Baishanlin says seizure of vehicles violates Guyana-China pact

The GRA vehicles being seized in April

Attorneys for controversial Chinese logging firm Baishanlin have written to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) seeking the return of vehicles seized in April and have accused Georgetown of breaching treaty obligations with China.

The company has accused the David Granger administration of seeking to “cripple” its investment in Guyana and said its actions were “unlawful.” Baishanlin wants Georgetown and Beijing to open discussions with a view to resolving the issue under the ‘Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Guyana and the Government of China on the Promotion and Protection of Investments’ which was inked between the two countries in March 2003. Up to press time, there was no reaction from the Granger administration on the Baishanlin letters.

Meantime, the letters signed by attorney C.V. Satram, also revealed that the investment agreement under which Baishanlin received billions of dollars in concessions but failed to fulfill major commitments, was renewed by the PPP/C administration in January last year for a