Indigenous Communities Across Guyana Mount Unified Protests Demanding Action on Land Rights, Mining, and the MV Barima Disaster

By Antonio Dey | HGP Nightly News |

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — As national observances for Indigenous Heritage Month drew to a close on September 30, Indigenous Guyanese across multiple administrative regions transformed the final day of celebrations into a coordinated, nationwide demonstration of civic mobilization, demanding immediate executive action on ancestral land titling, environmental degradation from mining, and the deadly MV Barima maritime disaster.

Organized in coordination with the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA), peaceful pickets, marches, and village assemblies swept across hinterland communities in Region One (Barima-Waini) and Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

Protesters delivered a unified message to central authorities, insisting that state recognition must move beyond annual cultural symbolism to resolve protracted land rights violations, enforce the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), and deliver transparency over the July 18 ferry sinking that claimed dozens of hinterland lives.

Upper Mazaruni and Region 7: Pickets from Waramadong to Kangaruma

Across the Upper Mazaruni basin and adjacent waterways in Region Seven, multiple Amerindian settlements mobilized concurrent demonstrations:

• Waramadong Village: Residents joined forces with the APA to hold a peaceful protest focusing on two primary grievances: demanding full institutional accountability for the MV Barima disaster and calling for immediate regulatory solutions to escalating gold and diamond mining encroachments on ancestral lands.
• Phillipai: Villagers carried placards demanding the defense of communal water systems and natural habitats, rejecting top-down developmental decisions imposed without prior consultation.
• Kangaruma: Led by Toshao Raphael Joseph, residents turned out in large numbers to echo demands for transparency regarding the sunken MV Barima and voiced strong solidarity with the embattled Indigenous community of Chinese Landing.
• Kako Village: Community members assembled to demand stronger legal safeguards against river mining concessions that threaten downstream domestic water supplies.

“Protect our lands, forest, and water… speak to us first,” demonstrators chanted during the Phillipai procession.

“Justice and accountability in every sector… our heritage,” another demonstrator declared.

Region 1 Mobilization: Santa Rosa, Chinese Landing, and Tassawini

In Region One (Barima-Waini), the epicenter of several long-running land and human rights disputes, demonstrations engaged both grassroots residents and senior civil society leaders:

• Santa Rosa Demonstration: The APA Santa Rosa Unit staged a peaceful picket joined by members of the APA Central Executive. Protesters demanded answers from the Ministry of Public Utilities and Aviation regarding the delayed salvage of the MV Barima, while condemning the state’s slow enforcement of protections for Chinese Landing.
• Chinese Landing and Tassawini: Residents in both communities took to the streets to protest the ongoing impact of predatory mining concessions operating within and adjacent to titled village boundaries. Demonstrators called for the immediate, unconditional enforcement of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) precautionary measures issued in favor of Chinese Landing.
• Isseneru Legal Precedents: Protesters highlighted the ongoing boundary and mining conflicts in Isseneru (Region Seven), demanding legislative reform of the Amerindian Act 2006 to eliminate clauses that grant external miners precedence over ancestral village titles.

Demands for FPIC and Halting Uranium Exploration

Beyond gold and diamond concessions, demonstrators across the participating villages issued specific demands regarding emerging extractive projects and illegal mining corridors:

• Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC): Protesters reiterated that no state agency or multinational entity possesses the legal right to award mineral prospecting licenses over Indigenous territories without obtaining prior community consent.
• Halt to Uranium Mining: Demonstrators called for an immediate cessation of all uranium prospecting and mining operations impacting Indigenous ecosystems, warning against radiological contamination of hinterland waterways.
• Targeting Unregulated Mining: Rallies in Jawalla, Isseneru, and Chinese Landing called for the immediate expulsion of illegal mining camps that continue to operate with apparent impunity along protected riverbanks.
• MV Barima Disaster Accountability: Every demonstration highlighted the July 18 disaster, which heavily impacted hinterland commuters, uniting in calls for the hull to be refloated and the criminal prosecution of responsible parties to proceed without political interference.

Concluding the Heritage Month observances, Indigenous leaders affirmed that community mobilizations will continue until the government presents a clear schedule for ancestral land demarcation and tangible remedies for affected villages.