Surinamese come to blows over big gold find

(De Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO – The find of some kilos of gold by Brazilians has led villagers of Klaaskreek to come to blows. Police assistance had to be called in on Saturday to get the situation under control. One man received such a serious beating that he had to be admitted to hospital. The underlying conflict started some four weeks ago when Brazilians leaving the area told the Klaaskreek villagers that they had found more than four kilos of gold in an area nearby known as ‘Beewojo’, which is part of IamGold’s concession. “Everybody left for Beewojo and the situation grew tenser by the day”, former Parliamentarian Wonnie Pinas says. On Saturday, things got out of hand. Youths armed with machetes, knives and presumably even firearms clashed with each other. “The government should intervene. Everyone should leave the area”, Pinas pleads. Ironically, it was Pinas who, as Parliamentarian, lobbied four years ago to allow the villagers to work in the area. Yet now he says he has been warning the authorities for years that the situation would escalate, but they would not listen. Brokopondo’s District Commissioner (DC) Verno Pryor claims calm has returned to Klaaskreek after he spoke to the people. The DC says ‘third parties’ were doing exploratory work for the villagers, while on the other hand they were also engaging in gold mining themselves. When some Brazilians hired for exploration found a vein of gold, things got out of hand. Now that gold has been found, the villagers want those they consider outsiders to leave.