…hopes he will communicate his allegations to the Guyana police quickly
The Government of Guyana has been made aware of an international communication from the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA)
describing allegations of a death threat against its President, Mr. Tony James, according to a release last evening from the
Government Information Service (GINA). The Government believes that this is an extremely serious allegation, and must be investigated fully. As with all citizens of Guyana,
Mr. James is entitled to access the full protection afforded by the laws of our country.

The statement continued, “As the necessary first step in accessing that protection, we hope that Mr. James will shortly communicate
his allegations to the Guyana police. Once he does this, the Government will fully support the police in their efforts to pursue the
evidence brought forward by Mr. James.

“The Government has also noted the APA’s suggestion that Mr. James’ allegations might be somehow related to the Low Carbon
Development Strategy (LCDS) and Guyana’s Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation-plus (REDD-plus) initiative.
Although invited, the APA refused to participate in the multi-stakeholder committee, the Government absolutely recognises their right
to not take part in consultations and other REDD+ related activities. We welcome differing views from official positions as expressed
by small non-governmental organisations such as the APA. This is evident from the publicly available record of meetings and
consultations as part of the LCDS process.

“The police should follow the evidence. Once this is done, the government will fully support the police in their efforts to fully
investigate all the evidence concerning these allegations.

“Guyana is rightly proud of both the supremacy of the rule of law in our country, and of our work to secure the realisation of rights
for indigenous people. No one in our country, no matter how small their organisation, should be afraid of expressing opposition to
majority viewpoints,’ the GINA statement concluded.