Address: 121 Regent Rd., Bourda, Georgetown, Guyana Tel. Nos.: 592-227-7848/ 592-227-7554/ 592-226-0371 E-mail: apnuguyana@gmail.

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PRESS STATEMENT

SUMMARY: A.P.N.U. is convinced that the Indigenous peoples should be empowered to exercise control over developments affecting their livelihoods, lands, territory and resources; A.P.N.U.-led Government of National Unity will implement policies which are designed to enhance the dignity of the Peoples of the Hinterland by developing and sustaining a vibrant hinterland agricultural programme.

POLICY OBJECTIVES OF A.P.N.U. FOR THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF GUYANA A Partnership for National Unity (A.P.N.U.) recognizes the national need to respect and promote the rights of the Indigenous peoples of Guyana, which derive from their political, economic and social structures, as well as from their cultural and spiritual traditions, history and philosophies. These rights include rights to their lands, territory and resources. A.P.N.U. supports and welcomes the fact that the Guyanese Indigenous Peoples are organizing themselves for their political, economic, social and cultural enhancement, in order to bring to an end to all forms of discrimination and oppression against them. A.P.N.U. is convinced that the Indigenous peoples should be empowered to exercise control over developments affecting their livelihoods, lands, territory and resources. In that respect, they should be fully responsible for the strengthening of their institutions and the advancement and promotion of their cultures and traditions. The Partnership recognises that their knowledge, cultures and traditional practices should be respected, particularly practices which contribute to the environmentally sustainable development of their resources. A.P.N.U. will promote and support the right of the Indigenous family and communities to be responsible for the upbringing, training, education and well-being of their children, consistent with the recognition of the rights of the child. Accordingly, an A.P.N.U.-led Government of National Unity will pursue policies which ensure that the Indigenous Peoples and individuals: Are free and equal to all other peoples; Do not suffer any forms of discrimination in the exercise of their rights; Have the right to self-determination of their political, economic, social and cultural development; Are not subjected to forced assimilation or destruction of their culture. In that regard, the Government will establish effective mechanisms to prevent and provide redress for 1

any action which is intended to deprive them of their identity as distinct people, or of their cultural values or ethnicity; Are not forcibly removed from their lands or territory. No relocation shall take place without the free, prior and informed consent of the Indigenous Peoples concerned and only after agreement on just and fair compensation and, where possible, with the option of return; Have the right to practice, revitalize, teach, protect and develop the past, present and future manifestations of their spiritual and religious traditions, customs and ceremonies and have access in privacy to their religious and cultural sites and the use and control of their ceremonial objects; Have the right to revitalize, use, develop and transmit to future generations their history, languages and oral traditions, including the designation and retention of their own names for communities, places and persons; Adequate interpretation and other appropriate services are made available to facilitate effective participation in political, legal and administrative proceedings; Have the right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions, including providing teaching in their own languages and in manners that are appropriate to their own cultural methods of teaching and learning. Are consulted and supported to take specific measures to protect Indigenous children from economic exploitation; from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or interfere with their education or harmful to their health, or to their physical, mental, spiritual, moral, or social development; Have the right to participate in any decisions that affect their rights, through representatives chosen by themselves, in accordance with their own procedures; Have the right, without discrimination, to the improvement of their economic and social conditions, including, inter alia, in the area of education, employment, vocational training, housing, sanitation, health and social security; Have the right to their traditional medicines and to maintain their health practices, including the conservation of their vital medical plants, animals and minerals; Have equal rights to access the highest attainable standard of social services and physical and mental health services; Have the right to the lands, territory and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired. The state shall give legal recognition and protection to these lands, territory and resources with due respect for their customs and traditions; Have the right to redress, by means that can include restitution or, when this is not possible, just, fair and equitable compensation, for the land, territory and resources that have been confiscated, taken, occupied, used or damaged without their free, prior and informed consent; and Are consulted and that there is cooperation, in good faith, through their own representatives, to obtain their informed consent, prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territory and other resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, water or other resources.

HINTERLAND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY OF A.P.N.U The Hinterland Agricultural Development Policy of A.P.N.U. includes building and sustaining vibrant region-specific agricultural systems to ensure Food and Nutrition Security for all communities and exports, where feasible. All stakeholders will be involved in the necessary Strategic Planning and Execution to ensure success. The hinterland regions of Guyana (Regions 1, 7, 8, 9 and 10) cover 164,740 km2, 76.62 % of the countrys land mass. The population therein are mostly Amerindians. Population density is extremely low, ranging from 0.3 persons/km2 in Region 7 (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), to 2.1 persons/km2, in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice). 2

Traditionally, Indigenous Peoples met their food needs through subsistence agriculture (mainly cassava), hunting and fishing. In recent years, however, with the upsurge in mining and, to a lesser extent, logging, contiguous to many of their communities, these traditional food sources have been severely compromised by environmental degradation and habitat loss. To compound matters, young men have been leaving the villages for jobs in mining and forestry. The result has been an insidious growth in the levels of gnawing and debilitating human deprivation, especially in the villages and communities more distant from the Regional Centres. A.P.N.U.-led Government of National Unity will implement policies which are designed to enhance the dignity of the Peoples of the Hinterland by developing and sustaining a vibrant hinterland agricultural programme. The over-riding objective of A.P.N.U. policies would be the attainment of Food and Nutrition Security for all communities through: The promotion of environmentally sensitive food production systems, based on agricultural diversification, enhanced water management and efficient land use; The establishment of well-resourced institutional and extension services to facilitate technology adoption by individual farmers and farming groups; Facilitating credit for individuals and groups with limited collateral; Facilitating the acquisition of appropriate types of machinery and equipment for various conditions and levels of production; and Enhancing marketing arrangements for commercial-level producers of primary and value-added products. The Main Region Specific Initiatives In Regions 1, 7 and 8 the focus will be on community-level integrated crop and small animal production systems aimed at the continual availability of a variety of foods so as to improve the health and nutrition of the people. Some areas of Region 1 are capable of sustained yields from orchard crops, such as citrus, avocado, coffee, oil palm, Minica, Black-eye and other legumes and ground provisions. Region1 is also the main source for the heart of palm, harvested from the Manicole palm, which has been channelled, by Amazon Caribbean (Guyana) Ltd. (Amcar), into a thriving export business. In the villages of Region 8 where the production of exotic food crops, such as carrots, white potatoes, onions, turmeric, etc. was successfully undertaken during 1972-76, such production will be resuscitated and expanded to cater for the national and CARICOM markets. The Government of National Unity, to ensure sustainability and economic success, will ensure the establishment of appropriate processing and packaging facilities so as to facilitate transportation of produce and improved incomes for residents. In Region 9, the Moco Moco valley straddles the Moco Moco River and the Nappi valley straddles the Nappi River. Both valleys consist of about 7,570 hectares. About 70% of the soils of both areas consist of good to moderately good agricultural land. They are suitable for a wide range of crops, such as citrus, avocado, peanut, carrots, eschallot, onions, cabbages, corn, hot and sweet pepper, tomato, ground provision and sugar-cane. Traditional beef cattle rearing will be put on a scientific footing to take advantage of the international demand for organic beef, while the nascent sheep and goat rearing enterprises will be strengthened to address dietary animal protein needs of villagers, in the first instance, as flocks are built up to meet the significant local and CARICOM demands for sheep and goat meats.

A coherent programme will be implemented to ensure the numerous dispersed communities in the Region benefit from the modern technologies employed on the commercial farms. A.P.N.U. will institute policies which encourage local, Brazilian and CARICOM investors to develop the agricultural potential of this region. In Region 10, A.P.N.U.-led Government of National Unity will ensure that the Intermediate Savannahs, long touted as the next frontier for agricultural development, are effectively utilized for integrated, industrial-level crop and livestock enterprises. A suitable programme of infrastructure development and incentives will be implemented to encourage local and other entrepreneurs to utilize these lands for producing substantial portions of the CARICOM food needs, grain and other concentrate feeds for the local animal production sector. A modern Agricultural Research and Development Complex, for livestock and crops research, will be established to undertake research that will include addressing the production concerns of the small and medium scale operators who do not have the resources to conduct their own onfarm research and technological innovations. A.P.N.U. is fully aware that the achievement of these objectives is predicated on the adoption of new technologies by individuals and communities who have not, for the most part, been in the mainstream of modern, commercial agriculture. Therefore, the programme will include the continual training and development of a cadre of local residents, especially youths. A PARTNERSHIP FOR NATIONAL UNITY (A.P.N.U.) Georgetown Guyana Monday, 26th September 2011