In this newsletter:

• Nine years after the incident, military police officer will stand jury trial for the murder of 
  an indigenous person in the state of Acre

  
  

• Guarani People launch campaign for support to pressure ministry of Justice

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NINE YEARS AFTER THE INCIDENT, MILITARY POLICE OFFICER WILL STAND JURY TRIAL FOR THE MURDER OF AN INDIGENOUS PERSON IN THE STATE OF ACRE

 

Today, August 4, a military police officer charged with murdering Raimundo Silvino, an indigenous person from the Shanenawá people, in July 1996, will be judged in the city of Feijó, in the state of Acre. Silvino was killed by the police officer, who shot him in the head at close range after saying that he was beating an eight-year-old boy and refusing to hear Silvino’s explanations and those of two other indigenous people who witnessed the incident. Silvino died in the spot and the two other indigenous people were injured.

The boy, who was nine years old then, was the son of a Cimi missionary and, for this reason, knew the indigenous people and used to keep company with them.

 

Although they were not on duty, the military police officers were armed and had consumed alcohol. The incident took place on a Sunday afternoon on the banks of the Envira River, about 150 meters from the village of the Shanenawá people.

 

Prejudice

When the murder took place, Cimi said that the situation revealed how indigenous people are discriminated against. “The coldness of the crime shows that, in Brazil, indigenous people continue to be victims of a sort of prejudice that marginalizes and kills them,” said the entity in its weekly newsletter.

 

This kind of prejudice still prevails in the region and, for this reason, Cimi is once again expressing how concerned it is with the possibility that the police officers may be acquitted in the jury trial tomorrow. The Feijó region is known for systematic acts of violence against indigenous people. Their villages are located close to the city and the indigenous people have contacts with the urban world on a daily basis.

 

The indigenous people and their lawyers requested that the police officers be judged by a federal court. The Higher Court of Justice issued no reply to their request for years and, in April 2004, it decided that the trial should be carried out in a common court in Feijó.

 

Two military police officers – Rossini José de Moura and José Nivaldo Araújo – were charged with murder and double murder attempt. None of them were kept in prison not even for one day. Rossini José de Moura will stand jury trial and has been kept in a military police fort carrying out services in it internally in the city of Feijó while waiting for his trial.

 

The crime had domestic and international repercussions. In 1996, human rights-supporting organizations such as FASE, Survival International and the NGO Health Without Limits, besides the Human Rights Committee of the Chamber of Representatives, repudiated the crime and demanded that the guilty ones be punished.

 

About the people

The Shanenawá people are made up of about 300 members. They live on the banks of the Envira River in the municipality of Feijó, state of Acre, in the Katuquina/Kaxinawá indigenous land, where the Kaxinawá people also live. The land was not named after the Shanenawá because the surrounding society initially “identified” the group as belonging to the Katukina people. In their language, Shanenawá means “blue bird people.”

 

They used to live in the region of the Tarauacá municipality in the state of Acre. As more people settled in their area and rubber extraction activities grew, the Shanenawá migrated and have been living in a territory located in Feijó for decades.

 

 

GUARANI PEOPLE LAUNCH CAMPAIGN FOR SUPPORT TO PRESSURE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

                         

On Tuesday, August 9, the Campaign for the Demarcation of the Morro dos Cavalos Indigenous Land will be launched. The campaign calls on society to send messages to the minister of Justice requesting him to sign, immediately, an administrative ruling defining the bounds of the Morro dos Cavalos indigenous land located in the municipality of Palhoça, in the state of Santa Catarina. Tired of waiting for the law to be complied with, the Guarani decided to pressure the minister of Justice, Márcio Thomaz Bastos, more systematically for him to sign the ruling.

 

The deadline for the ministry of Justice to publish an administrative ruling establishing the bounds of indigenous lands expires 30 days after it receives the relevant administrative documents from Funai. In the case of the Morro dos Cavalos land, this deadline expired over 21 months ago, although all the steps in the process were concluded and favorable opinions were issued by Funai and legal advisors to the ministry of Justice.

 

The campaign launching ceremony will be attended by Guarani leaders from the state of Santa Catarina and will be supported by organizations linked to social movements, churches, schools, and universities.

           

The campaign will focus on schools, universities and social and ecclesiastical movements. As stressed by Werá Tupã, leader of the village, “initially, we will send letters and documents to the minister, but if he doesn’t respond, we will have to take tougher measures to made sure that he abides by the law.”

 

The land has not been demarcated because of political pressures from sectors that oppose its demarcation. In this case, the pressure comes particularly from the government of the state of Santa Catarina, which refuses to demarcate any lands. In 2005, no Technical Group was set up in Brazil to identify indigenous lands.

 

This situation is aggravated by the precarious conditions faced by the indigenous community, which doesn’t even have enough space to grow crops and is forced to survive on donations. The inadequate area that is used by the community today is very unsafe and gives rise to concerns, as the BR 101 highway is only about 30 meters away from the village school. On July 10, three Guarani children were run over near the school by an out-of-control car.

 

Website of the campaign: www.terraguarani.org.br

 

Brasília, 03 August 2005

Cimi – Indianist Missionary Council

www.cimi.org.br