President of Funai Denies that Decree 1,775/96 Will Be Reviewed
8/28/97
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Headline: President of Funai Denies that Decree 1,775/96 Will Be Reviewed
Source: Indianist Missionary Council - Cimi
Date: 8/28/97
Newsletter n. 275
NEW PRESIDENT OF FUNAI DENIES THAT DECREE 1,775/96 WILL BE REVIEWED
The new president of Funai, Sullivan Silvestre, didn't take long
to deny any intention to review the Decree n. 1,775/96, which provides
for the procedures to be observed in the demarcation of indigenous
lands. The decision, which had brought hope to indigenous populations,
had been announced by Silvestre on the day of his inauguration, August
21. Minutes later, at an audience with relatives of Galdino Pataxo
Ha-ha-hae, the new president of Funai recognized that the decree
brought demarcations to a halt because of the adversary system
(principle established by Funai which ensures invaders the right to
contest the bounds of indigenous areas) and declared he would consider
the possibility of reviewing it. The change in Silvestre's position is
believed to have been caused by pressures from invaders of indigenous
areas, who didn't like the news.
In an interview to the "O Popular" newspaper of the state of
Goias, Silvestre contradicted himself when he said that he doesn't
believe the new decree is hindering the demarcation process. According
to the new president of Funai, "the demarcation of indigenous areas is
an administrative matter which can be sped up if some pending
situations are settled, 80% of which are legal in nature." Cimi
reaffirms that so far the Decree 1,775/96 has only delayed the
demarcation process and has multiplied legal actions against the very
existence of indigenous areas. In Cimi's opinion, Sullivan Silvestre
is not aware of the facts. Since the new decree was issued, Cimi has
been stressing it wouldn't be necessary, as legal claims against the
demarcation of indigenous areas were also filed under the old decree.
What happened now is that the government facilitated the action of
invaders by authorizing them to intervene in the administrative
procedure for demarcations, which used to be something only the
federal administration could do, according to the Constitution.
DEATH OF EXPERT IN INDIGENOUS ISSUES COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED
The attack of Korubo Indians against a Funai team, which resulted
in the death of expert in indigenous issues Raimundo Batista
Magalhaes, also known as Sobral, could have been avoided if Funai had
taken heed of the warnings of Cimi and indigenous organizations.
Sobral was clubbed to death on August 22. Three other persons of the
team managed to escape by boat. The Korubo are known for the heavy
wooden clubs they usually carry with them, which can weigh up to eight
kilograms, and Funai knows they used them to kill Sobral. The
territory of the Korubo has been invaded by woodcutters and miners.
They have been constantly massacred and react aggressively when
approached by non-Indians to show that they reject any contact with
them. Funai, however, registers the killing of staff members of the
agency, seven so far, but does not talk much about decimated Indians.
The Board of Indigenous Organizations of Brazilian Amazonia
(Coiab) and Civaja (Indigenous Board of the Javari Valley) issued a
note describing Funai's approach as a repeated mistake. "The contact
between indigenous populations and non-Indians promoted by the
Brazilian State has led to physical and cultural violence against
Indians." This contact has "affected the social structure of
indigenous populations due to the imposition of non-Indian customs of
them and the proliferation of diseases against which the Indians have
no immunologic defense or traditional healing methods." For some
peoples like the Matis, the contact killed half of their population.
Funai says that contacting indigenous populations is a means of saving
them from extinction. In the opinion of indigenous organizations,
demarcating their territories and protecting them is all that needs to
be done. The Javari Valley was identified in 1985 as a
8,338,000-hectare area where 12 indigenous groups live, some of which
have no contact with non-Indians and are heavily threatened by
invaders.
INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
Between the 27th and the 30th of August, the International Seminar
of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil, Venezuela and the Federative
Republic of Guyana will be held. Sponsored by the Indigenous Council
of Roraima (CIR), the National Indigenous Confederation of Venezuela
(Conive) and the Association of Amerindian Peoples (APA), the seminar
will discuss controversial and common issues for indigenous peoples
living in border areas, such as indigenous rights, large development
projects, the mercosul, ecotourism, biodiversity, mining, and energy.
The seminar will be attended by various indigenous entities and
experts in the different subjects to be addressed.
According to the indigenous organizations sponsoring the seminar,
all the problems under discussion are caused by the globalization
policy and neoliberalism. Indigenous populations have always been
victims of the western progress, which does not recognize the
existence of autochthonous peoples. Projects are developed without
taking into due account the original rights of peoples, particularly
their rights to the land. Those organizations complain that indigenous
populations are not invited to take part in discussions on
development, which usually lead to proposals based only on economic
considerations, whose effects threaten the ethnic and cultural
survival of the Indians. The goal of this seminar is to strengthen
common objectives and devise joint solutions with people and entities
sharing the struggle of indigenous peoples.
Brasilia, 28 August 1997
Indianist Missionary Council - Cimi