LATIN AMERICA SPECIAL — Encroachment on Guyanese lands to be

The local gold and diamond miners association has warmly greeted news that the government is finally going to address the problem of encroachment on Guyanese lands by miners from neighboring countries.

“We are very happy something is being done,” said Tony Shields, the executive secretary of the miners body. “This is nothing new because we have been complaining all the time.”

Local newspaper reports quoted Amerindian Affairs Minister Vibert Desouza as saying he would be touring the areas bordering Venezuela where there have been reports of encroachment.

But the majority of complaints have come from the areas bordering Brazil where, for the past six years, Brazilian gold miners are reported to have been mining for minerals on the Guyana side.

The situation reached alarming proportions in 1987 when the army was forced to send in a small team to chase back the Brazilians from the border village of Arnik, where there had been several clashes between Brazilian and Guyanese miners.

Several people have died in the skirmishes.

The gold and diamond miners association estimates that up to 4,000 Brazilians are mining at Arnik and in the more organized Madhia area, panning about 20,000 oz. of gold per year. “That is a minimum estimate,” Shields said. The poachers, according to Shields, have a big advantage over Guyanese miners because they are not forced to adhere to local mining and environmental regulations.

“They observe no environmental or sanitary regulations and they use banned equipment and chemicals, such as cyanide,” he said. “Most of them have come over here because the Brazilian government has chased them out for deforestation and (misuse of) chemicals.”

An overland route is being built to link the two countries. When completed, the 338-km Guyana/Brazil road will link central Guyana with the northern Roraima territory. It is expected to boost trade between the two countries and the Caribbean region.

Phase One has been completed, but the second and final phase is being held up over International Monetary Fund (IMF) restrictions on spending for the project. Construction is expected to cost about $30 million. — From Inter Press Service.