Dear Editor,
The National Toshaos Council meetings have recently concluded and Indigenous village leaders including myself have participated and made specific recommendations for the revision of the Amerindian Act.
However, I wish to state that as Toshao of Isseneru Village, I strongly disagree with Ms Melinda Janki’s views on what Amerindians should and should not do as it relates to mining on their lands (‘Allicock is not fulfilling his obligations under the Amerindian Act’ SN, August 26). Under the laws of Guyana, we are obligated as leaders to perform our duties without fear or favour in the best interest of our peoples.
Editor, the interjection of Ms Janki’s letter has raised questions and discontent among Indigenous leaders and communities working towards strengthening land rights in the Amerindian Act. Its main purpose was to dissuade Indigenous leaders by counter-blasting the Minister of Indigenous Peoples Affairs and traduce Indigenous communities and organizations to justify her role in the creation of the Amerindian Act. Ms Janki has placed herself in a questionable position, being one of the crafters of that Act.
In one paragraph of her letter she stated, “In the case of large scale mining on Amerindian lands (currently taking place nowhere in Guyana but useful for frightening Amerindian communities) the Amerindian community has a veto.” I wish to remind her that mining activities of small and medium scale will transcend large scale mining if left unchecked by the GGMC. Mining concessions held by third parties are excluded from grants of title and upheld by the justice system in Guyana because there are no legal mechanisms in the Amerindian Act for titled communities to seek and obtain restitution of their lands held by third parties.
As for Amerindian communities having a veto, that is only the case if the state does not believe it is in the public interest to have large scale mining. In other words Amerindian communities are not guaranteed a veto because the state can override the community’s veto and grant permission to a miner or conglomerate to extract resources from Amerindian titled lands.
Under the Amerindian Act, the Minister of Amerindian Affairs has arbitrary powers to determine the size of the lands which will be issued to Indigenous communities.
Common sense will let ordinary people know that Indigenous peoples will be at a disadvantage because they can make claims to their traditional lands but it all depends on the outcome of the state’s decisions.
I join my fellow colleagues in the National Toshaos Council to confront these challenges by fully endorsing the revision of the Amerindian Act 2006.
Yours faithfully,
Dhaness Larson
Toshao
Isseneru Village
