I am an Amerindian living in the Rupununi. I read two letters in the Chronicle newspaper which stated that Tony James of Aishalton village wants to set up an Amerindian State in Guyana with the help of an Amerindian People’s Liberation Front.

The truth is that Tony James is telling village residents of South-Central Rupununi that they must support the nine declarations of this Liberation Front which intends to wage war in Guyana if Amerindian states cannot be established in Guyana. The Amerindian villagers do not support Tony James’s intention to engage in subversion against our country and many view his mission as promoting his own self-interest and gains using Amerindians and giving the impression that he has our support. This will never be.
It is important that the police from Georgetown, Lethem and Aishalton monitor the movements of Tony James or have him arrested and questioned on his links with the Amerindian People’s Liberation Front (APLF) which seems to be a terrorist organisation.
The talk in Lethem is that Tony James wants to own and control the mineral-rich Marudi Mountains area as his personal property, using the Amerindian land issue. It was Tony James who organised the protest activity at Lethem with the help of the Rupununi Miners Association (RMA) when there was a lottery distribution of lands for mining.
The Aishalton residents who blocked the Romanex mining company’s excavator heading to the Marudi Mountains were a few women, about 10 in number, organised by Tony James’s wife Dorothy James. So here you can see the evidence that Tony James and family want to own and control the mineral-rich Marudi Mountain area (S/N Thur, June 13, 2013).
The Toshao and Village Council do not support the unlawful activities of the James family of Aishalton village. The problem with Tony James and his family is that they had a lucrative business in Marudi when it collapsed as a result of the GGMC’s action to stamp out illegal mining there where gold was purchased from illegal miners and shipped to Brazil at nights. But not only at Marudi, but Parabara as well, gold was sold to the James business.
So, with the collapse of Tony James’s business at Marudi, he is now rebelling and wants to illegally control the rich Marudi Mountains area using Amerindian issues as his passport.
Mr. Editor, the so-called problems at Aishalton in relation to Marudi have nothing to do with Amerindian land issues, but the lust for gold by the Tony James family who are now using a few Amerindian women to champion their selfish cause to enrich themselves. This is shameful. Moreover, the Aishalton villagers have no confidence in Tony James so he is now using his wife to carry out his dirty schemes. But very soon she will suffer a similar fate as her husband.
Mr. Editor, it is therefore important for the Guyanese public to know the linkage behind the blockage of the excavator heading to the Marudi Mountains and Tony James’s allegiance to the Amerindian People’s Liberation Front (APLF).