News-Letter  Nr. 427

Councilman is Accused of Killing Non-Contacted Indian

Councilman Auton Farias, brother of the mayor of the city of Jordão, Turiano Farias, has been accused of killing and castrating an indian who had never had any contact with the non-indigenous population in Tarauacá, region of the High Jordão River in the state of Acre, on the border between Brazil and Peru. It seems that two squatters were with the councilman when the crime took place, namely, José Lourenço da Silva, known as "Trubaldo," and Francisco Alves de Morais, nicknamed "Chico Maranhoto," who are now fugitives from justice. According to the information gathered so far, councilman Auton Farias and the squatters invaded an indigenous area looking for timber and game, when they were seen by almost ten indigenous people. The invaders shot at them repeatedly and killed one of them, who they then castrated.

Although only one body was found, it was reported to Funai that at least three indigenous people were murdered. The Federal Police found the buried body of the Indian 40 km from the village where he lived. It is likely that the murders took place in June, but because of communication problems and political interests, the news only got about a few days ago.

The Alto Tarauacá indigenous area was identified with 142,600 hectares in April of this year as a traditional roaming area for indigenous peoples. About 53 families of non-indigenous people and temporary workers lived in the area, where they gathered rubber. Conflicts with indigenous people, which according to Funai have been taking place since over 100 years ago, are constant and have claimed many lives on both sides. The indigenous people defend themselves against invaders of their territory and non-indigenous people kill them for fear, prejudice and revenge.

In Acre, people still nurture a feeling of extermination, like in the colonial period, when indigenous people were seen as animals or as beings who had to be integrated into the non-indigenous society, used as slaves or killed. "This feeling is deeply rooted in the subconscious of the population. We regret that such colonial initiatives still prevail after these 500 years and at the turn of the millenium," says den Magalhães, coordinator of West Amazon Cimi. In the Alto Tarauacá region, killing an indigenous person who never had any contact with the non-indigenous society produces a feeling of satisfaction, which is outrageous. The anti-indigenous feeling of the population is encouraged by the political and social elite, which wants to have free access to the natural riches found in indigenous lands. The indigenous people of Acre repudiate the murder. They reported that they requested the federal administration to set up two surveillance stations inside the indigenous area in order to keep invaders out, but so far nothing was done in this regard.

Cimi is following up the investigation of the murder closely and hopes that the guilty ones will be punished for a hideous crime, concealment of a body, invasion of an indigenous land, and illegal exploitation of timber and game. "Their punishment should be an example, so that situations such as this never happen again," Magalhães says.

Referendum on the Foreign Debt and "Shout of the Excluded" Make Week of the Homeland Come Alive

In this year's Week of the Homeland, the Brazilian population will be able to take part in a national referendum on the payment of the foreign debt for the first time. Since September 2, thousands of ballot boxes spread throughout the country have been collecting votes.

The participants in the referendum will vote on three issues: Should the Brazilian government maintain its present agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)? Should Brazil continue to pay its foreign debt without a public audit on it, as provided for in the Constitution of 1988? Should the federal, state and municipal administrations continue to use a large percentage of the public budget to pay the domestic debt to speculators? Since the votes began to be collected, the participation of the population has been growing. The result of the referendum will be announced on September 13 at the Chamber of Deputies in Brasília.

The referendum is being coordinated by some of the most representative entities of the Brazilian society, among which the National Confederation of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB), the National Council of Christian Churches (Conic), the Ecumenical Service Board (Cese), the CUT, the Landless Movement (MST), unions, political parties, and workers' associations.

According to the organizers of the referendum, the opposition of the federal administration and the lack of respect it has shown toward the referendum have greatly enhanced the participation of the population in it. The minister of Finance, Pedro Malan, referred to it as "besteirol"(nonsense) and as an attempt to promote a "debt swindle" and even said that the population should not be called upon to issue an opinion on such a sensitive issue. However, the Brazilian society wants to be able express its opinion about it. "The foreign debt has gone up from 55 billion dollars in 1993 to 141 billion dollars in 1999, while the domestic debt grew from 60 to 380 billion dollars during the same period, which means that although the form has changed, both debts continue to escalate and consume precious public resources," economist Valter Pomar said. These figures, which the government tries to conceal, only became known because of the referendum.

The National Day of the Referendum on the Debt is part of a series of demonstrations of the International Jubilee 2000 Campaign, which defends the cancellation of the debt of poor countries. The campaign was launched by the Catholic Church, but it is supported by Christian, Afro-Brazilian, and Muslim churches.

The votes of the referendum will be collected until September 7, when over 1,000 Brazilian cities will be sponsoring the 6th "Shout of the Excluded" organized by social movements and the CNBB. The topic of this year's "Shout" is "Progress and Life - A Debtless Homeland," and it challenges the payment of the foreign debt and the agreements signed between the Brazilian government and the IMF to the detriment of social policies. It is expected that this year's "Shout" will involve more than the 1,000 cities that took part in the event last year. The number has been growing as each year goes by.

Brasília, 5 September 2000.
Indianist Missionary Council - Cimi



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