SRDC backs Chinese Landing, demands respect for Indigenous rights

(Kaieteur News) – The South Rupununi District Council (SRDC) has issued a statement extending its full solidarity to Toshao Nikita Miller, the village council, and the people of Chinese Landing/Tassawini in Region One even as the physical standoff to prevent heavy mining equipment from entering their ancestral territory has ended but the Village Council remains on high alert.

Characterising the confrontation as more than a localised issue, the council emphasised that the situation raises broader systemic concerns regarding Indigenous land rights, local authority, environmental protection, and the rule of law across Guyana. “What is happening in Chinese Landing is not simply an isolated community matter,” the SRDC stated. “It raises important questions concerning Indigenous land rights, community authority, environmental protection, consultation and consent, and the rule of law, issues that have wider implications for Indigenous communities across Guyana.” Highlighting their shared experiences with resource extraction disputes in Region Nine, the SRDC noted that its support stems from long-standing struggles to protect traditional lands, natural resources, environment, and traditional livelihoods, expressing solidarity with the people of Chinese Landing in light of the difficult circumstances in which they now find themselves.

The council rejected arguments that mining permits should automatically supersede community land titles. Pointing out that Chinese Landing has consistently maintained its lands were titled before the current disputed mining interests arose, the SRDC stressed that the legal status of the community’s lands must be given proper consideration.