Newsletter n. 759
Newsletter n. 759
– Nine indigenous people who have been in prison for one year in the state of Mato Grosso do Sull will be released
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Federal Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) searches for solutions to SITUATION OF poverty and lack of land FACED BY the Guarani
The situation of extreme poverty and no land to live in faced by the Guarani-Kaiowá in Brazil led the Federal Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) to hold meetings during three days this week with indigenous leaders, anthropologists, experts in indigenous issues and representatives of federal public authorities. The discussions held on Wednesday, the 28th, focused on the situation in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul and included presentations on a situation which is being referred to as a “humanitarian crisis” and discussions on paths for overcoming the crisis.
During the hearing, three proposals stood out: setting up a task force for demarcating lands in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul and for identifying Guarani Tekohá (traditional territories) – the only long-term solution for the situation of lack of food being faced in the region, where most of the population depend on the distribution of food baskets by the government today. “The land is what can fight hunger,” said the Guarani Ambrósio Vilalba. The proposed task force would be in charge of preparing a list of Tekohá being claimed by the Guarani and of defining a timetable for identifying lands in the state. One of the possibilities for speeding up the much-delayed removal of non-indigenous people from the lands in question is for the state of Mato Grosso do Sul to buy back title deeds to lands which could not have been transferred to third parties legally, compensating their current owners and giving the land back to the indigenous people, as suggested by professor Antônio Brand of the Dom Bosco Catholic University. This proposal, he stressed, is not the same thing as buying lands for the indigenous people.
The second proposal was to ask the minister of Justice, Tarso Genro, and the Human Rights Defense Council (CDDPH) to pay a visit to the area urgently to become acquainted with legal issues affecting indigenous peoples in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, particularly issues related to arrests of indigenous people and to the population of inmates housed in prisons in that state. There are at least 123 indigenous people arrested in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, about 48 of whom in the city of Amambaí. “This disproportionate number of indigenous people in prison may be a sign that they are being persecuted,” said the Attorney General, Eugênio Aragão.
Another issue addressed was the need to find a definitive solution for the distribution of food baskets to the Guarani, especially in the Dourados region, where more children have been dying. After the state government decided to suspend the distribution of food baskets in January, the Ministry of Social Development made baskets available to be distributed in the following month. The distribution of food baskets was resumed, but the policy problem involved remains unsolved.
This Wednesday in the afternoon, the discussions will focus on problems involved for legalizing the occupation of Guarani lands by them and on hurdles and solutions to be tackled to ensure their recognition.
On Friday, the hearing will address problems afflicting Guarani populations in border regions between Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, who are facing similar problems caused by poverty and lack of land. The discussions will focus on “Public policies and citizenship rights” and “Analysis of the proposal for the regional integration of public policies and rights.”
Nine indigenous people who have been in prison for one year in the state of Mato Grosso do Sull will be released
The nine Guarani-Kaiowá from Passo Piraju who have been in prison in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul since April 2006 will be released following a decision of the Court of Appeals (STJ). The 5th Panel of Judges followed the vote of justice Laurita Vaz and unanimously decided that the murder of two civil police officers by the indigenous people should be judged by a federal court. The case was being prosecuted by a state court until now. With this decision, the preventive custody decree issued by a state court which kept the indigenous people in prison was annulled. The case will now be referred to a federal court in Dourados, state of Mato Grosso do Sul. The Habeas Corpus was judged in the afternoon of this Tuesday, March 27, in Brasília. Until the morning of this Friday, the Guarani had not been released.
During the trial, lawyer Paulo Machado Guimarães, who is one of Cimi’s legal advisors, orally presented the arguments in favor of the Habeas Corpus. The lawyers of the entity are the defense attorneys of the nine indigenous people.
Guimarães defended the competency of federal courts to judge cases involving land disputes and ethnic considerations. His position was supported by an opinion issued by deputy attorney general Maria Eliane Menezes de Farias, who believes that the case should be judged by a federal court and indicated that the preventive custody lacks appropriate grounds.
In her vote, justice Laurita Vaz accepted the arguments of the defense attorneys. The first of them is that the murders in question took place as the indigenous people were trying to defend their land, as they declared themselves. “The group action resulted from an effort to protect a land area. The scenario shows that that the action is closely related to a dispute for the possession of a land area between indigenous people and its owners,” Vaz said. She stressed that the police officers failed to identify themselves as such and, because of the way they were acting, they were mixed up with farmers. “There is an ongoing conflict between indigenous people and farmers in the region arising from a land dispute,” the justice said.
“Only a federal court is competent to judge this case. I recognize the absolute incompetence of the state court to judge this case and therefore I am annulling the preventive custody order issued by it, without prejudice to any possible decision of a federal judge in relation to the arrest of the indigenous people,” justice Laurita Vaz said as she voted on the Habeas Corpus issued in connection with proceedings 65,898/MS in the afternoon of Tuesday, March 27, in Brasília.
Cimi – Indianist Missionary Council
Brasília, March 29, 2007
