Dear Editor,
I have noted that sections of the media have been carrying statements attributed to me in relation to the issue of natural resources extractive activities in the geographic area in south-eastern Guyana referred to as the New River Triangle. The only statement I have made was in response to a question from a Stabroek News reporter, who asked whether during my tenure as Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (1990 – 2000) I was cognisant of an official policy regarding such activities. I informed the reporter that the Guyana Defence Force, GDF, was aware of government’s policy that no permits were being granted for natural resources extractive activities in the New River Triangle.
As an example, I referred to when the GDF’s monitoring operations by air and ground-truthing patrols had identified alluvial mining activities in 1993 in the headwater tributaries of the Oronoque River, itself a tributary of the New River. It was brought to the attention of the Defence Board which then approved funding for a major operation to deal with this breach. The record will show that a GDF-mounted joint operation, using the element of surprise, interdicted a Brazilian civil-registered light aircraft and several nationals of Brazil at an illegal airstrip within Guyana’s territory. The airstrip, constructed in a primary forested area, was subsequently destroyed by cratering and trenching. The aircraft and persons were brought to Georgetown where charges were laid and fines levied but subsequently waived as an outcome of diplomatic bilaterals between Guyana and Brazil. One other outcome of this incident was an agreement for the mounting of joint GDF/Brazilian Armed Forces patrols along the Guyana-Brazil frontier to identify and interdict any illegal mining operations.
As an aspect of its operational contingency planning, the GDF has an obligation to advise the Defence Board as to the security implications of infrastructure development and extractive activities in any part of Guyana. However, and in the final analysis, it is the government, not the GDF, that is the determinant as to whether or not extractive activities will or will not be permitted.
With specific reference to the New River Triangle, then President Jagdeo had vetoed any natural resources extractive activities in that area. His decision, I am informed, was based on the fact that given the exploitation of natural resources in the rest of Guyana, the New River Triangle is the only area where the integrity of ecosystems and biodiversity could be preserved and bequeathed to future generations.
Yours faithfully,
Joseph G Singh
Major General (retd)
