Dozens of Chenapau villagers on Saturday protested their removal by the GGMC from near the Kaieteur National Park (KNP) where they said they had been granted permission to mine.
The incident occurred when several police ranks, accompanied by the chief warden of the parks and officers of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) visited the Potaro-Siparuni community and informed the residents that they were mining within a protected area and as such, must leave the site or face legal consequences.
According to villagers, they were told that the armed ranks of close to a dozen men were acting on behalf of the GGMC and the Ministry of Natural Resources. However, the villagers countered that they were mining in the buffer zone which is also earmarked as land to be used for mining in accordance with the Amerindian Act.
