Belina Charlie, the miner who earlier this year had ventured up the pristine Kako River to mine against the wishes of Kako villagers causing them to fear pollution of their only source of water, moved out of the area last Saturday, according to an official of the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA).
The official said the community’s pastor and Lita John, Toshao of Jawalla located on the upper Mazaruni River both said that the miner had moved out of Kako River. There was no immediate confirmation from Kako Toshao Mario Hastings. Communication with the remote Amerindian village in Region Seven is difficult since there is no internet or phone service in the community. The reason why the miner moved was not immediately known.
Last month, in a plea for the safeguarding of their only water source, Kako villagers called for the immediate suspension of mining on the Kako River as well as a banning of future operations upstream from the village during a tense meeting with a government team. The government team later reported that a working group had been formed to examine the issue which is one of a number that have pitted Amerindian communities against miners recently.
The team at the March 19 meeting had said that it would report back to the community in a month’s time but it is not clear if this has been done.
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UNCERD) had expressed concern over mining on titled land in the Amerindian communities of Isseneru and Kako and had asked government to provide information on the cases as well as to review the granting of permits and concessions without obtaining the prior and informed consent of the affected indigenous communities.
President Donald Ramotar had said that the issues faced by Kako and Isseneru “were blown out of proportion both locally and within the international community.”
The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment had said that at a meeting between ministry representatives and the Indigenous Peoples Commission on March 11, the working group was established to examine the mining issues affecting the Amerindians at Kako and to make recommendations on them.
In a statement, the ministry said Kako has advocated mining concerns through letters to the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency and the ministry.
