GGDMA supports miner accused of abusing rights of Indigenous people at Chinese Landing

Aug 12, 2023 News

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By Shervin Belgrave

Kaieteur News – The Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) has thrown its support behind a miner accused of abusing the rights of the Carib Indigenous people of Chinese Landing, Barama River, Region 1.

Identified as Mr. M.V by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the miner is the holder of a mining concession in the titled lands of the indigenous community. Chinese Landing residents are opposed to him being there and it has led to a 25-year-old battle over his mining concession being in the community.

Following repeated complaints, GGMC issued a cease work order to Mr. M V but he took the agency to court. The case was heard at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) which ruled that the GGMC had no authority to order Mr. MV in November 2010, to cease all work at his Chinese Landing operation.

In March 2021, the village filed a case against Mr. M.V. and GGMC in the High Court but that case was dismissed on the basis that while the indigenous people are the owners of the lands, they do not own the minerals found therein.  The village of Chinese Landing has since filed an appeal.

Since the court’s rulings, residents of the community allege that they have been receiving death threats and other forms of harassment and acts of violence by the General Manager and miners working for Mr. M.V.

After reportedly analyzing the allegations made and the law, the residents presented their case to the IACHR which concluded that the Chinese landing residents’ right to life and personal integrity are under threat. The Human rights body has issued precautionary measures to protect the rights of the indigenous people and advised the government to implement same.

Last Sunday, a fact finding team was sent to Chinese Landing by the government to investigate the allegations. They team was also tasked with responding to the IACHR on August 10. It is unclear if the team has concluded its investigation and met the deadline but on Friday, the GGDMA issued a statement in defence of Mr. M.V who is a member of its organization.

The GGDMA said that it is Mr. M.V who has been unlawfully deprived of the right to earn a livelihood on his legally owned property and not the Amerindian people.

“The Caribbean Court of Justice is in fact the highest court in Guyana and final arbitrator in legal matters, yet its decisions are being skirted and loopholed,” the association stated while calling on the regulatory body of the sector (GGMC) to adhere to the Court’s ruling.

The Miner’s Association said that Mr. M.V must be allowed to work on his property and not be vilified. In its statement, the Association warned of possible repercussions if the miner is not allowed to work.

“If the rights of those who shout the loudest triumph over the truth, then the entire industry will develop a disrespect for the law and just practice shouting,” GGDMA stated while accusing the residents of Chinese Landing of telling untruths during the fact finding meeting.

“As expected, the village council has stated that it does not approve of the government’s fact-finding mission, they are in fact quite unhappy with any fact-finding mission, they have one position, deprive the legal mine holder of his rights and give it to them to use without regulation or oversight,” the Association said while adding “The facts of the matter are that these are not the barefoot teary-eyed actors who appear before the government commission, international lobbying bodies and the numerous political parasites. These are in fact the millionaires who evade taxes, royalties, legal and environmental oversight”.

The mining body said, “The facts of the matter are that these are not the barefoot teary-eyed actors who appear before the government commission, international lobbying bodies and the numerous political parasites. These are in fact the millionaires who evade taxes, royalties, legal and environmental oversight. These are illegal operators who live in multi-million-dollar houses built from illegitimate proceeds. These are not the poor starving villagers the lobbying groups make them out to be, they are well-armed, well-funded and fully equipped to strip bare the land without oversight. What they are asking for is not for protection, rather a carte blanche to rob Guyana.”

The GGDMA said while the organisation appreciate and respects Amerindians, many of whom are “proud miners and stalwarts of the industry it is axiomatic that all Guyanese are equal and afforded same protections under our laws.”

“Recent efforts to canonise the rights of Amerindians at the expense of other Guyanese is ill founded; the propagation of such actions will rend national unity. The false narrative of presenting certain Amerindian communities, such as the group residing at Chinese landing, as the guardians of the land is myopic; a fact-finding mission will expose exactly who has been illegally mining these lands for the last 12 plus years.”

In this regard, the GGDMA has called on the government to involve the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in its fact-finding mission and to investigate the last 12 years of illegalities perpetrated at Chinese Landing.

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• Chinese Landing, GGDMA, GGMC, IACHR, M.V

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