The Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) held its Fifth Biennial General Assembly over three days during 26-28 April, in Zeriwa, a Macushi village in Region 9, under the theme ‘Through Amerindian Eyes: the Way Forward’. The General Assembly of the APA is the highest decision making forum of the organisation that both elects its officers and sets the work programme for the next two years. Some 120 persons from Regions 1,2,7,8 and 9 attended.

The highlight of the Assembly was the election of the new Executive Committee of the APA which will lead the organisation over the next two years and the opening of seats for a women’s and youths’ representative on the Committee. Results of the elections are as follows:

President - Lawrence Anselmo, Captain of Pariuma Village and Captain General of the Upper Mazaruni District, Region 7

Vice-President - Tony James, Toushao of Aishalton Village and Chief of Chiefs of the Region 9 Toshaos/Amerindian Council, Region 9

Secretary (returned) - Mrs. Sharon Atkinson, Santa Rosa Village, Region 1

Treasurer - David James, Santa Rosa, Region 1

Assistant Secretary/Treasurer - Jerome Marques, Toushao of Sawariwau Village, Region 9.

Other Committee members are:

Region 1 – Mark Atkinson, Edgar Antonio

Region 2 – Yvonne Fredericks Pearson

Region 7 – Anderson Hastings, Devroy Thomas

Region 8 – Jimmy James

Region 9 – John Simon, Ron James, Benedict James

Women - Amrita Thomas

The youths’ representative will be named shortly.

At the three-day deliberations, participants reviewed the achievements and setbacks of the organisation during the past two years and planned a programme of work for the next two years. In this regard, discussions on various issues were held and participants arrived at a number of proposals and recommendations on these issues.

Below follows excerpts from the resolutions and statements passed by the Fifth General Assembly of the APA:

• Noting that forestry has a major impact on Amerindian communities socially, culturally and economically, and on Amerindian land rights and natural resource rights;

• Noting as well that the British Government-funded Guyana Forestry Commission Support Project has failed to adequately consult with Amerindians and to incorporate our participation and consent in the project;

We hereby demand that:

1. The Government of Guyana does not grant any future concessions or rights over forests until all outstanding Amerindian land rights issues are settled;

2. The draft Forests legislation prepared under the Guyana Forestry Commission Support Project be withdrawn and redone with the full participation and consent of the Amerindian peoples of Guyana;

Further

1. We reject the proposed concession that the Government intends to grant to a Chinese logging company in Region 1 until such time as all outstanding Amerindian land rights issues have been resolved to our satisfaction. Once again we say that consultation must take place before the Government signs deals with companies that affect us, not after they have already signed an agreement with the company.

• Noting that consultation with Amerindians in the area has been totally inadequate and that the vast majority of Amerindians neither have information about or understand what Beal is or what it intends to do;

• Noting that in some villages no consultation took place at all;

• Noting also that the Government intends to sell 20,000 acres of land to Beal, land which has historically belonged to Amerindians and is still occupied and used by Amerindians;

• Noting also that some Amerindian families will have to relocate the area to make way for Beal, and others will be affected by a buffer zone around the Beal area;

We hereby resolve

1. That further consultation is needed with the people in the area and that this consultation must be meaningful;

2. That the affected communities receive all relevant information in an understandable form, including maps of the area that Beal intends to buy, so that they can make informed and good decisions about Beal;

3. We completely reject the sale of any land to Beal and demand that all Amerindian land rights issues in the area be addressed before any further action on Beal takes place;

4. That an independent environmental and social impact study be conducted which accounts for Amerindian rights and incorporates the full participation of Amerindians;

5. That we do not consider that Dr. Peter Pritchard of the Audubon Society as an independent and impartial person to undertake any impact study in the area as he has been promoting Beal in the past and seems more concerned with turtles that he does with Amerindians;

• Noting that the Amerindian Act is largely based on laws dating back to 1902 and in its present form has only been changed six times since 1951;

• Noting that the Amerindian Act is outdated, paternalistic and offensive to us in many respects;

• Noting that there have been two attempts to revise the Amerindian Act, the first in 1988, the second in 1993, and that nothing has been done to actually revise the Act;

We hereby resolve:

1. That the persons on the Parliamentary Select Committee be changed and replaced with a joint Committee of persons freely chosen by Amerindian communities, representatives of the Toushaos Council, representatives of the Government, opposition political parties and one representative of the Human Rights Commission;

2. That this Joint Committee have at least an equal number of freely chosen Amerindian representatives and preferably that two-thirds of its members be representatives of Amerindian communities;

3. That the Minister of Amerindian Affairs or persons appointed by him are not to be considered as a freely chosen representative of Amerindian communities;

4. That workshops be held on the present Amerindian Act and that public hearings be held during which recommendations for what should be in the new Amerindian Act be gathered at those hearings;

5. That this process should start as soon as possible;

6. That the revised Amerindian Act be consistent with international standards on the rights of Indigenous peoples.

1. We are deeply concerned about the potential environmental and social impact of the Linden-Lethem road and how it will effect the exercise and enjoyment of our rights as the first peoples of the Rupununi;

2. The road system will negatively effect both North and South Savannahs if there are no proper mechanisms in place to protect the humans, birds, animals, fishes and trees.

3. We ask that the Government of Guyana and international agencies to listen to and respect our decisions as stated below:

1. That our land and other rights must be fully recognised before any further activity

takes place on upgrading the Linden-Lethem road and that Amerindians must benefit from the road,

b. That we must participate in all and any activities relating to the road;

c. We demand that the Government recognise a high level representative body of Amerindians that will undertake development activities and ensure that Amerindians benefit from the road and do not suffer negative impacts;

7. That this high level body develops and implements effective management systems for the protection of the communities, endangered species, control of hunting and trapping using advice from international agencies and Indigenous management systems;

8. Management committees must be established in every community to manage our natural resources;

9. That the high level body be comprised of the APA, Area Councils, Toshaos Councils and Amerindian Land Councils.

• Noting that our lands are the basis of our cultural, spiritual and physical survival and future development;

• Noting that successive Governments of Guyana have failed to adequately address our land rights;

• Noting also that some 50 Amerindian communities do not have any title at all to their lands;

We hereby resolve

1. We reject the Government’s Task force on Demarcation and demand that the Government title and demarcate our land based upon our historical and ancestral occupation and use of the land that we know to be ours;

2. We call upon the Government to enter into meaningful dialogue with Amerindians to bring about a peaceful and mutually acceptable resolution of all land claims;

3. We call upon Government to do this through establishing an effective and acceptable land claims settlement procedure through which we can negotiate lasting settlements to the many outstanding land issues that affect us.

• In Region 7, mining has caused pollution of water, violations of Amerindian land rights, social problems, destruction of fishing grounds and spawning areas and navigation channels;

• In Region 8, mining has caused many social and environmental problems and foreign companies have entered our areas without our permission;

• In Region 9 especially in Takatu/Ireng area aquatic life has been destroyed and diseases are being transmitted to the occupants of Amerindian villages, parts of rivers have been destroyed and in most areas malaria has affected communities;

• The authority of the Village Councils in all regions have been ignored by non-Amerindian miners. Some leaders have been given simple commodities in order to give permission to foreign miners. This must stop. The problems mentioned above cause and will continue to cause suffering among Amerindians.

We resolve and demand that:

1. Proper consultation must be done and agreement must be obtained and Amerindian land rights must be fully recognised before concessions are granted to any miners or mining companies;

2. Amerindian sub-surface ownership rights must be recognised in the law;

3. Existing mining laws and regulations must be enforced;

4. Young children should be educated in school about the negative impact of mining.

5. Amerindians themselves must be the ones to monitor and manage any exploration for or extraction of mineral resources in their communities.

6. We fully support the people of Region 8 decision not to allow the South African mining company, Migrate Mining Ltd., to conduct any further work in the region and we demand that it immediately leave our areas. We are not interested in signing any agreements with Migrate or having any further discussions with it and it should stop attempting to get Villages to sign agreements with them. The Region 8 communities have repeatedly made it clear to the Government that their land rights situation must be addressed before they will even consider allowing mining companies to operate on their lands. We fully agree with and support this position.

• Whereas the Government has made many proposals for the establishment of national parks in various parts of Guyana;

• Whereas some of the locations identified are on or near Amerindian communities and this will certainly affect the lives of the Amerindian people within those locations;

• Whereas the only existing national park is Kaieteur National Park on the Potaro River in Region 8;

• Whereas the same was recently extended with very negative impacts on the community of Chenapou and other nearby Patamona communities in terms of depriving them completely of their rights and traditional freedoms and privileges;

Be it resolved that:

1. That Amerindians are the guardians of the land and have been so since time immemorial;

2. We fully support and standby the resolutions and decisions of the National Toshaos

Conference held in April 1999, in particular, the call that no protected areas be established in Amerindian areas without the full resolution of Amerindian land rights issues;

3. We also reserve our right to establish our own protected areas on our own lands and

our rights to own and manage those protected areas;

4. That, while we are not opposed to protected areas, they may not be established without the full free and informed consent of any affected Amerindian community or communities;

5. That we are in full support of the people of Chenapou in their struggle to ensure that their rights are recognised and respected with regard to the Kaieteur National Park. The Order extending the park was and remains a violation of their rights and of the rights of the Patamona people as a whole.

The APA was given the mandate by participants to represent them on several issues including dialogue with the Guyana and British government to ensure that the rights of Amerindians are fully respected and protected in the forestry sector, in any new legislation and the GFC Support project; to seek all necessary assistance, legal and otherwise, to address the problems the communities have with Beal; to continue dialogue with the World Bank and the Government to ensure that all are informed about the current situation with the Kaieteur National Park and the NPAS project and that the Amerindian perspective is heard and respected.

The next General Assembly is scheduled to take place in the North Pakaraimas/Potaro District, Region 8.

Executive Committee
Amerindian Peoples Association
4^th May, 2000