Some Brazilian military groups did not wait until after the holding of
the Earth Summit, scheduled to take place in June in Rio de Janeiro, to resume
the campaing against the demarcation of the Yanomami lands. Two requests were
referred last week to the Presidente of the National Congress for the purpose
of annulling the administrative rule issued by the Ministry of Justice in
November of last year setting the bounds of the Yanomamiu territory and
determining its demarcation. One of the requests came from the Association of
Reserve and Retired Military and Armed Forces'Pensioners; while the second
one was prepared by retired general Euclydes de Oliveira Figueiredo Filho,
brother of ex-presidente of Brazil Jobo Batista de Oliveira Figueiredo,
himself a military officer.
The grounds of these requests are not new in any way: the demarcation
of the Yanomami lands constitutes a "threat" to the national sovereignty, as
in the near future these Indians could claim the creation of an independent
State in tune with the interests of First World countries. What these military
sectors actually intend to do is to ensure the economic occupation of the
Yanomami territory by large-sized corporations, fully disregarding the fact
that these lands have been occupied by an Indian people from time immemorial.
The justifications raised to request the annulment of the demarcation are
inconsistent and biased.
The request begin by questioning the Decree issued by the President of
the Republic in February of 1991 providing for the procedures to be complied
with regarding the demarcation of Indian lands. The military affirm
that this decree should have provided for "specific procedures" for the
demarcation of "lands located on the borderline and those exceeding 2,500
hectares in size." According to them, the use of lands located on the
borderline should be subject to the approval of the National Defence Council,
a consulting organ linked to the Presidency of the Republic among whose
members the military ministers must be included. They also claim that the
National Congress has the exclusive juristiction to decide on the concession
of lands exceeding 2,500 hectares in size.
It looks like the military have not read the Constitution attentively. It
is clearly provided for in its article 231 that "the Indians shall enjoy
native rights over lands traditionally occupied by them, it being up to the
Union to demarcate these lands." The Constitution makes no mention whatsover
of special procedures in connection with lands located on the borderline and
those exceeding 2,500 hectares in size. If it is an Indian land, the
demarcation is to be carried out according to procedures established by the
President of the Republica.
Another inconsistent argument raised in the requests is that the
demarcation is actually a "grant" of public lands belonging to the Union to
the Yanomami indians. When the Constitution says that the Indians are
entitled to enjoy rights over the lands they occupy, it actually determines
that a land is to be considered as an Indian land regardless of whether it has
been demarcated or not. The purpose of its demarcation by the Government is to
establish bounds clearly defining its limits. Therefore, the demarcation of a
land does not represent a grant, contrarily to what the military claim.
Besides, Indian lands continue to belong to the Union even after their
demarcation. What is ensured to the Indians is the right to enjoy the
permanent possession of the land and, even if they wanted to, they are not
allowed to sell it. Considering that this right precedes any law, it does not
make any sense to affirm that Congress should authorize the demarcation
beforehand.
A LOT OF LAND?
In their delirium, the military have gone so far as to affirm that there
are no more than 4,500 Yanomami Indians in Brazil. According to a survey
carried out between 1987 and 1988 by a group made up of several government
agencies, including the military, there were 9,910 Yanomami Indians living
on the Brazilian side at that time. That was before the Yanomami Indians
became victims of the invasion of gold prospectors, who in the 4-year period
that followed decimated 15% of their total population.
"Even if we were to admit the existence of 10,000 Indians, each one
of them would individually own an area of 9,400 hectares... wich is an
absurdity nobody can stand up so far on any grounds," the military say.
Arguments such as this one have justified the genocide of hundreds of Indian
peoples all along the history of Brazil. The Yanomami Indians occupy their
territory extensively and they are nomads. When the resource of a certain
area are exhausted, they move on to another. For this reason, the size of
their land cannot be established on the basis of the agrarian criteria
adopted by the surrounding society. That which is enough for a typical rural
worker may not be enough for the Yanomami Indians. These same military have
not raised any arguments against decrees issued by ex-presidente Jose' Sarney
which set apart 10 million hectares of lands belonging to the Union for
special use by the Armed Forces, without any envolvemente of the National
Congress in the decision-making process.
RACISM
General Euclydes de Oliveira Figueiredo's request is a compilation of
miscellaneous lies and biased statements. He says that the Yanomami population
is made up of no more than 100 persons, that adult Yanomami Indians are only
1.50-meter high and that their "intellectual development is almost null. They
walk around completely naked" and "live according to Nature, just like
irrational creatures do." He adds that "they will not be able to envolve in
any way, not even to increase their chances of surviving, for as long as they
live away from the white civilization".
The statements of the general are a shame to Brazil and show how
prejudicious and ignorant he is in relation to the ethnical and cultural
diversity of Brazil. A long time ago the contemporary anthropology defeated
arguments according to which there were men characterized by a primitive, and
therefore illogical, way of thinking and those capable of thinking rationally,
logically, secientifically. But this ethnocentric view still prevails in some
sectors of the Brazilian Armed Forces.
Brasilia, May 22, 1992
Cimi - Missionary Indianist Council