CNBB REQUESTS REVIEW OF DECREE 1,775/96
The president of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil
(CNBB), D. Lucas Moreira Neves, delivered yesterday (02/29) to
president Fernando Henrique Cardoso an official note questioning the
ethical grounds of Decree 1,775/96 and requesting its review. The
document was approved at a meeting of the Episcopal Pastoral Committee
(CEP) of CNBB this week in Brasilia and stresses that the entity has
always acted in support of indigenous peoples ``as a requirement of
its pastoral mission.'' The bishops were perplexed by the document,
which in their opinion does not facilitate the demarcation of
indigenous lands, creates obstacles and may even lead to the reduction
of demarcated areas. The text mentions the many reactions against the
decree on the part of the public opinion in Brazil and abroad, citing
Capoib, Cimi, the Brazilian Society for Scientific Progress (SBPC),
the Brazilian BAR Association (OAB), jurists, the international
community, Amnesty International and the European Parliament. ``The
image of Brazil abroad was deeply and unnecessarily affected.''
In the document delivered to the president, the bishops say that
they are apprehensive about the negative consequences of the decree
and will ``remain on the alert with regard to judgments issued by
competent courts based on Decree 1,775/96.'' In behalf of their
pastoral mission, they stressed the need to review the decree ``in
order to curb any abuse that may harm indigenous communities,'' and
questioned its sustainability it in the light of ethical values. It
was one of the most important meetings of CNBB, which moved by the
spirit of the Fraternity Campaign of 1996, ``Justice and Peace Shall
Embrace Each Other,'' strongly criticized the violence that prevails
in Brazilian rural areas and cities; unemployment, which was described
as a consequence of the globalization of the economy; and the lack of
a Land Reform policy.
FUNAI RECEIVES LETTERS CONTESTING INDIGENOUS AREAS
Funai has received 13 requests for information on proceedings
related to indigenous lands. So far, the state of Roraima alone has
filed seven requests, three of which are related to the Raposa/Serra
do Sol area. The information was requested by senator Marluce Pinto,
the Government of the State and the Legislative Assembly of the State,
which requested the map and a detailed description of all indigenous
lands located in the state. Of the remaining requests, one refers to
the Guarani area in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, two to the
Guarani-Kaiowa, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, and one to the
Ofaye-Xavante area, in the state of Mato Grosso. Minister Nelson
Jobim, who is traveling abroad to defend the new decree, is using this
figure to try to demobilize the entities that have condemned it. He
omits, however, that the initial deadline set for contesters to
gather the necessary evidence and documents against the decree is
April 9.
Officially, Funai received two letters contesting indigenous
areas, one from Colonizadora Terranorte, against the Enawene-Nawe
area, located in the state of Mato Grosso, and another one from Sattin
Agropecuaria, against the Sete Cerros indigenous area, located in the
state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Another letter which Funai has listed as
received, allegedly from the Board in Support of Indigenous Peoples -
Coiama - against the Tikuna indigenous area, is being denied by he
community.
Brasilia, February 29, 1996
Indianist Missionary Council - Cimi
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National Conference of Bishops of Brazil Document
Presidency and Episcopal Pastoral Committee
Brasilia - DF, February 27-29, 1996
AIDE-MEMOIRE
of the Presidency and Episcopal Pastoral Committee on the
consequences of Decree 1,775, of 8 January 1996
The National Conference of Bishops of Brazil - CNBB - has always
acted in support of indigenous peoples as a requirement of its
pastoral mission. Therefore, it has defended and will keep on
defending the rights of these peoples to their physical and cultural
survival, as it is clearly aware that the large debt owed to
indigenous peoples is far from being redeemed; indigenous peoples are
``the poorest among the poor'' (DP 34). In his message to the indigenous
peoples of America, in Santo Domingo, Pope John Paul II, concerned
about the land situation of many communities, exhorted pastors to act
sympathetically as a path to justice (John Paul II, Message to the
Indigenous Peoples of America, n. 5).
During the works of the National Constituent Assembly (1987/88),
CNBB insisted in its contacts with constituent congresspersons that
the natural rights of indigenous peoples should be provided for in the
Constitution of the Country, and for this purpose it mobilized all
dioceses and ecclesiastical organizations.
Finally, on 8 October 1988, the new Constitution of the Federative
Republic of Brazil was promulgated. For the first time in our history,
the Higher Law of our Country ensures indigenous peoples the right to
their ethnical-cultural identity and to lands traditionally occupied
by them, which are now recognized as ``inalienable, indispensable, and
untransferable'' (Art. 231, ' 4). At the time, the new Brazilian
Indianist law was regarded as an example for the whole world and
Brazil was praised by the international community for having
constitutionally supported the cause of its aboriginal communities.
However, the five-year term provided for in the Constitution for
all indigenous areas in the country to be demarcated was not complied
with and expired in 1993. The slow pace of action and omission of
governmental agencies, as well as the lack of political will to comply
with those legal provisions led to a number of conflicts over the
land, with fatal victims in some cases. Many indigenous individuals
were murdered, slaughtered or had their human rights violated in
recent years. In their relentless efforts to defend indigenous rights,
missionaries and other individuals devoted to this cause were
persecuted or even killed to prove their love for their indigenous
brothers and sisters.
Decree 1,775, of 8 January 1996, issued by the President of the
Republic, is causing conflicts and perplexity. Instead of promoting
the long-awaited demarcation of indigenous areas, it has created
new obstacles and may even lead to the reduction of demarcated areas.
It has also excluded the possibility of expanding territories whose
size is insufficient for the physical and cultural survival of
certain peoples, such as the Guarani-Kaiowa (state of Mato Grosso do
Sul). Confined to an extremely limited space, 211 Guarani, mainly
young people, have committed suicide in the last ten years, drawing
worldwide attention to the unacceptable situation facing them. The
Decree ensures States, Municipalities and ``other interest parties'' the
possibility of contesting and refuting the bounds of demarcated
indigenous areas. Political and economic forces have been resorting to
this decree to create new conflicts caused by the invasion of land
areas and disregard for indigenous peoples, according to reports
issued by the Indianist Missionary Council - CIMI. In Brazil, the
public opinion has become aware of these facts, giving rise to
demonstrations organized by various entities, among which the Council
for the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples and Organizations of Brazil
(Capoib), the Society for Scientific Progress (SBPC) and segments of
the Brazilian BAR Association (OAB). Several jurists have publicly
questioned Decree 1,775/96, declaring that it is ``unconstitutional.''
The International Community, including Amnesty International, is
astonished and has protested in a recent resolution issued by the
European Parliament. Brazil's image abroad has been deeply and
unnecessarily affected.
The National Conference of Bishops of Brazil - CNBB - will remain
on the alert with regard to judgments issued by competent courts based
on Decree 1,775/96, but it is particularly apprehensive about the
negative consequences it has brought. Therefore, aware of its pastoral
mission in support of the life and dignity of the human being, CNBB
stresses not only the need to review Decree 1,775/96 to curb any abuse
resulting from it to the detriment of indigenous communities, but also
questions its sustainability in the light of ethical values.
Brasilia - DF, February 29, 1996