The South Rupununi District Council (SRDC) today fired back at the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association, (GGDMA) over the association’s rejection of calls to halt mining in the Marudi area over a recent gang attack.

The Council today denounced the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA), describing its response to the concern of the community as a “callous dismissal”.

The SRDC is again calling on the Government of Guyana to immediately suspend all mining operations in the area until an appropriate, community-driven mining plan is developed and agreed to by the affected communities.

The SRDC wants the government to intervene urgently, saying that illegal mining activities in the area are posing serious threats to the safety and security of residents there.

Yesterday the GGDMA described the call to suspend mining in the Marudi Mountain area as” preposterous and nonsensical”, explaining that such a decision would hurt many more Guyanese than it would help.

But the District Council said that the citizens who live in the area are being violated and their constitutional rights are being trampled on.

According to the District Council last weekend’s armed robbery and abductions were not an isolated incident.  The body explained that over the past few weeks, there have been additional incidents of robberies, attempted robberies, and an attempted trespass at a local guest house. These events, it says, are a direct result of illegal and unregulated mining in the region, and the SRDC is holding the Government and the GGDMA responsible for allowing such threats to persist unchecked.

“The SRDC stands firm in its position that the safety of the South Rupununi communities must take precedence over the economic interests of the mining sector. We call on the Government to prioritize the protection of its citizens—especially those in vulnerable communities like ours—over the pursuit of profit. We demand that the Government fulfill its constitutional and international human rights obligations by ensuring that our communities have a say in all decisions that affect us,” the district council said a strongly worded stated.

The Council is also demanding a formal apology from GGDMA for its ‘dismissive and inhumane’ response to its concerns. 

According to the Council, the “disregard for the safety and rights of Indigenous communities, as displayed by the GGDMA, is unacceptable and must be condemned. For far too long, our communities have been exposed to the devastating consequences of unchecked mining—environmental destruction, the proliferation of criminal activity, and escalating violence. It is time for both the GGDMA and the Government of Guyana to recognize the severe and ongoing harm caused by unregulated mining”.

Related posts:

GGDMA rejects calls to halt mining at Marudi after Brazilian gang attacks South Rupununi Council requests Marudi Police outpost, suspension of mining after robbery and abductions Miners Association urges gold miners to adopt safer practices Illegal tunnel mines discovered and destroyed in South Rupununi mineral reserve