Indigenous People Complain about Multinational Loggers and Miners
6/30/97
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Subject: Guyana update
Date: Wed, 2 Jul 1997
FOREST PEOPLES PROGRAMME
Guyana Information Update
30 June 1997
Indigenous Peoples in Guyana Complain to Government About Multinational
Miners and Loggers
In two separate petitions (attached below) written last week Indigenous
peoples in Guyana made clear their objections to the operations of
multinational mining and logging companies on their ancestral lands.
Concessions granted to these companies, mostly Canadian mining companies
and Asian loggers, have already taken over large portions of Guyana's
rainforest and savannah interior. The government is also in the process
of extending state forest land to make more forests available to loggers,
with whom it has already signed Memoranda of Understanding. Indigenous
peoples in Guyana, some of whom still lack legal title to their lands, are
routinely ignored in the decision making process and their complaints are
dismissed and unanswered.
The first petition, which was lodged on behalf of the community of Port
Kaituma and surrounding area (approx. 4000 persons), complains about the
activities of the Malaysian/Korean-owned Barama Timber Company. The
petition was signed by a representative of Port Kaituma and the Executive
Council of the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA). In 1991, Barama was
granted a 1.7 million hectare timber concession in the North west of
Guyana that by itself is larger than all Indigenous titled land in Guyana
combined. This concession includes four titled Indigenous communities, a
number of untitled communities including Pt. Kaituma and overlaps the
Carib reserve established in 1977.
The Barama concession was granted without any form of consultation with
the affected communities. Also, Port Kaituma and other communities in the
vicinity have not been granted legal title to their lands and their
submissions to the government requesting title have been ignored. In
fact, government refusal to remedy this situation led the APA to call for
an international boycott of Guyanese timber products in September 1993.
In response, the government promised to establish a Commission of Enquiry
to review Indigenous land tenure issues: this has not occurred to date
despite repeated calls from the APA and international support groups.
Barama's history of dealing with Indigenous peoples both within its Guyana
concession and elsewhere is also cause for concern. For instance,
Barama's majority shareholder, Malaysian company, Samling Timbers Sdn
Bhd's operations in Sarawak have brought it into serious conflict with the
Indigenous Dayak people. In Guyana itself, complaints have been filed
stating that pollution of river water downstream of one of Barama's log
ponds is responsible for health problems among local residents. A study
conducted by the APA and the Forest Peoples Programme in late 1994 found
that the small community of Orenoque had been forcibly moved off their
land to another area without adequate compensation and legal title. The
houses built by the company for them were substandard and decaying less
than three years after construction and only one house had a water supply.
Frequent complaints were also heard about low wages and the fact that
hunting and agricultural activities were being restricted by the company.
The second petition below was submitted and signed by the majority of the
Captains (village leaders) of the Akawaio and Arecuna communities of the
Upper Mazaruni region that lies on the border with Venezuela in west-
central Guyana. The petition complains about the activities of Canadian
mining company, Golden Star Resources (based in Denver, Colorado). Golden
Star was granted a prospecting license in 1994 covering the majority of
the Upper Mazaruni region. The same communities objected in 1994 to the
granting of the concession. They stated that, "We see such actions as a
threat to our very survival as a people, as diminishing our right to a
healthy life and culture and as a threat to our pristine and unspoilt
environment." They implored the government to act so as to "assist in
saving us as a people from the evils of cultural alienation and genocide."
In response to this first petition, the Minister of Amerindian Affairs not
only refused to intervene on their behalf, but tried to persuade them that
they should agree to GSR's access to their lands.
The entire Upper Mazaruni was once an Amerindian District that
incorporated part of traditional Akawaio and Arecuna lands. Later part
was excised and declared a mining district and when titles were granted to
villages in 1991 additional areas of the former district were not included
in the titled areas - these so-called areas of state land have
subsequently been invaded by small scale miners and multinationals. In
addition to the so-called state lands, multinationals have also been
granted permission to conduct their operations on titled land because the
state claims ownership of all subsurface mineral resources in Guyana. The
communities in the Upper Mazaruni are now fighting to have legal title to
the former Amerindian District granted so that at least small scale miners
can be excluded.
The second petition was drafted in response to a series of letters sent by
GSR to the Captain of Kamarang requesting permission to continue
prospecting activities on community land. In response to GSR's first
letter the Captain and village council refused GSR permission to enter
community land. GSR responded by stating, although not in so many words,
that the community should "reconsider" as they don't have the right to
refuse permission to enter the area as the company already has permission
from the government by virtue of its prospecting/exploration license.
The petition's reference to GSR's activities in neighbouring Suriname
concerns, among others, the ongoing dispute between GSR and its mine
partner, Cambior Inc. of Montreal, and the Maroon community of Nieuw
Koffiekamp. The companies are insisting that Nieuw Koffiekamp be
relocated for the second time in 30 years to make way for a number of open
pit gold mines. The community was forcibly relocated the first time in
1963-4 due to a hydroelectric dam constructed to power the bauxite
refining operations of US company, ALCOA's wholly owned subsidiary,
SURALCO. Human rights violations have also been alleged by villagers,
including incidents where company security guards and police units working
with them used live ammunition to frighten villagers away from areas
which the company had forbiden them to enter.
The Captains of the Upper Mazaruni first heard about Nieuw Koffiekamp
through a resolution adopted by the World Council of Churches Consultation
on Indigenous Peoples and Mining held in London, May 1996. The resolution
stated:
"We condemn the activities of the Canadian mining companies Golden Star
Resources, based in the United States, and Cambior Inc. as violations of
fundamental human rights. In particular, the failure to respect
Indigenous and Tribal peoples' collective rights to own and control their
lands, territories and resources; to cultural integrity; to life, health,
freedom of movement and humane treatment. We also condemn any attempt to
sever the community of Nieuw Koffiekamp's relationship with the total
environment of their lands and territories through relocation or
environmental degradation.
We note that these two companies - as partners in Omai Gold Mines Ltd. in
Guyana - were directly responsible for one of the worst mining disasters
in history and that Golden Star Resources is also violating the rights of
Indigenous peoples in the Upper Mazaruni region of Guyana. We also note
that the government of Suriname is guilty of failing to recognise the
rights, especially the land rights, of the Indigenous and Tribal peoples
who presently find themselves within its borders: however, this is not a
valid excuse for mining companies to violate those rights."
Petition Lodged on Behalf of Port Kaituma and Surrounding Area
22 June 1997
President Sam Hinds
Office of the President
Georgetown
President Hinds:
We the undersigned are writing to express our deep concern over the
present situation of the Carib people of Port Kaituma and surrounding
area. We, both representing and expressing our support for Port Kaituma,
request in the strongest possible terms that your office and the various
Ministers and departments responsible take immediate steps to remedy this
situation and protect the human rights of the people concerned.
As you may know, Port Kaituma and the surrounding area is enclosed within
the timber concession held by the Malaysian/Korean-owned Barama company.
The people affected by these operations, despite having occupied the area
for many years prior to the arrival of Barama, were not consulted or even
informed about the granting of the concession. To make matters worse our
rights to our ancestral lands have not be recognized by the Government of
Guyana and we are without legal title to these lands. Barama also
bulldozed our village, Orenoque, and some agricultural plots in order to
provide space for its buildings and other facilities.
Due to the operations of Barama and the failure of the Government to grant
titles to our lands, we are finding it difficult to support ourselves and
our children. We have insufficient land for agriculture and Barama is
denying us permission to cut wood to build houses. We are forced to both
work for Barama and buy food and supplies from the company store. We are
unable to live independently anymore. Barama pays between 500 and 600
Guyana dollars (approx. US$4) per day almost all of which returns to the
company via purchases made at the company store.
We ask is it legal for a company in Guyana to pay so little for a day's
work? We believe that this situation is tantamount to slavery and is
prohibited by the International Labour Organization in treaties which
Guyana has signed as well as in human rights laws that Guyana is obligated
to comply with. We have heard of the benefits that companies like Barama
were supposed to bring to our communities, both from the companies
themselves and from the Government. We do not want these so-called
benefits, which have brought us nothing but dependency and despair; what
we want is control over our lives and destinies and the recognition and
respect of our rights.
We further request that the Government recognize our freely elected
Captain and village council as soon as possible. We have been without a
Captain and council since our last Captain passed away a number years ago.
Our requests to install another Captain and council have been denied by
the local Neighbourhood Development Council as unnecessary.
President Hinds, we have brought these urgent and deeply troubling matters
to the attention of the Government before and have received no response
let alone any action to remedy our situation. We are left only with the
conclusion that the Government values the interests of a foreign company
over those of the Indigenous peoples of Guyana. In light of the preceding
we urgently request that:
- - our rights to our ancestral lands and resources be recognized and
titles granted immediately;
- - that our freely elected Captain and village council be recognized by
the Government;
- - that the Barama company's labour practices be investigated, that these
practices be stopped and, if warranted, that the company be punished for
its exploitation of our people.
Petition Submitted by the Captains of the Upper Mazaruni
Mr. Samuel Hinds, President of Guyana
We the captains of the villages of the Upper Mazaruni River region appeal
for your intervention on a matter of urgent importance. The Land and
Surveys Department of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) has
granted a prospecting license over a large area of the Upper Mazaruni to
Golden Star Resources, a Canadian mining corporation. This license
encompasses or affects the 7 villages and much of the traditional
homelands of the Akawaio and Arecuna Amerindian peoples. Yet, GGMC failed
to ask for our consent or even to consult with our villages before it
issued this license. We did not even know about until after it had been
issued!
Mr. President, we are tired and angry at being ignored by our own
government. Three years ago we first objected to the government on
exactly the same issue--mining leases being issued without our approval or
involvement--yet nothing has changed. The government continues to act as
though we do not exist. This is a blatant and unacceptable violation of
our rights as indigenous people, and must cease. Golden Star has
demonstrated a callous animosity for the rights and concerns of tribal
peoples in neighboring Suriname. Its presence in our territory poses a
profound threat to our lands, our way of life, indeed, to our very
survival as a people. We implore you to rectify this situation,
specifically to:
1) Rescind this license.
2) Direct GGMC to undertake thorough, transparent and timely
consultations and negotiations with our villages and to obtain our consent
before it issues any new licenses in our region.
3) Restore legal possession to our traditional lands by conveying full
title over all those lands in the 1959 Upper Mazaruni District to our
villages.
Your earliest response to this petition will be appreciated.
For further information, please contact:
Forest Peoples Programme.
1c Fosseway Business Centre
Stratford Road
Moreton-in-Marsh
GL56 9NQ
England
Ph. 44.1608.652.893
Fax. 44.1608.652.878
EMail:WRM@gn.apc.org
Forest Peoples Programme / World Rainforest Movement (UK Office)
1c Fosseway Business Center, Stratford Road, Moreton in Marsh, GL56 9NQ,
UK Tel: 44 (0)i608 652893 Fax: 44 (0) 1608 652878 Email:
wrm@gn.apc.org
The World Rainforest Movement's International Secretariat is at:
Casilla de Correo 1539, Montevideo, Uruguay
Tel: 598 2 496192 Fax: 598 2 419222 Email: rcarrere@chasque.apc.org