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GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, December 1, 2016
Are the scales of the courts balanced against heterosexual males? Dear Editor, I AM the father of three children -- two females and a male -- and the grandfather of a beautiful grand-daughter, no one else but I have stood at the helm of my children’s upbringing. Their collective interests and the society they must live in are important to me. The contents of this letter is directed to the lawmakers of my country and composed against a recent experience I witnessed when a close male relative was placed before the magistrates in Courts 8 &9. My concern is whether the laws concerning the following content of this letter can be measured against the blindfolded Maat of the unbiased scales of Justice or whether human preferences
tipped the scale towards some ‘Feelings’ driven, popular cause of the day, directed at a deliberate male imbalance. Two young people who have known each other for over a decade and were a few years prior to 2016, in a short relationship came together on the 29, November 2016. The female arrived in the country reportedly from London, where she is based, to the place of stay of the young man who had had some bad experiences from which he had recovered, and was still recovering from. She is to return soon, so the young man requests that she stays the two weeks. This is allowed, the unexpected follows next. The two weeks have been extended, despite protests from his parents. Without the engagement of his parents they are married the follow-
ing January 27. The new wife claims that she is pregnant in mid-December. The new husband accepts. Then by mid-April he discovers that she did not come to Guyana from London as she had said, but that she had left three months before and had gone to Suriname where she had lived with a man there, before coming to his place of abode. Fate would have it that the man is the father of the new husband’s God son; still rooted in his parents’ home, their presence becomes unbearable, his parents demand that she leaves. By May they were separated completely as other issues on the new wife’s character began to emerge. He proceeded to legal aid to proceed with a divorce. His family had cautioned him about the innocent in-
volved and since infidelity is a rebuttal of marriage, the question of a paternity test must be an option, this was well agreed. The wife subsequently took him to court for support of the child which the law of marriage dictates is his, whether he acknowledges it by signature or not, what a Law!. The case proceeds in the context of ‘Child Support’. The wife has a lawyer, he doesn’t. This is important as it seems to determine how the scales may be tipped. The evidence is given all of the above in specifics are articulated. The magistrate states that the contention presented by the estranged husband is not for her court. Her Worship refuses evidence to the contention from the husband,
then rules that regardless of his contention which is ignored by the court, that he must pay both wife and child a weekly sum. The problem here is that if infidelity proven is a repudiation of marriage, then how come its argument and evidence are not entertained or directed to some existing legal forum of mediation? If the court is limited as implied by the magistrate to deal with such matters as stated by the husband, would it not be unjust to pronounce against him, having denied him his right to defence?. It is the Law or the Magistrate? If it is the Law, then is this law contrived to push men to the dark side; are the courts not subject to a semblance of fairness. During the three engage-
ments that I endured, there is no doubt that this area of the Law is tedious, but I saw no evidence of a middle ground where contentious testimony is weighted. I would have thought that equal grounds of contention must be entertained. To heap contempt on a situation, is when the court acknowledges that the husband is not working, declares his evidence and contention as untenable, yet proceeds, telling him that he worked in the past so he is threatened to find money by any means to fulfil the conclusion of a good court day. How is this to be construed? There has to be another word, other than justice.
inate mining of river banks and also the dumping of tailings in the channels were not confined to the Potaro and Essequibo Rivers, but were taking place in the middle Cuyuni ( just below the confluence of the Ekereku River with the Cuyuni River), in the Wenamu River (on both the Guyana and Venezuela banks), in the Ekereku River (opposite the Ekereku Airstrip) , and in the middle Mazaruni River (below Tamakay Landing). The situation in the Potaro and Essequibo Rivers has also worsened as seen in the accompanying photographs of mining activities on the right and left banks of the Potaro River and on the left bank of the Essequibo River
by Omai Landing. Another photograph also shows the heavy sediment loading of the Cuyuni River (from the cumulative impact of mining activities in the upper Cuyuni located in Venezuela, and in the middle and lower Cuyuni River in Guyana) at its confluence with the Mazaruni River by Kartabo Point. Surely, the regulatory and law-enforcement agencies, some of which actually have personnel deployed within striking distance of the impacted areas, cannot be unaware of these breaches. Added to the mining illegalities are the build-up of detritus (human waste and abandoned mining camps and equipment), indiscrim-
inate dumping of tailings proving to be hazards to navigation in the rivers , deterioration of the quality of fresh water for downstream communities, and the degradation of aquatic life. The impacts of the mining activities on river banks such as on the left bank of the Cuyuni River below Ankoko Island, and on the river channel of the Wenamu River also have strategic implications as these apply to the alignment of the Thalweg (or middle of the river channel) and the delineation of the international border. The contribution of the gold-mining community to the development of Guyana and Guyanese is undeniable. The pioneering
efforts, courage, risk-taking and technological advances initiated by miners and services providers in the mining sector, are to be applauded. However, mining operations in our rivers or contiguous land areas have to be compliant with the regulations, including those relating to the health and safety of mining crews and downstream communities and for the sustainability of ecosystems and services. I had reported to the authorities on aberrations in the gold-mining operations in our rivers and contiguous land areas six weeks ago. I have not seen any evidence of any reduction of these breaches but more alarm-
ingly, I have witnessed the escalation of breaches and on a much wider scale. Through this medium, I am appealing to the mining community, the regulatory and enforcement agencies and the affected communities to work collaboratively to put a stop to this madness which, if unchecked, will contradict our efforts at sustainable development through a green economic pathway, compromise our stewardship of Guyana’s natural capital, and undermine the integrity of our legacy to future generations.
Regards Barrington Braithwaite
Cease indiscriminate gold mining in our rivers and on river banks Dear Editor,
O N M o n d a y, O c t o b e r 17, 2016, I informed the relevant regulatory and enforcement agencies of the serious degradation being done to the river banks of the Potaro and Essequibo Rivers between Tumatumari and Omai, as a result of irresponsible gold-dredging activities. I submitted the photographic evidence and was informed that action would be taken to deal with obvious breaches of the Regulations. On Sunday, November 27, 2016, while on an aerial reconnaissance over Regions Seven and Eight, I observed that the indiscrim-
Regards Joseph G Singh Major General (retd)