The tragic scenes the world is witnessing today of our Yanomami brothers and sisters bear the bloody hands of the Bolsonaro government. This is due to the government's project, carried out with the aim of encouraging and facilitating the invasion of indigenous lands. FUNAI, the only agency that assists indigenous peoples, was prepared to support this ongoing genocide, and therefore its leaders must be investigated.
The Indigenous Council of Roraima (CIR) has repeatedly warned and denounced the invasion of over 20,000 illegal miners and the complete abandonment of indigenous healthcare services. The resulting chaos in healthcare is a testament to the premeditated crime committed by the Bolsonaro government against the Yanomami people.
The rivers, the largest of them all, the Uraricoera River, which is a source of hunting and fishing, has become a veritable cemetery for Yanomami bodies. The water is polluted; boats and canoes pass by every day. Hundreds of liters of fuel are dumped into it.
Former President Bolsonaro visited Raposa Serra do Sol on October 26, 2021, to support illegal miners invading the region, encouraging crime and escalating the violence suffered by indigenous communities. In Roraima, the current Governor, his long-time ally, has twice attempted to legalize illegal mining in the state.
The dignity of the human person and the fundamental right to life and well-being, so clearly stated in the Federal Constitution, the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and various international instruments for the protection of human rights, have been literally trampled upon. Horror has taken over the daily lives of the Yanomami people: DEATHS, EXTERMINATION, SHOOTINGS, POLLUTION. Bodies perish along with their spirits.
We no longer know how many children have been killed, how many women have been victims of violence. Because every day we receive news that children have died. Therefore, we DEMAND a thorough investigation: the Bolsonaro government committed the crime of genocide against the Yanomami indigenous people.
Given the seriousness of the situation, CIR independently launched a campaign to assist the Yanomami people during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and resumed the campaign in 2022, together with the Urihi Yanomami Association, to raise funds and provide food and other basic necessities to the Yanomami people on an emergency basis.
Among the numerous official letters, reports, and complaints sent over the past few years to public agencies to address the dire situation faced by our relatives, we cite the one dated December 14, 2022, in which CIR requested logistical support from the Ministry of Defense to transport food supplies acquired through the campaign, a request that was, once again, and regrettably, ignored.
The institution's legal counsel will take all legal measures to hold those responsible for the deaths of the Yanomami people accountable. The Indigenous Council of Roraima will spare no effort to continue supporting and defending the lives and dignity of indigenous peoples.
January 23, 2023
INDIGENOUS COUNCIL OF RORAIMA