I wish to refer to Stabroek News article under the caption, “More questions than clear answers at rushed LCDS consultation – GOIP” (Wed March 17, 2010). Kindly allow me to make the following points in relation to the said letter: (1) Dr George Norton made inputs to the joint press statement by the three Amerindian NGOs serving on the LCDS Multi-stakeholder Steering Committee (MSSC) in response to the negative statements on the LCDS consultations and calling for a hold on the LCDS and REDD + projects by the APA. (2) When the joint press statement was first published by the Guyana Times on Friday March 12, 2010, Dr Norton called Ashton Simon who wrote the statement and stated that he did not like the way the press statement was written and that GOIP will disassociate itself from the statement. Dr Norton is a PNC activist and Member of Parliament whose party also made negative statements about the LCDS consultations process.
(3) The GOIP representative serving on the MSSC did all she can to keep the GOIP membership informed about the LCDS consultations at their monthly meetings and even supplied reports and LCDS literature to Dr Norton who is the chief of GOIP. It is not certain if the GOIP chief circulated those documents to the GOIP members, and if not, it was deliberate.
(4)
Since the GOIP leadership is not supportive of the LCDS they will not listen to their representative who sits on the MSSC, but the APA. I wish to make it clear that it is only the GOIP MSSC member that can ably provide to them the credibility, transparency and inclusivity of the LCDS consultations in the Amerindian communities, not Dr Norton.
(5) It is my opinion therefore that Dr Norton may have unilaterally make the declaration to the press that GOIP has disassociated itself from the joint press statement by the three Amerindian NGOs. This is unfortunate for GOIP who have allowed itself to become politically contaminated.
(6) What land rights issues GOIP is talking about? Who in Guyana is taking away titled indigenous peoples land? GOIP does not have independent thinking or rationalisation. It is being led by the APA parroting whatever they say. GOIP and APA are two peas in a pod working against the Government of Guyana to economically empower Guyana’s indigenous peoples.
(7) For GOIP’s information, if not education there are 97 titled Amerindian communities occupying 14 per cent of Guyana’s land space. There are about 10 more communities to be given title to their lands and the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs is working vigorously to ensure that this is done. Five communities have refused to be demarcated on the advice of the APA. Six communities in the upper Mazaruni have taken the government to court for the settlement of their land issues on the advised by the APA. This matter is still in the Supreme Court. The other communities will soon be demarcated as funds become available and funds will become available: Rome was not built within a day.
(8) GOIP said that the Amerindian leaders who attended the APA ‘workshop’ in Georgetown were threatened by the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs. Are the Amerindian Toshaos their own bosses? Aren’t they accountable to no one? Can they just leave their villages without informing members of the village to attend a ‘workshop’ by a private organisation which does not have a development programme for Amerindians in Guyana, only a mischief-making one? GOIP further said that indigenous peoples should not be treated as though they are ‘serfs in a private freedom’. This is pure balderdash. It is time that the Amerindians become disciplined inculcating the right attitudes for good leadership practices as the world continues to be modernised. It is my view in this regard that village Toshoas and Village Councils be guided by a clearly defined code of conduct which should be incorporated into the Amerindian Act 2006.