Information Update
26 April 1997
SURINAME LICENSES ILLEGAL GARIMPEIROS: INDIGENOUS AND TRIBAL COMMUNITIES
SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES
Suriname once again demonstrates disregard for the rights and well being
of Indigenous peoples and Maroons and the environment. On 12 March 1997,
the Government of Suriname announced that it would begin registering
illegal Brazilian small-scale gold miners and issuing them permits to work
in Suriname for a fee of USD200.00. The President estimated that
approximately USD15,000.00 would be deposited by the garimpeiros in the
Central Bank due to this programme. In fact, in the next three days
approximately USD100,000.00 was deposited. Although this sum did not
exclusively come from illegal Brazilians - a fee of USD50.00 was charged
to illegal Surinamese and other miners - this sum represents an estimated
400-450 garimpeiros now licensed to work in Suriname. This number is
expected to rise dramatically in the near future as Brazilian miners head
for Suriname where they are able to work without being harassed by the
army and others in Brazil, French Guiana and Guyana.
The rationale behind registering and licensing small-scale miners is that
Suriname is incapable of monitoring and controlling their activities and,
therefore, the State should at least try to make some money from their
activities. What has been left out of the discussion, however, is that mining
activities take place exclusively in the ancestral lands and territories of
Indigenous peoples and Maroons in the forested interior of the country and
that they will suffer the consequences of increasing numbers of small-scale
miners. Ample evidence exists that attests to the devastation of Indigenous
and Tribal cultures and communities caused by small-scale miners. Diseases,
malnutrition, environmental degradation, violence, increased alcoholism,
prostitution and a break down in traditional authority and the fabric of
community life, among others, are all associated with the occupation of
Indigenous and Tribal lands by small-scale miners. In some areas of the
Guiana Shield, rivers have become so devastated and polluted by small-scale
miners that it is no longer possible to fish in them or even maneuver a
small canoe down them.
Paramacca Maroon communities on the border with French Guiana have already
complained of serious problems with garimpeiro operation's in their hunting
and agricultural lands. They report that a large group of garimpeiros
accompanied by armed guards have burned down camps used by local communities
and destroyed some of their agricultural plots. They say that the
communities are ready to fight with the garimpeiros, but will hold a meeting
first in order to decide the best approach for addressing the problem. This
community also has a problem with Parastatal mining company, Grassalco,
which was granted a concession on their land with out informing or
consulting with them, despite a promise from the former President of
Suriname to the traditional leader of the Paramacca people, Granman Levie,
that no concessions would be granted without his permission. Indigenous
communities in central Suriname have also reported malaria, where none
existed before, related to the arrival of garimpeiros.
As with decisions related to industrial mining, which is also increasing in
Suriname, Indigenous peoples and Maroons were not consulted about the
decision to license illegal miners. International human rights standards on
the rights of Indigenous and Tribal peoples require, at a minimum, that
Indigenous peoples be consulted about decisions that may affect their rights
and lives. This is also required under general human rights standards
accepted by Suriname.
The problems caused by licensing garimpeiros are further compounded by the
fact that Suriname does not legally recognize the land and resource rights
of Indigenous peoples and Maroons and maintains that the State is the sole
owner of both surface and subsurface land and resources. Also, despite
rhetoric about Indigenous rights, the Government appears unwilling to do
anything constructive on the subject, especially land rights which it views
as tantamount to separatism.
This failure to recognize Indigenous and Maroon rights and an active policy,
both in small-scale and industrial mining, of actively violating those
rights poses a serious threat to the continued cultural survival and
development of Indigenous peoples and Maroons. Suriname also has yet to
develop any environmental legislation and monitoring capacity is virtually
non-existent. While Suriname has tacitly, if not explicitly, admitted that
it is incapable of controlling small-scale miners, making short term profits
while acquiescing to the destruction of Indigenous peoples, Maroons and the
environment of the rainforest is clearly unacceptable.
For further information, please contact
Forest Peoples Programme
1c, Fosseway Business Centre
Stratford Road
Moreton-in-Marsh, GL56 9NQ
United Kingdom
Tel. 44. 1608. 652. 893. Fax. 44. 1608. 652. 878
Email : wrm@gn.apc.org
Forest Peoples Programme / World Rainforest Movement (UK Office)
1c Fosseway Business Center, Stratford Road, Moreton in Marsh, GL56 9NQ, UK
Tel: 44 (0)i608 652893 Fax: 44 (0) 1608 652878 Email: wrm@gn.apc.org
The World Rainforest Movement's International Secretariat is at:
Casilla de Correo 1539, Montevideo, Uruguay
Tel: 598 2 496192 Fax: 598 2 419222 Email: rcarrere@chasque.apc.org