Violent and irregular action by the Federal Police against Tupinikim and Guarani Indians provokes court action by the Federal Public Prosecution Service in Espírito Santo against the Federal Government

On 04.07.2006, the Federal Public Prosecution Service in Espirito Santo filed a Public Civil Action at the Federal Court demanding compensation for collective moral damages against the Federal Government and in favor of the Tupinikim and Guarani Indians, considering the moral prejudice caused by the Federal Police (FP) in fulfilling the order to return the possession of lands in favor of Aracruz Celulose on 20.02.2006. This returning of property resulted in the destruction of two indigenous villages, Olho d´Água and Córrego do Ouro, and the arrest of two Indians and wounding of 13 others with rubber-coated bullets fired at point blank range.

The action was filed by the Federal Attorney Dr. André Pimentel Filho, after lodging Civil Administrative Procedure no. 1.17.003.000001/2006-75 that brought to light the irregularities involved in the FP’s operation. According to this investigation, the FP “acted in a non-technical, precipitated, excessive and horrifying manner, with disregard for the human rights of the indigenous Tupinikim and Guarani communities in the municipality of Aracruz, Espírito Santo and with disregard for the obligations of proportionality and efficiency, inherent in any government action, causing moral prejudice to this collectivity (the indigenous communities)”. According to the investigation, the action of the FP, called “Operation Tupinikim II”, was guided by an excessive use of violence and abuse of authority. In the preparation and execution of the operation, the FP did not attempt to undertake any prior and necessary phase of dialogue or to pacifically convince the Indians, but instead chose the immediate use of force. It must be stressed that the rubber-coated bullets were fired at point-blank range, while a minimum distance of 20 (twenty) meters should be respected. By using the installations of Aracruz Celulose as the base of the Operation in order to carry out the court decision, “the Federal Government, by means of the FP, endangered the seriousness, impartiality, and morality of its action”. Furthermore, it transformed the interested party (the Aracruz Company) into a temporary jail for two Indians, a fact that is “totally irregular and extremely humiliating for the Indians”.

Other irregularities pointed out by the Federal Public Prosecution service include the following facts: police activities continued even after the Regional Federal Court of the 2^nd Region had cancelled the order to return the property; the FP had no judicial order to destroy the Indian’s houses and crops, nevertheless these were destroyed with the use of Aracruz Celulose machinery; the Indians’ personal belongings were removed from the destroyed villages and confiscated, without any judicial order and taken to the Headquarters of the FP, depriving the Indians of their belongings for almost one week.

In the court action against the Federal Government, the Federal Attorney Dr. André Pimentel, stresses that “the FP’s poor performance is not the first illicit action by the State against the Indians”, considering that “the Federal Government continues to inexplicably delay the entire demarcation of the indigenous territory in clear contradiction with the terms of Article 231 of the Major Law of the Republic, even though anthropological studies confirming traditional indigenous occupation exist.”

Considering the above, the Federal Public Prosecution Service understands that the Federal Government has the duty to compensate the indigenous Tupinikim and Guarani communities for the moral prejudice caused by the “FP’s barbaric action.” According to the Federal Public Prosecution Service the indigenous communities felt a mixture of “sadness and perplexity” following this “tragic episode.”   “Sadness at seeing several of their members being hurt and unfairly and violently reprehended by police action; perplexity at the way this action took place, with the use of the interested party’s resources, with a lack of police ability to undertake such a delicate issue and with State disregard for the community”.

Payment is intended to compensate the damaged party (the Indians) as “attenuation for the prejudice they have suffered”. At the same time, it is aimed at “collecting a fine from the party causing the damage (the Federal Government) to discourage it from practicing these actions again.”