A team of civilian investigators was yesterday deployed to the remote southern Rupununi area of Marudi to probe the validity of the beating of persons the Ministry of Natural Resources has identified as illegal miners along a trail at the location.
Ministry of Natural Resources’ Stakeholders Support Officer Parmanand Persaud said in a statement yesterday that the Guyana Geology and Mines Com-mission (GGMC) has commenced an investigation “to verify the validity of an alleged confrontation between members of the Guyana Police Force and illegal miners during an enforcement exercise to curb illegal mining activities within Marudi Mountain, Region Nine.”
The statement came a day after acting Police Commis-sioner Leroy Brumell told Stabroek News on Sunday that he had asked the police commander in the area for a full report and police investigators have been dispatched to the area to conduct a probe into the incident.
A video of the incident on YouTube ((https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=GSC JuyWo4yM) has evoked anger at the beating of civilians by a policeman.
The video, titled ‘Police brutality in Marudi Moun-tains,’ shows a group of policemen and GGMC Mines officers standing around as one rank beat men who were trying to protect a woman and her child. The child was lying on top of his mother who was on the ground as the policemen used their bodies in an attempt to protect them from the blows. The policeman used a stick to inflict the blows. There were other policemen around with guns.
Stabroek News was told that the GGMC officials and the police were on a road leading into the Marudi Mountain Area when persons formed themselves into a barricade, preventing them from proceeding. The police were a part of a group spearheaded by the GGMC as part of its ‘Operation El Dorado’ that was going to do a follow-up visit on reported illegal mining at the site of the Romanex Guyana Exploration Ltd concession.
An official at the GGMC told Stabroek News that Romanex had notified the agency of the presence of illegal miners and acting on this tip, the officials went into the area.
Brumell yesterday said that while he himself has not seen the video, the investigation is ongoing and should be treated that way. He informed that a team was dispatched to talk with persons involved in the incident. As a result, he said that until the “full investigation” was completed, he would not comment on legalities or the identities of the policemen.
The persons beaten on the video are scheduled to arrive in the city today for additional medical treatment. Stabroek News was told that the ankle of the child in the video was fractured and his mother is bringing him to a city hospital for treatment.
A relative said he had heard that persons were disputing the validity of the tape and some persons have even stated that it was not made here in Guyana but was a tape of an incident in an African country. “I hear them saying all kind of foolishness that is not in Guyana… One of the boys from GGMC is live here in Lethem. Everyone knows him. What would he be doing in another country in his uniform at that?” the man said.
He disputed claims that the woman and her child are Brazilian, saying that both were Guyanese. He did note that some of the protestors were Brazilians.
In its statement, the Ministry of Natural Resources said that under ‘Operation El Dorado,’ the GGMC has been engaging in activities in the various mining districts to improve monitoring, compliance and enforcement and as such, the Guyana Police Force, in keeping with standard operating procedure, would accompany the GGMC to provide security and enforcement support.
“Upon learning of the incident, Minister [Robert] Persaud has since called for an emergency meeting of the Board of Directors for the GGMC in addition to requesting the assistance of the Commissioner of Police in investigating the matter. The Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) [has] also been requested to provide support to the investigation,” the statement added.
Further, it stated that the GGMC, an agency of the Ministry of Natural Resources, will be working closely with the Ministry of Home Affairs to probe the alleged confrontation. It said the GGMC remains committed to curbing illegal mining as prescribed in the Mining Act and Regulations.
The continuation of ‘Operation El Dorado’ was announced last week and the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment had said that cease work orders were slapped on three unauthorized dredges and 11 others were instructed to move on. Of the 14 dredges in operation, ten were Guyanese owned and the remaining four were Brazilian owned. The ministry said that most of the personnel employed by the dredges were Guyanese and of 13 Brazilians, eight had no work permits.
Most of the persons who were working illegally on the Romanex claim were part of a group of small miners from the Rupununi that had petitioned the Ministry of Natural Resources to be allowed to mine on the Prospecting Licence of Romanex. They had claimed in their petition to the ministry that Romanex was occupying state lands while failing to execute the terms of its mining licence. They initially had the backing of the GGDMA but this support was pulled when GGDMA said it found out that the group had lied about aspects of the petition.
