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TITLE: Brazil Attacks on Indians |
AUTHOR: |
DATE: April 30, 2001 |
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The Guarani-Kaiowá in southern Brazil have seen most of their land stolen by ranchers and now live crowded onto tiny reservations. Here despair has led more than 300, mainly teenagers, to commit suicide. The Indians face violence if they try to take back their land: in March 2001, for instance, families from Ka'a Jari were fired upon while trying to reoccupy their land. One young man was killed. The land of the Yanomami, in the Amazon, is under threat after the minister of defence spoke of a 'mistake' in its demarcation, and the need to 'revise' - that is, reduce - the area. The Yanomami reservation is their ancestral homeland, on which they depend for their livelihood. Reducing the area would allow in settlers, miners and loggers. There is already an army barracks in the area and sexual relations between soldiers and Yanomami women are spreading sexually transmitted diseases. The army also wants to build barracks near a Makuxi village, inside the Raposa-Serra do Sol Indian reservation. The Makuxi strongly oppose this, citing likely problems with disease, alcohol, road building and pollution. Meanwhile the very existence of the Indian reservation is now being contested in court by ranchers and local politicians. Please write expressing your concern about these issues to: Exmo Sr Presidente F H Cardoso, Palácio do Planalto, Praça dos Três Poderes 70150-900 Brasília DF Brazil
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