Dear Editor,
I would like to make an observation on ‘Mining under siege’ published in KN on August 2. My hope is that my brothers and sisters coming for the National Toshaos Conference will have the opportunity to read this.
I notice the right to mine in Amerindian proposed extensions and titled lands being pushed by the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA).
The laws are clear on this issue and GGDMA peddling the right of miners to operate in these areas is totally misleading and amounts to total disrespect of the Amerindian Act 2006 and other laws and regulations governing such activities.
This is not the first time I have noticed the GGDMA ranting about Amerindians and their lands and the right to mine in these lands. The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) did the right thing to stop taking monies from them for blocks or concessions located within Amerindian proposed extensions or titled areas.
The fact that GGDMA’s executive members collectively hold more than 200 years of experience in mining does not entitle them to destroy lands and rivers that Amerindians collectively protected for over 15,000 years.
This brings to mind the rebellious behaviour of our taxi drivers when the colour code was introduced to them. It was a law they did not want, as operating unregulated for so long seemed right. Likewise miners, who have been subject to minimal controls for an extended period of time now see control mechanisms as a threat to the industry. Both Mr Harding and I know that introducing control measures is not a threat but an effort to better manage the industry.
Allowing the GGDMA to have free entry into and a hold on Amerindian lands using the pretext ‘mining is in the best interest of Guyana’ does not augur well for the Indigenous peoples in the long term. It is my opinion that maintaining the current trend of mining within the proposed extension and titled areas, will force the Amerindians to live in a destroyed environment 50 years from now, or maybe earlier.
Amerindians need to organize against this development and work in partnership with stakeholder groups that encourage controlled and responsible mining practices. We should not be misguided by GGDMA’s cunning ploy of appearing to represent our mining interest, for they do not; they are more for themselves.
Yours faithfully,
Ashton Simon
