The occupation of the harbor of Aracruz comes to an end; Indians go to Brasília for a meeting with the Minister of Justice

 

After the arrival of a director of the company Aracruz Celulose, the more than 1,000 workers of the company and its subcontractors encouraged to take out the Tupinikim and Guarani Indians by force from the harbor of Aracruz (Portocel), left the place at about 17:00hs. The situation today got very tense, several Indians and supporters of their struggle were attacked by workers and almost a fatal conflict took place. With loudspeakers, when they left the place, the leaders of the workers threathened the Indians that they would come back tomorrow.

 

At the end of the afternoon at about 19:00hs, after a meeting with local representatives of the FUNAI, the Indians accepted the proposal of having a meeting in Brasília next monday with the MInister of Justice Márcio Thomas Bastos. The Tupinikim and Guarani left the harbor voluntarily.

 

Aracruz Celulose is the main responsible for the agression practiced today, even against a state parliamentarian, Claudio Vereza, who uses a wheelchair, andwho is a well-known defender of human rights. It is unacceptable that a company releases its workers to take out the Indians by force, according to the trade union leader Davi Gomes – one of the workers´leaders – because the military and federal police did not act against the Indians. Responsible also is the Brazilian State that was negligent during the aggressions against the indigenous peoples and the solidarity groups, having only some few policemen present at the place. During the whole action, the Minister of Justice did not make any pronunciation about the emission of the Act of Demarcation of the Tupinikim and Guarani lands.

In the afternoon (13/12) about 60 students occupied for some time the Palace of the Government of the state of Espirito Santo, supporting the Tupinikim and Guarani and demanding that the State of Espirito Santo should take position to guarantee the security of the indigenous peoples and activists at the harbor. 

Tuesday there was also a small demonstration at the consulate of Brazil in New York,  organisations in Germany and Norway delivered a petition in support of the regularization of the Tupinikim and Guarani lands to the Brazilian Embassies in these countries and in several other countries there were calls for signatures.

13th of December 2006

Alert against the Green Desert Network