Brazil Backslides on Land Demarcation--RAN Action Alert

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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

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Forest Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises

July 9, 1995

OVERVIEW & SOURCE

Here is Rainforest Action Network's (RAN) July action alert. It

addresses the recent significant negative actions by the Brazilian

government towards its indigenous peoples. And specifically, the

lack of political will to follow through on promised demarcation

of their forested homelands. RAN details what is occurring to the

Macuxi people in northern Brazil, and warns of the danger of not

making a stand at this point--no more gold and timber through more

dead or dislocated indigenous peoples. This was posted in

econet's ran.news conference.

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LIST NOTES

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Two piece of good news. The British Columbia, Canada, government

has agreed to halt clearcutting at Clayoquat Sound--a cause we

have been following for years. And the Polish government has

signed a decision of moratorium on logging old trees in the whole

area of the Polish Bialowieza forest (largest remaining wilderness

in Europe)! Local groups suggest the next step should be National

Park status. It is evident that the forest movement is flexing

its muscle worldwide; and the message may be starting to get

across--mowing wilderness for short term economic booms is no

longer considered development.

And a quick remember, all it takes to get off this email list is a

quick email reply to this email address:

gbarry@forests.org

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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:

/* Written 12:00 PM Jul 6, 1995 by rainforest in igc:ran.news */

/* ---------- "Action Alert: Brazil backslides" ---------- */

Brazil backslides on land demarcation

The Brazilian army is driving indigenous people from their homes,

destroying houses, and intimidating communities at gunpoint in

northern Brazil, according to the Indian Council of Roraima.

The government sent troops in March, supposedly to protect and

defend the rights of the Macuxi people.

The Indian Council reports the army has assumed "exclusive powers"

over the area, consistently siding with the thousands of gold

miners and migrants who have invaded the Macuxi homeland. The

Indigenous Missionary Council says these military actions are

"clearly aimed at intimidating and discouraging the struggle of

the Indians for the demarcation of Raposa/Serra do Sol Indian

Area."

This violence, coupled with the Ministry of Justice's recent

suspension of all land titling throughout Brazil, signals a major

backsliding in the government's commitment to demarcate all

indigenous territories.

Demarcation registers full legal title to indigenous peoples'

traditional homelands and protects them from incursions by

migrants and developers. The Brazilian Constitution of 1988

provides that all indigenous lands should have been demarcated by

October 1993.

The six-step bureaucratic process, however, is time-consuming.

Only 39% of the eligible land has been protected, and 332

indigenous territories are still in jeopardy.

The Macuxi land was not even identified for legalization until

1993. The federal Ministry of Justice is obstructing the Macuxi

demarcation process, due to pressure from the state government

of Roraima, the military, and farming and mining interests.

The need to demarcate Macuxi land is urgent. Some 11,000 Macuxi

and 3,000 Ingariko live in the traditional rainforest homelands

surrounding Mount Roraima. Gold-mining activities have reportedly

contaminated the rivers with mercury, causing fish and other

aquatic life to die off and posing a serious threat to public

health.

Pits of stagnant water left by miners have rapidly spread malaria,

making it the number-one cause of death among the Macuxi. Until

they attain legal land title, the Macuxi remain in a precarious

position, restricted from defending their territory and themselves

against these invasions and dangers.

The Macuxi situation is part of a larger effort by the national

government to erode the indigenous territorial rights affirmed in

the Constitution. President Fernando Henrique Cardoso's

administration has announced plans to modify Decree 22 of the

Constitution, which guarantees the demarcation of indigenous

lands.

A proposed amendment would allow ranchers, gold miners, and other

parties living or operating on indigenous lands to contest

demarcation. This provision would threaten the boundaries or very

existence of hundreds of indigenous homelands.

Brazilian human-rights and environmental activists feel that if

the Macuxi demarcation is successfully derailed, the door will be

opened for powerful government and economic interests to follow

suit all over Brazil. "We must not let the Macuxi case set a

negative precedent," says Marcio Santilli of the Instituto

Socioambiental. "The Macuxi's rights must be upheld and their

lands demarcated."

Indigenous leader are increasingly fearful that their

constitutional rights are being rolled back. "We want the land to

work, to avoid hunger and misery," explains Macuxi leader Euclides

Pereira Macuxi. "We do not want to be expelled."

What you can do

Please contact President Cardoso immediately.

Sample letter:

Exmo. Sr. Dr. Fernando Henrique Cardoso

Presidente da Republica

Palacio do Planalto, 3 andar

CEP 70160-900

Brasilia, DF Brazil

Fax 011-55-61-226-7566

Fax c/o Embassy in D.C. 1-202-745-2827

Dear President Cardoso:

I am extremely concerned about the Macuxi people's health and

safety. Their lands have been invaded by gold miners, and the army

has been present in the Raposa/Serra do Sol Area since March.

Please take immediate measures to remove the invaders from the

area and to expedite the demarcation of the Macuxi's lands.

I also respectfully urge you to reject any modifications to Decree

22 which provide for a review of indigenous lands to be

demarcated. It is imperative that you uphold indigenous peoples'

right to full demarcation of their traditional territories as

affirmed in the Constitution of 1988.

Sincerely,

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From World Rainforest Report, July - September 1995

reproduction prohibited. Students, teachers, and activists may

copy articles for limited distribution.

Rainforest Action Network

450 Sansome St.,Suite 700

San Francisco, CA 94111, U.S.A.

URL World Wide Web site: http://www.ran.org/ran/

Automatic info: ran-info@ran.org

E-mail: rainforest@ran.org

Tel: 415-398-4404

Fax: 415-398-2732

Rainforest Action Network works to protect the Earth's rainforests

and support the rights of their inhabitants through education,

grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action.

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