The miners association yesterday said that the legal mining property holder at Chinese Landing in the north west must be allowed to earn a living and it called for respect to be shown to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
In a statement, the Guy-ana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) did not name the miner it was referring to but it was clear that it was Wayne Vieira it was alluding to – the miner at the centre of a years-long mining row with the Chinese Landing Village Council. That row last month resulted in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issuing a resolution calling for precautionary measures to be taken for the protection of residents of the community. This has since resulted in the government dispatching a fact-finding visit to Chinese Landing.
Stating that it “welcomes the current government fact-finding mission and looks forward to the illumination of the truth,” the GGDMA said it wishes to set the record straight, regarding unauthorised mining which has been occurring at Chinese Landing for more than 12 years now.
Commenting on the current situation in which the Chinese Landing Village Council has expressed disappointment with the outcome of the visit of the government fact-finding team, the GGDMA said that the rightful property holder (Vieira) has been unlawfully deprived of his right to earn a livelihood while illegality ran amok on the lands for more than 12 years.
In the statement yesterday, the GGDMA accused the Guyana Geology & Mines Commission (GGMC) of fail[ing] to do its job which it says has resulted in environmental damage and unregulated mining while adding that the current condition of Chinese landing “is a direct result of this negligence/incompetence.”
A press release from the Village Council on Tues-day expressed disappointment that the government “team either was unwilling or did not have the authority to commit to any of our proposals at the meeting.”
The government team had instead 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,” that release said.
The release went on to state 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.”
Legally fought
But the GGDMA in its statement yesterday, said that “the legal property holder must be allowed to pursue his constitutional right to earn a living and not be vilified, as he has legally fought long and hard for this right.”
It said it views the actions of the government on the entire matter as a watershed moment in the mining history of Guyana; “if the rights of those who shout the loudest triumph over the truth, then the entire industry will develop a disrespect for the law and just practice shouting. Many other areas face a similar issue where noise makers are shouting over the facts.”
The GGDMA said it is not surprised that the village council opposed the government’s fact-finding mission. In fact, it said that that response was expected, as “they [the village council] are in fact quite unhappy with any fact-finding mission. They have one position, deprive the legal mine holder of his rights and give it to them to use without regulation or oversight. Why? Any fact-finding mission will find out the truth, not just Nancy stories,” the GGDMA said.
Of the village council, the GGDMA said, these are not the seemingly impoverished who appear before the government commission, international lobbying bodies and the numerous political parasites. “These are in fact the millionaires who evade taxes, royalties, legal and environmental oversight. These are illegal operators who live in multi-million-dollar houses built from illegitimate proceeds. These are not the poor starving villagers the lobbying groups make them out to be, they are well-armed, well-funded and fully equipped to strip bare the land without oversight”, it charged.
It went on to state in its release, that while it appreciates and respects Amerindians, many of whom it said are proud miners and stalwarts of the industry, it is axiomatic that all Guyanese are equal and afforded the same protections under the law.
Against this background, the gold and diamond association said that recent efforts to canonise the rights of Amerindians at the expense of other Guyanese is ill founded; and that the propagation of such actions will rend national unity.
“The false narrative of presenting certain Amerindian communities, such as the group residing at Chinese Landing, as the guardians of the land is myopic; a fact-finding mission will expose exactly who has been illegally mining these lands for the last 12 plus years” the GGDMA asserted.
To this end, the GGDMA said it is calling on the government to involve the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in the fact-finding mission; and to investigate the last 12 years of illegalities perpetrated at Chinese Landing.
“Can the agitators and leaders in this community crying wolf and living in massive homes justify the source of their wealth via a proper paper trail? Let us find out the truth behind the fake stories”, the GGDMA said in its statement.
It argued that “miners invest millions of dollars, comply with hundreds of regulations, are penalised at every turn, pay more than their share of royalties and taxes, employ thousands and carry Guyana’s economy forward. The GGDMA demands fair treatment for miners.”
“All Guyanese are equal, we stand with our mining brothers, we stand for the rule of law and not for false narratives propaganda endorsed by both international and local actors,” it finally said.
To the Association’s calls for the decision of Guyana’s highest court—the CCJ—to be respected, the village council has contended that contrary to statements by the fact-finding team, a decision of the Court in 2017 ruling against GGMC does not prevent GGMC from revoking Vieira’s permits.
It also rejects the notion that 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.
Background
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 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.
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.
