Conflict in Bahia Between Military Police and Indigenous Groups
11/19/99
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: NEWS FROM BRAZIL, Number 375
Source: SEJUP (Servico Brasileiro de
Justica e Paz).Number 375, http://www.oneworld.org/sejup/
Relaying information from Folha de Sao Paulo
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: November 19, 1999
- Conflict in Bahia between military police and Patoxo and Patoxo-
ha-hae
Last week the Patoxo and Patoxo-ha-hae took possession of 54,000
hectares of land that was demarcated in 1926 in the Caramuru-
Catarina-Paraguassu reserve in Pau Brasil, Bahia. On Wednesday
night, close to 150 military police of Itabuna, 469 km from Salvador,
and Pau Brasil, 528 km south of Salvador, began occupying the area as
well. "The general climate in the local, which was friendly, turned
tense with the arrival of the police", affirmed the vice president of
Cimi (Indiengous Missionary Council), Saulo Feitosa. According to
Cimi, the police resolved to occupy the area claimed by the two
indigenous groups "to provide security to the groups and to impede
more land occupations."
According to the Itabuna police, as they were attempting to take down
a barrier on the road that leads to the Patoxo and Patoxo-ha-hae
settlement, they were ambushed and two military police officers were
killed. Yesterday morning, the governor Cesar Borges (PFL)
authorized the sending of shock troops to the region. "We are going
to adopt all the provisions necessary to punish those responsible for
the crimes", declared the governor.
According to the governor, the military police will disarm all who
are occupying the area, including the indigenous groups and the land
owners. After confirmation of the deaths of the two officers, the
police blocked all the roads that provide access to the indigenous
community.
Currently, close to 1,200 Patoxo and Patoxo-ha-hae occupy 2,000
hectares of the reserve. "The other 54 ,000 hectares are in the
hands of land owners who received land titles from the Bahian
government" affirmed the vice-president of Cimi. "The indigenous
groups took possession of the land to pressure the government to
resolve the impasse." The conflict between the Patoxo, the Patoxo-
ha-hae and land owners in Pau Brasil started 17 years ago when Funai
went to court with an action asking to nullify the land titles
conceded by the Bahian government to the ex-tenants of the region.
According to Funai, the distribution of land titles in the region
started in 1976.