31 January 2006

FOR THE ATTENTION OF:
Exmo. Sr. Presidente da República - Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva

Dear Mr. President,

Violent police action against the Tupinikim and Guarani, Espirito Santo State, Brazil

According to reports available to the FPP, dozens of policemen used violence and unnecessary force on 20 January 2006 to try and evict indigenous land holders occupying their self-demarcated lands in Espiritu Santo State. This violent act by the authorities resulted in at least 13 wounded Indians. Eyewitness reports indicate that Indians were hit by rubber bullets fired by federal policemen who were also armed with tear gas and sub-machine guns. For more than one hour, the police “hunted” Indians by helicopter at the Olho de Água village, shooting at them and persecuting them. Two indigenous leaders were arrested violently; the police broke the arm of one of them, Paulo de Oliveira. We are disturbed to note that reports suggest that the machines used to destroy indigenous houses in Córrego do Ouro and Olho de Água were from the Aracruz plantation company.

It is our understanding that this police action took place independently of the Public Prosecution Service in Espírito Santo State, although their involvement is a legal requirement. In addition, information about the action was not shared with the Regional Coordinator of the FUNAI, Waldemar Krenak, nor with the two local FUNAI heads (Ronaldo Batista and Maria Fátima de Oliveira), who have stated that they were not even consulted about the police action. The attorney responsible for indigenous issues, André Pimentel, has therefore described the action as “completely illegal”.

We condemn this aggressive action due to its blatant violation of human rights. We likewise denounce this police action because it violates previous commitments made by government officials in relation to the affected indigenous communities and their outstanding and unresolved land claim. In short, we understand that the Minister of Justice, Márcio Thomaz Bastos, already has an agreement with the indigenous communities concerned regarding the procedure to achieve official recognition of the self-demarcated indigenous lands. This understanding also involves other actors such as the federal attorney, FUNAI, the Human Rights Commission of the National Congress, state parliamentarians and supporting organizations, who have all agreed that eviction of the Indians from the occupied area should not take place. We therefore do not see how the local police authorities can violate this official and public consensus regarding this case?

The FPP calls on you and your government to immediately investigate these reports of unjust and brutal action and forced resettlement and urges you to ensure that measures are taken to sanction those responsible.

We also call on you to use your office to uphold commitments to demarcate the 11.009 hectares in question by the federal government of Brazil.

The FPP looks forward to learning how the matters raised in this letter are to be addressed.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. Tom Griffiths