APA Press Release on Barama/Akawini

Dear colleagues,

Find attached an Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) press release.
Please forward this onto whoever you wish.

Best regards,
APA

AMERINDIAN PEOPLES ASSOCIATION

334 B East Street, South Cummingsburg, Georgetown, Guyana

Tel: 592-227 0275, Tel/Fax: 592-223 8150 Email:apacoica@networksgy.com apa@,webworksgy.com

Website: http.www.caribbeanngos.net

May 23, 2007

Joint APA/GOIP – Indigenous Peoples NGOs Press Release

APA and GOIP Call on Barama/IWPI to Cease Logging in Akawini Titled lands.

The Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) and the Guyanese Organization of Indigenous Peoples (GOIP) are calling on the Barama Company and the Interior Wood Products Limited (IWPI) to immediately cease all logging operations in the titled lands of Akawini Amerindian Village, Pomeroon, in Region 2.

Barama Company began logging in Akawini in February 2006 ostensibly on a subcontract it signed with IWPI. According to Akawini Toshao David Wilson “Akawini Village Council has never seen this subcontract and we were never consulted before IWPI entered into this subcontract with Barama” Akawini has a Timber Harvesting & Sale Agreement with IWPI which expressly states that IWPI could only engage the services of a sub contractor “having consulted the “Holder” namely the Akawini Village Council.

The Village General Meeting (VGM) of Akawini which is the highest decision making forum of the village under the law, took a decision on February 28, 2007 to terminate the agreement with IWPI because of alleged breaches by IWPI. The Akawini Village Council has since March of this year written to the IWPI informing the company of the decision of the VGM to end the agreement. The Akawini Council has to date received no response and the logging continues unabated. In the agreement between IWPI and Akawini, the postal address of IWPI is a home address and it has no stated telephone or fax number or email address. In reality, IWPI is a faceless company which strongly suggests that it is a “shell” or “front” company of Barama.

In early May, the APA represented by David James, Attorney-at-Law and Toshao David Wilson of Akawini were invited by Swiss NGOs Bruno Manser Fonds and Society for Threatened Peoples to meet with officials of Credit Suisse and Samling Global Group of Malaysia. Credit Suisse is the second largest commercial bank in Switzerland and reportedly made 10 million US dollars from the Initial Public Offering (IPO) that it underwrote for Samling. Samling is the parent company for the Barama Company in Guyana. At the meeting held in Zurich Switzerland they informed the officials of Credit Suisse and Samling that Barama Company, through it purported subcontract with IWPI, is unsustainably logging the last remaining forest of the Akawini Village and in the process threatening the livelihood and violating the rights of the Indigenous people living there.

At Zurich meeting, Cheryl Yong, Communications Manager of Samling claimed that 55 persons from Akawini were employed by Barama. Toshao David Wilson categorically refuted this and said “there are fewer than 12 persons employed by Barama who work for G$17,000 per month.” He also told the meeting that Barama/IWPI harvest over 20 different hardwood species in Akawini. Ms. Yong also stated that Barama only cuts “peeler logs which have no commercial value to the locals, we take out only one species of timber”. The April 2007 Production Report of Barama /IWPI logging operations in Akawini show that 92 pieces of purpleheart, 31 pieces of mora, 60 pieces of locust, 44 pieces of kabucalli and 92 pieces of bulletwood amounting to 1587 cubic metres of hardwood were harvested.

The APA and GOIP are calling on the Government of Guyana to protect the rights of the indigenous peoples of Guyana and in particular the rights of the indigenous people of Akawini. We further call on the Government to review contracts with companies such as Barama that plunder the natural resources of our country for which the people of Guyana receive minimal benefits.

For further information kindly contact:

David James, Attorney-at-Law, at APA telephone numbers 223 – 5082 or 227 - 0275