TECHNOLOGY-GUYANA: Opposition to Aerospace Firm Mounts

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Bert Wilkinson

GEORGETOWN, Dec 7 1999 (IPS) - At first almost everyone embraced the project. Thoughts of Guyana on the world map for reasons other than its near pristine tropical rainforest and its gold production, were likely on the minds of many when government first said it was rolling out the red carpet to an American company interested in building a space port in the remote northwestern region.

Today, with additional information being made available to the public, both by the Texas-based Beal Aerospace Technologies Inc and the Bharrat Jagdeo administration, opposition to the project is mounting.

Criticism being directed at authorities is linked to a recent announcement that the company, based in Texas, wants access to about 30,000 hectares of land in the Waini District to construct an international satellite launching base, complete with all facilities, to tap in on a business worth 50 billion dollars annually.

But now organisations in existence for diverse reasons from land rights campaigners to those keeping an eye on civic issues are ganging up on the administration, asking questions about a project the government is holding up as the standard bearer of all investments in Guyana.

The Amerindian People’s Association (APA), for example, this week publicly asked the administration to explain why ordinary Guyanese, indigenous Indians in particular, should be barred from using the area set aside for Beal Aerospace because of safety and security concerns as officials have said.

While no heavily populated community is located in the general area, the APA with representatives in Amerindian communities throughout the country, is adamant that villagers will need continued access to the resources of their surroundings whether or not the company says so.

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, forced to take to his feet in parliament Monday night to defend the administration, explained that about a third of the area will be used as the primary location of the launch site, while the remainder will be a buffer zone in the event of emergencies.

But not too many are impressed, with most urging the administration not to sell the land to any foreign company, allowing it to own such a huge area containing valuable timber and possibly mineral resources.

” Residents in some communities are now questioning the way discussions for the deal is going ahead and are concerned with access and other rights, including land rights, ” declared the APA, already on the case of government to issue titles to 75 Indian communities.

Meanwhile, Guyana Is First, a civic organisation dominated by “concerned professionals”, has come out swinging against a statement by Hinds in parliament alleging the group was happy with the way things have gone so far.

“On the contrary, although the discussion (with Hinds) was cordial, the group felt that the Prime Minister provided few answers to the questions raised, leading those present to wonder who will provide answers to these questions of vital national interest, ” said the body in a statement..

And even as opposition to the project mounts, Beal officials are locked in discussions with the state for permission to build the site in the Waini District, close to the border with Venezuela and near the Atlantic Ocean.

Guyana’s nearness to the equator will allow for easy launches and gives the company an advantage in sending heavier payloads into space. The proximity of the site to the ocean will minimise the chances of damage to land in the event of a launch failure. The European Space Station is built on a similar principle in French Guiana, east of neighbouring Suriname.

Some activists have even suggested that the Guyana Defence Force will be restricted from supervision of the area because of what they call the US paranoia with its technology falling into the wrong hands, charges the government has not denied with conviction. So far Beal has not said that it has won permission from the American government.

The company turned to Guyana in the last year after running into problems getting Sombrero Island, a small uninhabited island off the British dependency of Anguilla. Environmentalists there opposed its presence, saying it will disrupt the existence of a colony of sea birds that nest there every year.

Beal’s efforts to acquire a piece of land in the US Virgin Islands have run into similar problems, The plan was to have the assembly plant there, set up the rockets and fly them to Guyana for launching. The government there supports the project, but environmentalists have come out strongly against it.

For his part, Hinds told members of the Assembly that while a significant portion of the land will be sold to Beal, there are specific performance agreements that must be adhered to or the land will revert to the state.

For instance, the firm has five years in which to build the launch site or its money will be returned. Failing to get into the launch business specifically, would mean the states permission would have to be sought to convert to anything else

“We think that the arrangement seeks to balance the concerns of Guyana and Guyanese and the needs of the investment,” said Hinds.

He is due to meet with the main opposition Peoples National Congress this week to attempt to deal with the concerns that have been raised about the project.