Newsletter No. 749

 

TUPINIKIM AND GUARANI LEAVE BRASILIA AFTER TWO DAYS OF CAMPING

 

The 50 Tupinikim and Guarani Indians who were camping in front of the Ministry of Justice since Wednesday (17th of January), decided to return to their villages in the Espirito Santo state after two days of mobilization.

 

These two indigenous people traveled from Espírito Santo to Brasília in search of a definition about the demarcation of their lands. They wanted to be received by the Minister of Justice, Márcio Thomaz Bastos, regarding to the conflicts with Aracruz Celulose over possession of the land. The struggle has already lasted for more than two decades.

 

Last Thursday morning, the group spoke to the Advisor of the Minister of Justice, Teresinha Maglia, and to the director in charge of land issues at Funai, Nadja Bindá, in their camp in front of the Ministry. Maglia justified Márcio Thomaz Bastos’ refusal to the requested meeting by saying: “The Minister is not going to receive the indigenous people, just like he is not going to receive representatives of the Aracruz company.” Both questioned the pressure strategy adopted by the indigenous people. Vilson Tupinikim justified it by replying: “Where we live, we are suffering a lot of discrimination.”

                                               

“We are protesting against the failure to keep a promise: the Minister said that an administrative ruling would be issued by December last year to settle the issue. And he spoke in the name of President Lula, so it was the Federal Government that assumed this commitment,” the Tupinikim leader claimed. In February, 2006, Thomaz Bastos undertook the commitment to legalize the Tupinikim and Guarani lands by the end of 2006, during a meeting of the Espírito Santo State Legislative Assembly.

 

Activities

The Indians met with the President of the Commission of Human Rights and Minorities of the Federal Parliament, Mr. Luiz Eduardo Greenhalgh. They explained once again the situation and stressed the pressure they feel in the area because of the racist and discriminatory campaign Aracruz has been realizing over the past few months against them. Greenhalgh committed himself to send an urgent letter to the Minister, asking him to declare the 11,009 ha as Tupinikim/Guarani land and to the Presidency of the Republic asking for an urgent meeting with the indigenous leaders.

 During the first day of camp, the group closed off one side of the road, in front of the Ministry of Justice, for five minutes. They were later informed by ministerial advisors that the Minister would not receive the indigenous people and that they should talk to Funai, an indigenist institution linked to the Ministry.

 

On being given this news, the group headed for the Presidential Office and requested a meeting with President Lula to discuss the difficulties faced by the indigenous peoples in getting access to the Minister of Justice. It was not possible to book a meeting, but a conversation with the Special Advisor of the President of the Republic, Ricardo Collar, was requested. The advisor has still to reply to this request.

 

According to the legislation, only the Minister can decide to publish an administrative ruling demarcating land areas. On November 16, 2006, the Minister’s Legal Advisor approved the demarcation procedure, stating that the legal formalities had been obeyed. Once this had been done, it was up to the Minister to decide on the process. The decision is 4 months late, based on the legal deadlines.

 

The discussions between the Aracruz Celulose company and the Tupinikim and Guarani are dealing with the dispute concerning the traditional occupation of the land. The indigenous peoples have four anthropological identification reports issued by Funai in their favor: the company insists that the indigenous peoples were not living on the lands when they arrived.

 

A year of conflict

On 20 January, it will be a year since the Federal Police cleared and destroyed two villages that had been rebuilt within the indigenous land. This eviction resulted in injuries to 13 indigenous people. “In spite of apologies from the government for this police action, which involved countless improper acts, its effects can still be felt and nobody has been punished,” according to the NGO Fase. The Public Prosecutor’s Office has issued a public civil action against the Union for compensation for the material and moral damages suffered by the indigenous people.

 TWO INDIGENOUS CHILDREN DIED AT THE BEGINNING OF JANUARY IN THE Madeira RIVER REGION IN THE STATE OF Amazonas

 

Two children from the Pirahã people died during the first days of January and many other indigenous people are suffering from malaria and suspected tuberculosis. This was disclosed by the general coordinator of the Tora, Tenharim, Mura and Parintintin Indigenous Peoples’ Organization (Opittamp), Elton Rodrigues Paes, who has accused the National Health Foundation (Funasa), of not providing the necessary treatment to the peoples in the River Madeira region, in the municipalities of Manicoré and Humaitá.

 

According to Elton Rodrigues, the two children who died are from the Cacaia and Santa Cruz settlements, on the River Maici, in Humaitá. One of them was around one year old and presumably died of dehydration as other children in the same settlement have shown the same symptoms. The second child died during childbirth.

The increase in the number of diseases has greatly upset the indigenous people, who are complaining about the lack of treatment provided by Funasa. The last time a Funasa health team visited the Pirahã communities in the River Maici area was in July last year. Over the last few months, the teams have passed quickly through the settlements, and not stayed there for the time required to accompany the situation of the sick, the indigenous people claim.

According to the Opittamp coordinator, Funasa was notified about the suspected cases of tuberculosis, but has yet to send people to the settlements. “We have been telling Funasa for more than a year that there has been an increase in illness in our settlements, but nothing has been done and the result is that there are now a lot of indigenous people suffering from malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases. It we don’t get any treatment, there may be more deaths,” Elton Rodrigues warned. On the River Marmelos, there are many indigenous people suffering from malaria and other diseases amongst the Tora, Apurinã, Mundurucu and Tenharim peoples.

 

Up to May last year, the Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COAIB) managed the Manaus Special Indigenous Peoples’ Sanitary District (DSEI) and was responsible for treating the indigenous people in that region. As the contract was not renewed, Funasa took on the obligation of providing these services to the settlements in the River Madeira region. (J.Rosha)

 

Brasília, 18 January 2007

Cimi – Indianist Missionary Council