Even before announcing his indianist policy to the civil society
and Indian peoples, president Fernando Henrique Cardoso has signaled
the kind of policy he will adopt by appointing Indianist Marcio
Santilli to be the new president of Funai as of this Saturday. The new
president of Funai has a degree in philosophy and was the executive
secretary of the Socioenvironmental Institute (IBA). He was a federal
deputy between 1982 and 1986 and is a member of the political group
that supports the inclusion of the adversary system in Decree 22/91.
By appointing Santilli to that post, the government expects to
neutralize reactions against amendments to the Decree, with
institutional repercussions, or isolate positions of groups that do
not agree with the amendments.
The Forum in Defense of Indian Rights, one of the most important
initiatives in favor of Indian rights, was rearticulated last week as
an attempt to defeat the plans of the government. This week, the Forum
issued a statement to the domestic and international public opinion
strongly opposing the amendments to the Decree and denouncing several
cases of violence against Indian peoples.
At the end of the document, the Forum asks the domestic and
international civil society to pressure the Brazilian government to
give up the idea of issuing Decree 22/91 and to speed up the
demarcation of all Indian lands. The entities making up the Forum
decided to support the proposal from the Indian Council of Roraima -
CIR, who wants the Campaign for the Demarcation of the Raposa Serra do
Sol Indian Area to end, on November 28, with a large demonstration in
support of the demarcation of all Indian lands in Brazil.
GROUP OF ISOLATED INDIANS IS FOUND IN RORAIMA
After a four-day journey in the jungle, representatives of Funai,
of the Office of the State Attorney, and of the Federal Police found,
on September 4, a group of isolated Indians in the state of Roraima.
The group, made up of an uncertain number of persons, was found in the
region of Corumbiara, near the location where on August 9 there was a
massacre of rural workers.
Since 1985 Cimi was being informed on the presence of Indian
peoples in that region based on several signs, such as crops, personal
objects, and even accounts of people who claimed to have seen some of
the Indians.
The discovery of the new Indian group is beginning to give rise to
conflicts. Farmers are accusing Funai of promoting a farce and said
that they will do everything within their power to prevent the area
from being set apart for demarcation purposes. The region of
Corumbiara is marked by conflicts and the massacre of rural workers
and Indians. In 1985, Cimi-Rondonia denounced a massacre in the Omere
Indian area, which led to the extinction of the Indian group. The
entity will demand measures from Funai to protect the group against
any physical or cultural violence.
Brasilia, September 14, 1995
Indianist Missionary Council