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WORLDWIDE
FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
Brazil:
Land Contestation Affects over 35% of Demarcated Lands
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Forest
Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises
4/22/96
OVERVIEW
& SOURCE
The
Indianist Missionary Council (Cimi) of Brazil reports
implementation
of Decree 1775/96, and enactment by the Brazilian
government
of "contestation suits" whereby existing and proposed
indigenous
lands, is underway. Cimi reports that
35% of
indigenous
lands are already the target of contestation.
Local
people's
groups accuse Brazil of becoming a "country which uses
misleading
propaganda of environmental and indigenous peoples
protection
and, at the same time, promotes the reduction of
indigenous
areas of the peoples who live on them."
This item was
posted
in econet's rainfor.general conference.
g.b.
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rainfor.genera: 131.0 **/
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Contestation affects over 35% of de **
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Written 6:12 PM Apr 15, 1996 by ax:cimi in
cdp:rainfor.genera
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From:
<cimi>
Received:
(from cimi) by fama.ibase.br (8.6.12/Revision: 1.6 ) id
SAA24837;
Mon, 15 Apr 1996 18:12:16 -0300
Date:
Mon, 15 Apr 1996 18:12:16 -0300
Subject:
Contestation affects over 35% of demarcated indigenous
areas
Newsletter
n. 205
CONTESTATION AFFECTS
OVER 35% OF DEMARCATED
INDIGENOUS AREAS
Funai
is still receiving contestation suits against indigenous
areas
all over the country, even after the deadline for their
filing,
April 8. What happens is that so as not to miss the
deadline,
several suits were sent to Funai's regional
administration
offices and only now are getting to Brasilia. As of
last
Wednesday, April 10, a total of 1,145 contestations against
55
territories had been received. Among those, 51 were annulled
for
illegality, showing that the invaders' nerve has no limits. Of
those
51,32 are against the Yanomami area, already registered and,
therefore,
free from contestation, and 19 are by the Brazilian
Institute
of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA),
which
is a federal agency and, therefore, may not claim indigenous
areas.
By the number of contestations presented so far, over 35%
of the
areas already demarcated or in the process of demarcation
have
been affected, the ones claimed the most being Sao Marcos, of
the
Macuxi Indians, in the state of Roraima, with 573
contestations,
and the Xucuru area, in the state of Pernambuco,
with
271.
Funai
has created a group of anthropologists and lawyers, some of
them
from indigenous institutions, of produce the opinions
necessary
to the contestations during the next two months. Cimi,
after
being insistently asked to, refused to participate in that
group,
maintaining its opposition to the decree, whose objective
is
clearly to reduce the existing indigenous areas. In a note sent
to
several institutions and to the press, Cimi reiterates that no
matter
howgood the opinions the technicians give, they will be
subject
to the logic of Decree 1775/96, which disregards the
original
rights of indigenous peoples to the land.
Cimi
also affirms that participating in that process is
compactuating
with the Brazilian Government's anti-indigenous
policy
and warns that the contestations will not stop on April 8,
since
213 indigenous areas which are still waiting for
identification
or a demarcation Administrative rule run the risk
of
never being demarcated, for they are also subject to this
disastrous
decree .The institution will inspect and denounce the
abuse
against indigenous rights and demands the revocation of
Decree
1775/96.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN RONDONIA DENOUNCE
REDUCTION OF AREA
The
Rondonia, Mato Grosso do Norte, and South Amazonas
Coordination
for the Nation Union and Indigenous Peoples (Cunpir)
denounced
this week to the World Bank that the Governor of the
state
of Rondonia, Valdir Raupp, based on Decree 1775/96, wants to
reduce
indigenous areas financed by the Bank. According to Cunpir,
during
20 days several Indians in the region noticed a state
government's
helicopter flew over five indigenous areas and landed
on one
of them. Aboard the helicopter were public agency
technicians
who surveyed the limits of these areas, which are
already
being contested by the state government and where the
World
Bank finances preservation projects such as Planafloro.
Cunpir
asked for strict verification of that information and
denounced
that the Bank runs the risk of financing a country which
"uses
misleading propaganda of environmental and indigenous
peoples
protection and, at the same time, promotes the reduction
of
indigenous areas of the peoples who live on them."
Brasilia,
April 11, 1996.
Indianist
Missionary Council - Cimi
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