I RECEIVED a letter from one Saskia Ozinga of the Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) in response to my letter carried in the Guyana Chronicle on Friday May 17, 2013 under the caption “International experts on Guyana’s EU FLEGT process should apply caution”.

In fact, I e-mailed a copy of this letter to the FPP since I recognised that the FPP is a financial saviour to the APA and is lobbying on its behalf to sit on the National Technical Working Group (NTWG), the body that oversees the current EU FLEGT process in Guyana.
Mr. Editor, permit me to state the following in relation to Saskia Ozinga’s letter:
1. Ozinga claims that Guyana’s LCDS is a topic she is not familiar with but can tell me that so far the strategy is not successful. This is a flawed statement in the absolute and it is not surprising that the FPP has taken this line like the APA to just oppose Guyana’s Climate Change mitigation initiatives without any credible basis. But the reality is that both the FPP and APA as NGO’s have to lie so as to financially survive in the pursuit of their mischievous agendas which can do more harm than good to Guyana’s indigenous peoples. This is what the European Union (EU) must know.
2. Take this from me, Saskia Ozinga of the FPP, that over 160 Amerindian villages, communities and settlements in Guyana fully support the LCDS where 166 of these communities submitted Community Development Plans (CDPs) developed by themselves where some are already in their implementation phase. This is one of Guyana’s LCDS projects. Aren’t these success indicators so far for Guyana’s LCDS, Ozinga? While the APA carried out a campaign for indigenous communities not to support Guyana’s LCDS, the vast majority of over 166 indigenous communities rejected the APA’s misleading LCDS campaign. This is what the EU must know.
3. Having failed miserably to stop Guyana’s LCDS, the APA is now trying to deliberately frustrate and even stop Guyana’s EU FLEGT process which is on-going for the achievement of a Guyana Voluntary partnership agreement (VPA) for our forest products to access European markets and moreso to promote sustainable forest management. This is one of the requirements of Guyana’s LCDS mentioned in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Guyana and Norway. The APA wants to be on the National Technical Working Group (NTWG), the body that oversees the current EU FLEGT process in Guyana because it claims that there is inadequate Indigenous representation. This is false and misleading as usual from this group. But the FPP is lobbying the European Commission for the APA to sit on the NTWG with misleading claims that APA is a key and main indigenous group in Guyana.
4. The NTWG on the EU FLEGT process in Guyana has the highest level of credible indigenous peoples’ representation, the National Toshao Council (NTC), the Indigenous Peoples Commission (IPC) and the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs (MOAA). The four National Indigenous Organisations which include the APA are advocacy groups which comprise the Indigenous Consistent Group. This group provides valuable recommendations to the NTWG at meetings on the EU FLEGT process as it relates to indigenous communities.
5. The APA is not the key or main indigenous group in Guyana as the FPP claims. The key or main Indigenous Organisation in Guyana is the National Toshao Council (NTC) whose chairman is Chief of Chiefs Derrick John.
6. The NTC is an Umbrella Organisation of over 166 elected Toshaos (Village Chiefs) from over 166 Amerindian Communities in Guyana. The NTC is a corporate body which is mentioned in section 38 of the Amerindian Act No.6 of 2006 and its functions in section 41 of the said Act. The NTC therefore in relation to the EU FLEGT process and other interests that relate directly to Indigenous Community Welfare in Guyana is the key and main indigenous organisation and not the APA. The EU must know this.
7. At the recently held 12th session conference of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous issues (UNPFII) at United Nations Head Quarters in New York, NTC Chairman and Chief of Chiefs Mr. Derrick John blasted an APA-GOIP join statement as “Misinformation designed to mislead the 12th session of the UNPFII about the situation of Guyana’s Indigenous peoples”. Chief Derrick John further countered that both the APA and GOIP did not sought the free prior and informed consent (FPIC) of Toshaos (village chiefs) in Guyana, neither the NTC for making a statement on behalf of Guyana’s Indigenous Peoples at the UNPFII Level. Chief Derrick John called on the UNPFII to disregard the joint statement made by the APA and GOIP made at the 12th session of the UNPFII. The EU must know this.
8. In conclusion Mr. Editor, Chief Derrick John’s statement at the 12th session of the UNPFII was indeed a powerful one which set the records straight on the current situation of Guyana’s Indigenous Peoples which destroyed the mischievous and misleading APA-GOIP Joint Statement. This clearly showed in no uncertain terms that the NTC is the key and main Indigenous body to finally make credible pronouncements on the situation of Guyana’s Indigenous Peoples in the Non-Governmental sector and not the APA which is known for being totally irresponsible to the Indigenous peoples it claims to represent. Anyway, let’s hope that one day the APA changes from being destructive to constructive. I hope that Saskia Ozinga of the FPP has taken note and desist from being fed with a plethora of lies from the APA.