GHRA says COVID-19 threat from Brazil has to be taken more seriously

The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) says the COVID-19 threat from Brazil requires more serious action and it wants mining and mining-related activities to be removed from the list of essential services which are exempt from restrictions to fight the virus.

According to a GHRA release yesterday, the Association welcomes the decision taken by the Region Nine Covid-19 Health Emergency Committee to further reduce movement in the South Rupununi, adding that because of the “resolute action” taken by the Toshaos in the South, the national authorities are beginning to acknowledge the “seriousness” of the situation.

The GHRA acknowledges that this realization has its origins in the stand-off between the communities and the authorities over miners being prevented from transiting the communities en route to their mine sites. It referred to an incident last Sunday where a truck driver/miner forced his way through checkpoints on the basis of being given permission by the Regional Executive Officer (REO) and the Lethem police. Therefore the Association sees the decisions taken at yesterday’s meeting as a tacit acknowledgement of the legal authority of Toshaos and Village Councils to determine who should access their communities.

With regard to Sunday’s incident, the Association informed that the Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Nine had acknowledged issuing passes to facilitate truck-drivers avoiding the curfew and he had criticized the Toshaos for exceeding their authority. Although the REO is reported as stating that such letters were only issued to persons in possession of a prior letter issued by ‘either the Ministry of Natural Resources or Guyana Geology & Mines Commission (GGMC)’, the Association states that senior spokespersons in the Ministry were unaware of any such letters having been written.

The action of the Toshaos, the GHRA says, is hopefully setting the pace for the COVID-19 Task Force to adopt a far more “stringent” approach to the problem of Brazil being the most vulnerable and porous route for a major COVID-19 invasion of Guyana. It pointed out what it refers to as the Bolsonaro Government’s irresponsible behaviour in dismissing the virus as a “slight flu” which has elevated Brazilian death rates to be the seventh highest in the world - a current average of 1000-plus per day - with Manaus an epicentre

Also addressed was the ease with which persons can cross the Takutu River and enter Guyana despite the border being officially closed, suggestive of a security problem that is still being addressed “in a reactive, rather than pro-active manner.” As with its initial response to the Toshaos, the Association feels that the authorities needed the “stimulus of the COVIDinfected Brazilian,” who passed through many communities, before taking action. It also sees it as noteworthy that the police in Lethem have warned they will start to prosecute people who break curfew. However, the Association argues that if the intention is to enforce lawful behaviour then it begs the question - why not bring legal charges against miners and the COVID-infected person, who reportedly was tested positive in Brazil then visited a string of villages in Guyana?

As far as the Association is concerned, the vulnerability of indigenous communities to the COVID-19 virus cannot be overstated, but contends that should the virus really take hold in the Rupununi, it will then definitely spread to the entire country. Therefore the call from the Chairman of Region Nine for a complete lockdown of Lethem from coastal contact reflects the only “realistic” strategy.

The GHRA also contends that the controversial issue of mining being declared an “essential service” is at the centre of the entire issue. It notes that many ordinary Guyanese are struggling to provide for their families while abiding by the lockdown “while miners who are driving 500 miles through Amerindian communities, putting many people at serious risk en route,” is considered an essential activity. It is this kind of contradiction, the Association says that discredits the official anti-COVID-19 strategy, fosters indignation, and needs to be addressed urgently.

According to the Association, the way out of this dilemma is to remove mining and mining-related activities from the list of Essential Services which are exempt from Covid-19 restrictions. The GHRA called on the COVID-19 Task Force to take immediate steps to address all of the issues which have surfaced in Region Nine, and in particular: remove mining and all mining-related activities from the list of ‘Essential Services’; significantly increase security at border crossings across Regions Eight and Nine; and lay charges against persons whose behaviour recklessly and knowingly infect others.