Art: Daniel Nagelo Macuxi/ Wakywai Network
The INDIGENOUS COUNCIL OF RORAIMA – CIR, publicly repudiates the violence committed against the Yanomami People by miners and we once again call for the immediate removal of these invaders. According to the complaint, made on April 25, miners would have raped to death a 12-year-old Yanomami child, and that the other child, while trying to escape, would have disappeared into the Uraricoera River.
For years, the Yanomami indigenous peoples have been living in a situation of extreme violence, aggravated by the lack of protection and effective action to combat mining. The leaders of that territory have been denouncing in all instances the increase in mining activity that has caused social and environmental impacts. It is important to note that in the Allegation of Non-Compliance with a Fundamental Precept 709 (ADPF) the Federal Supreme Court (STF) determined that the Federal Government present an emergency plan to remove the invaders; and after a request from the Hutukara Association and the National Human Rights Council (CNDH), the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) asked Brazil to adopt urgent measures to protect the peoples of the Yanomami Indigenous Land. In addition, the Federal Court ordered the reactivation of protection bases, which has so far not been complied with.
Faced with the serious situation, the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) again asked the federal government to resume operations to repress mining, the installation of inspection posts and present a new emergency plan.
How long will we continue to watch the death of our relatives?
The deliberate omission of the Brazilian State in the protection of indigenous territories and lives demonstrates the advance of the genocidal policy of the current government. We are perplexed by the lack of sensitivity of the public authorities who should enforce the law. We hope that justice will be done!
We demand that the union fulfill its constitutional duty to protect indigenous lands, that Funai fulfills its institutional mission and that it does not serve only as a job hanger for people who are not committed to defending the lives of indigenous peoples.
Finally, we express our solidarity with the Yanomami relatives who survive the attacks inside their own homes. We will continue to fight together against the mining that kills, deforests, and destroys indigenous lives.
Indigenous Council of Roraima, April 29, 2022.