APA..Newsletter # 3
National News...President Jagdeo Meets With the APA: APA Calls for the Establishment of a Land Claims Settlement Procedure

An APA delegation met with President Bharat Jagdeo on the 23^rd March at the Presidential Secretariat. This was in response to a request for a meeting by the APA in order to discuss a number of issues of relevance to Amerindians. These included the amendment of the Kaieteur National Park Act, a procedure to deal with settlement of Amerindian land claims, Amerindian participation in decision making processes, the National Protected Areas Project and Forestry.

The general position of the APA was set out in a five page document called ‘Addressing Amerindian Issues in Guyana: The Way Forward Through Dialogue, Partnership and Mutual Respect’. This document focused on the establishment of a land claims settlement procedure as a way of resolving all the outstanding Amerindian land issues in Guyana. On this issue, the document states that:

In order to address the many outstanding Amerindian land rights issues in Guyana, we propose that a mechanism be established that will provide for freely negotiated settlements to all outstanding Amerindian land issues. Such mechanisms exist presently in Canada, Australia, Aotearoa-New Zealand and elsewhere. In all cases these mechanisms incorporate the full and free representation and participation of the affected Indigenous peoples and lead to negotiated and mutually acceptable settlement agreements guaranteed and protected by law. We ask nothing more for Guyana and firmly believe that this will benefit not only Amerindians but also the Guyanese people, of whom we are part, as a whole.

A procedure for addressing Amerindian land rights in Guyana is urgently and undeniably needed. Numerous conflicts arise when Government and private persons authorised by Government seek to conduct activities on lands over which Amerindian assert rights. Many of these activities have a substantially negative impact upon the environmental integrity of our lands, lands we depend upon for our survival. Settling the underlying issue of rights to lands and resources will mimimise, if not eliminate, these conflicts, provide security to Amerindians and investors alike, and permit Government greater certainty when making land use decisions. This is for the benefit of all.

On the subject of the Task Force, the document stated:

We acknowledge that the present Government has installed a body known as the Task Force to demarcate Amerindian lands, that in the future may address titling and extension of titles. However, this Task Force, and its mandate, were developed and established without any meaningful discussion with Amerindians leaders and therefore represents an imposition rather than a constructive attempt to address the issue. The discussion that took place at Paramakatoi does not constitute adequate consultation or participation as this was a preliminary discussion only that took place with the understanding that further talks would be held. These further talks did not take place.

The Task Force has shown that it neither understands nor is willing to understand Amerindian land rights and perspectives, does not have the confidence of Amerindians and has operated so far in a manner that is unacceptable to us. The Task Force thus cannot be considered as an acceptable procedure for addressing Amerindian land rights and we reject it as much today as we did when we first discovered that it had been created.

The time for the meeting with the President was short and did not allow for lengthy and indepth discussions on any of the issues. On the question of a land claims settlement procedure, the President was not receptive to the idea proposed by the APA and said that the government was prepared to continue working with the Task Force to settle Amerindian land issues.

On the question of NPAS, the President acknowledged that there were a number of problems that were hindering further movement on the project and said that unless these problems could be resolved, the government was prepared to walk away from the project. The problem the President was referring to was the question of Amerindian lands within the NPAS project. The APA took the opportunity to reiterate that Amerindians are not against protected areas, but that the question of Amerindian rights, especially rights to land must be dealt with within the project.

Perhaps, the only clear positive outcome of the meeting was President Jagdeo’s assurance that an amendment of the Kaieteur National Park Act to address protection of the traditional rights of the people of Chenapou would be forthcoming within two weeks of the meeting. This amendment has since been sent to the APA.

It was the general feeling of those who attended the meeting with the President that while the meeting served as a beginning of dialogue between the President and the APA, there was little assurances from him on the government’s willingness to deal with the various issues that Amerindians have been calling on them to address. People were especially not satisfied with the President’s statement that the Government will continue to work through the Task Force on the demarcation of Amerindian lands despite the fact that the majority of Amerindian communities have rejected the work of the Task Force.