Aggression Against Indians and the Environment in Mesa Mountain Range
7/16/97
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Jun 16, 1997 by cimi@embratel.net.br in igc:rainfor.genera
Subject: MESA MOUNTAIN RANGE: AGGRESSION AGAINST INDIANS AND THE
ENVIRONMENT
Newsletter n. 264
MESA MOUNTAIN RANGE: AGGRESSION AGAINST INDIANS AND THE
ENVIRONMENT
The denunciations from the federal public prosecution service,
Cimi, the Pro-Indian Commission of Sao Paulo and Asflora, an
environmentalist entity, of the serious threat against the
Ava-Canoeiro Indians and the environment posed by the reservoir of the
Mesa Mountain Range Power Plant in the state of Goias were once again
confirmed. The building of the plant was widely publicized by the
government, economic and political groups, and the media.
Denunciations of irregularities in relation to the environment and the
Ava-Canoeiro people were not even considered by the President of the
Republic and his advisors, who pressured the National Congress to vote
in favor of closing the floodgates of the reservoir on an urgent
basis.
The area where the Indians live is being invaded by hordes of
miners. They occupied 42 km along the Tocantins River, which divides
the indigenous area in two halves and became dry after the floodgates
were closed. Illegal mining activities were being carried out in the
region even before the closing of the floodgates, but now the number
of miners increased to an estimated 10-15 thousand.
According to anthropologist Valter Coutinho, from the National
Indian Foundation (Funai), the official Indianist agency, the
institution intends to buy an area in the region to add it to the
traditional indigenous territory, so as to make up for the loss of
3,100 hectares that are being flooded. In Cimi's opinion, the federal
government has been omissive of its responsibilities because it has
not demarcated the land in question so far and has not taken any
measures to make up for the loss of 10% of the area after the closing
of the floodgates, and also because it has been postponing actions to
protect the indigenous population from the invasion of miners.
The total area being flooded covers 10% of the 38,000-hectare land
of the Ava-Canoeiro. There is strong evidence that some members of the
Ava-Canoeiro population are living in caves located in the area that
is being flooded. One month ago, farmers said they saw Indians from
this group in the area. Only six of these Indians have ever been
contacted by Funai.
Since the dam began to be built, in 1981, Furnas, the company in
charge of building it, has been accused of serious irregularities.
Because it affects an indigenous people, the undertaking had to be
authorized by the President of the Republic, but Funai was only
informed about it in 1985. After the Federal Constitution of 1988 was
promulgated, any utilization of water resources and energy-generating
works in indigenous lands must be authorized by the National Congress
also. However, such authorization was only referred to Congress after
the dam was already built, in 1995, and even then due to pressures
from the federal public prosecution service.
The riverine populations of the Tocantins river are also being
adversely affected by the reservoir, as diseases such as rabies are
being disseminated by bats and endemic diseases such as dengue,
malaria and yellow fever have been registered among them. The
rotting of the river's water after it stopped flowing is causing
pollution and killing fish and all kinds of animals typically found
the region. All this is happening because of the lack of preventive
measures to deal with the environmental impact of the reservoir.
In October of last year, federal judge Marcelo Dolzany suspended
the closing of the floodgates because of irregularities in the
project. However, chief justice Leite Soares of the Supreme Regional
Federal Court of the 1st Region of Brasilia accepted a request made by
the state enterprise (Furnas) for the floodgates to be closed on the
same day that the National Congress endorsed the decision to close
them, on October 15. In that month, Furnas was sued by the office of
the attorney general in the states of Goias and Tocantins, and may be
prosecuted by the Brazilian Institute for Environment and have its
license to operate, which is valid for one year, annulled by Femago
(Environment Foundation of the State of Goias).
Brasilia, 12 June 1997
Indianist Missionary Council - Cimi