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Brazilian mayor censured over 'racist' coronavirus ban
Source: The Guardian
Brazilian mayor censured over 'racist' coronavirus ban
Fredson de Silva, mayor of Pau d’Arco, issued decree locking down only indigenous people
Dom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro
Fri 19 Jun 2020 20.51 BST
Last modified on Fri 19 Jun 2020 23.01 BST
Local authorities in the Brazilian Amazon have been accused of racism after locking down a string of indigenous villages and banning indigenous people from entering a local town because of a coronavirus outbreak.
Federal prosecutors on Friday called for the mayor of Pau D’Arco in the Amazon state of Pará – population 6,000 – to revoke the decree, which he said had been issued to protect public health.
“It’s absurd. This shows total disrespect,” said Takwyry Kayapó, an indigenous leader from the local Kayapó tribe. “This is prejudice, discrimination – or racism.” He said indigenous communities had not been consulted.
-snip-
The decree prohibits the “circulation of indigenous people in the municipality of Pau D’Arco, especially the urban zone … with the declaration of a LOCKDOWN around villages of the Kayapó ethnicity. Indigenous people will only be permitted to move around the municipality of Pau D’Arco – in the rural or urban zone – for essential activities.”
The decree makes no mention of non-indigenous people. Mayor Fredson da Silva said he signed it after 20 indigenous people in the nearby reserve tested positive.
-snip-
Fredson de Silva, mayor of Pau d’Arco, issued decree locking down only indigenous people
Dom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro
Fri 19 Jun 2020 20.51 BST
Last modified on Fri 19 Jun 2020 23.01 BST
Local authorities in the Brazilian Amazon have been accused of racism after locking down a string of indigenous villages and banning indigenous people from entering a local town because of a coronavirus outbreak.
Federal prosecutors on Friday called for the mayor of Pau D’Arco in the Amazon state of Pará – population 6,000 – to revoke the decree, which he said had been issued to protect public health.
“It’s absurd. This shows total disrespect,” said Takwyry Kayapó, an indigenous leader from the local Kayapó tribe. “This is prejudice, discrimination – or racism.” He said indigenous communities had not been consulted.
-snip-
The decree prohibits the “circulation of indigenous people in the municipality of Pau D’Arco, especially the urban zone … with the declaration of a LOCKDOWN around villages of the Kayapó ethnicity. Indigenous people will only be permitted to move around the municipality of Pau D’Arco – in the rural or urban zone – for essential activities.”
The decree makes no mention of non-indigenous people. Mayor Fredson da Silva said he signed it after 20 indigenous people in the nearby reserve tested positive.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/19/brazilian-mayor-censured-racist-coronavirus-ban-indigenous
