Indigenous Lands Invaded by Logging, Illegal Mining and Ecotourism
12/5/97
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Headline: Indigenous Lands Invaded by Logging, Illegal Mining and Ecotourism
Source: The Associated Press
Date: 12/5/97
Copyright 1997: The Associated Press
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) - Eco-tourism, logging, illegal mining and government
inaction are responsible for invasions of indigenous lands and a near doubling
of diseases affecting Indians, a report said Friday.
The 100-page report, compiled by the Catholic Church's Indigenous Missionary
Council, enumerates 140,821 cases in 1996 where the rights of Indians were
violated by either the government or private citizens. The cases affected 121
of Brazil's 250 tribes.
In 1996, there were 109 documented instances of outsiders invading Indian
reservations, an increase of 95 percent over the year before.
According to the report, the increased contact with outsiders has caused a 92
percent jump in the number of illnesses - mostly diarrhea, malaria and
respiratory infections- over the year before.
The report said the government of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso has
done little in the past two years to protect Indians claiming a lack of funds.