APA maintains political neutrality despite Govt. accusing body of being in bed with Opposition

Feb 19, 2023 News

Kaieteur News – The Amerindians Peoples Association (APA) on Friday maintained that it is a politically neutral body despite statements made by both Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo and Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Nigel Dharamlall to the contrary.

On Friday, the APA in a press release said that it has taken keen note of the attack on the organisation by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo while addressing the Toshaos and other Indigenous Leaders at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (ACCC) on Wednesday.

The organisation said that the Vice President’s vilification of the APA is a continuation of the attacks by Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Nigel Dharamlall but it however remains resolute in its objective of ensuring that indigenous peoples’ rights are protected and respected by all.

According to APA, VP Jagdeo, like his Cabinet colleague Minister Dharamlall, repeatedly accused the APA of being in bed with the APNU (A Partnership for National Unity) and again, “we reiterate that the APA is a politically neutral organisation.”

The APA said that it has consistently encouraged support for the indigenous peoples of Guyana but remains firm that the principles of free, prior and informed consent [FPIC] must apply when engaging indigenous communities.

“In this regard, we observed that VP Jagdeo has recognised APA’s consistent calls for FPIC, and we encourage him to heed those calls. Additionally, the APA wishes to remind the Vice President that all of its suggestions at the level of the Low Carbon Development Strategy’s Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) were shot down,” the APA said.

On Wednesday, APA said it’s President Toshao Lemmel Thomas, took the Vice President to task and asked him to provide information on how the 15% of the carbon credit finance was decided upon, by whom and whether the 241 communities were involved.

Additionally, Toshao Thomas said that the indigenous peoples of Guyana are the protectors of the forest, and therefore deserve a larger share of the profits from the sale of carbon credits.

“We note that, in his usual style, VP Jagdeo dodged the questions asked by Toshao Thomas and continued his attack on the APA inferring that its only objective is to criticise the PPPC government,” APA noted.

As the organisation calls on the government to desist from spreading misinformation, it wishes to remind the Vice President that the organisation has a responsibility to monitor the policies and decisions that particularly affect the lives of indigenous peoples in Guyana and that it will continue to ensure that indigenous peoples are accurately informed of their rights and that such rights are respected.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Amerindians Peoples Association (APA), Bharrat Jagdeo, Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, Vice President

Latest News