ACTION
ALERT
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WORLDWIDE
FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
RAN
Reports Victory for Macuxi People in Brazil Within Reach
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Forest
Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises
http://forests.org/
12/5/96
OVERVIEW
& SOURCE by EE
Rainforest
Action Network's December Action Alert reports that the
Brazilian
government is moving closer to recognizing indigenous
rights. Most of the challenges to these rights which
resulted from
Decree
#1775 have been turned down, with only eight territories still
under
review. One is the Raposa Serra do Sol
area which covers over
4,150,000
acres of rainforested Amazon land. For
over 20 years the
peoples
of the area, including the Macuxi, have struggled to have
their
indigenous title respected by law; frequently facing fierce
opposition
from commercial interests. RAN requests
that you send a
letter
to the Brazilian Minister of Justice in support of speedy
resolution
of the remaining territory contestations.
Successful
resolution
of this issue would signficantly improve the outlook for
more
sustainable patterns of land use in the Amazon.
g.b
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RELAYED
TEXT STARTS HERE:
Date:
Wed, 4 Dec 1996 15:15:41 -0800 (PST)
From:
ranmedia@ran.org (Mark Westlund)
Subject:
Help Macuxi victory/Action Alert
Sender:
rainforest@igc.org
RAINFOREST
ACTION NETWORK
Action
Alert -- December 1996
Victory
for the Macuxi People is Within Reach
Brazil's
federal government is slowly moving forward in recognizing
indigenous
land rights. Last January the government enacted Decree
#1775,
a measure allowing commercial interests to challenge indigenous
land
title. Although the government has thrown out most of the
challenges
to Indian land filed under the decree, there are still
eight
territories under review. Nelson Jobim,
Brazil's Minister of
Justice,
had announced he would make final rulings by October 10,
1996,
but that day came and went with no resolution. Instead, Jobim
visited
the largest of the contested territories - Raposa Serra do
Sol, in
the rainforest state of Roraima - and postponed his decision.
Raposa
Serra do Sol covers over 4,150,000 acres of lush Amazon land,
an area
half the size of Connecticut. Many
Indians make the region
their
home, including the Macuxi, Ingariko, Wapixana, Taurepang, and
Patamona,
who together make up one-third of Roraima's indigenous
population. Roraima has a greater indigenous population
than any
other
state in Brazil.
While
visiting Raposa Serra do Sol Minister Jobim spoke with several
indigenous
groups, repeating President Fernando Henrique Cardoso's
assurance
that the government will formalize ancestral title to all
223-million
acres that Brazil's Indians claim as traditional
territory.
This amounts to the government's setting aside nearly
eleven
per cent of the country's land mass as protected areas. Jobim,
however,
would not commit to when the government would enact these
long-promised
measures.
For
over 20 years, the indigenous populations of Roraima have
struggled
to maintain control of their ancestral territories against
encroachment
by land-hungry cattle ranchers, and by gold and diamond
miners. In many cases these commercial interests
have used
intimidation
and violence to drive the Indians out of their resource-
rich
homelands. Since the early 1970s
Roraima's population has
increased
five-fold, putting enormous strain on the region's forests
and on
the indigenous population. Adding to
the difficulty, the
regional
government chartered a new township last year within the
boundaries
of Indian territory, and in early November Brazil's
Supreme
Court rejected the Indians' appeal against the township's
creation.
Minister
Jobim has offered no explanation for postponing his decision
on
Raposa Serra do Sol and the seven other areas challenged under
Decree
#1775. Local indigenous groups and
human rights observers fear
that
his failure to act now may allow a window of opportunity for
major
financial interests to derail the establishment of indigenous
land
titles.
In
October, seventeen U.S. Congressmen sent a letter to President
Cardoso
expressing concern over the potential reduction of indigenous
lands.
Signers included prominent members of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee
who had been blanketed with messages from RAN's activist web
site
(http://www.ran.org). In addition, RAN
members sent hundreds of
postcards
and faxes to President Cardoso, urging him to do everything
possible
to secure protection for Indian lands and indigenous peoples.
What
you can do
The
future of the Macuxi and other tribes living in Raposa Serra do
Sol, as
well as all Brazilian Indians, is being decided now! Please
tell
Nelson Jobim, Brazil's Minister of Justice, that you support
indigenous
land rights. Postage from the U.S. is
60 cents. Here is a
sample
letter:
His
Excellency, Sr. Nelson Jobim
Ministro
da JustiĜa
Explanada
dos Minist,rios B1.T
Braslia,
DF 70064-900 Brazil
Your
Excellency,
I
applaud your decision to recognize Indian title over traditional
territories
in Raposa Serra do Sol, and in the other areas challenged
under
Decree #1775. This is a crucial step in
upholding indigenous
rights
and I urge you to act promptly. It is
imperative that no
further
delays prevent these lands from being formally recognized as
indigenous
reserves.
The
violence against the Macuxi and other tribes in Roraima has gone
on too
long and must be stopped! The future of
Brazil's priceless
heritage,
and of these ancient cultures, lies in your hands.
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