By Zena Henry A number of villagers from Isseneru,Jerseys NFL Cheap, in association with the Amerindian Peoples’ Association (APA), have expressed displeasure with the recent ruling of High Court Judge,?Diana Insanally, in favour of a miner Joan Chang conducting works in what they consider to be Amerindian ancestral lands. The Amerindians have seen the ruling as “an assault on our rights and way of life”, and have deemed the Amerindian Act 2006 as “a document with no power.”Isseneru executives Lewis and Dwight Larson (far right) with Toshaos and representatives of other concerned villages.At a press conference held at the Guyana Human Rights Association headquarters yesterday, villagers called on the Government to review the Amerindian Act, and to make the necessary amendments to strengthen and encompass a broader scope of rights for?the indigenous people. They also plan to host peaceful vigil and picket exercises in order to meaningfully show their dissatisfaction with the court’s ruling.The villagers brought to the fore, many incidents where they said they are contending with miners for areas given as titled lands. Currently, they said, many cases are before the courts and some which they have already lost are being appealed. Given these developments, they questioned what power they possess to control and monitor their lands, citing the negative implications the ruling may hold for Amerindians countrywide.“The implication here is that the rights of miners take precedence over the people who were there before, simply because one was granted their legal papers before the other. What then is the relevance of the constitution; Article 149G that says ‘Indigenous peoples shall have the right to protection,Cheap Jerseys From China, preservation and promulgation of their languages, cultural heritage and way of life?’” Isseneru Village Councilor and Secretary, Dwight Larson asked.The Isseneru villagers said that they received their land title from the government in 2007. The land was, however, much smaller than what they had applied for and considered as traditional lands. About three months after receiving the title,Wholesale Cheap Jerseys, they said it became clear that the officially recognised land was not in effect theirs, since miners started making claims to carry out their activities.They said that in 2008, when they tried to negotiate with another miner, “We were taken to court, and in late 2008 a decision was made stating that we did not have the right to stop the mining activity. Isseneru appealed the matter, but it is still pending in court and the miner is still carrying on mining on our lands.”After the issues experienced by the villagers, they said the government demarcated their land in 2010 and a Certificate of Title was given, but the mining problems persisted.“We sent letters to the Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment and the Minister of Amerindian Affairs about our concerns and arranged a meeting in Isseneru which they attended, together with the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the Environmental Protection Agency and the Lands and Surveys Commission. The response was that the Ministers would look into the matter,NFL Jerseys Cheap Authentic, but we never received word back. As a next step, we addressed the GGMC in order to have a cease work order issued towards the miner, Joan Chang. This was done – twice – but as a result, Chang chose to take both our Village Council and the GGMC to court.”“We are deeply disappointed and worried with this ruling and what it means to our village and to Amerindian communities in general. On the ground it has serious environmental and social impacts for us. The miners have,Wholesale Basketball Jerseys, for example, brought with them problems related to drugs and prostitution. At the higher level, we feel that when the High Court tells us that we have no rights to decide and control what takes place on our land, then the land is not ours. Why has the government given us this land when it has already given the same land to someone else? Just Friday, when inquiring at the office of the GGMC, we learnt that our whole land is covered with mining concessions. Yet,Cheap NHL Jerseys, the government has not informed us about this,” the community members asserted.They opined that with the existing Act, Amerindians’ way of life is at risk as they depend wholly on the land for survival.The Amerindian Peoples’ Association (APA) has also highlighted its disappointment towards the court ruling and by extension, the treatment of Amerindians in connection to the rights given by the Amerindian Act.Several members from various Amerindian villages were a

A draft Code of Conduct that will determine how ministers and public servants behave while in office is to be released for the input of all Guyanese,Jerseys NFL Wholesale, Government announced yesterday.According to Minister of Governance,cheap nfl jerseys online, Raphael Trotman,Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, the draft document has been completed but will not be adopted until it has been made public.Questioned about the code yesterday, during the post-Cabinet press briefing at the Ministry of the Presidency, the Minister said that Government is aware that there will be harsh criticisms but rather than being accused of legislating itself, the administration preferred to take the correct route.“We believe it should be opened up for public comment, criticism, critique and to be distilled and refined. Hopefully,Alejandro Gomez Jersey, coming out of it we get a stronger document.We (the administration) thought it would be better to share it because failure to do so means you will be legislating for yourself and you run the risk of a natural bias to lessen harshness, and being accused of doing just that,Wholesale Jerseys China,” Minister Trotman explained.It is hoped that within a few weeks the document will be refined. Trotman said that already, members of Cabinet stand bound by the contents even though it has not yet been ratified in a public way.The code of conduct was announced in late July, weeks after the new administration took office.It will be used as a guide for not only Ministers and Members of Parliament (MPs), but also for holders of public office.The code of conduct will address issues of transparency and corruption,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, misconduct in public office and bribe taking.Over the years, the behaviour of public officials has attracted very little action or sanction despite persistent allegations.The new administration had vowed to pass laws that ensure sanctions against guilty persons.The Ministry of Governance had been looking at best practices that prevail in countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and even Africa.The regulations will be adjusted to fit the Guyana situation.

– forced to borrow from SurinameThe local health sector is currently being rocked by a shortage of antiretroviral drugs, intended to treat persons infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).Health Minister,Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, confirmed this yesterday, but cautioned that everything is being done to address the potentially catastrophic situation. He anticipates that the Ministry will be able to receive its regular supply by Thursday.According to the Minister, the problem is a countrywide one, but resulted through no fault of Ministry of Health officials. The Ministry has never faced such a problem before and usually receives its antiretroviral stock from Europe in a timely manner, as per order.However, the situation, the Dr. Ramsammy said, stemmed from a shipment problem which resulted in only one type of HIV drug arriving as at the last arrival date,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, about two weeks ago.The health sector currently has sufficient supply of Truvada, but did not receive another drug Efavirenz, which is recommended to treat some patients whose condition requires that they be treated with a cocktail comprising two pills.As such, the Minister asserted that not all of the patients would be affected by the shortage of the drug, but rather those required to use a combination of pills.Tenofovir/emtricitabine trademark Truvada, is a fixed dose combination of two antiretroviral drugs used for the treatment of HIV. It consists of 300 milligrams of tenofovir and 200 milligrams of emtricitabine. By combining the two agents into one tablet, it reduces the pill burden and increases compliance with antiretroviral therapy.Efavirenz combined with the popular HIV medication Truvada, consists of tenofovir and emtricitabine, all of which are reverse transcriptase inhibitors. This combination of three medications was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in July 2006 under the brand name Atripla and provides Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) in a single potion taken once a day. It results in a simplified drug regimen for many patients.“For some patients we have a part of their medication but we know that this is a serious thing but, hopefully, it will not be for long,” the Minister noted.In recognition of the problem, the Ministry had sought assistance from Suriname and was able to borrow a quantity of the much needed Efavirenz to alleviate the situation. That stock is however currently close to being depleted,cheap jerseys from china, according to the Minister. As a result, some patients are only being offered part of the recommended treatment.“This means that if we don’t have both within a few days we could have a bit of a problem because it is never good to have an interruption. We are hoping that in the next day or two that we can get some more drugs.”According to Dr. Ramsammy, the Ministry is expected to receive assistance shortly from Jamaica or Haiti, to help address the situation. He revealed that although Guyana is scheduled to receive its own stock in a few days’ time, he does not intend to take the chance of waiting on that shipment given the possibility of further prevailing problems.“Persons have asked why borrow more drugs, but I don’t want to wait,Cheap Jerseys For Sale, people’s lives are involved here and I don’t want to take that chance of waiting…Two weeks ago our shipment was supposed to be here, so we really can’t take chances. In addition, we are borrowing, and so we will have to send back when we do get our own supply,” the Minister asserted.Guyana has never experienced a problem with its antiretroviral supply. The Minister attributed this shortfall to the fact that more people are being placed on medication. In order to prevent another such occurrence, the Minister said that the Ministry would seek to reorganise its reorder time as shipment issues are always possible.Meanwhile, the National AIDS Committee in a statement last evening revealed that it has recently received complaints from persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) over the shortage of the two main HIV antiviral (antiretroviral) drugs used in the combination therapy provided by the National Care & Treatment Centre clinic.The clinic mainly services PLWHAs in Region Four (Georgetown, East Coast & East Bank Demerara) along with those Regions without counselling, testing and treatment sites.The NAC understands that these drugs (Truvada & Efavirenz) are due in the country within the next week or two, and has been advising PLWHAs to continue visiting or phoning in to the clinic for updates, as well as seeking assistance from other PLWHAs who may have extra drugs to carry them over this period.The NAC is also encouraging