Mazaruni District Council urges swift resolution to Chinese Landing dispute

– to raise issue at NTC Conference opening today

The Upper Mazaruni District Council (UMDC) has urged the Government to swiftly intervene in the Chinese Landing dispute, noting that they will use the occasion of the National Toshaos Council (NTC) Conference to address the situation.
In a statement, the UMDC explained that their decision to stand in solidarity with the village was made at an extraordinary meeting of the UMDC on August 24-25 at Kamarang Village, Region Seven. According to them, there is much about the situation that resonates with them.
“The situation of the Carib people of Chinese Landing resonates with us as Indigenous Peoples of the Upper Mazaruni District. The issues that Chinese Landing faces are common among Indigenous communities in Guyana, and we are grateful to the brave villagers of Chinese Landing for bringing attention to these issues.”
“We too have faced unwanted mining on our lands that has threatened our rights and our way of life. We also understand the frustration of waiting for justice from the courts while our rights and security over our lands, territories, and resources are disrespected.”
According to UMDC, the community had to wait more than 20 years for the High Court to recognise their rights over their customary lands. In fact, their case is at the Court of Appeal even now, another reason why they are hoping the Chinese Landing’s court case will be resolved quickly.
“We are glad that the IACHR requested that the Government take all the necessary measures, in agreement with the village, to protect residents’ rights to life and personal integrity. In this regard, we recall the promises made by HE Mohammed Irfaan Ali at the last National Toshaos Conference, to respect our rights as Indigenous peoples of Guyana ‘Your rights must and will always be respected by this Government. Your rights will always be protected by this Government’,” UMDC said.
UMDC acknowledged that they are aware the village considers the revocation of mining concessions and removal of outside miners from its lands to be necessary for the protection of these rights. According to them, they support the village in these proposals and will express support for Chinese Landing at the NTC 2023 conference, which opens today.

Further, they will be expecting the NTC Executive to agree to Chinese Landing’s request for time on the first day of the Conference to present their issues and proposed solutions. Additionally, UMDC said that they would welcome any request from Chinese Landing, or the Government, to provide any support in resolving their situation.
“We are aware that the Government is required to send a report to the IACHR by the end of August, and we hope that they will act on Chinese Landing’s proposals before that deadline. We call on the Government to act swiftly in the interest of the people of Chinese Landing by implementing the IACHR’s decision.”
“We also urge the Government to review and amend policies and laws, including the Amerindian Act and Mining Act, that expose Indigenous peoples to threats of the kind that Chinese Landing has experienced,” UMDC said in their statement.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued Resolution 41/2023 in July of this year, through which it granted precautionary measures in favour of members of the Indigenous Carib Community of Chinese Landing, who it said are currently at “serious, urgent risk of suffering irreparable harm to their human rights”.
In the wake of this decision, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government had announced that a team would be sent to the Region One (Barima-Waini) community to meet with residents there. In a statement, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance had further said that they will work with residents to find solutions.
And while UMDC has urged that action be taken by the State, the Government had assured that efforts have already been made over the years, through regulatory agencies such as the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), to address the concerns of the Chinese Landing community about the work of the miner in question, Wayne Vieira. Whenever the matter ended up in court, however, the rulings always went against the State.
Meanwhile, the Ministry had noted that one of the problems with the Chinese Landing is that formal reports were not being made to the relevant local authorities, and as such, there were no records to allow legal proceedings against alleged perpetrators. Additionally, efforts to find the alleged victims have proven unsuccessful.