En Guyana elaboran proyecto de Ley para corregir deficiencias sobre la Ley de Límites Marítimos de 1977

Tomado de:
Bill to cover gaps in maritime zones law sent to select committee

http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/stories/10/31/bill-to-cover-gaps-in-maritime-zones-law-sent-to-select-committee/


By Stabroek staff October 31, 2009 in Local News

The Maritime Zones Bill 2009, which is intended to address some of the shortcomings in the Maritime Boundaries Act of 1977 and elaborates on the Continental Shelf and other areas, was on Thursday sent to a special select committee.


Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett
After being read for a second time, the piece of legislation was sent for further deliberations following requests from opposition parties.

The Alliance For Change (AFC) and GAP/ROAR had written to Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett requesting that the bill be sent to a select committee given the importance of the legislation. Previously, the main opposition, the PNCR-1G, had written to PPP/C MP Gail Teixeira with a similar request.


The party was, however, absent from Thursday’s sitting; boycotting for the second consecutive week. Rodrigues-Birkett chided the PNCR for its absence and stated that the party should have been present to publicly state its position on the Bill.


AFC Leader Raphael Trotman told the House that the issues were of national importance and serious enough to warrant the participation of his party. According to him, “the issues have grave ramifications for both domestic and international legal and other concerns.”


The foreign minister said the piece of legislation is one of several brought to the House in recent times “to replace and update outdated and archaic laws with modern laws.” She stated that several years ago, as the country attempted to safeguard its rights in the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone, it became apparent that the legislation relating to rights and obligations pursuant to the provisions of the United Nation’s Convention on the Law of the Sea, needed to be updated.


Rodrigues-Birkett noted that the current Maritime Boundaries Act has been in existence since 1977 and pre-dates the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which came into existence in 1982.


She said the bill was imperative if Guyana is to safeguard its rights.

Rodrigues-Birkett said that in addition to the implementation of UNCLOS, the new act will enable Guyana to meet international obligations and secure rights under any of the other agreements regarding UNCLOS, which the country is a party to or will become a party to.


The bill “attempts to address all issues related to the maritime zones within which Guyana’s jurisdiction is to be respected and the conditions for the creation of these zones,” the minister said. She pointed out that the bill addresses more than simply boundaries hence the change of the name of the bill; replacing the word boundaries with zones. She also explained that the bill excludes the issue of fishery zones relative to the exclusive economic zone and this is governed by the Fisheries Act.


Addressed in the bill, are maritime zones and issues such as the territorial sea, internal waters, innocent passage, the contiguous zone, the continental shelf, the exclusive economic zone, delimitation of maritime boundaries, charts and geographical coordinates, marine scientific research and maritime cultural areas. It also addresses eco-tourism, marine parks and reserves and mariculture and the protection and preservation of the marine environment.


Significantly, Clause 35 of the bill provides that “delimitation of the boundaries of the territorial seas between any state opposite or adjacent to Guyana shall be by agreement between Guyana and that state and failing agreement, neither of the two states is entitled to extend its territorial seas beyond the median line.” Every point of this median line is “equidistant from the nearest points on the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial seas of each of the two states is measured.” However, “where it is necessary by reason of historic title or other special circumstances to delimit the territorial sea of Guyana and that other state in a way which is at variance with this method, the method shall not apply.”


Under clause 36, “delimitation of the boundaries of the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zone between any state opposite or adjacent to Guyana shall be by agreement between Guyana and that state on the basis of international law, as referred to in Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, in order to achieve an equitable solution.” Clause 37 provides for the settlement of disputes according to Part XV of the Convention (UNCLOS), if no agreement on delimitation can be reached.


The bill also addresses Guyana’s right to regulate with respect to underwater cultural heritage, enabling it to clearly claim ownership of cultural maritime heritage, historic wrecks and objects of archaeological value.


Transport and Hydraulics Minister Robeson Benn opined that the bill presented “a comprehensive framework which takes care of all the aspects in bringing our issues in the maritime zone”. He further stated that the bill will make the country more secure on both sides of our borders to the west and east in the maritime space with regard to the exploitation of mineral resources.


Benn also said that the bill will ensure that sanctions, when applied, will be done in a judicious manner.Prime Minister Samuel Hinds said that the bill was important and in some aspects served to address technological advancements. Speaking about the impact that the bill would have on the Guyana Geology and Mines Commis-sion (GGMC), he noted that the extension of the continental shelf would be extremely beneficial to this body.


Culture Minister Dr Frank Anthony also spoke on the bill and he commended it as a positive development which could be a boost to the cultural resources of the country.


Nota del editor del blog: Al referenciarse a la República Cooperativa de Guyana se deben de tener en cuenta los 159.500Km2, de territorios ubicados al oeste del río Esequibo conocidos con el nombre de Guayana Esequiba o Zona en Reclamación sujetos al Acuerdo de Ginebra del 17 de febrero de 1966.


Territorios estos sobre los cuales el gobierno Venezolano en representación de la Nación venezolana se reservo sus derechos sobre los territorios de la Guayana Esequiba en su nota del 26 de mayo de 1966 al reconocerse al nuevo Estado de Guyana .
“...por lo tanto, Venezuela reconoce como territorio del nuevo Estado, el que se sitúa al este de la margen derecha del río Esequibo y reitera ante la comunidad internacional, que se reserva expresamente sus derechos de soberanía territorial sobre la zona que se encuentra en la margen izquierda del precitado río; en consecuencia, el territorio de la Guayana Esequiba sobre el cual Venezuela se reserva expresamente sus derechos soberanos, limita al Este con el nuevo Estado de Guyana, a través de la línea del río Esequibo, tomando éste desde su nacimiento hasta su desembocadura en el Océano Atlántico...”

El Gobierno de Venezuela en representación de la Nación venezolana mediante Decreto Presidencial No 1152 del 9 de julio de 1968. Se reserva los derechos al frente de las costas de la Guayana Esequiba, que para ese entonces y actualmente detentan los guyaneses. En vista de que el Estado venezolano fijaba su Mar Territorial en doce millas, mientras que el de Guyana lo fijaba en tres.

El puente sobre el río Tucutù un riesgo para el tráfico de armas drogas y estupefacientes

Tomado de:

Takutu Bridge poses gun, drug risk – police

http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/stories/10/31/62284/



By Oluatoyin Alleyne October 31, 2009 in Local News


Murders down
Though elated that murders are down, the police say there is a serious threat that more guns and cocaine may be smuggled into Guyana with the recent opening of the Takutu Bridge that links with Brazil.

Seelall Persaud
Criminals posing as tradesmen may now look to use that route to ply their trade, according to Crime Chief Seelall Persaud.


Persaud yesterday at a press conference said that the bridge coupled with a warehouse that is expected to be built at Linden, poses a serious “threat” but he believes with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) soon to acquire a container scanner the force would be able to control the flow of cocaine and guns entering and going out of the country via that route.


And the country’s top crime fighter referred to the recent signing on by Guyana to the US initiative in partnership with the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to facilitate the electronic tracing of illicit firearms under a system called eTrace, which he said the country would soon have access to.


He said this would assist Guyana to further investigate firearms not only on the local front but also internationally to ascertain among other things whether the firearm was involved in any crime of organised movement in the producing countries.


Persaud revealed that there has been a decrease in the seizure of firearms this year compared to last year. While 112 were seized last year only 79 have been confiscated for the same period this year.


Another threat facing the country, according to the crime chief, is the anti-government types of crime as he pointed out that while the force has arrested those who were physically involved in the Ministry of Health fire those who planned the incident are still at large.


Decrease in murder
Meanwhile, the country has seen a thirty percent decrease in murder for this period compared to the figures last year with the Guyana Police Force solving more than half of the murders committed.


And while the decrease in murders may more than likely be due to the fact that last year massacres were committed at Lusignan, Bartica and Lindo Creek, Persaud still played up what he called the success of the force in slashing murders from 136 to 95 for the same period last year.


Presenting the crime statistics for the year yesterday at the Police Officers’ Mess, Eve Leary, Persaud, who is also an assistant commissioner of police, called on the media and members of the public to be balanced in their analysis of the force and to give the force their due when it is deserved and not only focus on the negatives.


He was joined in this regard by Commissioner of Police Henry Greene who said the force’s success was due mainly to “crime intelligence” which has become the force’s main focus. The commissioner said that many of the ranks who were in the Special Branch Unit of the force have been taken out to work in crime intelligence which has seen the force having “greater and greater success” with support from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).


Rogue elements
He took issue with the force being accused of having rogue elements and challenged anyone to bring the rogue cops to the force’s top brass. He said for the year more than 80 policemen have been placed before the courts in relation to corruption and other charges.


And out of the 95 murders 31 were as a result of “disorderly behaviour, 22 were committed in domestic disputes, 16 during the commission of robberies, two were execution-style killings while the police deemed 23 as “unknown’ as Persaud said that they are yet to determine the motives and one murder was listed as “other”.


As has been the trend in the past, ‘A’ Division, which is Georgetown and its environs, accounted for the largest number of murders, 30 being the number in the ‘E&F’ Division, Linden and interior locations, with ‘D’ Division, West Coast and West Bank areas following with 18 murders each.


Persaud pointed out that there has been a “significant” decrease in execution-type murders while there has been an increase in robbery-related murders.


69.5% murders solved
The assistant commissioner said that the police have solved 69.5% of the murders committed and at this point he called for a balanced analysis of the entity.“I wish to state here that the police force is part of society, we live here, our children go to school here just like everyone else. Our work depends a whole lot on cooperation from other members of the society and people’s behaviour are influenced by perception… Perception is formed by information and a lot of the information that society has access to is what the media put out,” Persaud said.


He called on the media to publish balanced reports about the force and listed a recent article in this newspaper which spoke about unsolved murders as a report that is not balanced since the article did not mention the murders that were solved.


According to Persaud the article sought to present a picture of “hopelessness” and that the force “just can’t deal with murders.”


“Sixty-nine point five percent is high by any standard in any part of the world,” Persaud posited.


Continuing to plug the force’s success, Persaud said ranks arrested three of the persons who were members of the now dead Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlins gang, adding that there are still elements out there who still pose a threat and they also have to face justice for the crimes they have committed.


Robberies
And Persaud said there has been a decrease in gun robberies from 698 to 513 for the same period last year and this year there has been a small increase from 223 to 233 of robberies committed with other instruments. Out of those numbers 206 of the robberies were committed on the streets, 118 in homes, 116 at business places, 54 were of vehicle occupants and nine were committed on the river.


He said the majority of the crimes are committed in Georgetown and its environs and whenever there is “tight control” in this area there will be an impact on the national figures.


Persaud is of the opinion that the quick response of the police which saw all the perpetrators of last year’s GuySuCo payroll robbery being nabbed has put a “dent on organised type of robberies that were occurring.” He said coming out of that robbery the police have maintained river patrols and this has also seen the reduction in robberies committed.


Impacted
“The patrols, quick responses have impacted, crime intelligence [has seen] a lot of wanted persons, a lot of persons involved in these robberies [arrested], information were picked up and acted upon and we were able to dismantle quite a few of these groups…,” Persaud said.


Patrols by community policing groups have also had an impact on the success of the force.


Persaud again cited this newspaper as an example for what he termed as unbalanced reporting, referring to an October 20 editorial that dealt with the number of robberies being committed but which did not mention that the persons were arrested and charged in relation to some of the robberies committed.


A major success for the force was also the arrest of gang members in Berbice. Persaud said the men “worked legitimately by day and then in the nights they pick up guns and they rob people. They would go with cast nets and fish baskets so they put the guns to lie when they see people coming… They were able to successfully operate for a while before they were arrested.”


Two members of a group on the East Bank of Demerara were also arrested and placed before the court by the police.


Persaud briefly mentioned the Island Princess investigation, which has seen the gutted bodies of three of its crew members being found in the river and the vessel ending up in Grenada, but he said because the investigation “is current, it is hot,” he would not say too much.


Drugs
Touching on drugs Persaud noted that most of the marijuana on the market is being grown in Guyana and consumed locally while cocaine is mostly in Guyana for transshipment with a small amount being converted to crack. He said there is no information on heroin being used in Guyana and so all of it is just transshipped through Guyana.


There are several routes through which the cocaine is transshipped with Venezuela being the main transshipment point.


For the year the police have destroyed some 176,373 kilogrammes of marijuana compared to 33,679.86 kilogrammes being destroyed last year and Persaud said the increase is due mainly to joint services cooperation.There has also been an increase in cocaine seizures on the streets by the police with 22.107 kilogrammes being seized this year as compared to the 9.686 kilogrammes seized last year. One hundred and nineteen persons were charged with trafficking in cocaine this year compared to 90 charged last year.

Nota del editor del blog: Al referenciarse a la República Cooperativa de Guyana se deben de tener en cuenta los 159.500Km2, de territorios ubicados al oeste del río Esequibo conocidos con el nombre de Guayana Esequiba o Zona en Reclamación sujetos al Acuerdo de Ginebra del 17 de febrero de 1966.


Territorios estos sobre los cuales el gobierno Venezolano en representación de la Nación venezolana se reservo sus derechos sobre los territorios de la Guayana Esequiba en su nota del 26 de mayo de 1966 al reconocerse al nuevo Estado de Guyana .
“...por lo tanto, Venezuela reconoce como territorio del nuevo Estado, el que se sitúa al este de la margen derecha del río Esequibo y reitera ante la comunidad internacional, que se reserva expresamente sus derechos de soberanía territorial sobre la zona que se encuentra en la margen izquierda del precitado río; en consecuencia, el territorio de la Guayana Esequiba sobre el cual Venezuela se reserva expresamente sus derechos soberanos, limita al Este con el nuevo Estado de Guyana, a través de la línea del río Esequibo, tomando éste desde su nacimiento hasta su desembocadura en el Océano Atlántico...”

Indígenas Wai Wai, cultura que late en la Amazonía guyanesa

Mapa tomado de la obra la venezolanidad del Esequibo Página 451

Tomado de:
http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=133190&Itemid=1

30 de octubre de 2009, 03:02Por Sinay Céspedes Moreno

La Habana (PL).- En Guyana, país suramericano y caribeño, conviven nueve tribus indígenas que ocupan, principalmente, zonas de la selva amazónica colindante con Brasil, y parte del Esequibo, zona en reclamación por Venezuela.

Una de esas comunidades, los Wai Wai, vive dedicada en cuerpo y alma a proteger la mayor reserva selvática del planeta.

Tras largos años de lucha por sus derechos, esta etnia recibió en 2004 el control de seis mil 200 kilómetros cuadrados de bosques tropicales y planicies, por un decreto del gobierno de Guyana.

Decididos a proteger su entorno y la cultura de sus ancestros, los Wai Wai se han concentrado, desde entonces, en evitar la entrada de mineros y leñadores a su zona, así como a desarrollar las investigaciones y la artesanía.

Parte de la labor de esos indígenas, distribuidos en tres aldeas, es conservar el hábitat de varias especies en peligro de extinción, incluido el jaguar, la rana azul venenosa y el guacamayo escarlata.

Su modo de vida se apega mucho al de los originarios, con viviendas construidas fundamentalmente en forma de chozas con techos de paja. Sin embargo, el inevitable contacto con el exterior llevó a varios de ellos a adoptar otras creencias, entre ellas el cristianismo como religión.

Algunos estudiosos de la Cuenca Amazónica hablan de al menos un asentamiento, la aldea Masakenari, donde existe una escuela en la cual se le imparte el idioma inglés a los niños, parte de una estrategia utilizada también en otros países por grupos extranjeros, amparados en una supuesta acción modernizadora.

Pero el mayor reto de los Wai Wai de Guyana, reconocidos como expertos cazadores y pescadores, es aumentar su población, que según los datos más recientes no supera los 240 miembros, pues los más jóvenes muchas veces acaban atraídos por el modernismo y emigran.

En medio de esa cruzada por la supervivencia, se dedican a restaurar aldeas abandonadas, que mantienen como centros culturales donde muestran sus tradicionales canastas, flautas de hueso, arcos y flechas, joyería y delantales de cuentas.

La perseverancia de los Wai Wai constituye un hecho relevante en medio de los desafíos que enfrenta el mundo como consecuencia del cambio climático producido justamente por la industrialización.

En ese marco, la etnia que también tiene representación en Brasil, impulsa el Área de Conservación de Propiedad Comunitaria Konashen, la cual concede vital relevancia a preservar el río Esequibo, principal fuente de agua de Guyana.

Gracias a su esfuerzo por mantener baja densidad poblacional en el área, la mayor parte de esos bosques se mantiene intacta, lo cual ha permitido identificar dos mil 700 especies de plantas, que representan 239 familias botánicas.

La existencia de tanta flora garantiza a su vez una impresionante diversidad de fauna, incluidas unas 400 especies de aves y variedades marinas que habitan en las claras aguas del Esequibo.

El territorio ocupado por los Wai Wai es considerado único en riqueza biológica y se mantiene en estado impecable, lo cual lo convierte en una rareza en tiempos de tanta deforestación, especialmente en la Amazonía.

*Periodista de la Redacción de Centroamérica y Caribe de Prensa Latina.
arb/Sc


Nota del editor del blog: Al referenciarse a la República Cooperativa de Guyana se deben de tener en cuenta los 159.500Km2, de territorios ubicados al oeste del río Esequibo conocidos con el nombre de Guayana Esequiba o Zona en Reclamación sujetos al Acuerdo de Ginebra del 17 de febrero de 1966.


Territorios estos sobre los cuales el gobierno Venezolano en representación de la Nación venezolana se reservo sus derechos sobre los territorios de la Guayana Esequiba en su nota del 26 de mayo de 1966 al reconocerse al nuevo Estado de Guyana .
“...por lo tanto, Venezuela reconoce como territorio del nuevo Estado, el que se sitúa al este de la margen derecha del río Esequibo y reitera ante la comunidad internacional, que se reserva expresamente sus derechos de soberanía territorial sobre la zona que se encuentra en la margen izquierda del precitado río; en consecuencia, el territorio de la Guayana Esequiba sobre el cual Venezuela se reserva expresamente sus derechos soberanos, limita al Este con el nuevo Estado de Guyana, a través de la línea del río Esequibo, tomando éste desde su nacimiento hasta su desembocadura en el Océano Atlántico...”

Extranjeros no podrán comprar tierras en Amazonia de Brasil, según decreto

Tomado de:
http://www.univision.com/contentroot/wirefeeds/noticias/8049860.shtml

http://www.google.com/hostednews/epa/article/ALeqM5gwqDUrGo1MZf5eZ5o7xIEHAYfrQQ

http://www.radiotrece.com.mx/2009/10/29/extranjeros-no-podran-comprar-tierras-en-amazonia-de-brasil-segun-decreto/

29 de Octubre de 2009, 07:05pm ET
BRASILIA, 29 Oct 2009 (AFP) –

El presidente de Brasil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, firmó el jueves un decreto por el cual impide que los extranjeros compren tierras regularizadas en la Amazonia y fija un mayor control estatal de esa región del norte del país.


El decreto aprobó un nuevo esquema para tierras regularizadas de un área de protección especial de la Amazonia, el cual abarcaría unas 67,4 millones de hectáreas en la región.


Con esto se apunta reglamentar el programa "Tierra Legal", implementado desde junio por el gobierno, para atender la problemática de la explotación de recursos, la deforestación y de los conflictos generados por la tierra en la región amazónica, que muchas veces derivaron en incidentes violentos.


Así, el Estado otorgará los títulos de propiedad en esas áreas sensibles y solamente brasileños natos o foráneos nacionalizados podrán regularizarlos, con lo cual se excluyen a ciudadanos o empresas extranjeras.



Según datos del estatal Instituto Nacional de Colonización y Reformar Agraria (INCRA), al menos 3,6 millones de hectáreas de tierras brasileñas están en manos de extranjeros, aunque podrían llegar a 5,5 millones pues hay información incompleta a nivel regional.


El decreto permite la venta de entre 400 a 1.500 hectáreas de tierra sólo tres años después de ser concedido el título por ese programa oficial. Para áreas menores de 400 hectáreas podrán ser negociados en un plazo de 10 años.


El "Tierra Legal" pretende regularizar las tierras de 268.000 propietarios que ocuparon el área hasta diciembre de 2004.


Esto se suma a un proyecto de ley aprobado hace dos semanas por una comisión de la Cámara de Diputados y a estudio del Senado, que establece fuertes límites a la adquisición de tierras en la Amazonia por parte de extranjeros.


Según el proyecto, apenas brasileños naturales o extranjeros nacionalizados con más de diez años en el país podrán adquirir títulos de propiedad en esas tierras, incluyendo ciudades y zonas urbanas.


Los territorios adquiridos no podrán exceder las 1.140 hectáreas ni estar en áreas fronterizas.


llu/vel

Guyana a marcha forzada hacia mercado único caribeño, dice canciller

Tomado de:
http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=132942&Itemid=1

Georgetown, 29 oct (PL) Guyana se encamina a toda velocidad hacia la implementación de la Economía y Mercado Unico de la Comunidad del Caribe (CSME, inglés) dijo la ministra de Exteriores Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett en un simposio aquí. La titular guyanesa llamó a los estados caribeños a catalogar el proceso como prioritario para la supervivencia de la región, "en especial en estos tiempos de entorno económico y realidades sociales ásperas".Aunque reconoció que desde la firma de la Declaración de Grand Anse, en 1989, "se han registrado enormes progresos", subrayó que aún quedan cuestiones importantes pendientes "que necesitan solución con urgencia".No puedo ignorar el desencanto que existe entre muchas personas que no ven las metas de ese documento traducidas a la realidad, las cuales ponen en duda el beneficio que reporta la existencia de la CARICOM como un todo, pero no podemos retroceder, dijo la titular en el seminario Comprendiendo la CSME.lma/msl


Nota del editor del blog: Al referenciarse a la República Cooperativa de Guyana se deben de tener en cuenta los 159.500Km2, de territorios ubicados al oeste del río Esequibo conocidos con el nombre de Guayana Esequiba o Zona en Reclamación sujetos al Acuerdo de Ginebra del 17 de febrero de 1966.


Territorios estos sobre los cuales el gobierno Venezolano en representación de la Nación venezolana se reservo sus derechos sobre los territorios de la Guayana Esequiba en su nota del 26 de mayo de 1966 al reconocerse al nuevo Estado de Guyana .
“...por lo tanto, Venezuela reconoce como territorio del nuevo Estado, el que se sitúa al este de la margen derecha del río Esequibo y reitera ante la comunidad internacional, que se reserva expresamente sus derechos de soberanía territorial sobre la zona que se encuentra en la margen izquierda del precitado río; en consecuencia, el territorio de la Guayana Esequiba sobre el cual Venezuela se reserva expresamente sus derechos soberanos, limita al Este con el nuevo Estado de Guyana, a través de la línea del río Esequibo, tomando éste desde su nacimiento hasta su desembocadura en el Océano Atlántico...”

BID otorga 25 millones de dólares a Guyana

Tomado de:
http://www.univision.com/contentroot/wirefeeds/50noticias/8071407.shtml
29 de Octubre de 2009, 08:50pm ET


GEORGETOWN (AP) - El Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID) aprobó un préstamo de 25 millones de dólares para que Guyana mejore su infraestructura vial.


El BID calcula que el tiempo de recorrido y los accidentes viales decrecerían en 20%.


El organismo señaló el jueves que los fondos irán a un programa gubernamental para rehabilitar 30 kilómetros (19 millas) de vialidad. Financiará parcialmente la repavimentación y la ampliación de una autopista que comunica el aeropuerto internacional Cheddi Jagan y un nuevo estadio de cricket.


Nota del editor del blog: Al referenciarse a la República Cooperativa de Guyana se deben de tener en cuenta los 159.500Km2, de territorios ubicados al oeste del río Esequibo conocidos con el nombre de Guayana Esequiba o Zona en Reclamación sujetos al Acuerdo de Ginebra del 17 de febrero de 1966.


Territorios estos sobre los cuales el gobierno Venezolano en representación de la Nación venezolana se reservo sus derechos sobre los territorios de la Guayana Esequiba en su nota del 26 de mayo de 1966 al reconocerse al nuevo Estado de Guyana .
“...por lo tanto, Venezuela reconoce como territorio del nuevo Estado, el que se sitúa al este de la margen derecha del río Esequibo y reitera ante la comunidad internacional, que se reserva expresamente sus derechos de soberanía territorial sobre la zona que se encuentra en la margen izquierda del precitado río; en consecuencia, el territorio de la Guayana Esequiba sobre el cual Venezuela se reserva expresamente sus derechos soberanos, limita al Este con el nuevo Estado de Guyana, a través de la línea del río Esequibo, tomando éste desde su nacimiento hasta su desembocadura en el Océano Atlántico...”

El Gobierno británico defendió su decisión de retirar la asistencia para un proyecto de seguridad por 4.9 M. EUR

Mapa tomado de: Wikimedia. http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:Guayana_Esequiba_2.JPG

UK says Guyana proposal avoided real police revamp
By Stabroek staff October 29, 2009 in Local News

Tomado de:
UK says Guyana proposal avoided real police revamp
By Stabroek staff October 29, 2009 in Local News

http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/stories/10/29/uk-says-guyana-proposal-avoided-real-police-revamp/

The British government yesterday defended its decision to withdraw assistance for a joint £4.9M security sector project, saying the latest proposal by the Government of Guyana (GoG) moves away from comprehensive reforms originally requested.


In a statement issued by the British High Commission, the UK government also said there was no truth to the GoG suggestion that the decision to scrap the Security Sector Reform Project was linked with a UK military exercise conducted here last year. The UK emphasised that it fully respected the right of the GoG to determine the direction of Guyana’s security sector and related programmes, but explained that the government’s latest proposal suggests a “fundamentally different” programme, focused on police modernisation instead of wider reforms.


AFC MP Raphael Trotman, a vocal critic of government’s approach to security sector reform, yesterday blasted the collapse of the project.

He dubbed the Project the “best plan” presented to the government in over a decade and said its continued failure to implement needed security reforms is at the peril of the people.


On Tuesday, Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon said the GoG submitted a revised version of a British proposal for the design and implementation of the project. He noted that the British design, which the GoG criticised earlier this year for threatening the sovereignty of the country, included management features that seriously compromise Guyana’s ownership of the process. Luncheon added, “When our new design re-established ownership that was more consistent with our notions of sovereignty, the plug was pulled.”


But according to the UK Government, the GoG’s proposal reflects a fundamentally different programme than the one it understood Guyana wanted. It said its understanding was based on President Bharrat Jagdeo’s letters of May 4, 2006 and August 14, 2006, where he expressed an interest in comprehensive, broad-based, non-partisan and compelling reform of the security sector. “The latest proposal from the Government of Guyana suggests a focus on police modernisation, rather than on holistic security sector reform,” the UK explained in its statement, adding that after careful consideration, it “decided to withdraw its offer of assistance in this area.” It noted that the decision was not taken lightly and was communicated in person to President Jagdeo and in writing to Luncheon, who led the negotiations for the GoG.


The funding has been re-allocated to “other pressing needs” within the Caribbean, the UK said, while noting that it would continue to support development. “We remain committed to supporting the development of Guyana and the Caribbean and will continue to work closely with the Government of Guyana on economic growth, private sector development, and to support the country’s efforts to implement the Low Carbon Development Strategy,” it said.


The British also emphasised that there is no truth in the suggestion that the decision was linked to a UK military exercise. Luncheon and the Office of the President (OP) noted the possibility of a connection between the decision to scrap the project and the GoG’s refusal to allow training by a UK Special Forces on a western border location with live firing. The UK, however, pointed out that the decision by the Guyanese authorities in June 2008 to deny live firing as part of the exercise was fully accepted. The exercise took place, successfully, without live firing, in November 2008, it added.


The project hit a major stumbling block earlier in the year after Guyana vocalised concerns about encroachments on sovereignty, believed to include the stationing of overseas law enforcement professionals in the police force. The dispute sparked sharp exchanges between Luncheon and the British High Commissioner Fraser Wheeler, who said he was “frustrated” with the delays in implementation that he blamed on persons in government. He did not go into details of the delays but noted that the UK saw the need for tight management of resources.


Meanwhile, Trotman yesterday said that the AFC was saddened but not surprised that the project was abandoned and he charged that the administration’s disinterest in a ‘root causes’ approach to crime-fighting and security sector management is jeopardising the safety of the citizenry.


He noted that the project was specifically designed to go beyond the operational aspects of reform by examining root causes, and the socio-political aspects of the security dilemmas facing. To this end, it was expected that many national stakeholders would play a part, including MPs and civil society. According to Trotman, the GoG was only intended to be the “vehicle” through which the reform process would be facilitated. “The Jagdeo administration is reminded that there is far more at stake nationally, other than the protection of its petty, partisan, and puerile interests,” he said.


He noted that it was clear from the time that fugitive Rondell `Fineman’ Rawlins and his cohorts were hunted down that the government had no real intention of proceeding with the holistic reforms. “[It] was the best plan presented to this government in over a decade, and we firmly believe that the OP was not interested in reform except to receive the weapons and material and the training to go along with the Joint Operation that was put together to kill Rawlins and his gang,” Trotman declared. He added that destabilisation and occasional turmoil in the country suits some narrow political interests. In this regard, he pointed out that with each new outbreak of violence the government turns the screws tighter, denying more civil liberties and committing atrocities such as torture in the name of crime fighting and confronting domestic terrorism. What is more, he warned that notwithstanding the relative calm in the country at present, many of the causes of past outbreaks of violent crime remain and have not been addressed.


While he conceded that every state has a duty to safeguard its sovereignty, Trotman called the issue a “red herring” that has been raised as a distraction and to create an excuse to pull away from implementation. “The AFC believes that the PPP is playing with fire and putting the lives of citizens at risk,” he said, saying that one only has to look at the Lusignan, Bartica, Lindo Creek and recent Essequibo River incidents to know that “the security sector in Guyana is in trouble and that we need help to strengthen and modernise it.”Trotman reiterated that there is a deliberate disconnect between the OP and the parliamentary oversight mechanisms put in place to oversee policy development and implementation within the security sector. He said it betrays a deep reluctance on the part of the administration to implement reform measures along with its total lack of knowledge of the security perils that the country faces and the consequences that will follow.


Although Luncheon said security sector reform would continue in Guyana, Trotman highlighted the GoG’s failure to implement recommendations of the 2000 National Security Strategy Organising Committee, the 2001 Border/ National Security Committee, the 2003 Disciplined Forces Commis-sion and the 2005-2009 National Drug Strategy Master Plan 2005-2009, saying the pattern is pellucid and unmistakable.


“This refusal to participate and implement wherever, and whenever, the need for comprehensive reform is identified within institutions that touch on governance, clearly demonstrates, that the Jagdeo administration predictably frustrates the process to achieve its objective of ensuring minimal or no governance reforms,” he emphasised.


Nota del editor del blog: Al referenciarse a la República Cooperativa de Guyana se deben de tener en cuenta los 159.500Km2, de territorios ubicados al oeste del río Esequibo conocidos con el nombre de Guayana Esequiba o Zona en Reclamación sujetos al Acuerdo de Ginebra del 17 de febrero de 1966.


Territorios estos sobre los cuales el gobierno Venezolano en representación de la Nación venezolana se reservo sus derechos sobre los territorios de la Guayana Esequiba en su nota del 26 de mayo de 1966 al reconocerse al nuevo Estado de Guyana .
“...por lo tanto, Venezuela reconoce como territorio del nuevo Estado, el que se sitúa al este de la margen derecha del río Esequibo y reitera ante la comunidad internacional, que se reserva expresamente sus derechos de soberanía territorial sobre la zona que se encuentra en la margen izquierda del precitado río; en consecuencia, el territorio de la Guayana Esequiba sobre el cual Venezuela se reserva expresamente sus derechos soberanos, limita al Este con el nuevo Estado de Guyana, a través de la línea del río Esequibo, tomando éste desde su nacimiento hasta su desembocadura en el Océano Atlántico...”

En el camino de Unasur

Tomado de:
http://www.eluniversal.com/2009/10/29/opi_art_en-el-camino-de-unas_1622855.shtml


Julio César Pineda

Unasur no puede estar orientada en la visión confrontacional frente a países o sistemas

La Unión de Naciones Suramericanas (Unasur) es la organización más joven y más ambiciosa en materia de integración latinoamericana superando los objetivos de otros sistemas subregionales y buscando ubicarse en el contexto mundial del siglo XXI. Mientras que Europa perfecciona su sistema de integración hacia una confederación o federación de Estados, ahora mucho más factible con la aprobación del Tratado de Lisboa con 27 Estados y 500.000.000 de habitantes; América Latina pareciera encontrarse en un laberinto de conflictos y divisiones alejándose de la necesaria unidad para ser un actor importante en el sistema internacional de hoy. La iniciativa de Unasur pudiera constituirse en el motor de la integración latinoamericana y caribeña, como proyecto de integración y cooperación Unasur se firmó el 26 de mayo de 1998 en la ciudad de Brasilia con sede permanente de la Secretaría General en Quito. Incluye 12 países, 300.000.000 de habitantes y 17.000.000 de km².

El precedente fue la Cumbre Presidencial de Cuzco en el 2004. Sus instituciones, el Consejo de Jefes de Estado, Jefes de Gobierno, el Consejo de Ministros de Relaciones Exteriores, el Consejo de Delegados y la Secretaría General, además del Parlamento buscan darle continuidad a esta integración. Uno de los cuestionamientos iniciales fue el de circunscribir geográficamente la iniciativa dejando fuera a una de las economías mas importantes de la región como es México y a la zona emergente de Centroamérica donde se encuentra el Canal de Panamá. Las experiencias anteriores de integración subregional como la CAN, el Mercosur y otros sistemas de cooperación como la Caricom, Aladi y SELA a pesar de sus realizaciones no han logrado cumplir los objetivos integracionistas diseñados en los tratados constitutivos por la diversidad, la asimetría de la región cuando se ha buscado homologar realidades disímiles con instituciones comunes, agendas forzadas y por la falta de voluntad política. Los tres ejes en que se sustenta el proceso de Unasur establecidos por los presidentes en el Cuzco de cooperación política, integración económica y desarrollo de la infraestructura exigen de los gobiernos honestidad y compromiso, como ha sucedido con la Unión Europea. En nuestro continente junto al reto de la democracia, la integración suramericana debe impulsar el desarrollo y disminuir la pobreza y la desigualdad con el compromiso imperativo de la ecología en el tratamiento de la biodiversidad de la región. Unasur debe establecer, como lo ha planteado la CAN, un efectivo sistema de solución de controversias frente a la multitud de problemas de carácter territorial y político que permanentemente se presentan entre los Estados, un paso esencial es la necesaria convergencia entre la CAN y el Mercosur con la inclusión de Chile, Venezuela, Guyana y Surinam, pero también la vinculación con la Organización Mundial de Comercio en la búsqueda de la aceptación de la cláusula de la Nación más Favorecida, prevista.

Los Estados miembros de Unasur deben tener la voluntad de la supranacionalidad en sus instituciones y en sus decisiones combinando idealismo y pragmatismo en los contenidos económicos y en los objetivos políticos, Unasur no puede estar orientada en la visión confrontacional frente a países o sistemas sino en la necesaria cooperación, es la visión que le ha querido dar la diplomacia brasileña, no sólo por el presidente Lula sino por el ex presidentes Fernando Henrique Cardoso. El artículo 2 de su Tratado Constitutivo establece como objetivo construir de manera participativa y consensuada un espacio de integración y unión en lo cultural, social, económico y político entre sus pueblos, otorgando prioridad al dialogo político, las políticas sociales, la educación, la energía, la infraestructura, el financiamiento y el ambiente, entre otros, con miras a eliminar la desigualdad socioeconómica, lograr la inclusión social y la participación ciudadana, fortalecer la democracia y reducir las asimetrías en el marco del fortalecimiento de la soberanía e independencia de los Estados. La referencia obligada de Unasur, tiene que ser ahora la Unión Europea en la construcción de un nuevo espacio geopolítico y geoeconómico en el contexto de la multipolaridad. Ojalá que un día se llegara más allá de la integración económica a la solidaridad política y a la unidad cultural con un sistema colectivo de defensa. En estos momentos Europa busca un presidente para la Unión por un periodo de dos años y medio y un ministro de relaciones exteriores como vocero único de los 27 Estados miembros bajo el lema de la unidad y la diversidad, dentro de las exigencias democracia-desarrollo y libertad-justicia. Europa ha constitucionalizado su integración, América Latina debe marchar en esa misma dirección.

jpineda01@gmail.com

Canacol evalúa opciones de cesión de derechos en Takutu – Guyana

Tomado de:
http://www.bnamericas.com/news/petroleoygas/Canacol_evalua_opciones_de_cesion_de_derechos_en_Takutu


Publicada: Miércoles 28 de octubre, 2009 13:34 (GMT-0400)

Por David Casallas / Business News Americas
La compañía Canacol Energy (TSX-V: CNE), con sede en Calgary, está evaluando alternativas para la cesión de derechos de explotación en la licencia de ...

Nota del editor del blog: Al referenciarse a la República Cooperativa de Guyana se deben de tener en cuenta los 159.500Km2, de territorios ubicados al oeste del río Esequibo conocidos con el nombre de Guayana Esequiba o Zona en Reclamación sujetos al Acuerdo de Ginebra del 17 de febrero de 1966.


Territorios estos sobre los cuales el gobierno Venezolano en representación de la Nación venezolana se reservo sus derechos sobre los territorios de la Guayana Esequiba en su nota del 26 de mayo de 1966 al reconocerse al nuevo Estado de Guyana .
“...por lo tanto, Venezuela reconoce como territorio del nuevo Estado, el que se sitúa al este de la margen derecha del río Esequibo y reitera ante la comunidad internacional, que se reserva expresamente sus derechos de soberanía territorial sobre la zona que se encuentra en la margen izquierda del precitado río; en consecuencia, el territorio de la Guayana Esequiba sobre el cual Venezuela se reserva expresamente sus derechos soberanos, limita al Este con el nuevo Estado de Guyana, a través de la línea del río Esequibo, tomando éste desde su nacimiento hasta su desembocadura en el Océano Atlántico...”

Se frustra proyecto de seguridad del Reino Unido en Guyana por $1.6 B

Mapa tomado de: Wikimedia. http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:Guayana_Esequiba_2.JPG

Tomado de:

UK scraps $1.6b security project

http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/stories/10/28/lunch-uk-scraps-1-6b-security-project/


By Stabroek staff October 28, 2009 in Local News

The government yesterday confirmed a BBC report that a 4.9m pounds sterling security sector reform project with the UK had collapsed following differences between the two countries.

Roger Luncheon
In a statement last night, the Office of the President (OP) linked the collapse of the project to the denial of a UK request for a live firing exercise in the west of Guyana.


“This decision by the UK Government is believed to be linked to the administration’s refusal to permit training of British Special Forces in Guyana using live firing in a hinterland community on the western border with Brazil and Venezuela”, the OP statement said last night.


Observers note, however, that the project had been in serious trouble earlier this year after Guyana objected to certain preconditions which were thought to include the stationing of overseas law enforcement professionals in the police force here. The dispute had sparked sharp statements from Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, who had responsibility for the project, and the British High Commissioner here, Fraser Wheeler. Luncheon went as far as offering his resignation to the President over the dispute.

Yesterday, the BBC Caribbean report disclosed that the project had been called off after the two countries failed to agree on its management.


It said that the decision to abandon the programme followed a meeting between a top official of the UK’s Department for International Development, DfID, and Guyana’s President, Bharrat Jagdeo.

Last night, Luncheon issued his own statement on the matter.

He said the decision by the UK Government was believed to be linked to the administration’s refusal to permit training of British Special Forces in Guyana using live firing in a community on the western border with Brazil and Venezuela.


“The position of the Government of Guyana is that indeed the decision is regrettable. Guyanese would recall that the project itself attracted quite a bit of media attention and has indeed been characterized by ups and downs in the public engagements; however, the trend in the negotiation was what led to expectations that the project itself would be approved and implemented.”He noted that as late as December 2008, the two parties had agreed on it in Georgetown and a design was submitted to the principals in the UK for their blessings. He pointed out that in April 2009 Guyanese were advised about a redesign that was unilaterally carried out by the UK when they submitted their response to the joint December 2008 submission.


“This design violated the sovereignty of Guyana. It was drawn to the attention of the British High Commission here in Guyana and after efforts it was agreed that the government would submit its revised version of the British design. The President was involved in that activity and ultimately the British High Commission was presented with a document that in great detail outlined what was the Guyanese version of the model to be used to design and ultimately to implement the Security Sector Reform project”, Luncheon said.


Luncheon said that President Jagdeo was later informed that the project itself had been halted and the UK Government had provided him with information saying that they were not interested in pursuing an agreement with the Government of Guyana.


Said Luncheon: “It is tempting to believe that this about face from the December 2008 joint agreement to what happened in the middle of 2009 might have been associated with some decision that the Guyanese Government made with request to training by the UK Special Forces, on a Western border location with live firing to which the government was unprepared to support.”.


“It could be that the UK Government did not fully appreciate how dearly held was our position on the non-violation of the sovereignty of Guyana. Their insistence in installing in their design in April, … management features that seriously compromise Guyana’s ownership and when our new design re-established ownership that was more consistent with our notions of sovereignty, the plug was pulled. I started by saying it was regrettable; it’s unfortunate because our joint positions at the beginning was Security Sector Reform in its entirety was indeed in our best interest. Security Sector Reform will continue in Guyana, maybe at a different pace and the scope and the design will be different, but the implementation of that will be from public funds from the Government of Guyana”, he added.


The scrapping of the project and the tiff over it will be tagged as a worsening of relations between the two countries at a time when Guyana needs to mobilize as much support as possible for security and its low carbon development strategy. Britain is a key player in this process and the scuppering of the deal would likely point to its dissatisfaction with Georgetown over the fundamentals of security reform. Various interest groups have urged root and branch reform of the police force to curb corruption.


The UK deal had been conceptualized shortly after the massacres in 2007 and following a request from the government here which had been deeply shocked by the killings. Observers said interest in Georgetown for the project diminished after the security situation improved. The government here has steadfastly rebuffed any attempt to place foreign professionals in the force or to cede any modicum of control over the force.


In June, British High Commissioner Wheeler had said that he was “frustrated” with the delays in implementation and he blamed persons in government “quibbling” over administrative details for holding it up. Although he did not go into the details of the delay in the process, he emphasised that the UK sees the need for “very tight management of resources” in the current economic climate. “The administration of money should not be a deal breaker, I would hope, [the reform is] too important for that,” Wheeler said.


An interim Memorandum of Understanding for the Security Sector Reform Action Plan was signed in August 2007. Since that time, Luncheon has been responsible for engagement with the UK government’s representatives.


Late last year, a framework for the “Formulation and Implementation of a National Security Policy and Strategy” was concluded. Subsequently, in April the representatives of the UK’s DfID and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advised that their government had given approval for the agreed design for reform and they offered two documents that provided details of implementation.


It was this April report that Dr Luncheon had strongly objected to in letters he wrote to President Jagdeo and Wheeler.

“The content of their April submission is offensive, suggesting that Guyana is totally incapable of managing its own Security Sector Reform and needed to be spoon fed in the implementing of all aspects of the Security Sector Reform contemplated in the GOG/UK engagement,” Luncheon informed Jagdeo in the letter. He added that based on their submissions, he could not accept that the resident representatives of the British government seriously intended his continued involvement.


“Mr. President, I am left to conclude that the representatives had to have an ulterior motive in presenting these two documents whose content they were quite aware I would find offensive and unacceptable,” he had said.


Luncheon’s letter also indicated that the engagements had been “challenging” and he said his experiences revealed the UK’s representatives to be “insincere and inconsistent” with regard to Guyana’s concerns about national ownership of the process. “The records would show that with each important step along the way I have had to repeatedly address issues of National Ownership and even resort to your inputs at times,” he wrote.


He also communicated similar concerns about the motives of the British government’s resident representatives to Wheeler, explaining that it was owing to his disappointment with the UK’s proposals on management of the project, the process and the timeline, that he intended to withdraw from further participation. He also mentioned his recommendation to his principals that the proposals be rejected in their entirety, while suggesting that they did not reflect the commitments agreed during the bilateral engagements.


Although he noted the Guyana’s government’s “profoundly negative reactions” to the proposals, Luncheon also indicated to Wheeler its appreciation of the efforts made during the bilateral engagements “in progressively agreeing in principle” with a programme for security sector reform in Guyana.

In keeping with components of the plan, in January this year, Major General (Ret) Michael Atherly was appointed Project Coordinator for Security Sector Reform, with a Security Sector Reform Secretariat established within the Office of the President, while the National Assembly approved the creation of an Oversight Committee for the Security Sector.


The five main elements of the plan cover building the operational capacity of the police force; strengthening policy-making across the security sector to make it more transparent, effective, and better coordinated; mainstreaming financial management in the security sector into public sector financial management reform; creating substantial parliamentary and other oversight of the security sector; and building greater public participation and inclusiveness in security sector issues. The plan was specifically designed to complement the ongoing IDB Citizen Security and Justice Reform programmes, in a bid to tackle crime and security in a holistic manner.


A parliamentary committee has been set up to review the plan’s implementation, but it has met only once to elect a chairman. The review committee is expected to receive and examine official annual reports from the administration on the status of the implementation of the activities in 11 priority areas on an annual basis and also to provide a final report to the National Assembly of its examination of the reports on the implementation of the entire action plan.


The priority areas were identified after extensive discussions and consultations with stakeholders, including the leadership of the law enforcement agencies, the public and the donor community.


Among the short-term priority areas were: the establishment of a special firearms support team to execute high-risk operations with regard to terrorism, hijacking, hostage release and negotiations and specialized tactical deployment; developing an anti-crime unit through support for an operational protocol, provide training on technical aspects of anti-crime operations and the acquisition of operational equipment and resources among other things; boosting crime intelligence by supporting the capability of the police force with regard to the gathering, analysis, interpretation, dissemination and management of strategic and operational crime-related information; and developing forensic capacity.




Related Articles
1. Luncheon accuses UK reps of ‘ulterior motives’ in security reform proposals - Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon has accused the UK’s representatives here of
2. Luncheon optimistic security reform talks with UK will resume - The government’s lead negotiator for the implementation of the UK-funded security sector reform plan
3. PNCR alarmed at threat to UK security programme - -but wants no external management The main opposition PNCR on Friday reacted with alarm to the threa
4. Chronology of incompetence - If, as Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon claimed last week “Security Sector Ref.

Nota del editor del blog: Al referenciarse a la República Cooperativa de Guyana se deben de tener en cuenta los 159.500Km2, de territorios ubicados al oeste del río Esequibo conocidos con el nombre de Guayana Esequiba o Zona en Reclamación sujetos al Acuerdo de Ginebra del 17 de febrero de 1966.


Territorios estos sobre los cuales el gobierno Venezolano en representación de la Nación venezolana se reservo sus derechos sobre los territorios de la Guayana Esequiba en su nota del 26 de mayo de 1966 al reconocerse al nuevo Estado de Guyana . “...por lo tanto, Venezuela reconoce como territorio del nuevo Estado, el que se sitúa al este de la margen derecha del río Esequibo y reitera ante la comunidad internacional, que se reserva expresamente sus derechos de soberanía territorial sobre la zona que se encuentra en la margen izquierda del precitado río; en consecuencia, el territorio de la Guayana Esequiba sobre el cual Venezuela se reserva expresamente sus derechos soberanos, limita al Este con el nuevo Estado de Guyana, a través de la línea del río Esequibo, tomando éste desde su nacimiento hasta su desembocadura en el Océano Atlántico

Venezuela habría confiscado proyecto aurífero Brisas del Cuyuní de canadiense Gold Reserve

Tomado de:
http://www.bancaynegocios.com/noticia_det.asp?id=14669

La empresa Gold Reserve informó que Venezuela había confiscado instalaciones de su mina Brisas del Cuyuní, con lo que se profundizaría disputa con el Gobierno de Hugo Chávez. El conflicto estaría afectando seriamente la cotización de sus acciones.


Aristimuño Herrera & Asociados/Reuters


Los derechos sobre la mayor parte de los depósitos de la empresa canadiense, que cotiza en la Bolsa de Toronto, fueron embargados por el Gobierno a comienzos de este año, y Gold Reserve presentó la semana pasada un pedido de arbitraje internacional, con la intención de recuperar una compensación por miles de millones de dólares en daños.


La conducta de Gold desató una reacción en la zona donde está ubicado el desarrollo aurífero, Guayana, al sufrir sus instalaciones y predios intentos de toma los últimos días por parte, según la empresa canadiense, de personal ligado a la empresa minera estatal venezolana, Minerven.


Este martes, la compañía minera de capital canadiense, informó que funcionarios llegaron a las instalaciones de su proyecto minero aurífero Brisas del Cuyuní, para entregar una notificación sobre el embargo de la propiedad por parte del Gobierno y que estas personas tomaron posesión física de las mismas.


Las acciones de Gold Reserve caían más de 13 por ciento, ubicándose en 1,03 dólares canadienses en la Bolsa de Toronto.


Gold habría intentado hacer ver al gobierno venezolano la conveniencia de permitirle desarrollar íntegramente el proyecto Brisas del Cuyuní, del cual esperaba resultados satisfactorios en un plazo máximimo de tres años.


Tratándose de un proyecto a mediano plazo, la intención de Gold era aprovechar al máximo una coyuntura como la presente, caracterizada por altos precios del oro y cuya estela seguramente se dejaría sentir, todavía, justo cuando el proyecto alcanzara su madurez.


Gold ha hecho gala, hasta el momento y para defender sus derechos, de una concesión negociada con el Estado venezolano para el desarrollo del proyecto de minería aurífera Brisas del Cuyuní, en el sureste venezolano.


Otras informaciones al respecto
Published by Mineweb ( Online newspaper about mining) POLITICAL ECONOMY ANALYSIS Las Brisas gold project becomes yet another casualty of Chavez ‘socialist vision'
It costs billions to fuel Hugo Chavez's socialist global vision, some of which comes from Venezuelan government expropriation of natural resources including gold mining projects funded by western foreign investors.
Author: Dorothy Kosich Posted: Wednesday , 28 Oct 2009 RENO, NV -
When the now defunct major gold company Placer Dome packed its bags sold its Kilometer 88 mining district holdings and left Venezuela forever in 2001, international mining companies and their investors should have taken notice of the perils of foreign investment in Venezuela.

As Spokane-based Gold Reserve announced Tuesday that its Brisas property had been officially seized by the Venezuelan Government, the junior miner joined the legion of foreign companies-representing everything from farms to parking lots to food staples to utilities to steel to oil to mining properties-whose facilities dot the Venezuelan landscape and help financially support
President Hugo Chavez's "socialist vision."
Over the years Gold Reserve President Doug Belanger had made a painstaking effort to consistently communicate with and work in harmony with the Chavez Administration and the various government bureaucracies involved in the regulation of the gold-rich Kilometer 88 Mining District in southern Venezuela. Neighbor Crystallex also engaged in a similar painstaking effort concerning its Las Cristinas gold project, as did Hecla Mining for its La Camorra operations in the region. However, the reality Chavez faces is that it takes money to fund the programs and dole out the individual favors or gifts that keep Venezuelan voters loyal enough to keep him in power. It also takes billions of dollars, which can't be entirely supplied by the domestic oil industry, to help subsidize foreign governments who shares Chavez's socialist world vision.

Venezuela's former representative to Transparency International identified three major areas of corruption that have emerged in the Chavez Administration: grand corruption derived from major policy decisions; bureaucratic corruption; and systemic corruption taking place between government and the private sector.

In the name of socialism, the Chavez Administration has expropriated billions of dollars in foreign-owned and even domestically owned assets, which help fuel his domestic and international political agenda. The /Latin American Herald Tribune/ estimated that Venezuela's unsettled compensation claims from various forms of Chavez Administration expropriations now total at least US$15 billion.

Despite the seizure of its neighbor's mineral reserves and facilities, Crystallex insisted Tuesday the company is "in possession and control of the Las Cristinas project" and has been since it was awarded the concession by the Chavez Government in 2002.

Hugo Chavez was elected president of Venezuela in December 1998, promising to fight poverty and social exclusion and to eliminate corruption. However, it is feared that the years of Chavez's of presidency may have unleashed the highest levels of government corruption ever in a nation with a history of political and financial corruption.
In June 2008 U.S. silver miner Hecla Mining was fortunate enough to get compensation to the tune of $25 million in cash and stock for its La Camorra gold unit from new owner Rusoro Mining as Hecla said goodbye to Venezuela. Rusoro's Russian ties are viewed more favorably by the Chavez Administration, which is working to strengthen partnerships with Russia.

Crystallex Vice President Richard Marshall told /Mineweb/ Tuesday in an e-mail that the company "is seeking a prudent resolution/solution to the Las Cristinas dispute. On November 28, 2008, Crystallex delivered a letter to the Government of Venezuela notifying it of the existence of a dispute between Crystallex and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela under the Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of Venezuela for the Promotion and Protection of Investments.

If the negotiations and discussions between the parties prove unsuccessful, Marshall said, "Crystallex believes in would have a significant claim for compensation and damages through the ICSID (The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes)."

In spite of efforts by western mining companies, such as Gold Reserve, to seek international arbitration or take legal action, Venezuela's nationalization track record is not good in terms of compensating foreign companies for their losses. Although the Chavez Government has successfully navigated the takeovers of the national phone company and the utilities sector, the government has yet to compensate other industrial sectors such as steel, cement and aluminum.

A popular theory in western political circles is that a chunk of Venezuela's record oil income may be going directly into Chavez's pockets. Chavez is a master of keeping the Venezuelan voters loyal in a nation where poverty and social exclusion remain. He also engages in expenditures and promises made to foreign leaders and their countries in order to secure their political loyalty.

Over the past decade Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Chile and Paraguay have expelled Chavez's ambassadors for interfering in their internal politics. *2. Published by Reuters-canada* GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION Venezuelan government confiscates Gold Reserve's Brisas property Shares drop 15% on the news Posted: Tuesday , 27 Oct 2009 TORONTO (Reuters) - Gold Reserve (GRZ.TO ) said on
Tuesday the Venezuelan government had seized control of its Brisas gold property, deepening a dispute between the miner and Hugo Chavez's government, and pulling the company's shares down 15%.
The Toronto-listed company's rights to much of the deposit were taken away by the government earlier this year, and Gold Reserve filed for international arbitration last week, seeking to recoup billions of dollars in damages.
It said government personnel arrived at Brisas onMonday to deliver notification of the government's takeover of the property and to take physical possession of it.
Shares of Gold Reserve were down 18 Canadian cents at C$1.01 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Cameron French http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=cameron.french&>; Editing by Frank McGurty) © Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

Indígenas venezolanas: Una historia diferente que contar

Mapa tomado de:
http://www.a-venezuela.com/mapas/map/html/gruposindigenas.html

Tomado de: http://rotativo.com.mx/globales/indigenas_venezolanas_una_historia_diferente_que_contar/724,4,21505,html

Por: Aline Castellanos
martes 27 de octubre de 2009, actualizado hace 14 horas, 48 minutos
Caracas, octubre (Especial de SEMlac).- Las luchas de las mujeres indígenas son muchas y todas igual de urgentes: contra la discriminación por ser mujeres e indígenas; contra el exterminio de nuestros pueblos; por la tierra, contra el saqueo y contaminación de los recursos naturales y por lograr servicios mínimos, como salud y educación. Tienen la gran lucha contra los "terrófagos" ancestrales que se siguen comiendo a la naturaleza y a nuestros pueblos.


Así lo expresan indígenas venezolanas, representantes de diferentes pueblos que, en entrevista colectiva con SEMlac, hicieron un breve retrato de su realidad actual, marcado por igual por la tragedia, las luchas cotidianas y por las deudas históricas de un Estado y una sociedad.



Dalia Herminia Yanez, indígena Warao y actual diputada en la Asamblea Nacional; Isabel Alfonso, de la Coordinadora de Mujeres Indígenas Sifonte y presidenta de los Pueblos indígenas Kariña y Pemón; Livia Ortiz, del estado Amazonas, del pueblo Piaroa, e Isabel Antoares, del estado Monagas, sentadas en círculo, ataviadas con colores y collares, de palabra suave y ojos negros, dicen que las luchas de las indígenas son "contra todo".



"Tenemos las luchas ancestrales con nuestros pueblos, pero también las luchas como mujeres indígenas", inicia Dalia, la diputada. "Estamos invadidos por los que yo llamo 'terrófagos': ganaderos, mineros, terratenientes, petroleros", denuncia.



"Están dentro de las comunidades, nos han arrinconado, no tenemos tierra, nos han contaminado el agua con mercurio como en los Estados de Amazonas y Bolívar; la tierra y el aire, como las petroleras asentadas en el Delta Amacuro, como las carboneras en el Zulia (frontera con Colombia), nos quieren exterminar como los terratenientes y ganaderos en la Sierra de Perijá".



El presidente Hugo Chávez se comprometió con nuestros pueblos a reconocer los territorios, a reconocer las demarcaciones correspondientes. Han pasado ya 10 años y todavía esto no se cumple, dice Dalia, y todas asienten.



La batalla contra el exterminio y por la demarcación territorial son dos asuntos emergentes en los pueblos originarios venezolanos. Recientemente, en la semana en que se celebró la resistencia indígena, en el marco del 12 de octubre, el pueblo Yukpa lloró dos muertos en la sierra de Perijá.



Su lucha por la demarcación territorial ha enardecido a los terratenientes, ganaderos, empresas mineras, militares y paramilitares de la zona y, como en otras ocasiones, la amenaza se cumplió.



En la persecución militar y paramilitar contra el cacique Yupka, que lidera la demanda de tierras, Sabino Romero, mató a su yerno Eber García, de la comunidad de Chaktapa, y a Mireya Romero, de 16 años y embarazada, hermana de Olegario Romero, un cacique de la comunidad vecina de Guamo Pamocha.



Y es que la demarcación territorial es un asunto pendiente del gobierno venezolano para con los pueblos indígenas. Sólo el pueblo Barí, uno de los 36 del país, ha perdido más del 90 por ciento de su territorio, por causa de concesiones otorgadas a empresas petroleras, de acuerdo con Roberto Lizarralde, investigador de la Universidad Central de Venezuela.



Nadie lleva la cuenta de los muertos y muertas de esta lucha ancestral, señalan las entrevistadas y afirman que recién en la última década los pueblos indígenas venezolanos y sus mujeres empezaron a hacer alianzas y enlaces.



Se formó el Consejo Nacional Indio Venezolano y la Coordinadora de Mujeres Indígenas, que comenzó sus trabajos en los años setenta y se rearticuló recientemente. Pero mientras se fortalecen las redes, cada pueblo continúa su batallar diario a nivel local, y la impunidad es cotidiana.



Afirman que en Venezuela se siguen violentando las leyes que protegen a los pueblos indígenas. Livia Ortiz enumera: las empresas mineras no nos consultan, las transnacionales llegan a contaminar; incluso el propio estado viola los derechos de los pueblos indígenas, pues sigue dando concesiones a las mineras.



Ejemplos hay muchos, dice. En Caroní, donde opera una de esas empresas, es como si no existieran los pueblos indígenas, nos tratan como si fuéramos animales. Si no nos toman en cuenta, tenemos que enfrentarnos, sentencia.



Denuncia que también están los militares y los paramilitares bajo el mando de terratenientes y ganaderos, sobre todo en las fronteras de Venezuela. Con estos grupos crece la prostitución y las violaciones sexuales en los pueblos indígenas; las mujeres somos las principales víctimas cuando se militariza un pueblo, asevera.



Por eso, abunda Isabel, del pueblo Pemón, muchas mujeres que salen de sus comunidades están en situación de miseria, de calle, sin vivienda, en estado de mendicidad, son desplazadas. No sabemos cuántas son, pero la falta de solución a la demanda de demarcación de los territorios indígenas y la persecución, es lo que hace que ellas tengan que abandonar sus pueblos.



Conscientes de que la riqueza natural y los recursos que se encuentran en los territorios autóctonos son el botín perseguido por los "terrófagos", señalan que estar en pie de lucha es el único recurso que queda, y a las mujeres, "nos queda claro que estamos luchando por sobrevivir", afirma la diputada Dalia.



Algunos de estos enfrentamientos por la tierra han tenido frutos, relata la representante popular. El primer juicio en la corte suprema de justicia ganado por un pueblo indígena, fue el de Guamo, estado Monagas. Gracias a la unión de los pueblos de la zona, se logró el reconocimiento de 10.564 hectáreas.



Aclaran que el reconocimiento territorial que los pueblos indígenas demandan atraviesa por la necesidad de unidad "y porque desde el gobierno no se propicie la división indígena, otorgando títulos de propiedad de manera discrecional y que se nos trate con dignidad, no como pueblos de segunda", dice Dalia.



Por eso, la lucha contra la discriminación es fundamental. Necesitamos un Estado que atienda y que entienda a los pueblos indígenas. Desde la Presidencia se ha bajado esa línea, pero "la otra sociedad" no ha permitido el fin de la discriminación, para el mundo criollo seguimos sin existir, añade.



Hay una falta de reconocimiento histórica, hay un intento de exterminio permanente contra nosotras y nuestros pueblos, por eso, nosotras decimos que, como mujeres indígenas, tenemos una historia diferente que contar..., concluye.


Diario Rotativo de Querétaro

En la Guayana Esequiba mineros brasileños (garimpeiros) burlan la ley

La señora Amrita Thomas Amerindia vicepresidente de la Región No 7- Cuyuni Mazaruni en la Guayana Esequiba.



Tomado de:
Brazilians not employing enough locals in Region Seven mining ops

http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/business/10/23/brazilians-not-employing-enough-locals-in-region-seven-mining-ops/

By Stabroek staff October 23, 2009 in Business
-Vice Chairman
Brazilians engaged in mining activity in Region 7 are flouting the law by denying employment to Guyanese who live in communities where their operations are based, according to Regional Vice Chairman, Region 7 Amrita Thomas.

Amrita Thomas
Speaking with Stabroek Business during a visit to the city earlier this week the Regional Vice Chairman said that during her visits to various Region 7 communities, particularly in the middle Mazaruni area she had received complaints from residents that they were being denied jobs with mining operations run by Brazilians.


Thomas told Stabroek Business that while she was aware of a few cases in which Guyanese were employed at shops in Region 7 mining communities that were operated by Brazilians, as far as she was aware most of the workers directly connected to the mining operations were being brought in from Brazil. As far as I can see the problem is fairly widespread and what this means is that people in the communities who are prepared to work with the Brazilians cannot get work, Thomas said.


Brazilian mining operations in Guyana are granted work permits by the Ministry of Home Affairs subject to the recommendation of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the undertaking that at least 50 per cent of the workers attached to those operations will be Guyanese is one of the conditionallities for securing work permits.


Executive Director of the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) Edward Shields told Stabroek Business that he was aware of both the regulation requiring foreign mining operations to employ Guyanese as well as the complaint being made against Brazilian miners regarding discriminatory employment practices. “Part of the problem has to do with the difficulties associated with enforcing the law. I am not sure that the Ministry of Home Affairs can be blamed since work permits are granted subject to vetting by the GGMC.“ Shields explained that there may also be “a cultural problem” that may have created a certain outlook towards Guyanese workers by Brazilian miners. “The migrant workers who come here from Brazil are required to work pretty hard in order to make the money they need to in order to feed their families back home. Most of them, having come here, hardly ever return to Brazil except for carnival. Apart from that employees of mining operations on rivers are required to sleep on dredges. Whether or not the locals fit in with that work ethic is not something I am sure of,” Shields said.


Meanwhile, this newspaper understands that mining operators in Bartica are constructing living quarters at Bartica in anticipation of even more workers from Brazil being recruited to work in the mining industry here.



1. csingh says:
October 23, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Brazil is in Guyana to serve Brazilian interests. Brazil built the Takutu to facilitate Brazilian mining and logging interests. Brazil will build a road from Lethem to Linden to transport Brazilian Goods. Brazil will build a port to ship Brazilian goods to the Caribbean.
When will Guyanese open their eyes. Brazil is using Guyana. Raping it’s natural resources. This is only the beginning. More pillaging and plunder to come.
Reply
2. Venezolano says:
October 24, 2009 at 1:14 am
I don´t trust Lula Da Silva at all,that hipocrit have come to Venezuela and have said Chavez is the most democratical leader in America,he´s only interested in Brazil´s businesses but the rest of countries can go to hell.
Reply


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Nota del editor del blog: Al referenciarse a la República Cooperativa de Guyana se deben de tener en cuenta los 159.500Km2, de territorios ubicados al oeste del río Esequibo conocidos con el nombre de Guayana Esequiba o Zona en Reclamación sujetos al Acuerdo de Ginebra del 17 de febrero de 1966.


Territorios estos sobre los cuales el gobierno Venezolano en representación de la Nación venezolana se reservo sus derechos sobre los territorios de la Guayana Esequiba en su nota del 26 de mayo de 1966 al reconocerse al nuevo Estado de Guyana .
“...por lo tanto, Venezuela reconoce como territorio del nuevo Estado, el que se sitúa al este de la margen derecha del río Esequibo y reitera ante la comunidad internacional, que se reserva expresamente sus derechos de soberanía territorial sobre la zona que se encuentra en la margen izquierda del precitado río; en consecuencia, el territorio de la Guayana Esequiba sobre el cual Venezuela se reserva expresamente sus derechos soberanos, limita al Este con el nuevo Estado de Guyana, a través de la línea del río Esequibo, tomando éste desde su nacimiento hasta su desembocadura en el Océano Atlántico...”

Venezuela-Canada y la Gold Reserve Inc

Tomado de:
http://www.spokesman.com/tags/venezuela/
The Venezuelan government has moved closer to seizing a gold and copper claim owned by Gold Reserve Inc., which last week asked an international arbitrator to determine the amount of potential monetary loss to the Spokane-based company.

Gold Reserve President Doug Belanger said representatives of CVB-Minerven, a government-owned corporation, arrived at the Brisas project office Thursday to lay claim to a mineral deposit that could be worth $5 billion. An arbitration request with the International Centre for Investment Disputes of the World Bank had been filed Wednesday. Belanger said the CVB officials had no documents to support their claim to Brisas, and they were turned away. But Venezuelan press reports said the property had already been seized – reports Gold Reserve denied Monday.

Belanger said the reports were premature, although he expects the government headed by President Hugo Chavez to follow through on statements it will take control of the Brisas property, as it has other mineral and oil assets in Venezuela.

The president of CVB-Minerven, he noted, is also the South American country’s Minister of Mines.

Also, about 200 small miners have also showed up on the Brisas property in recent weeks because they have been told the government has taken ownership, Belanger said.

Small mining is illegal, but authorities have done little to intervene, he said.

Belanger said a decision on Gold Reserve’s claim for damages will probably not come until late 2011.

Temas relacionados October 26, 2009 <http://www.spokesman.com/2009/oct/26/> inBusiness <http://www.spokesman.com/business/> Venezuela closer to seizing Spokane company’s mine Bert Caldwell <http://www.spokesman.com/staff/bert-caldwell/>The Spokesman-Review * share<http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/oct/26/venezuela-closer-seizing-spokane-companys-mine/> o del.icio.us<http://del.icio.us/post?v=4&noui&jump=close&url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/oct/26/venezuela-closer-seizing-spokane-companys-mine/&title=Venezuela%20closer%20to%20seizing%20Spokane%20company%27s%20mine>o Digg<http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/oct/26/venezuela-closer-seizing-spokane-companys-mine/&title=Venezuela%20closer%20to%20seizing%20Spokane%20company%27s%20mine>o Newsvine<http://www.newsvine.com/_tools/seed&save?u=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/oct/26/venezuela-closer-seizing-spokane-companys-mine/&h=Venezuela%20closer%20to%20seizing%20Spokane%20company%27s%20mine>o reddit<http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/oct/26/venezuela-closer-seizing-spokane-companys-mine/&title=Venezuela%20closer%20to%20seizing%20Spokane%20company%27s%20mine>* email<http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/oct/26/venezuela-closer-seizing-spokane-companys-mine/>* print<http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/oct/26/venezuela-closer-seizing-spokane-companys-mine/?print-friendly> Close [X] <http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/oct/26/venezuela-closer-seizing-spokane-companys-mine/> Sorry, but you need to be logged in <http://www.spokesman.com/accounts/login/> to share stories via e-mail. This helps us prevent abuse of our e-mail system. Don't have a Spokesman.com account? Create one here <http://www.spokesman.com/accounts/register/> for free. Tags: Brisas Project <http://www.spokesman.com/tags/brisas-project> Doug Belanger <http://www.spokesman.com/tags/doug-belanger> Gold Reserve <http://www.spokesman.com/tags/gold-reserve> hugo chavez <http://www.spokesman.com/tags/hugo-chavez> mining <http://www.spokesman.com/tags/mining> Venezuela <http://www.spokesman.com/tags/venezuela>