GHRA criticizes govt’s Amerindian Heritage Month launch

Sep 04, 2026 News

(Kaieteur News) – The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) has slammed the Government’s launch of Amerindian Heritage Month, accusing the administration of masking serious and unresolved Indigenous rights issues with ceremonial fanfare, while land disputes and the recent loss of Indigenous lives remain unaddressed.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the GHRA Executive Committee condemned President Irfaan Ali’s opening address, arguing that the event adhered to a “patronizing, well-trodden road of singing, dancing and feathered head-dresses.” The rights organization noted with concern that President Ali chose to identify himself during the proceedings as the leader of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) rather than as the head of state.

Central to the GHRA’s criticism was the total absence of official acknowledgment regarding the recent MV Barima tragedy. Organizers, broadcasters, and government officials systematically avoided referencing the significant loss of indigenous lives, a move the GHRA contrasted with the actions of the Whitewater Community. Whitewater distinguished itself by dedicating its local Heritage Month events specifically to honoring the victims of the maritime disaster rather than following the official state program.

The rights body also took aim at President Ali’s emphasis on government-funded infrastructure projects, including new roads, schools, health centers, and airstrips in indigenous regions. According to the GHRA, these developments do not reflect special official benevolence but are instead funded by national oil revenues that belong collectively to all Guyanese. Furthermore, the association asserted that improved transport and communication corridors are primarily driven by external commercial interests rather than community welfare, stating that “improved roads, airstrips and electronic communication are more a response by the ruling party to pressure from mining interests than concern for Amerindian communities.”

The statement highlighted the ongoing land dispute at Chinese Landing as a warning for indigenous territories nationwide. The GHRA accused government-supported mining interests of encroaching on village lands while the legal framework continually fails to protect traditional boundaries. The organization criticized the judicial system from local magistrates up to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) for avoiding fundamental land ownership questions, attributing the resistance to “racist and class-ridden” attitudes against small communities controlling resource-rich territories.

Comparing the state launch to “the orchestra playing on the deck of the Titanic just before the iceberg struck,” the GHRA urged the National Toshoas Council, Village Councils, and regional Amerindian bodies to reclaim Heritage Month. The organization called for future observances to move away from ministerial control and instead focus on genuine social, economic, and land rights preservation that accurately reflects the lived experiences and precarious realities of Guyana’s indigenous peoples.

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Amerindian Heritage Month, GHRA, PPP

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