The procedure and the requirements for granting Amerindian communities titled lands are clearly set out in the Act

http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article?id=56530729

The procedure and the requirements for granting Amerindian communities
titled lands are clearly set out in the Act
Stabroek News, Thursday, October 11th 2007

Dear Editor,

Thank you for affording me the opportunity to respond to a letter from
Martin Cheong captioned "What criteria are used to determine the size
of Amerindian grants?" (07.10.05) Since such negative and shallow
utterances can mislead the public, I thank you for the opportunity to
provide a response.

Concerning the criteria, I wish to note that the procedure and the
requirements for granting Amerindian communities titled lands are
stated clearly in the Amerindian Act of 2006. Indeed, these were
considered by a Select Committee of Parliament which comprised
opposition members. Moreover, such procedures are very rare in law
since governments prefer to have policies that can be easily
manipulated rather than enact laws. The government of Guyana opted to
ensure that once and for all Amerindian communities are clear on how
land claims can be settled. I should also point out that in many
countries once a land claim is determined by the government the
decision is final. In Guyana the communities have another option if
they are displeased with the decision. Fortunately for Guyana, and
unlike Mr Cheong, the Amerindian communities and the majority of the
leaders see cooperation and mutual respect as a means of settling land
claims. It is for this reason that we have been able to settle 19 land
claims and have also addressed 6 extensions of land already titled,
resulting in the doubling of Amerindian lands in just 4 years. In all
of these cases there were mutual agreements. If that is "dictatorship"
then Mr. Cheong has compiled his own dictionary. I should also note
that prior to this government, there was absolutely no consultation
with Amerindian communities on lands to be titled. Today this is a
pre-requisite to granting lands. Our indigenous brothers and sisters in
other parts of the world could only dream of such developments.

Mr Cheong questions why a request for 1000 square miles of land could
not be approved for Isseneru. Well the answer is simple; Guyana has a
total land mass of 83,000 square miles and there are over 125
Amerindian communities which comprise about 9.2% of the population. If
1000 square miles is granted to each community it is clear what the
math will be. I therefore submit that such a question is not only
irrational but shows that wisdom has eluded Mr Cheong.

Concerning the land granted to Kanashen (Gunns), this area was
described in the now repealed 1951 Amerindian Act as belonging to the
said named community. How the area was determined back then is not
clear but the community always regarded the area as belonging to them,
since in 1977 the government placed the description in law. The
PPP/Civic Government, responding to the request from the community
granted title to the community and for this we have no apology to make.

I will not comment on the other criticisms Mr Cheong has levelled
against the Amerindian Act and the government, except to say that in
August 2006 the Amerindians decided whether the Act (and the procedure
to deal with land) which was passed only six months earlier was good
for them. The results are known.

Yours faithfully,

Carolyn Rodrigues

Minister of Amerindian Affairs