Response to APA’s President, Sharon Atkinson

Dear Editor,
I addressed a public message issued by President of the Amerindian Peoples’ Association (APA), Sharon Atkinson two days ago on a social media platform. Ms Atkinson indicated that this message was her expression of a “war dance” and I encourage all to research it, for clarity on the purpose of my aforementioned statement.
The Amerindian Land Titling (ALT) project under my watch, titled six villages: Kambaru-Omanaik, Four Miles, Kariako, Tuseneng, Karisparu and Batavia. The titles were granted based on the original descriptions provided by each community, and as such, no lands were “chopped off”. Hence, her claim is false.
Under my watch, no village extensions were granted since the 2015 elections crept up on us, resulting in the project being stalled. However, investigative consultation for 15 villages was completed. Her claim is again false. Perhaps she should direct her question to the subject Minister, as to why one year later, no progress has been made in land titling.
Under my watch, four villages were demarcated: Konashen, Karisparu, Batavia and Tuseneng. Subsequently, claims regarding surveys and villages being “left out” are false.
I have received or heard of no “false reports” on the Santa Rosa and Little Kaniballi villages being granted extensions. However, what I recall is that during our four-day visit to Santa Rosa, the Amerindian Affairs Ministry representative on our team was attacked by APNU’s Mervyn Williams who attempted to tarnish her name and who now sits in the Indigenous Peoples Affairs Ministry, while he was conducting a campaign meeting. The crowd riled at the lies which were being peddled against the woman and when she attempted to respond, this was denied to her – democracy according to the APNU.
I recall seeing Ms Atkinson at the bar located right above a Digicel outlet in Santa Rosa, in the company of Williams, as she was overheard badmouthing the said official’s name, a woman who was once the Vice President of the APA. Strangely, though I chaired the consultations in Santa Rosa, Ms Atkinson participated throughout meetings without making a single objection. She even approached us, shook that woman’s hands, smiled and chatted. Where were the objections on FPIC then? FPIC for us meant no less than six months of intense investigation and research which included Amerindian participation. If Ms Atkinson has a complaint on the FPIC process, she must subsequently direct it to the UNDP, which was responsible for overseeing its implementation.
Contrary to Ms Atkinson’s claims, I have spoken out against the wrongs of the former Administration, but I speak of what I have experienced in my short stay at the MOAA within the ambit of my contractual obligations. I spoke against Robert Persaud’s deliberate non-cooperation with regards to Tasserene and Kangaruma. I spoke out against the lack of investment in cultural preservation. I drafted the Arawak Revival Project and the Amerindian Resources Centre project which the new Minister is implementing this year.
I documented indigenous affairs for future reference so that people like Ms Atkinson who peddle lies can be corrected. This, I didn’t take 23 years to do, but less than a year and half and gratuitously – the time I spent at that Ministry, before the coalition Government disbanded the ALT project. What has Ms Atkinson done besides anti-Government activism? Why didn’t she stand up against the nine months interruption of ALT, and the dismissal of its project unit?
The ALT land surveyor was a young father of two. His wife was pregnant when their family was deprived of a source of income. The project associate was a young Amerindian who dedicated his entire life to indigenous affairs and was forced to leave the country in search of betterment, a form of brain drain. None in the unit were political appointees so why did Sharon Atkinson remain silent?
As for the hardship that the APA went through, I have never doubted that. No one does. What I doubt and will continue to doubt is the legitimacy of the APA in light of its dying activism and silence, as though indigenous rights activism has nothing to fight for today. For clarity, the APA has never cooperated with ALT under my watch. All that ALT received from the APA was a letter in 2014, from its legal advisor David James, who demanded the titling of Tasserene and Kangaruma. Ironically, he is now Advisor to the Honourable Sydney Allicock, while Tasserene and Kangaruma are still untitled and no one seems to care in the APA. In an effort to foster cooperation, the APA was copied to a letter addressed to the Natural Resources Ministry by GEPAN in February 2016, regarding the Tasserene fiasco. There has been no response to date.
I once defended the APA until I saw the bitterness which drove its members and stymied its own progress. With regards to my column, everything that I publish is fact based, and all are invited to verify. It is why none of the APA members have to date deconstructed anything I’ve written. The ALT unit left the truth with the Honourable Sydney Allicock and his new APA team, with copies in the Cabinet drawers of the second room to your right upon entering the Ministry on Thomas Street. Archives can also be found on three hard disks, three computers and the Secretariat’s emails.
I speak for the people I managed, but I do not speak for politicians. I also speak against the hypocrisy of the APA. However, unlike the members of the APA who have insulted me on several occasions using social media, I do not relate to scandal and crass. As the President of a non-profit, Ms Atkinson should have had the professionalism required to engage me on a personal level or in the public sphere where I write. She should also abstain from the indecent language she uses, if she wants to set an example for her members and beneficiaries.
I expected no better from those of the APA, but I hope for it on behalf of Amerindians.

Sincerely,
Anna Correia