Several Amerindian leaders including an executive of the National Toshaos Council (NTC) have accused the government of essentially hijacking the annual toshaos conference with many concerns left unraised because of the practice of shutting down vocal leaders.
“We did not plan the agenda,” executive member of the NTC Clyde Henry said on Sunday even as he said that the matter was raised at the executive level but recommendations including that one or more of the leaders chair the sessions, did not occur. Instead, the conference held from Wednesday to Saturday was chaired by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs Nigel Dharamlall and Yvonne Pearson who is the advisor to Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai.
Several toshaos who met with Stabroek News on Sunday spoke out on the practice of shutting down vocal leaders who wanted to raise concerns and said that as this practice has become the norm over the years, many of the toshaos are cowed. The conference, one said, “is influenced by the political will of the ministry” and described it as a “political campaign” where the opposition
and organisations such as the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) are criticized but not given a chance to respond.
Henry said that the first time he attended the conference three years ago, he did not know what to expect. The second time last year, among other things, he said, he raised certain questions but “I was told not me again to make any presentation.” He said that he thought it was a one-time occurrence but after witnessing similar occurrences this year, where toshaos were not allowed to speak, he was upset as he did not feel that this should be occurring.
At the executive level, he said, there were discussions on the toshaos themselves setting the agenda and chairing the sessions themselves but this has not yet occurred. One toshao said he felt it was because the NTC is housed in the Ministry’s building and its subvention comes through the ministry even though the NTC is supposed to be an independent body.
Henry noted that when ministers made presentations, toshaos who had spoken before were not allowed to ask questions based on the presentation. He said it is usually the chairperson who picks who can ask a question. “Every one of us has a right to speak,” he said adding that they have legitimate issues.
Henry said the days of the conference, which was held for four days instead of the normal five, were also inappropriate because one of the days was Saturday and he could not attend on this day due to his religion. Another toshao also said he faced the same problem.
The Waramadong, Region Seven toshao said the pressing issues of land and mining were foremost in the concerns they wanted to raise, but in many cases, they were unable to and for those able to do so, the matter was not satisfactorily addressed. He said the giving out of mining concessions that cover lands used by Amerindians but not falling within their titled area, are of concern because some of the communities have a desire to request extensions to cover ancestral lands but this could pose problems if the communities eventually gain title because it would then essentially have two owners.
He cited a case where land between Waramadong and Paurima was given to miners. “That is our ancestral land. We are using that up to now,” he said while adding that persons have been living there for years. Henry said when the matter of land and mining was raised with Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Robert Persaud he said his hands were tied because the miners have taken the authorities to court and citing the Isseneru court ruling last year, added that they have to abide by the ruling.
The controversial ruling upheld a miner’s right to continue with operations on titled lands within the Isseneru village. Isseneru has since appealed the ruling and also took its mining and land issues to the Inter-American Commis-sion on Human Rights.
Henry questioned if the authorities cannot help them, where would they turn to now. “If the present government cannot do anything, I think another government can do,” he said.
Meantime, Toshao of Kako in Region Seven Mario Hastings supported Henry and said the meetings have not been planned satisfactorily. “In the meetings, there have been a lot of party politics,” he said. He related that many times the opposition is blamed for many issues and they have asked why the opposition is not invited to respond but the response from the chairperson was that the opposition was invited but never attended. At every meeting, he said, the opposition and the APA are blamed for hampering development. “I feel…they should be given a place to make presentations,” Hastings said while adding that they could clear up any issues and speak of their plans. He asserted that hearing only one side of the story is not good.
He said that concerns raised were not satisfactorily addressed and now that officials are saying that they cannot do anything, the toshaos are questioning who is there to help in addressing their concerns. “The question is what are we going to do next,” Hastings said.
Toshao Godfrey Wilson of Kwebanna, Region One also expressed his dissatisfaction that the speeches made by NTC Chair Derrick John at forums including at international meetings are prepared by the ministry rather than the NTC executive, who he felt should vet the speeches. He added that there was “too much bad talking of the opposition and APA by almost all the ministers who presented at the conference.” Wilson said that they did not come to the conference to hear about the opposition or whether the APA was representing the concerns of the Amerindian people or not. He said that some officials even blamed them for not voting for the PPP and ensuring that their parliamentary majority was lost.
Many issues are also not being addressed, he said. “There is still a lot of dissatisfaction…in Amerindian communities especially when it comes to land issues,” he asserted.
Damian Chambers, the toshao of Paurima said he expected a more constructive kind of engagement but genuine concerns could not be raised as only a select few were being given chances to speak. Instead of being a forum for concerns to be raised and addressed, it was “days of gratitude,” he said. The leader said that those who raised matters are not being given a chance to speak. “Those who are vocal are the ones that are prevented from saying what they want to say,” he declared. He said that for many Amerindian communities, the issue of land was very important and this should be given priority. He was disappointed when officials said that they could not deal with many of their concerns, he related. Of all the presentations, he said, only the one by Minister of Education Priya Manickchand “brought healing to my aching soul.”
Chambers also asserted that the NTC is not fulfilling its mandate and opined that this is because it is housed in the ministry and its funds come from there. He said that the NTC should have a direct parliamentary subvention and establish a secretariat so that it can fully exercise its powers.
Lita John, the toshao of Jawalla said that Bartha’s Mining Company was in July this year given permission by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to mine within the village’s titled land but when she raised this issue, Persaud said he could not do anything and that it must be a mistake. The village had not given approval for the operation. John said even though the miner eventually moved, they fear that he could return as this has happened before.
Lewis Larson, the toshao of Isseneru also expressed disappointment in the conference. He said that they got no satisfactory response to issues raised. The toshaos were also upset that in the NTC executive report, the Isseneru Village Council and residents were singled out for being “disrespectful” and “abusive” to an NTC team that visited there last year. The community had spoken out about the lack of support from the NTC in its land case.
