PRIME Minister Moses Nagamootoo, acting in the capacity of President of Guyana, has reassured Guyanese that Venezuela will not succeed in taking a “blade of grass” from Guyana’s territory as that country continues its illegal claim to Guyana’s Essequibo region.

At the Heritage Day celebrations of St. Cuthbert’s Mission yesterday, the Prime Minister told the mammoth gathering that the Indigenous peoples have always been guarding the country’s pristine forests, especially in the Essequibo region, which was the original place of residence of all Indigenous peoples. And for this reason, Nagamootoo added, the Indigenous peoples are rendering strong support at a time when fresh threats are being raised against Guyana by Venezuela.

Mere days ago, Toshao of St. Cuthbert’s Mission, Lennox Shuman, along with villagers, met with the acting President and vowed to defend Guyana’s sovereignty from the clutches of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. That delegation is now plastered on the walls of social media internationally in a bid to tell the world that Guyana stands strong in the quest to resolve territorial conflicts with one of its neighbours, Venezuela.

“The delegation is the face of courage of Guyana, and the face of the Indigenous peoples who are telling the world that we are not going to give up one blade of grass and not one cuirass!” reassured Nagamootoo.

He said that, Guyana is being viewed as the ‘aggressor’ in the case of the border controversy.

“We (Guyana) are not the aggressors, and we do not want to be at war with anyone, but we are telling Venezuela and the rest of the world that we are prepared to stand up and fight for our country,” Nagamootoo said, while alluding to the Indigenous Peoples.

Aside from touting the support of the Indigenous peoples, Nagamootoo stressed Government’s ten-point plan of action for development of the hinterland, and pledged to work along with not only the St. Cuthbert’s community, but all Indigenous communities, to combat challenges they are faced with and to promise to preserve the Indigenous culture.

“The ten-point plan says that the new coalition government will respect the languages and preserve the culture of Indigenous people, and for that reason, we (government) are here with a plan to work with the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affair and the National Toshaos Council to change the conditions under which the Amerindians live,” proclaimed Nagamootoo.

President David Granger recently introduced the National Toshaos Council (NTC) and proposed a “10-point plan of action” for development of the hinterland. That plan contains Government’s commitment to closer integration in development of the hinterland and indigenous communities with communities on Guyana’s coast, while in keeping with the preservations of culture.
Government is expected to launch a Hinterland Employment and Youth Service (HEYS) scheme come September. It will be aimed at providing sustainable jobs and providing youths with various skills to prepare themselves for the world of work.

A mixture of persons from the coastland and hinterland complemented the Heritage Day celebrations, as thousands gathered to view the cultural performances and taste Indigenous delicacies made by St. Cuthbert’s villagers.

By Shivanie Sugrim