Indigenous communities in Brazil as in all parts of the Continent are
alarmed by two despicable crimes which occurred last Saturday and Sunday.
Seven Indians from the Xavante community were attacked and imprisoned by
the federal police at the behest of the Minister of Justice around four in
the morning when they were sleeping in the office of the president of
FUNAI, the governmental department in charge of Indian affairs. They were
spending the night there as a form of protest against the cutting of the
social services which the national government had promised to indigenous
communities and to show their lack of support for the ineffective president
of FUNAI, whom they would like removed from office. In the words of our
Indigenous brothers and sisters of the Intertribal Committee: "It was a
physical and moral aggression that has never occurred in the official
history of Indigenous people in Brazil."
The most serious violent attack against an Indigenous individual
occurred the following day, this past Sunday the 20th right in the center
of Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. Guadino Pataxo, from the village of
Pataxo, lost and unable to locate his hostel had fallen asleep at a bus
stop waiting for the dawn to regain his bearings This was when five upper
class youths came upon the sleeping man and poured alcohol and other
combustibles into his body and then lit him on fire, his body ablaze. The
scorched victim has little chance of survival as 95% of his body was
affected. The police were able to capture the perpetrators and identified
two of them as sons of prominent officials of the Brazilian justice
department.
These vicious crimes require urgent action. Please send letters of
protest to the Brazilian government demanding the following:
1. That they prove their commitment to justice by immediately punishing the
criminals responsible for the horrendous attack on Gaudino Pataxo. let
them know that hate-crimes such as these will not be tolerated by the
international community.
2. That the authorities comply with the demands of the Indigenous
communities of Terena, Xavante, Bororo, Kajabi and the 23 other communities
that are calling for the firing of the president of FUNAI, Sr. Julio
Gaiger, for his blatant disregard of the aggressions committed against the
Indigenous communities that are fighting for land, their own survival and
the respect of the non-native community.
3. That the desperately needed social services and support promised to the
Indigenous communities by the federal government not be terminated.
We urge you to express your protests of these recent events by writing to
the authorities listed below. A sample letter follows.
Please write or fax:
Imo. Sr. Nelson Jobim
Ministro da Justica
Esplanada dos Ministerios
Bl. T Brasilia
DF 70064-900
Brazil
Fax 55 61 224 2448
Ilmo. Sr
Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Presidente da Republica
Palacio do Planalto
Brasilia DF 70160-900
Brazil
Fax 55 61 226 7566
Dear Sirs:
I understand that a vicious crime was committed against an innocent young
Indigenous man by the name of Gaudino Pataxo on April 20th. I hope that
justice is being done and that the perpetrators of this crime receive
appropriate punishment as soon as possible. As concerned citizens of the
global community we cannot witness hate-crimes such as these continue with
out punishment. I am sure that your nation's commitment to justice will
ensure that proper action is taken.
I am also aware of another aggression against Indigenous people that
occurred in Brasilia over the weekend. In this I am referring to the
attack and subsequent imprisonment of seven people from the Xavante
community who were protesting the social service cuts to their communities.
As you are well aware these communities are in desperate need of these
services and are urgently requesting that they not be terminated.
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South and Meso American Indian Rights Center (SAIIC)
P.O. Box 28703
Oakland CA, 94604
Phone: (510)834-4263 Fax: (510)834-4264
Email: saiic@igc.apc.org
Office: 1714 Franklin Street, 3rd Floor, Oakland
Home Page: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/nativeweb/abyayala/orgs/saiic/
For more information about SAIIC, send an empty email message to:
saiic-info@igc.apc.org