The Chinese Landing Village Council has turned down a request from the Commissioner of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to have mediation talks with the miner at the center of the land dispute, on the grounds that such a meeting cannot take place when there is an active attempt to invade their indigenous lands for mining.

GGMC Commissioner Newell Dennison had proposed that a meeting be held in Georgetown on Thursday, but in a response today, the Toshao of Chinese Landing, Nikita Miller, informed the Commissioner that she is unable to leave her village because of the ongoing attempts to have new mining equipment transported into Tassawini.

Backed by their Council, the villagers have blocked the entry of the heavy duty equipment into their village.

Toshao Miller told Mr. Dennison that “mediation cannot have a fair and successful outcome when there is a power imbalance between the parties or there is undue pressure placed on one of the parties”.

This afternoon she told News Source that her position remains clear.

“We told him that we cannot meet at this time because my village people need me up here to be with them. And we cannot reach because of the attempts to bring in new mining into Tassawini, and the village protest action – this is six days now….it will not resolve, the only way it will resolve or if he really wants us to attend a meeting, all these machineries have to move off the landing because the moment my back turn, those machines are going to walk in the backdam,” Toshao Miller said.

Toshao Miller explained that in light of the villagers’ decision to block the entrance to the Tassawini Backdam, the machine operators placed the equipment on barges on Monday night and transported them to Kariako, with the hope of accessing Tassawini through another route.

Toshao Miller said that move is definitely not a show of good faith.

The Toshao told the GGMC Commissioner that the Council remains hopeful that mediation would proceed on the basis of mutual respect and fairness.

In an earlier correspondence to both the Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat and the GGMC Commissioner, Toshao Miller called on the Ministry of Natural Resources and the GGMC to issue a cease work order, to stop all preparatory and mining activities currently taking place in Tassawini

“So, we wrote him formally to ask that the Ministry of Natural Resources and GGMC to take immediate action, to place cease work order on the preparatory mining going on right now in Tassawini and suspend any permission granted for equipment and activities in the area,” Toshao Miller explained.

According to the Chinese Landing-Tassawini Village Council, in recent days, at least nine excavators, two bulldozers and dredge engines were transported into the village without prior notice or approval.

The Council has since blocked other heavy duty equipment from being transported into the village.

Related posts:

Chinese Landing residents continue to block heavy duty mining equipment from entering their lands National Toshaos Council accused of supporting smear campaign against Chinese Landing Toshao; NTC Chairman rejects claims Chinese Landing Toshao calls for greater support from National Toshaos’ Council in mining dispute Chinese Landing village Council disappointed with Government’s “fact finding” team