One year ago, Brazilian miners killed sixteen Yanomami Indians in
the Venezuelan territory, close to the border with Brazil. The massacre
shocked the world, but those who committed it are still at large. The Federal
Police don't even know where they are and some people deny that the massacre
ever took place.
The Federal Police reached the conclusion that it was a genocide, since
the miners intended to kill not one person, but a whole community. Of the 23
miners involved in the massacre, only two were arrested and released shortly
thereafter. The Federal Court in Roraima, the state where a large part of the
Yanomami territory is located in Brazil, determined that all miners accused of
the massacre were to be arrested, but the Federal Police could not find them.
The crime of genocide lapses after a period of 20 years, and the penalty for
it varies between 12 and 30 years in prison.
Many articles were published in Brazilian newspapers stating that there
was no genocide, since no bodies were found, except the skeleton of a female
Indian. This argument is supported by the lawyer of the miners. However, the
fact is that the bodies of 14 Indians were cremated by the Yanomami, according
to their tradition, and the ashes were stored to be consumed in a funerary
ritual; the body of the woman whose skeleton was found had not been cremated
and an additional body was not found.
According to the Attorney General's Office of Roraima, which is following
up the case, the evidence raised so far confirms that there was indeed a
massacre: the skeleton of the female Indian, the deposition of the Indians
who survived, the Indians huts that were burned by the miners and the
anthropological report on the deaths. The Attorney General did not request
an examination of the ashes because he considered it would violate the
traditional customs of the Yanomami.
It is estimated that there are 1000-1500 miners inside the Yanomami
area. Although mining activities are forbidden in this territory,
miners often broadcast local radio messages saying that such prohibition
has been lifted, with the aim of attracting a larger number of invaders.
The Federal Police and FUNAI (National Indian Foundation) are still
without funds to remove the miners from the area.
Brasi'lia, July 28, 1994
CIMI- Indianist Missionary Council