Brazilian police occupy reservation after attack on 10 indigenous

[Judi Lynn]

Brazilian police occupy reservation after attack on 10 indigenous
Posted : Tue, 06 May 2008 17:43:08 GMT
Author : DPA

Brasilia - Brazilian federal police on Tuesday occupied the indigenous reservation of Raposa/Serra do Sol, in the Amazonian state of Roraima, after 10 indigenous people were shot in an attack a day earlier. The incident happened as the Brazilian supreme court was reviewing a government decision to expel non-indigenous people from the reservation.

The authorities said three of the wounded were in serious condition and had to be taken to hospitals in the state capital, Boa Vista.

The attack occurred when a group of armed men in the service of estate owner Paulo Cesar Quartiero, who accuses the indigenous people of invading his land to build their homes, sought to get the natives off the landowner's property.
(snip)

The conflict is based on the reluctance of rice producers on the Raposa/Serra do Sol reserve to leave the area, despite a decree signed by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2005, which gave native-Brazilian people 1.7 million hectares.

Last month, a police operation to push out non-indigenous people had to be cancelled due to a preliminary decision by the supreme court.

Roraima Governor Jose de Anchieta Filho said a final court decision will be made "within the next 15 or 20 days."

The governor is against granting indigenous people land covering over 46 per cent of Roraima.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/203605,brazilian-police-occupy-reservation-after-attack-on-10-indigenous.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Earlier story:

Removal of illegal invaders suspended
April 18, 2008

The Brazilian Supreme Court has suspended the police operation that sought to evict a group of rice farmers illegally occupying Raposa Serra do Sol indigenous territory in the Brazilian state of Roraima.

The decision came last Wednesday (April 9), after the farmers began threatening and attacking the regions indigenous people, destroying bridges, and setting up roadblocks to resist their eviction.

According to the Associated Press,

The court blocked the eviction of farmers from the Raposa Serra do Sol reservation late Wednesday, saying protests by the settlers… could erupt into “a veritable civil war.”

Roraima state Gov. Jose de Anchieta Filho, who backs the farmers, hailed the Supreme Court decision as ‘a victory for Roraima’s people.’

But Dionito Jose de Sousa, a Macuxi Indian chief and coordinator of the Roraima Indigenous Council, said the ruling rewarded violence and disrespect for the law.

“This is very bad for us, because our rights are being violated,” Sousa said by telephone from the Roraima state capital, Boa Vista. “Even with all the destruction carried out by the rice growers, the Supreme Court decided in their favor.”
(snip)

The Peoples of Raposa Serra do Sol responded to the decision with a collective statement, which, courtesy of Survival International, reads in part,

For more than thirty years we have suffered the painful process of regaining our land, which we believed the Brazilian State would make a reality, in accordance with the federal constitution, the rights of indigenous peoples and the President’s decree signing our territory into law.

We cannot accept that the authorities have waited three years to act, that they have allowed the terrorism of the last eleven days in Raposa Sera do Sol, and that the Supreme Court has even suspended the removal operation. We reject the attitude of the state government, which chooses sacks of rice to the detriment of the lives of 18,992 Indians.

More:
http://intercontinentalcry.org/page/2/

[Judi Lynn]

1. Brazil sends police after Indians shot over land

Brazil sends police after Indians shot over land
Tue May 6, 2008 2:28pm EDT

BRASILIA, May 6 (Reuters) - Brazil's government dispatched hundreds of police reinforcements to the country's remote north on Tuesday after gunmen shot and wounded 10 Indians in a land conflict.

The dispute began in April when police tried to evict rice farmers from an Indian reservation in Roraima, Brazil's northernmost state. But farmers who claim the same land have resisted by blocking roads, blowing up bridges and reportedly hiring gunmen.

Ten Indians were wounded by gunfire on Monday night, three badly. Indians said gunmen attacked them and one farmer said the Indians invaded his property.

Television pictures showed hooded gunmen on motorbikes firing shotguns and throwing a homemade explosive.

More:
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN06498814