A new battle is being fought in the war against indigenous peoples
in Roraima. The anti-Indian forces of that state intend to establish
two new municipalities, Pacaraima and Uiramuta, inside the Sao Marcos
and Raposa/Serra do Sol indigenous areas. With this purpose in mind,
the Assembly approved laws n. 96 and 98 of 17 October 1995, which were
sanctioned by the governor, creating the new municipalities and
establishing their seats in the villages of Pacaraima and Uriamuta,
inside the two indigenous areas.
The establishment of the new cities will be consolidated with the
elections to be held on October 3 and the swearing into office of
their mayors. A previous attempt to create the municipality of
Uiramuta had been made in 1994, when the proposal did not meet the
requirements of the state laws. In 1995, the law was changed.
The creation of municipalities like Pacaraima and Uiramuta is a
strategy to enable invaders of indigenous areas in Roraima to remain
in them. It is an action aimed at spearheading the occupation of those
areas by non-Indians. These villages have been traditionally used as
support points for the occupation of larger and larger areas,
particularly by miners. The strategy will be consolidated when those
villages become seats of municipalities, similarly to what happened in
Normandia, whose seat the minister of Justice has in principle agreed
to expand in the process of demarcating the Raposa/Serra do Sol area,
in compliance with the demands of the same anti-Indian forces.
Regarding the two new municipalities, Funai filed a possessory
action against their creation at the Federal Court of Boa Vista in
1995 and got a preliminary order in its favor which was annulled in
July by the Regional Federal Court of the 1st Region in Brasilia. In
the opinion of the judge in charge, Olindo Menezes, there were no
legal grounds for issuing a preliminary order against the state of
Roraima in an action involving the possession of a land area. Because
of this decision, the legalized invasion of the Sao Marcos and
Raposa/Serra do Sol indigenous areas may be consolidated.
The Indigenous Council of Roraima (CIR) filed a writ of prevention
at the Supreme Federal Court yesterday (September 19) as an attempt to
prevent the establishment of those two federation units and, consequently,
the holding of the upcoming municipal elections. Minister Mauricio
Correa, former minister of Justice, who knows all the details of the
case, will be the rapporteur of the proceedings.
Meanwhile, three additional years have gone by without the
continuous and definitive demarcation of the Raposa/Serra do Sol
indigenous area. The political pressures against its demarcation are
so strong that it took 15 years for Funai to conclude the preliminary
process of identifying the area, in 1993. It is included among eight
other areas whose documents were referred back to Funai by the
Ministry of Justice for further studies based on Decree 1,775/96, but
for which no solution has been devised so far.
The minister of Justice has postponed for three times his
announced visit to Roraima, giving rise to tension and conflicts. On
September 16, the Indians ran out of patience and staged a
demonstration in the city of Boa Vista (Roraima), which was attended
by 700 Indians and representatives of the Church and NGOs, where they
announced the self-demarcation of the area. On Tuesday, the 17th,
Funai confirmed the visit of Jobim to Roraima on October 10. The
Indians promised to abide by the rules until that date, but they have
warned that they will make it impossible for the elections to be held
in the two invading municipalities.
The creation of municipalities in indigenous areas is
unconstitutional. The land belongs to the Union, and only the National
Congress can legislate on such matters. In this regard, Cimi supports
CIR's action to annul the creation of illegal municipalities which may
characterize an invasion of the Raposa/Serra do Sol indigenous area
and may lead to its reduction.
SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN
SOS RAPOSA/SERRA DO SOL
In support of the indigenous peoples living in the Raposa/Serra do
Sol indigenous area, Cimi is promoting a campaign in the form of faxes
sent to the president and justice in charge of the case at the Supreme
Federal Court (STF), where the writ of prevention filed by the
Indigenous Council of Roraima (CIR) is being judged. We therefore ask
those who sympathize with the indigenous cause to send faxes to the
numbers provided below as soon as possible. In order to facilitate the
campaign, we are suggesting that the faxes to be sent to the justices
of the STF read as follows:
"Your Honor Justice (name), we kindly ask you to rule in favor of a
Writ of Prevention - filed by the indigenous Council of Roraima on
September 18 - by issuing a preliminay order to suspend the
establishment of the municipalities of Pacaraima and Uiramuta and the
upcoming elections to be held in them, as they would be located inside
the Sao Marcos and Raposa/Serra do Sol Indigenous Areas, thereby
infringing the Federal Constitution of Brazil and jeopardizing
indigenous rigths."
or in Portuguese
"Exmo. Sr. Ministro (name) solicitamos a V. Excia. o acolhimento de
Medida Cautelar - impetrada pelo Conselho Indigena de Roraima em 18 de
setembro - com concessao de liminar, suspendendo a instalacao e as
eleicoes proximas dos Municipios de Pacaraima e Uiramuta, por afrontar
a Constituicao Federal Brasileira e agredir direitos indigenas".
The faxes should be sent to:
Ministro Jose Paulo Sepulveda Pertence
Tel: 556-1316-5502/5504
Fax: 55 61 316-5508
Ministro Mauricio Jose Correa
Tel: 556-1316-5391
Fax: 556-1316-5399
Brasilia, 20 September 1996
Indianist Missionary Council - Cimi