This week's issue of "VEJA", the weekly magazine with the largest
circulation in Brazil, includes a 6-pages cover article accusing Kayapo' Indian
Paulinho Payakan of having raped, tortured and tried to kill an 18-year old
student on May 31st. According to the article, the aggression against the girl
was committed in Reden<a~o, a city located in the hinterland of the Amazonian
state of Para', and his wife, Irekran, took part in it. It would be a common
case were it not for the fact that the person accused is Payakan, who became
known worldwide after having been awarded the Global 500 Prize by the UN in
1989 and a diploma by the Society for a Better World, an organization
headquartered in Washington, in the United States.
The fact had immediate repercussions not only in the Brazilian public
opinion, but particularly among the participants in the '92 Global Forum in Rio
de Janeiro.
So far, nobody knows exactly what happened. Payakan affirms that he had
sexual intercourse with the girl but denies that he raped her, although the
results of the corpus delicti examination carried out by doctors indicate
otherwise. According to him, they drank a lot of beer together, including the
girl, who insists that she did not drink any beer at all that day. Regardless
of whether the girl was raped or not, Payakan is in a delicate position. In the
city of Reden<au, accusations of other rapes allegedly commited by him have
started to appear. But some Indians say they are being made by opportunists who
are actually interested in Payakan's money.
Pending the results of the investigations being carried out to determine
what truly happened on May 31st, some assertions and insinuations made by
"VEJA" must be duly clarified, as the article was sensationalist and possibly
meant to affect the image of the Indian peoples as a whole.
Firstly, it looks as though the article is aimed at affecting the
credibility of Indian leaders and of the Indian movement altogether by raising
an accusation against an Indian who is very well-known abroad. Payakan's case
must be considered isolatedly. To judge the Indian issue as a whole based on
this isolated case is the opportunity which the enemies of the Indians have
been yearning for to affirm that the Indians are bad, that they are savage and
that, for this reason, they need to be integrated into the surrounding society.
The article also raise doubts as to the credibility of Indian-supporting
entities. One of its authors affirms that CIMI has been "insistently" accusing
"Army recruits" of having raped Indian women in Amazonia without being able to
confirm not even a single case. This is not true. CIMI has not been
"insistently" raising such accusations. A few months ago a newspaper with a
large circulation in Brazil published an article in chich one of CIMI's
missionaries mentions a rape accusation raised by Amazonian Indians against
Army recruits. Insistent indeed are the accusations which the Indians have been
making to CIMI but refuse to make publicly for fear of reprisals from the
military. And perhaps the accusation hasn't been confirmed because the
Government has not taken any effective measures so far to check whether it was
true or not.
The statement that "Brazilian Indians" have the "most primitive cultures"
is another false assertion. Attempts to rank Indian cultures on a scale of
values, as if they had to meet evolution standards, are an evidence of
prejudice against the ethnic diversity and culture of Indian peoples in Brazil.
The cultures of these peoples are neither worse nor better than those of any
other society; they are only organized in a different manner, even among
themselves. These peoples, like all other peoples, must be respected in their
way of living.
CIMI neither accepts nor intends to justify rapes or any other kind of
aggression committed by an Indian. However, it wants the case to be dealt with
seriously and to make sure it will not be used against the Indian peoples,
their leaders and their fight for a fair life.
Brasi'lia, June 12th, 1992
CIMI Indianist Missionary Council