News-Letter Nr. 471

CIR protests against beginning of construction of a fort for Army Platoon

The Indigenous Council of Roraima sent a document to the minister of Defense, Geraldo Quintão, saying that he will be held responsible for any conflicts that may occur between indigenous people and soldiers as a result of the construction of a fort for the 6th Special Border Platoon (PEF) in Uiramutã, in the Raposa/Serra do Sol indigenous area, state of Roraima. On August 19 the newspaper Folha de Boa Vista published information provided by the commander of the 1st Jungle Infantry Brigade, Claudimar Magalhães Nunes, about a ceremony scheduled for Wednesday, the 25th, to mark the beginning of the construction of the fort. CIR and Cimi protested against the ceremony and said that before building anything in the area, the Army should wait until a federal court issues a final decision on this matter after analyzing the contents of a legal action against the construction of the fort.

The indigenous people of Roraima want to have an opportunity to express their opinion about where the fort should be built, outside indigenous areas. But the Armed Forces ignore their position. For this reason, the legal battle against the 6th PEF has been particularly intense. On January 3 of this year, the affected indigenous communities managed to touch federal judge Hélder Girão, who decided to issue a preliminary order suspending the construction of the fort. The indigenous people have been arguing that building a fort for the Platoon in the area constitutes a huge aggression against the cultural values of the Macuxi of Uiramutã, as more alcoholic beverages will be brought to their villages and violence against indigenous women will grow, similarly to what happened with the Yanomami community.

The Legal Office of the Federal Government (AGU) appealed to the Federal Regional Court (TRF) of the 1st region in Brasília against the decision of judge Hélder Girão. The chief justice of the Court, judge Tourinho Neto, visited the area accompanied by representatives of anti-indigenous sectors in the federal administration and decided to suspend the preliminary order.

The Public Prosecution Service of the Federal Administration filed two appeals against the decision of the TRF: an extraordinary appeal against the decision to resume the construction of the fort and a writ of mandamus to annul the decision of judge Tourinho Neto. General solicitor Deborah Duprat argued that the decision of the TRF judge is unconstitutional. So far, none of these appeals has been judged. General solicitor Deborah Duprat said that the Army has disregarded a legal decision, since judge Torinho Neto set a deadline for the Army and the indigenous communities to reach an agreement about the location where the fort should be built.

In the document that was sent to minister Quintão, which was also sent to the minister of Justice, José Gregori, and to the President of the Republic, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, the CIR points out that no final decision has been made in relation to the legal action so far. It also stresses how the indigenous communities are worried with the presence of the military so close to their villages.

It also says that the Federal Court of Roraima determined that an anthropological and topologic study was to be carried out to detect possible impacts of the project on the social and cultural organization of the indigenous people and on their customs and traditions "as a result of the presence of soldiers in an indigenous land and of the unknown type of relationship they could establish with indigenous people."

The CIR complained that the Army has not shown any interest in developing a dialogue with indigenous people. It warns that the situation imposed on indigenous people without any dialogue has given rise to a climate of tension and anguish that may lead to conflicts between them and the military. It described this situation as one in which "the indigenous people are the disarmed parties and the federal administration will be held responsible for all the violence arising therefrom." The CIR asked the competent authorities to avoid any violence and to interrupt the construction of the fort "until an agreement is reached with the indigenous communities in relation to where the 6th PEF should be stationed and rules are defined for the relationship between the two parties as the platoon carries out its duties, so as to ensure respect for the constitutional rights of indigenous peoples."

A ceremony with a play and promises of health care for indigenous communities to persuade them to accept the project

The governor of Roraima, Neudo Campos, federal representatives Alcestes Madeira (Liberal Front Party-state of Roraima) and Francisco Rodrigues (Liberal Front Party-state of Roraima), and the chief justice of the Supreme Court of the State, Lupercino Nogueira, attended a ceremony that was held to celebrate the beginning of the construction of the fort for the 6th Border Platoon that included a vulgar sketch meant to convey the notion of "harmony among different races." Three soldiers were selected to represent indigenous people, Caucasians, and blacks.

For three days the Army had been actively trying to persuade the indigenous people to accept the presence of the Platoon in their area through visits of doctors and dentists to it. Providing health care to indigenous communities is a constitutional duty of the Brazilian State through the National Health Foundation (Funasa). In order to provide this kind of service, the Armed Forces are required to submit a health care program specifically designed for indigenous communities to Funasa and to the District Council of the East Sanitary District of Roraima (DSL-RR) beforehand, so as to ensure integration between their activities.

The CIR reported that health care activities have been used by the military as a means to seduce the indigenous community into accepting the presence of the military in their land. By offering health care services on the day of the ceremony that was held to celebrate the beginning of the construction of the fort for the Platoon, the Armed Forces want to show to local indigenous populations that they can meet all their needs.

"The Army is once again promoting division among indigenous people by betting on internal conflicts as a means to impose their policy of occupying indigenous areas in border regions," said Egon Heck, Cimi's executive secretary. The Platoon is part of the Calha Norte project created in the 1980s. In the last 15 years, the Calha Norte project has not been changed in any way to ensure respect for the ethnic and cultural diversity of Amazon populations. It's a project that fosters among forest peoples the idea that sluggish regional development poses a risk for the country.

Construction of school suspended by preliminary order

Indigenous people in Roraima were once again successful in their efforts to make their rights prevail. On July 24th, judge Helder Girão of the 1st Federal Court of Roraima issued a preliminary order in connection with a suit for injunction preventing the government of the state from automatically building a school close to the only runway providing access to Uiramutã. Once again, indigenous people were not heard and, similarly to their position in relation to the 6th PEF, they don't want the school to be built in the location chosen by the government for this purpose. According to the CIR, the school constitutes another attempt to legitimize the fort and the municipality that was illegally established inside the Raposa/Serra do Sol indigenous area and to impose a formal, non-indigenous educational model to the detriment of a specific and differentiated educational approach for indigenous people.

In his decision, judge Hélder Girão argues that the school is being built without the consent of the indigenous communities affected by it and that it is not in tune with their interests and poses a risk to their lives because of its location. "If the state of Roraima wants to build a school for the indigenous communities of the Region and not to obstruct or prevent the demarcation of their lands and compliance with constitutional provisions, it should hear what they have to say about it, get their approval, and above all respect their social organization, customs, languages, beliefs, and traditions," said judge Hélder Girão.

Brasília, 26 July 2001
Indianist Missionary Council - Cimi

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