The Moruca District Council (MDC) says it stands in solidarity with the residents of the village of Chinese Landing in Region One and is calling on the government to implement the recent requests of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) concerning the community.
This was stated in a press release yesterday from the council which noted that Chinese Landing falls within the Moruca sub-region and is a part of the MDC. It was disclosed that the MDC, which comprises 12 Indigenous villages, met on Tuesday, August 15, in Santa Rosa Village during an extraordinary session where the leaders in attendance registered their support for Chinese Landing. The release said that the villages that make up the MDC are: Kariako, Kokerite, Waikrebi, Santa Cruz/Little Kanuballi, Chinese Landing, Assakata, Warapoka, Santa Rosa, Kwebanna, Waramuri, Father’s Beach, and Manawarin.
Further, the villages that were represented at the meeting were Santa Rosa, Warapoka, Santa Cruz/Little Kanuballi, Chinese Landing, Manawarin, Waramuri, Father’s Beach, and Assakata.
The release emphasised that the residents of Chinese Landing have made it clear that for their rights to be protected, the mining permits registered to Wayne Vieira must be revoked and the miners, along with all equipment and weapons, be removed from the village’s lands. “We call on the Government to immediately implement this proposal, and we call on the Government to ask the Court of Appeal to expedite Chinese Landing’s case there”, the statement said.
It was noted that the Chair of the MDC and Toshao of Warapoka Village, Jaremy Boyal, along with Vice Chair and Toshao of Waramuri, Vivian Edwards, had represented the District Council at the August 6 meeting with the government’s fact-finding team and the Chinese Landing community. At that meeting, the MDC team had observed that the residents of Chinese Landing were frustrated and tired of sharing their experiences time and again while nothing was being done to alleviate their suffering.
As such, the MDC posited that “now is the time to act on what the village has proposed to have their rights to life and personal integrity be protected.”
Reference was made to the commitments made by the government to respect the rights of Indigenous peoples in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and in human rights treaties. It reminded that these include the rights to life and personal integrity that the IACHR has stated are at risk in Chinese Landing. Also included are the rights to Indigenous lands, territories, and resources, to access to justice, and to security in their chosen means of subsistence.
It was also argued that for some residents of Chinese Landing, mining from time to time was chosen as a means of subsistence, but these village miners pose no threat to their fellow village residents. Based on this assertion, the MDC stated its objection to the actions taken by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to prevent village residents from making a livelihood through mining. These actions, it added, have been carried out against the wishes of the village council, who are the authority on their lands.
And while the MDC believes it is good to halt mining on Vieira’s blocks, it also called on the government to not only halt the mining on these blocks, but also to remove the miners themselves to prevent further threats and allow the village residents to cross their lands without fear.
“It is also necessary to cancel Mr. Vieira’s permits so the miners know that they have no rights to be on those lands once and for all and stop threatening villagers for ‘trespassing’ on their concession. In addition, we call on the Government to license mining by villagers in Chinese Landing outside of Mr. Vieira’s blocks. The people of Chinese Landing must not be prevented from making a living, especially when the presence of outside miners has already restricted their opportunities to do so”, the council said.
The MDC’s plan is to raise these issues at the upcoming National Toshaos Council Conference, the release added
