People, and so I would have to say that she is responsible,” the Toshao said.

He explained that for the past seven years or so, the community has continuously highlighted the influx of unauthorized persons into the village, but within the last three years, these movements have intensified.

To date, it is estimated that hundreds of “outsiders” have now moved into the titled space of the Chinese Landing community, despite provisions within the Amerindian Act, stipulating the exclusive right of village leaders to determine who gets permission to enter the community.

At present, miners are entering the community with heavy machinery, destroying roads and other infrastructure. Helicopters and planes are also landing on an airstrip previously built by a local miner, who is said to have received State permission—minus village consultation—to operate at the location.  “We don’t know who is coming, who is going or what they are bringing,” the Toshao told the newspaper.

More than that however, miners threaten “to do bad things to us if we continue to speak about them being here.”

The Toshao said threats were made to his life with miners sending messages and warning against complaints.

“What we are seeing is that everything is in the miners’ favour,” Toshao Fernandes lamented. “They boast about having friends in high places while we the villagers suffer,” the village leader submitted.

He explained that drones are being used to monitor the village, while persons openly carry high powered rifles, intimidating residents. He said too, every three months Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) officers would visit the Chinese Landing location to make their checks but do not facilitate village leaders accompanying them to the mining sites.

“They don’t want us to go with them. They say that it would upset the miners and bring about a problem.”

Toshao Fernandes opined however, that the miners are not supposed to be on the land in the first place so to refuse the villagers who are facing the issues could be interpreted “badly.”

Outside of this, the Toshao said, what is being touted is for the village to have an agreement with the miners to gain royalties from their activities. But since the community related its non-interest in accessing payment, they have more or less been abandoned.

Former People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) parliamentarian Mervyn Williams, insisted that the plight of the Chinese Landing villagers is a direct failure of the Amerindian Affairs Minister, to actively engage villagers to address their concerns.

In an interview with Kaieteur News, Williams said, the issues facing the Chinese Landing residents commenced around 1995, when former President Cheddi Jagan, gave mining rights to the local miner without the permission of the Chinese Landing residents.

Today, the miners occupying the lands are claiming to be doing so on behalf of the miner or that they would have received permission from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to mine the land.

He said the villagers received no assistance from the relevant authorities; they are unaware as to whether actual permission is given to the outsiders and are thus left to fend for themselves.

“They (government) seem more interested in finding out who complained to the United Nations rather than helping the villagers,” Williams claimed.

A missive was said to have been sent to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UN CERD) on rights violations and certain recommendations were made. Since that was done, acts of intimidation intensified, Toshao Fernandes had revealed.

Williams noted however, that the government must correct the wrong that was done in 1995 when the lands were given out without the community’s permission. He said, the relevant officials must get to the community and address the problems.

“The least Minister Sukai could have done,” Williams opined, was to take the Chinese Landing matter to Cabinet and state the urgency of the matter to have it addressed. In the meantime, “people are afraid for lives, their children can’t go to school, roads and other infrastructure are being damaged and the gold is being dug up with nothing for the village.”

The government is expected to respond to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on July 15.

Williams said that his information is that the administration is seeking an extension of the time to respond to the apparent injustices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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