
Attorney General Anil Nandlall is cautioning that unauthorized visits to some Amerindian communities could amount to a criminal offence. He is urging persons to follow the correct procedures before entering those villages.
The Attorney General’s comments appear to be in response to the controversy that erupted during a visit by Presidential Candidate for We Invest in Nationhood party, Azruddin Mohammed to Wikki/Calcuni community in the Berbice River.
During the visit to a promotional cricket match and funday activity that was being held, the Toshao of the village grabbed the flag for the WIN party and stomped on it repeatedly, claiming that no permission was granted for Mohamed to enter the village.
The event was a private promotion in the village that welcomed visitors from all over and even offered table packages for the sale of liquor and other beverages.
While not addressing the confrontation, the Attorney General during his weekly “Issues in the News” programme, said that Amerindian villages, historically and under the Amerindian act, are not public property, and therefore persons cannot venture into those communities and do as they feel.

“Therefore, unauthorized persons can’t enter an Amerindian reservation, as it is being called in North America, without permission, the same position obtains in Guyana under the Amerindian Act and if you enter the Amerindian village without permission, you commit a criminal offence and you can be charged and placed before a magistrate,” Mr. Nandlall said.
Mr. Nandlall said the issue is not a political one. He reminded of an issue in early 2015 when the Village Council of Moco Moco in the Rupununi, prevented former President Donald Ramotar and his team from entering the village because of late notice.
‘Persons who under the law are presumed to have permission are government officers going into the Amerindian communities to do government business, that category of person are exempted and exempt by the act, and the Amerindian act simply re-legislate a position that had obtained even before 2006 before the enactment of this act. It will always an offence to enter an Amerindian reservation or an Amerindian village without the permission of the village council or the village leaders,” Nandlall stated.

Mohamed’s campaign team has said they believe they were targeted. In a statement, the team noted that the actions by the Toshao and persons aligned with the governing PPP can be interpreted to be against the principles of free and fair campaigning.
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