THE Amerindian Action Movement of Guyana (TAAMOG) is deeply alarmed over the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) objection to Amerindian land extensions by the Government of Guyana and condemns this objection in the strongest of terms as a blatant attempt to deny Guyana’s indigenous peoples the rights to their ancestral lands. The GGDMA’s argument that Guyana is a multi-ethnic society is  absolutely no justification to deny the indigenous peoples of Guyana whose presence in Guyana far exceeds 3,000 years of their land rights.
The GGDMA must be aware that the Amerindian Lands Commission (ALC) in its report of 1969 had recommended that the Amerindian communities receive communal freehold titles to 24,000 square miles including mineral rights to a depth of 50ft. It must be noted that the Amerindian communities had claimed before the ALC a total of 43,000 square miles. It must also be noted that the ALC did not visit all the areas of Guyana occupied by indigenous peoples and did not account for a number of communities in its report.
Further, the claim by the GGDMA that Amerindians are now engaged in mining is a non-issue, since indigenous peoples were involved in mining prior to 1492 and they did so sustainably with absolute respect for the environment.
The GGDMA’s objection to Amerindian land extensions is therefore a wicked attempt to deny Guyana’s indigenous peoples their land rights which goes against the constitution of Guyana and the UN Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples.