APA lashes out at President over inaccuracies in Toshaos Conference address

Last Updated on Thursday, 22 August 2024, 9:23 by Writer

Flashback: The first National Toshaos Conference.

The Amerindian People’s Association (APA) on Wednesday assailed President Irfaan Ali for a number of misrepresentations and inaccuracies in his address to the opening of the 2024 National Toshaos Council (NTC) Conference.

In an address dotted with several implicit references to the APA and the political opposition, the President said his address was aimed at “factually” addressing several matters and claimed that the NTC was an accomplishment of his People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC). But the APA said his government or political party did not initiate the first National Toshaos Conference. In fact, it was the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) that supported the inaugural conference in 2003. The 2003 meeting was held in the Region Two community of Mainstay/Whayaka under the theme ‘Working Together for a Better Future’ and can be confirmed by members of the President’s political party – who were also leading members of the APA at the time. The first NTC meeting was also attended by then Minister of Amerindian Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues, and a simple fact-check by the President would have brought this to his attention. 

“The APA played a pivotal role in supporting the establishment of such a platform for Indigenous voices, a fact that should not be overlooked, as was done by the President in his attempt to rewrite the history of Indigenous Peoples’ development in Guyana,” the APA said. 

Instead, the APA said over the years, there has been increased government dominance on the NTC Conference agenda and Toshaos have been complaining about not having access to a draft agenda prior to the conference. “These complaints come from Toshaos, who sat on the Executive of the previous NTC, and those who are also on the current Executive,” the APA said. 

The APA said it saw this on Monday when Toshaos were given the agenda minutes before the afternoon session commenced and asked to adopt an agenda that only a few may have had access to and that they played no part in creating. That organisation recommended that the NTC put in place mandates and procedures free from political and other influences. These mandates and procedures should set out how the Conference should be structured and adopted by the entire NTC membership after careful review, the APA added. 

Over the last three days, the APA said it has seen the government lambast Toshaos for having differing opinions or questioning them, and to date there is a continued fight of our Indigenous Peoples to have their voices heard and recognized in the decision-making process. 

The APA also said the President was wrong when he stated that “no scholarships were awarded in Regions 1, 7, 8 and 9 prior to 1992.” “The APA also reminds President Ali that Indigenous Peoples were the beneficiaries of scholarships before 1992 and finds it disingenuous that he sought to erase all the strides made by Indigenous Peoples before the PPP/C took office in 1992. We advise the President to ensure that his addresses are not used to deliberately mislead and revise our country and peoples’ history in political campaigning,” that organisation said.

The APA, however, did not challenge most of the President’s statistics about land rights, the state of health, education, and electricity in Amerindian communities before and after 1992.

The APA also said President Ali and Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai launched an “attack” on traditional Indigenous leadership through the District Councils – whether formalized or not.

The APA said Indigenous Peoples have traditionally gathered as districts to manage and protect their territories. In that regard, the association said Ms Sukhai’s deeming the meeting of Indigenous Leaders in their territories as “operating under the banner of District Councils” is a slap in the face of their ancestors’ traditions and customs. “The Amerindian Act recognizes that Indigenous Peoples gather as Districts, and therefore, the inclusion of the gazetting of District Councils is merely a formality. Our peoples deserve to rightfully meet to discuss issues as our ancestors did without being deemed as illegal or masquerading by the government,” the APA added. 

Minister Sukhai, according to the APA, should have informed the NTC and President Ali that her Ministry has received applications from the Upper Mazaruni and North Pakaraimas to formally recognise their District Councils as provided for in Section 35 of the Amerindian Act. Those applications are lingering in the Ministry somewhere without any priority being attached to them. 

“We remind the Minister that the Amerindian Act outlines her functions for the recognition of District Councils and the criteria to be met for their establishment. We must add that political loyalty is not one of those conditions, therefore, why the reluctance? “