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[ Redistributed on NATIVE-L / soc.culture.native with permission --Gary ]
EXTERNAL (for general distribution) AI Index: AMR 19/26/93
Distr: UA/SC
UA 285/93 Massacre of an 20 August 1993
estimated 40 Yanomami Indians
BRAZIL: Yanomami village of Haxumi, including at least 10
children and seven women
Amnesty International is gravely concerned at reports of the massacre
of an estimated 40 Yanomami Indians from the Haximu village
allegedly by gold prospectors in northern Roraima state near Brazil's
border with Venezuela, and at persistent impunity for increasing
violent attacks on members of this tribe.
News of the massacre of some 17 Yanomami Indians from the village
of Haxumi reached a catholic mission in the Xidea region on 17
August 1993 after terrified members of a neighbouring Yanomami
village arrived to take refuge, having fled in fear of further attacks by
gold prospectors. They reported that gold miners had attacked the
Haximu village - killing 10 children, five women and at least two men,
slashing arms, legs and heads with machetes - and had set the village
on fire.
Members of the government's indian agency FUNAI, Fundacao
Nacional do Indio, investigating the massacre have subsequently
interviewed survivors and on 19 August reached the site of the
massacre, where they encountered mutilated bodies. According to a
FUNAI spokesperson, "The number of Indians killed was much higher
than believed, about 40 were murdered. The men were gunned down
while the women and children were killed with machetes. Some of
the children were decapitated".
Brazil's Minister of Justice, Mauricio Correa, and Attorney Federal
General, Aristedes Junqueira, flew to Roraima on 19 August
accompanied by police and FUNAI officials. The Attorney General
stated on television, "I have no doubts about calling this genocide".
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Yanomami Indians who live in the forest on the border with
Venezuela are officially estimated to number over 9000. They are the
largest of Brazil's tribal groups who through their isolation managed to
maintain their traditional way of life. 10,000 members of this tribal
group live across the border in the southern part of Venezuela. Their
lands are rich in mineral resources. Following the illegal entry of
thousands of gold prospectors into Yanomami lands in 1987 some
1,500 Yanomani are estimated to have died from violence and disease.
Since 1990 there have been several government attempts to remove
illegal gold prospectors from the area and in November 1991 the
government signed a decree officially demarcating 9.4.million hectares
of land as the Yanomami Indian reserve. However there are constant
reports of re-entry of Brazilian miners into Yanomami lands both in
Brazil and in Venezuela. News of the killing at the end of July of
another 5 Yanomami by miners in the same region, but across the
border in Venezuela, was also reported this week.
To Amnesty International's knowledge, of 16 cases of killings of
Yanomami between 1984-92 in which police investigations were
actually opened, not one has come to trial. In 1963 an estimated 30
Ureu-wau-wau Indians including women and children were massacred
in the Sao Tome rubber plantation in the western state of Rondonia.
A case brought against the plantation owner for the killings has
languished in the courts for 30 years and still has not come to trial.
In January 1993 Amnesty International published the report, `We are
the Land': Indigenous Peoples' Struggle for Human Rights AMR
19/32/92) alerting to the dangers of escalating violence against
members of Brazil's 180 indigenous groups. It documented over 50
cases of violent attacks on members of indigenous groups in Brazil,
including the Yanomami, and called upon the Brazilian government to
put a stop to persistent impunity for such crimes, which stimulated
further violence against these groups. Amnesty International drew
attention to the special vulnerability of isolated indigenous groups and
suggested that the prompt resolution of demarcation disputes and
conflicts between the indigenous and non-indigenous population was
one of the most important ways of preventing future abuses. Although
under the 1988 Constitution all indigenous lands are to be demarcated
by October 1993, since January the demarcation program has been
stalled.
1993 is the United Nations Year for the World's Indigenous Peoples.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send
telegrams/telexes/faxes/express and airmail letters either in Portuguese,
English or in your own language:
- expressing concern at reports of the massacre of an estimated 40
Yanomami Indians from the Village of Haxumi in Roraima;
- calling for a full investigation of the circumstances of the killings,
that those found responsible are brought to justice and that impunity
for such cases is brought to a halt;
- urging that all steps are taken to protect the physical integrity of
Yanomami Indians:
- urging that the government put an end to impunity for violent attacks
against members of Brazil's indigenous communities, which if left
untackled can only lead to further violence.
APPEALS TO:
Head of Federal Police, Roraima:
Sr. Superintendente de Policia Federal
[Salutation : Vossa Excelencia/Your Excellency ]
Sr Suami Santos
Departamento da Policia Federal
Rua Agnelo Bittercourt
69.000 Boa Vista
Roraima, Brazil
Telegrams: Superintendente de Policia Federal Santos, Roraima,
Brazil
Minister of Justice:
Exmo Sr Ministro da Justica
[Salutation : Vossa Excelencia/ Your Excellency]
Sr Mauricio Correa
Esplanada dos Ministerios, Bloco 23
70.064 Brasilia, D.F. Brazil
Telegrams: Ministro Justica, Brasilia, Brazil
Telexes: 611003 MNJU BR, 611088 MNUJ BR or 612313 MNJU BR
Faxes: +55 61 321 4145, + 55 61 224 2448
Attorney General:
Exmo Sr Procurador Geral da Republica
[Salutation : Vossa Excelencia/Your Excellency ]
Dr Aristedes Alvarenga Junqueira
Avenida L2 Sul, SG AS 603, Lote 23 s.328
Brasilia D.F., Brazil
Telegrams: Sr Procurador Geral da Republica, Brasilia, Brazil
PLEASE SEND COPIES OF YOUR APPEALS TO: His Excellency
Senhor Paulo-Tarso Flecha De Lima, Embassy of Brazil, 32 Green
Street, Mayfair, London W1Y 4AT. Fax: 071 493 5105
[Please see the responses to this topic for the addresses
of diplomatic representatives in other countries]
AND, IF POSSIBLE, TO THE FOLLOWING:
Local non-governmental organization:
Comissao pela Criacao do Parque Yanomami
R Capitao Bessa 272
S. Pedro
69.300 Boa Vista, Roraima, Brazil
National Indian Foundation offices in Reraima:
Administracad Regional de FUNAI
Rua Bento Brasil 536-E
69.301-050 Boa Vista
Roraima
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Please do not send
appeals after 1 October 1993.
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
+ If you have any queries about this Urgent Action or about +
+ the UA scheme in general, please contact: +
+ Ray Mitchell +
+ Amnesty International British Section +
+ 99 - 119 Rosebery Avenue +
+ London EC1R 4RE email: gn:rmitchellai +
+-----------------------------------------------------------+