Dear Editor,
In the Isseneru Amerindian village, Middle Mazaruni, our lives are made uncomfortable by illegal gold and diamond miners who like leeches are illegally occupying our village lands and working out the mineral resources without the permission of the Isseneru Village Council. Further the miners did not even get permission from our village leadership to enter our village. The miners have therefore violated sections 48 (i) and 5 (i) of the Amerindian Act 2006 which deals with mining and entry and access to village lands.
Prior to the village receiving its land ownership title, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) issued permits to miners to conduct mining activities on lands which were later included as village lands vested in the Isseneru Village Council.
In realizing that the Isseneru community will be receiving its land title, the GGMC stopped the renewal of permits and issued cease orders to the miners to stop mining, since the land on which they were mining had now become part of village lands. The GGMC also told the miners that if they wanted to continue mining they would have to get permission from the village council. The GGMC failed to ensure that the miners were removed off our village lands. Today the miners are still on our titled lands pillaging our mineral resources as we powerlessly look on. We want these miners to be removed from our village because they are obstructing the village council from pursuing its developmental goals.
The illegal miners are also threatening us with their guns so as to frighten us, but we shall fight to the last drop of our blood to have these illegal miners evicted from our village lands.
We are blaming the GGMC for our present problems and they will have to see to it that the miners are removed from our village. As the regulatory authority on mining operations I cannot understand how the GGMC can be so irresponsible to an Amerindian village and its residents.
Mr Editor, we the residents of Isseneru village are poor and we depend on mining for a living so that we can feed our families and send our children to school. But we can’t do so because the miners in our village who are illegal are stopping us. Can you imagine a bunch of illegal miners holding a titled Amerindian village to ransom? We demand a quick resolution of this matter by the Prime Minister who holds responsibility for mining as well as the GGMC which landed us in this problem. We are monitoring the situation and if our problems are not solved within three weeks we shall mobilize our people for protest actions in the city with support from other organizations.
Yours faithfully,
Patrick Williams
Isseneru Village
Middle Mazaruni
Editor’s note
We are are sending a copy of this letter to the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission for any comments they may wish to make.
