| Government has ordered a river dredge to cease operations in Region Eight amidst concerns from the Amerindian village of Isseneru.According to the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, the action was taken afterMinister Raphael Trotmanconcerns and complaints from the Toshao and representatives of the village.“…Minister of Governance, with responsibility for Natural Resources and the Environment,Wholesale Jerseys, Raphael Trotman,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, has directed that mining works cease by the operator of a water dredge in the area,” a statement from the Ministry of the Presidency said last evening.The village has been complaining in the media,China Jerseys NFL, recently, that its water and food supply, from the nearby river, was under threat.The cease order is effective immediately, pending a fact-finding mission to be conducted by the Ministry in the area on Wednesday coming.The Department of Natural Resources and the Environment will be fielding a team of relevant authorities and stakeholders to assess the water quality and other issues and concerns related to pollution and adherence to boundary laws.“This will allow for a final decision to be taken in this matter. Village leaders of Isseneru have publicly raised a number of concerns on the health and wellbeing of residents, especially the children, since a number of mining concessions are being operated in close proximity to their village.”The statement disclosed that Government has undertaken the task of addressing the issue of land management and the distribution of lands for varying sectors in a holistic manner with the intention of creating a National Land Use Policy to avoid these occurrences.In January 2013, in a landmark court ruling,Wholesale Jerseys China, villagers of Isseneru,Adidas Hockey Jerseys Cheap, a Middle Mazaruni village, lost a case concerning their right to prevent commercial miners from “invading the grounds of our forefathers.”File Photo: A river dredge operation off Isseneru, Region Eight, has been ordered to cease operations.Justice Diana Insanally ruled that under the Amerindian Act 2006, the Amerindians, second defendants in the land dispute matter, have no authority or jurisdiction to prevent licenced miners from doing so.The GGMC was also told by the court that it too, under the Act,NFL Jerseys Cheap, has no right to prevent or cease mining works without the proper footing.The matter of the Isseneru community was brought to the attention of the courts in November 2011. This approach stemmed from a Cease Work Order which was passed on miner Joan Chang by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC).The facts were that Chang, who is attached to Platinum Mining Incorporated and has a mining licence, commenced mining in the Amerindian territory prior to November 2011. The villagers and their council said they saw this act as a violation of their rights to maintain control over their village. As such, the miners were asked to cease mining in the area.That request was however ignored by the miners, leaving the villagers no resort but to approach the GGMC. With the intervention of that mining entity, a Cease Work Order was immediately granted by the organization, citing the law which purportedly gives Amerindian absolute right in determining the control of their titled lands.Mining by third parties in what is considered Amerindian territory has been a sore issue for years now. |
