The Chinese Landing Village Council has expressed disappointment with the outcome of the visit of a government `fact-finding’ team following a resolution by the IACHR that precautionary measures be put in place for the protection of villagers.
A fact-finding team was fielded by the government, led by PPP/C MP, Alister Charlie with representatives from several ministries and agencies on August 6, 2023.
An even graver disappointment for the Chinese Landing council in Region One was the absence of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, which is constitutionally entrusted to represent the interests of all indigenous peoples.
According to a press release yesterday from the Village Council, the first disappointment was the expectation that the meeting would begin the process of consultative discussions toward agreeing on measures to implement the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’ (IACHR) request.
“We are disappointed that the team either was unwilling or did not have the authority to commit to any of our proposals at the meeting.” The government team informed the village that their role was to compile a report, which would be shared with a high-level policy group.
“We (the village council) would then be invited to meet with this policy group to discuss actions that the Government would take. While we do continue to await proper investigation and justice for those individuals who have experienced particular incidents of violence, the Government’s “fact finding” process merely delays the urgent actions necessary to protect our rights. It is still unclear to us why the Government believes this additional layer of “fact-finding” is necessary,” the release said.
The release stated that the Chinese Landing Village Council was not consulted on this procedure and did not agree to it, as required by the IACHR. The release read, “If the Government insists on completing its report and convening this high-level policy group before taking action on our proposals, we will tell the policy group precisely what we told the fact-finding team: Wayne Vieira’s mining permits must be revoked, and his workers and (their) weapons must be removed from our lands.”
During the meeting, the Village Council and residents made clear to the Government team that, “we know these are our lands, and the community expects the Government to take the necessary measures to protect our rights on and over them.” The fact-finding team was asked by the Village Council if it has the authority to revoke Vieira’s permits but could not answer.
The release scrutinized the functions of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) team in Chinese Landing. The release said that while the Village Council supports the temporary cessation of mining on Vieira’s blocks, it was not sufficient to protect the community’s rights as miners’ are still present on the blocks, and still carry weapons whether actively mining or not.
In addition, the release said, the GGMC team sent to halt the mining informed the Village Council that, “they did not issue any new cease work orders on Mr. Vieira’s blocks.” The release said that on hearing that a team was coming, the miners paused their work, as they routinely do when government teams arrive. The release noted that the officer in charge of the GGMC team informed the community that, “We (GGMC) can’t issue a [cease work] order to someone who is not operating. You have to see them physically operating before you issue that order.”
Contrary
This, according to the Village Council’s release, appears to be contrary to the authority given to mines officers in section 98 of the mining regulations: “The mines officer may, where it appears to him absolutely necessary to do so for the maintenance of the public peace or for the protection of the interests of the State or of private persons, order that all work shall cease on a claim, either generally or by any particular person or persons.” The release further noted that, contrary to statements by the fact-finding team, the 2017 Caribbean Court of Justice ruling against GGMC does not prevent GGMC from revoking Vieira’s permits and it (the community) strongly objected to any implication that his (Vieira’s) property rights outweigh the rights to life and personal integrity of the village residents on their own lands. The Chinese Landing Village Council and residents continue to hold the view that the serious and urgent situation it is in was not created by the community but by the government. Therefore, the community says, it is sure that the government possesses the power to revoke the permits of Vieira and take the first step in respecting their rights.
While the community continues to seek clarity why the GGMC has not used its authority to issue cease orders generally on the blocks, at the meeting, the residents of Chinese Landing, according to its press release, sent a clear message to the government team: to protect village members’ rights to life and personal integrity, Vieira’s mining permits must be revoked, and the miners must be removed from the village’s lands. In addition to this primary request, village residents included other proposals for the implementation of the IACHR’s precautionary measures decision. These included removal of the firearms of the miners and security guards on the blocks, stationing of new police officers (without ties to the miners) in the village until their security on their lands is restored, and speeding up the resolution of its court case. Regarding the court case, the community said it was happy with MP Charlie’s commitment that “we are here to build your case” by way of the fact-finding team and there is that expectation that he (Charlie) will support the village to expedite the resolution of its case at the Court of Appeal.
Regarding its response to the IACHR request, the release quoted the government team as saying that it could not speak to the first two parts of the decision (that all necessary measures be taken to protect our rights to life and personal integrity and that these measures be agreed upon by the village). “We hope that the Government does not consider that these essential parts of the decision can wait until they have finished their investigation” the Village Council said in its release.
Further, the release said that the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance (MPAG) Research Officer, Anil Persaud, informed the meeting that the team was given a “clear directive” to investigate only recommendation ‘C’ issued by IACHR and to “report on the actions taken to investigate the events that led to the adoption of this precautionary measure, so as to prevent such events from reoccurring.” Persaud, the release said, reiterated that the fact-finding team is in no position to address the two other recommendations made by the IACHR. MP Charlie, the release said, was clear that while he is employed by the MOAA, he represented MPAG.
“We are concerned that the fact-finding team seemed to misunderstand the nature of the IACHR’s precautionary measures… We intend to continue engaging with the Government, as requested by the IACHR” the release stated.
The IACHR on July 21 issued Resolution 41/2023, through which it granted precautionary measures in favour of members of the Indigenous Carib Community of Chinese Landing, who it said are “currently at serious, urgent risk of suffering irreparable harm to their human rights”.
The Commission asked the government to advise it within 20 days from the July 21 edict as to the steps taken.
A statement from the IACHR said that the petition before it indicates that the members of Chinese Landing (Region 1) are facing threats, harassment and acts of violence in the context of their opposition to mining activities in their lands. The representatives alleged repetitive incidents of threats and harassment, which would occur “daily” or “regularly”; advised of acts against persons in particular vulnerability such as aggression to a young man, attempted rape of a minor, and threat with a knife against an elder person; as well as the extensive use of firearms, with firing incidents. The IACHR said that Chinese Landing residents have also received collective death threats, reportedly perpetrated by mine workers. For example, it said that the toshao, who is the leader of the community, was allegedly warned that if the village wins its lands back, the miners would not leave easily and people would die.
The grant of the precautionary measures by the pre-eminent human rights body in the region came even though the Government of Guyana had sought to counter the complaints of the Chinese Landing residents.
Stabroek News had visited Chinese Landing and reported extensively on the complaints by residents against the activities of the miners, threats to the toshao of the community and the evident cosy relationship between regulatory authorities and the prospectors.
