Deafening silence continues on Amerindian discrimination – Jagdeo
As the curtains came down on the month-long observation of Amerindian Heritage Month, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo joined the village of Pakuri, popularly known as St Cuthbert’s Mission, for the final celebration, where he told those in attendance that the Government continues to be silent on the discrimination against Guyana’s Indigenous peoples.
Jagdeo was at the time referring to statements uttered by Minister within the Social Protection Ministry, Keith Scott, several months ago, when he stood in the National Assembly and said it would be avarice on the part of Amerindians to want to move their land ownership from 13.8 per cent of the land mass of Guyana to 23 per cent thereof.
Students from the Pakuri Primary School doing the Monkey Dance
The statement did not sit well with the National Toshaos Council (NTC) and the wider population of Guyana. However, to date, the Minister is yet to issue an apology, and Government is yet to distance itself from the derogatory statement.
Jagdeo said Government is preaching social cohesion, but its actions do not support its rhetoric. “Social cohesion can’t be policies only written on paper with hardly any consultation. Social cohesion should be policies of the Government and actions that benefit the people, and not drive a wedge between them,” Jagdeo said, while addressing concerns related to the ongoing Commission of Inquiry into lands.
The Pakuri Culture Group shows how bird hunting is done through dance
He added Amerindians in Guyana are concerned about the lack of development in their communities, while alluding to policies that affect the daily existence of the indigenous groups. On the issue of policy changes, Jagdeo said the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) remains committed to the development of the Amerindian people.
He noted that if the Government moves ahead with amendments to the Amerindian Act, the PPPC would support it. “We will support the amendment only if there is widespread consultations among all the Amerindian communities, and the amendments bring further benefits to Amerindian communities; and if they enhance the rights of Indigenous people. Any attempt to take away land rights of the Indigenous people will not be supported,” he informed.
Defence
Meanwhile, Minister within the Indigenous Peoples Affairs Ministry, Valerie Garrido-Lowe, said the Government never came out in support of the statements uttered by Scott. “Neither the President nor his Ministers ever said they agree with him. We would never agree with that. The Minister will do what he has to do in good time,” she said.
She said Government remains committed to developing the Amerindian community, and that development would be holistic.
Also attending the final Heritage Day celebrations was acting British High Commissioner Ron Rimmer, who used the opportunity to renew his Government’s commitment towards the development and understanding of the rights of the Indigenous people.
The Heritage Day celebrations saw a wide variety of cultural presentations from the Amerindian community in the form of poems, skits and dances.
