09/Sep/2021
Foto: Juliana Pesqueira
A II Marcha das Mulheres Indígenas será realizada nesta sexta-feira (10) e não mais na manhã de hoje, 9 de setembro, como estava prevista na programação da mobilização, em Brasília.
A decisão tem como objetivo garantir a vida das mulheres, anciãs, jovens e crianças presentes, na mobilização que acontece desde o dia 7 de setembro, na capital federal, com a participação de mais de 5 mil pessoas de 172 povos, de todas as regiões do país.
Grupos extremistas, fascistas, armados, muitos identificados com camisetas escrito Agro seguem invadindo a Esplanada dos Ministérios, com olhares coniventes do governo do GDF (Governo do Distrito Federal) e em apoio a Jair Bolsonaro. Em virtude disso, a Esplanada está bloqueada.
A nós interessa saber quem é o agro que financia esses criminosos? Quem são os golpistas que querem a todo custo impedir o Supremo Tribunal Federal de julgar o processo da Terra Indígena Ibirama-Laklãnõ do povo Xokleng, que marcará definitivamente a política de demarcação de terras no Brasil?
Viemos de todo o país realizar nosso encontro de mulheres, em um diálogo sobre as nossas pautas e acompanhar o que pode ser o julgamento mais importante para os direitos indígenas no país em décadas. O Marco temporal é uma aberração jurídica, elaborada por aqueles que financiam essas manifestações antidemocráticas, e que a todo custo, historicamente, tentam calar nossa voz, subjugar nossos corpos, assim como já fizeram no passado.
Todos os olhos do mundo estão voltados hoje para o Brasil, perplexos. A imprensa nacional e internacional está acompanhando a nossa mobilização, repercutindo em todo o mundo a nossa luta e o que pode acontecer.
Jamais aceitaremos que nossas mulheres e povos sejam submetidos novamente a tamanha violência! Esses capítulos são páginas de um passado, que estamos reescrevendo com a nossa luta, a partir do chão dos nossos territórios.
A II Marcha das Mulheres Indígenas sairá amanhã do nosso acampamento, para as ruas, com nossos corpos e nossas vozes ecoantes na luta por justiça, por liberdade e pela demarcação de nossas terras sagradas ancestrais.
Jamais aceitaremos o arbítrio do governo genocida. Cadeia para Bolsonaro! Fora!
Marco Temporal Não
Demarcação Já
Articulação Nacional das Mulheres Indígenas Guerreiras da Ancestralidade – ANMIGA
Articulação Nacional das Mulheres Indígenas Guerreiras da Ancestralidade – ANMIGA
Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil – APIB
Organizações regionais de base da APIB:
APOINME – Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Nordeste, Minas Gerais e Espírito Santo
ARPIN SUDESTE – Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Sudeste
ARPINSUL – Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Sul
ATY GUASU – Grande Assembléia do povo Guarani
Comissão Guarani Yvyrupa
Conselho do Povo Terena
COIAB – Coordenação das Organizações Indígenas da Amazônia Brasileira
03/Sep/2021
The event will gather about 4,000 women from 150 peoples, from all regions of the country and will continue the mobilizations of the indigenous movement in defense of their rights in the federal capital
Between the 7th and 11th of September, the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestrality (Anmiga) holds the Second National March of Indigenous Women, in Brasília. With the theme “Original women: Reforesting minds for the healing of the Earth’, it is expected the participation of about 4,000 women, from more than 150 peoples, coming from all biomes of Brazil, during the 3 days of activities, which take place in the space of the National Arts Foundation (FUNARTE).
“We are seeking to guarantee our territories, those that preceded us, for present and future generations, defending the environment, this common good that guarantees our ways of life as humanity. In addition to being a mere physical resource, it is also home to the spirits of forests, animals and the waters of life as a whole, source of our ancestral knowledge”, reinforces Anmiga’s statement on the march.
The mobilization was carried out for the first time in 2019, and it took place virtually in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The sanitary protocols of the second march reinforce all existing and recommended norms for combating coronaviruses.
According to the organization of the march, the women’s delegations were guided to prioritize the participation of people who had completed their immunization cycle against Covid-19, with at least two doses of the vaccine, or with the unique dose. The use of mask during the activities is mandatory and testing will be carried out upon the arrival of people at the event.
The march health team includes indigenous health professionals in partnership with the Brazilian Association of Collective Health (Abrasco), the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), the Indigenous Health Clinic from the University of Brasília (Asi/UNB), the Health Department of the Federal District with the University Hospital of Brasília (HUB).
Permanent Mobilization
“We state that indigenous women will be on the front line to bury once and for all the ‘milestone thesis’, during the 2nd march of indigenous women”, emphasizes the Anmiga coordination.
Since August 22, more than six thousand indigenous people, from 176 peoples, from all regions of the country, were present in Brasília, gathered in the “Luta pela Vida” camp, which is currently the largest mobilization in the history of the indigenous movement. Headed by the Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil (Apib), in association with all its regional organizations, the indigenous people are following the judgment by the Supreme Court (STF) that will define the future of the demarcation of Indigenous Lands and also protest against the anti-indigenous agenda of Bolsonaro government and within the National Congress.
After the beginning of the trial, on August 26, and the announcement that it would be resumed this Wednesday (1/09), the indigenous people decided to keep the mobilization in Brasília and in the territories. Around 1,200 indigenous leaders, representing their peoples, remained in Brasília, and the “Luta pela Vida” camp was transferred to a new location, Funarte.
The group will continue to follow the trial and join forces with the 2nd March of Indigenous Women in a proposal for permanent mobilization.
Schedule
September 7th will be dedicated to welcoming the delegations in Brasilia, with orientation and testing activities for Covid-19. The National Forum of Indigenous Women starts on Wednesday, the 8th, and the entire mobilization will follow the return of the judgment in the Supreme Court at 2 pm (GMT-3).
On Thursday (9), the March of Indigenous Women will head to the Três Poderes Square, and on the 10th the end of the mobilization activities will count on the launch of the mobilization “Reflorestarmentes”. All activities can be followed on the website: anmiga.org
30/Aug/2021
In memory of our ancestors, who gave us their lives so we can exist. In memory of the ‘encantados’ (enchanted spirits) who brought us here to continue their struggle in defense of our bodies, lands and territories, our identity and differentiated cultures, we communicate Brazilian and international societies that we will remain permanently mobilized in defense of LIFE and DEMOCRACY.
Our fight is not just to preserve the lives of our peoples but of the entire humanity, today seriously threatened by the policy of extermination and devastation of Mother Nature promoted by economic elites – who inherited the greed of colonial, mercantile and feudal expansionist power – and by governors like the genocidal Jair Bolsonaro.
The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib) started the Struggle for Life camp in Brasília on August 22nd and reinforces in this letter that we will remain mobilized until September 2nd, 2021 to fight for our rights. Today, this is the greatest mobilization in the history of the original peoples, in the Federal Capital, and it reinforces our statement: our history does not begin in 1988!
Even putting our lives at risk, in the still seriously dangerous context of Covid19, we are here to tell the invaders of our territories that they will not pass, despite the intense attacks on our fundamental rights guaranteed by the Federal Constitution of 1988.
We occupied the media, the streets, the villages and Brasília to fight for democracy, against the racist and anti-indigenous agenda that is being implemented by the Federal Government and the National Congress and to monitor the judgment in the Supreme Court (STF), which will define the future of our peoples.
During the month of June 2021, we carried out the Rise for the Earth, inaugurating our first on-site activities (after the pandemic), in Brasília, to face the worsening of violence against indigenous lives. From then on, we started a new cycle of struggles, considering that, since March 2020, we only gathered virtually and within our territories, due to the pandemic.
As we face many viruses, including Bolsonaro’s genocidal policy, we started our ‘Indigenous Spring’ that intends to occupy Brasília constantly, in 2021, in addition to continuing on social networks and in mobilized territories.
From the 7th to the 11th of September, indigenous women will be on the front line to bury once and for all the Milestone thesis, during the Second March of Indigenous Women: the original women reforesting minds for the healing of the Earth.
On the 26th, the STF began the judgment that will define the demarcation of Indigenous Lands (TIs). With no end in sight, the indigenous peoples are still mobilized to monitor the outcome of the votes of the Justices of the Supreme Court.
We will fight to the end to maintain our original right to the lands that we traditionally occupy and protect. Being part of this country, maintaining our condition as culturally differentiated peoples, even if public authorities and private corporations consider us obstacles to development. This development, which since the beginnings of the European invasion has been devastating, ethnocidal, genocidal and ecocidal, and which in current times has found, and not by chance, in this misgovernment, a prototype to perpetuate its project of domination.
We are children of the Earth! And the Earth is not ours, we are the ones who are part of it. It is the uterus that generates us and the arms that welcomes us. That’s why we give her our life! In our tradition there has never been this issue of regulating who owns the land or not, as our relationship with it was never of possession. Our possession is collective as it is the usufruct. This is the basic foundation of our existence, which is not yet understood by the ignorance of the so-called Western civilization culture, even after 521 years.
This contradiction is at the base of the disputes that the invaders’ heirs or descendants insist on keeping against us. They relentlessly dispute our territories without truce, during the different phases of the formation and configuration of the Brazilian National State and nowadays!
Neocolonial elites, also promoters and beneficiaries of the military dictatorship, took over most of the current National Congress and continue to defend the continuity of their hegemonic control, domination over bodies, lands and territories and not just indigenous peoples. They intend to make us believe that they are going to bring development to Brazil, when, in fact, they are promoting a Project for the Death of Mother Nature – of forests, rivers, biodiversity – and for the peoples and cultures holding millenary accumulated wisdom, outside the scientific institutions. According to the most recent data from the UN Panel on Climate Change, there is an undeniable increase in the planet’s temperature, floods, among other environmental disasters, obviously caused by this development model.
Considering all this factors, we say NO to any and all initiatives that ignore our historic and strategic protection of life, humanity and the planet. We also say NO to all those who propose to violate our rights through hundreds of administrative, legal, legislative and legal actions.
Our history did not begin in 1988, and our struggles are millennial, in other words, they have persisted since the Portuguese and successive European invaders arrived in these lands to take over our territories and their wealths. That is why we will continue to resist, claiming respect for our way of seeing, being, thinking, feeling and acting in the world.
Under the aegis of the Constitutional text, we trust that the Supreme Court will reinforce our original right to land, which does not depend on a specific date of occupation proof, as defended by the invaders. Through the Milestone thesis, the current colonizers want to ignore that we were already here when their ascendants decimated many of our ancestors, raising the current national state over their corpses.
Supported by our ancestry and the power of our peoples, our spirituality and the strength of our enchanted spirits who cherish the Bem Viver (Good Living), ours and humanity’s, we say no to the Milestone thesis! We call the national and international societies, especially the different organizations and social movements that have always been with us, and above it all, our bases, peoples and indigenous organizations to remain vigilant and mobilized in defense of our rights.
Brasília – DF, August 27, 2021.
Struggle for Life Camp
Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil – APIB
National Indigenous Mobilization – MNI
23/Aug/2021
Fotos: @scotthill / Aty Guasu
More than 5,000 indigenous people from all regions of Brazil are gathered in Brasilia to claim their rights
The second day of the Struggle for Life Camp began with the presentation of the indigenous delegations gathered in the camp. At this moment, more than 4,000 indigenous people, from 117 peoples from all regions of Brazil, are present at the Esplanada dos Ministérios, in Brasília. This morning, in a presentation of indigenous cultures, the delegations had the opportunity to exhibit their traditional dances and songs, reinforcing the cultural ancestry shared between the peoples.
In the afternoon, the coordination of Apib and its regional organizations had a moment to present their considerations on the challenges facing Indigenous Peoples across the country. The regional organizations that make up Apib are: Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of the Northeast, Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo (APOINME), Terena People’s Council, Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of the Southeast (ARPINSUDESTE), Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of the South (ARPINSUL), Great Assembly of Guarani Kaiowá Peoples (Aty Guasu), Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB) and Guarani Yvyrupa Commission.
“It is also important to highlight that our camp has developed a series of health protocols, dedicated to reinforcing existing WHO norms, as all indigenous people who are in the camp must be vaccinated, obligatorily, in order to be able to accompany our camp. We feel pushed to be present in Brasilia, in this very desolate scenario that is being promoted both by the National Congress, but mainly by the Federal Government regarding the rights of indigenous peoples. From the 22nd to the 28th of August, in Brasília, we will fight for the rights of indigenous peoples, mainly guaranteeing the well-being of our territories.” Dinamam Tuxá, Coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil.
Indigenous Peoples of Brazil Receive International Support
The camp was visited by a Progressive International delegation, an articulation that brings together human rights organizations, political parties, unions and other institutions from the progressive field from several countries. The delegation was welcomed by representatives of the Munduruku and Kayapó peoples, who took advantage of the meeting to denounce the impacts they are facing due to infrastructure projects close to their lands.
Apib’s representatives delivered copies of the International Dossier released last week to serve as an instrument of denunciation for the international community, the document brings a series of complaints about the threats and violence perpetrated by the Government of Bolsonaro against Indigenous Peoples.
Also today, a delegation from Apib was invited to visit the Norwegian Embassy, where they were able to deliver the International Dossier and demand support for their struggle from Ambassador Nils Martin Gunneng, and from the program officer, Mr. Kristian Bengston.
United Nations reaffirms the rights of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil
Francisco Cali Tzay, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples today called on the Supreme Court (STF) to guarantee the rights of indigenous peoples to their lands and territories, and to reject a legal argument promoted by commercial agents with the aim of explore natural resources in traditional indigenous lands, referring to the Milestone thesis (tese do Marco Temporal).
“Accepting a timeframe doctrine would result in a significant denial of justice for many indigenous peoples who seek recognition of their traditional land rights. According to the Constitution, indigenous peoples have the right to permanent possession of the lands they traditionally occupy”, said Francisco. This statement reinforces the relevance and need to defend the right of Indigenous Peoples to their territories.
Plenary of the Five Powers
At 3 pm, the Plenary of the Five Powers will take place, which will be held to promote an analysis of the situation on the legislative, executive, judiciary, popular and spiritual powers. In the evening, the Indigenous Peoples will be gathered to celebrate a Pajelança: a religious ritual to reinforce the alliance of the Peoples. After the ceremony, Mídia Índia (@midiaindia) will exhibit the video screening: “Memory and Fight”.
“This plenary talks about the five powers and is very important within the Struggle for Life camp, giving it a great meaning because it passes through the discussion of the legislature, the judiciary and the executive, and it also reminds us of the fourth power, which are the masses, which is the people, the Brazilian nation as a whole, not only the indigenous peoples, but the Brazilian people, which is the fourth power. And then we talk of the fifth power, being the spiritual one. The divinities rules our lives, rules the communities, gives strength in times of difficulty and in the face of invasion, miners, loggers, against bills and ordinances, against all human ailments and spiritual, also against the pandemic and the diseases” Marcos Sabaru, Assessor policy of Apib.
20/Aug/2021
Mobilization calls for indigenous people already vaccinated and counts with health protocols against Covid-19, in Brasilia
The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib), associated with all its regional organizations, inaugurates this Sunday (22) the national mobilization ‘Struggle for Life’, in Brasília. The activities, which will last until the 28th of August, intend to defend the indigenous peoples rights and to promote activities against the anti-indigenous agenda that advances into the National Congress and the Federal Government. The mobilization will also focus on the trial about the Milestone Thesis (Marco Temporal) by the Brazilian Supreme Court (STF), which is expected to be resumed on August 25th and may define the future for indigenous land demarcation.
The indigenous movement constantly denounces the increase of violence against indigenous peoples inside and outside their traditional territories. Apib and all its regional grassroot organizations disseminate this information to the press, on social media and formalized complaints in national and international legal instances. On the date that marks the International Day of Indigenous Peoples, August 9, Apib presented an unprecedented statement before the International Criminal Court (ICC) to denounce Bolsonaro’s government on the crimes of Genocide and Ecocide.
“We cannot remain silent while facing this violent scenario. It is not only Covid19 virus that is killing our people and that is why we decided once again to go to Brasília to continue fighting for the lives of indigenous peoples, for the Mother Earth and for the future of humanity”, emphasizes Sonia Guajajara, one of Apib’s executive coordinators.
The mobilisation previews seven days of activities in the federal capital, with an intense schedule of plenary sessions, political audiences within Federal Government bodies and embassies, marches and public demonstrations. During this period, indigenous people from all regions of Brazil will be camped at Praça da Cidadania.
The camp will have an intense program of political discussions and cultural events. All activities have a collaborative communication team formed mostly by indigenous people. “It is necessary to give visibility and amplify the voices of the indigenous movement as a whole. In this scenario of many threats, communication plays a key role and we will be joining forces in this camp”, emphasizes Erisvan Guajajara, Media India coordinator.
Health care
The Struggle for Life Camp has developed sanitary protocols dedicated to reinforcing all existing and recommended norms for combating Covid19. The camp’s health team includes indigenous professionals and count on the support of the Brazilian Association of Collective Health (Abrasco), the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, the Indigenous Health Clinic of the University of Brasília (Asi/UNB) and the University Hospital of Brasília (HUB).
“The health recommendations begin from the moment the delegations organize themselves to leave their territories. Apib proposes the invitation of people who already have their full vaccination coverage,” explains Dinamam Tuxá, one of Apib’s executive coordinators.
The first day of the camp (22) is dedicated to the arrival of the delegations and to carry out mass testing for Covid-19 as one of the sanitary protocols for the mobilization.
On Monday (23) the activities are dedicated to political updates with leaders across the country. ‘The Five Powers’ is the name of the plenary that will be held to promote an analysis of the current situation on the legislative, executive, judiciary, popular and spiritual powers. On this day, rituals and audiovisual exhibitions are also planned.
Future
The most central agenda of the Struggle for Life mobilisation is related to the trial by the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court (STF), which is expected to be the most important process of the century for the lives of indigenous peoples. The Court will analyze the repossession action filed by the government of Santa Catarina against the Xokleng people, referring to the Ibirama-Laklãnõ Indigenous Land (TI), where the Guarani and Kaingang peoples also live.
Under the status of “general repercussion”, the final decision made by the trial will serve as a guideline for the federal government and all instances of Brazilian justice system, as well as a reference to all processes, administrative procedures and legislative projects regarding the indigenous land demarcation procedures.
“Indigenous peoples experience a deeply adverse political context under Bolsonaro’s administration, the first president elected with a declared position against the indigenous peoples. As soon as he started his government, he signed several acts that hurt the Constitution and International Treaties that protect indigenous communities and their territories. It is important to note that, in this context of pandemic, it is essential to reflect on the relevant role the traditional territories play to keep humanity’s equilibrium. So, the indigenous lands, besides protecting the indigenous peoples’s ways of life, are a national and public heritage, which contributes to keep the climatic balance”, emphasizes Eloy Terena, Apib’s juridic coordinator in his article on the Supreme Court judgment (read the full text here)
In this sense, the schedule for the Struggle for Life camp on August 24th and 25th is dedicated to discussions, acts and manifestations related to the trial, in support of the Supreme Court justices and against the Milestone Thesis (Marco Temporal).
The days following the trial will give space to debates related to the 2022 elections and the strengthening of the support networks for the struggles of indigenous peoples. The departure of all delegations is scheduled for the 28th of August.
Check out some schedule details here
19/Aug/2021
Bills being processed in the Brazilian Congress, with irreversible consequences to the Amazon forest and indigenous peoples, could bring serious risks to the operations of financial institutions. An alert from the Coalition and other partners adds to the agenda of denunciations by indigenous peoples.
Brasília, August 19, 2021 – In a letter sent today to 80 international and Brazilian financial institutions, Forest & Finance Coalition, together with the Association of Indigenous People of Brazil (APIB), the Climate Observatory, and 45 allied organizations, warn about the risks of investments in Brazil in light of a suite of legislative changes being currently pushed in the Brazilian Congress. If approved, these bills will result in irreversible consequences for the protection of critical ecosystems such as the Amazon rainforest and the guarantee of the rights of Indigenous peoples, posing serious risks for many financial institutions operating in Brazil.
The coalition’s alert aims to pressure these financial institutions to publicly and forcefully position themselves against this regressive agenda, spur change within the industry and warn companies that operate in Brazil and rely on their financing.
“The Forests and Finance Coalition has been pressuring financial institutions for some time to take action in relation to their investments that threaten forests and the rights of Indigenous peoples in Brazil. These measures include clear criteria for excluding companies that commit these violations from its portfolio and the adoption of policies against deforestation and for the protection of the rights of Indigenous peoples,” says Merel Van der Merk, coordinator of the Coalition. “But faced with a threat of this magnitude to the legal protection of the environment, we need concrete action now, a very clear position that these institutions will not be accomplices in further destruction, deforestation and degradation of Brazilian ecosystems and the violation of rights of indigenous peoples,” she highlighted.
Among the legislative threats described in the letter are Bill 2633/2020, also known as the Land Grabbing Bill (PL da Grilagem); Bill 3729/2004, which loosens the rules for environmental licensing in Brazil – both approved by a great majority in the Chamber of Deputies, awaiting consideration in the Senate; Bill 191/2020 which frees up mining and other extractive activities within Indigenous lands and removes the veto power of these communities; Legislative Decree 177/2021, which allows Brazil’s withdrawal from Convention 169 of the ILO; and Bill 490/2007, which may revert constitutional protections to Indigenous Territories, making new demarcations unfeasible and threatening the ones already in place.
The letter reinforces the agenda of mobilizations by Indigenous peoples and organizations between the months of August and September in Brazil. On Monday, August 16t, the Association of Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples (APIB) published an international dossier of complaints to draw attention to the offensive against Indigenous peoples and the environment led by the Bolsonaro government and its allies. APIB signed the letter led by the coalition, in addition to 45 other organizations.
“With this letter, we join hundreds of Indigenous leaders and environmental advocates that are now marching to Brasília to defend their territories and forests. If approved, these measures will have catastrophic results not only for Indigenous people but to the entire social and environmental protection apparatus in Brazil – which is already dismantled by the current administration – and because of the rainforest’s role in our climate, for the world,” said Rosana Miranda, campaign adviser at Amazon Watch, member of the coalition. “These changes threaten the financial sector itself, as it represents an increase in the social, legal, environmental, and climate risks involved in operating in Brazil. They need to act,” she concluded.
About the Forests and Finance Coalition
The Forests & Finance (F&F) is an initiative of a coalition of campaign and research organizations including Rainforest Action Network, TuK Indonesia, Profundo, Amazon Watch, Reporter Brasil, BankTrack, Sahabat Alam Malaysia, and Friends of the Earth US. The coalition seeks to prevent financial institutions from facilitating the common environmental and social abuses of forest risk commodities. They advocate greater transparency, specific financial sector policies, systems, and regulations.
The initiative’s database can uncover the links between major banks, investors, and companies at risk of deforestation, and present case studies involving deforestation and human rights violations linked to bank investments and financing. Financial institutions can access more than 300 companies directly involved in the supply chains of various commodities whose operations affect tropical forests in Southeast Asia, Central and West Africa, and Brazil.
16/Aug/2021
photo: Juliana Pesqueira / Proteja Amazônia
ACCESS THE DOCUMENT HERE
BRASÍLIA, August 16, 2021 – The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib) launches today (16) its International Complaints Dossier. The document brings together a series of data and information that demonstrate that Bolsonaro selected indigenous peoples as enemies of his government, and turned his hate speeches into state policy. The document also relates Bolsonaro’s actions and omissions with the increase in cases of violence and conflict in indigenous territories.
The initiative is part of Apib’s strategy to expand international knowledge about the emergency situation experienced by Indigenous Peoples in Brazil. Last week, the Articulation filed a complaint in the International Criminal Court in The Hague, calling for the investigation of Bolsonaro for crimes of genocide and ecocide. Now, the dossier presents a perspective of broad analysis, to expose to the world the anti-indigenist agenda that is advancing in Brazil.
As an excerpt from the Dossier, the agenda of violence against peoples is “orchestrated with the direct participation of the Executive Branch, fastly advances in the National Congress and rounds up decisions that pass through the hands of the ministers of the Brazilian Supreme Court, the Federal Supreme Court (STF), and also by other instances of the Judiciary.”
The document will be released at an online event, which starts at 12:00 pm (Brasilia time), with the participation of Sônia Guajajara and Dinamam Tuxá, from APIB’s executive coordination, Eloy Terena, coordinator of the institution’s legal department. Ana Patté, from the Xokleng people of Santa Catarina, also participates in the event to report the trajectory of conflicts in the Ibirama-Laklãnõ Indigenous Land, whose case will be analyzed by the Supreme Court on August 25 and has a “general repercussion” character, which makes this an impactful decision for the future of Indigenous Lands demarcation in Brazil.
WATCH THE LAUNCH ACTIVITY:
APIB Youtube Channel
APIB Facebook Page
09/Aug/2021
Photo: Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters
For the first time in history, Indigenous Peoples address directly the court in The Hague, with their own lawyers, to stand up for their rights.
Brasília, August 9, 2021 – The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples from Brazil (Apib) filed, this Monday (9), a statement before the International Criminal Court (ICC) to denounce Bolsonaro’s government on Genocide. On the date that marks the International Day of Indigenous Peoples, the organization requests the Court’s prosecutor to examine the crimes perpetrated against indigenous peoples by President Jair Bolsonaro since the beginning of his term, in January 2019, with special attention over the period of Covid-19 pandemic.
Based on ICC’s precedents, Apib demands an investigation for crimes against humanity (article 7. b, h. k Rome Statute – extermination, persecution and other inhuman acts) and genocide (art. 6. B and c of the Statute of Rome – causing severe physical and mental damage and deliberately inflicting conditions aimed at the destruction of indigenous peoples). For the first time in history, indigenous peoples stand before the ICC, with the support of indigenous lawyers, to defend themselves against these crimes.
The statement is composed by several complaints from indigenous leaders and organizations, official documents, academic research and technical notes, arriving to prove the planning and execution of an explicit, systematic and intentional anti-indigenous policy headed by Bolsonaro.
“We believe there are acts in progress in Brazil that constitute crimes against humanity, genocide and ecocide. Given the inability of the justice system in Brazil to investigate, prosecute and judge these conducts, we denounce them to the international community, throughout the International Criminal Court”, highlights Eloy Terena, legal coordinator of Apib.
According to an excerpt of the communication, “the dismantling of public structures for social and environmental protection, and also of those addressed to protecting Indigenous Peoples resulted in the escalation of invasions in Indigenous Lands, deforestation and fires in Brazilian biomes, and also increased illegal mining in the territories.”
For APIB, attacks against Indigenous Peoples and their territories were encouraged by Bolsonaro several occasions along his term. The facts that evidence the Federal Government’s anti-indigenous project range from the explicit refusal to demarcate new lands, including bills, decrees and ordinances that try to legalize invasive activities, stimulating conflicts.
“Apib will continue to stand up for the right of Indigenous Peoples to exist in their diversity. We are native peoples and we will not surrender to extermination”, emphasizes Eloy, one of the eight indigenous lawyers who signed the statement.
The complaint statement sent to the ICC, was supported by the Collective of Advocacy on Human Rights – CADHu and the Comissão Arns, which filed, in 2019, another statement to the ICC Prosecutor’s Office against Bolsonaro, currently under review in the court.
Indigenous August
“We have been fighting every day for hundreds of years to ensure our existence and today our fight for rights is global. The solutions for this sick world come from indigenous peoples and we will never remain silent in the face of the violence we are suffering. We sent this communiqué to the International Criminal Court because we cannot fail to denounce Bolsonaro’s anti-indigenous policy. He needs to pay for all the violence and destruction he is leading”, says Apib’s executive coordinator, Sonia Guajajara.
According to the coordinator, the month of August will be marked by mobilizations from indigenous peoples fighting for their rights. She highlights the ‘Struggle for Life’ camp, scheduled to take place between August 22nd and 28th, in Brasília. “We will occupy the federal capital once again to prevent setbacks against the rights of our peoples”, reinforces Sonia.
“We alert the International Criminal Court to the authoritarian escalation underway in
Brazil. The democratic environment is under risk”, says Dinamam Tuxá, executive coordinator for Apib, recalling the bills that are under Brazilian National Congress analyse and represent serious threats for indigenous rights, and also the judgment by the Supreme Court (STF) on the Temporal Mark, that can define the future of indigenous peoples.
“We are calling to action in Brasília, in the midst of a pandemic, because today the Federal Government’s anti-indigenous agenda represents a more lethal threat than the Covid-19 virus. The lives of Indigenous Peoples are linked to their territories and our lives are under threat. We will be mobilized in the communities, in the cities, in Brasília and in the court in The Hague to hold Bolsonaro accountable and fight for our rights”, highlights Tuxá.
“Indigenous Peoples will remain vigilant, as they have historically done. It is the duty of the Brazilian federal government to respect them, as a foundational expression of a Constitutional State of Law”, points out an excerpt of the document sent to the ICC.
HIGHLIGHTS
- On November 19, 2019, the Collective of Advocacy on Human Rights – CADHu and the Arns Commission presented a statement for inciting genocide and crimes against humanity perpetrated by Jair Bolsonaro against indigenous peoples.
- During the second half of 2020, Apib and the Clinic of Strategic Litigation in Human Rights of Fundação Getúlio Vargas, São Paulo, held workshops with indigenous lawyers, leaders, students, experts and Apib partners on the jurisdiction of the ICC.
- Soon after, the APIB launched a call for leaders and grassroots organizations to send complaints of rights violations, especially in the context of the pandemic. Such reports were largely incorporated in the statement to the ICC.
- The meetings addressed issues such as international criminal jurisdiction and its criticisms, crimes under the Rome Statute, the process before the ICC, the role of victims in the construction of cases, admissibility and the agenda of the Prosecutor’s Office.
- On December 2020, the ICC Attorney’s Office informed the Collective of Advocacy on Human Rights – CADHu and the Arns Commission that the communication sent in November 2019 was under formal evaluation.
- During the first half of 2021, based on the workshops held in 2020, APIB began collecting testimonies and relevant data on the impact of Jair Bolsonaro’s actions on different indigenous communities in the country.
- The reports issued directly by the affected indigenous peoples, official documents, academic research and technical notes integrate the evidence to support the statement presented by Apib today, August 9th, before the ICC, in association with the Collective of Advocacy on Human Rights – CADHu and Comissão Arns.
- The document has 86 pages describing concrete facts, which are organized into:
- A chronology of Bolsonaro’s attacks against indigenous peoples, what includes the destruction of public infrastructure to guarantee indigenous and socio-environmental rights, through administrative acts, normatives, speeches, meetings and projects, directly or indirectly carried out by President Jair, were compiled Bolsonaro;
- The description of the main consequences of the destruction of public infrastructure to guarantee indigenous and socio-environmental rights: the invasion and dispossession of indigenous lands; the deforestation; mining into the territories and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on indigenous peoples, bringing research, reports and data.
- The report on the impact of invasions, deforestation, mining into Indigenous Lands and the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic over isolated indigenous peoples or those with recent contact and over the Munduruku peoples, the indigenous peoples who live in the Yanomami TI, the Guarani-Mbya, Kaingang, the Guarani-Kaiowá, the Tikuna, Kokama, the Guajajara and the Terena.
- APIB brings to the international criminal jurisdiction the voice and interpretation of indigenous peoples on the crimes of which they have been victims, a fact that is historical by itself.
04/Aug/2021
Early last night (August 3rd), Brazilian congressmen showed the interests they stand for, approving the Bill 2633 known as “PL da Grilagem” (Land Grabbing Bill) with a large majority (296 x 136 votes). The approved text was not previously presented to civil society, a typical behavior of anti-democratic regimes.
They argue that the bill is a necessary instrument to register land for small farmers. However, Brazil already has a land reform framework and land allocation policies that only need to be effectively implemented. The approved text, which is now following for the appreciation by the Federal Senate, legalizes the illegal: it regularizes criminally appropriated lands, in processes that often include violent acts against indigenous peoples and traditional communities.
Grilagem means land grabbing. For those unfamiliar with the expression, it is the name given to the invasion, occupation and illegal trade of public areas. This crime has now been converted into law. The practice is directly linked to deforestation, to the destruction of biodiversity and threatens indigenous peoples who traditionally occupy territories, now usurped by land grabbers.
According to the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (Ipam), around 30% of deforestation and burning in the Amazon occurred on public lands without designation, which were possibly targeted by land grabbers. Still, studies by Imazon estimate that if PL 2633 effectively becomes a law, it will cause an additional deforestation of up to 16 thousand square kilometers, an area almost 3 times the size of the Brazilian Federal District.
Theft of public land is nothing new in Brazil. What is unprecedented is that the State, which should look after the common good, shamelessly decides to reward thieves and usurpers with the regularization of stolen lands. This ethical and legal aberration puts our forests, our biodiversity and the peoples who depend on them – especially indigenous peoples, traditional communities and family farmers – on their knees in the face of the typical violence processes of invasion and illegal appropriation of land.
While the whole world discusses ways to keep forests standing as a solution to climate change, the Brazilian government continues to “passar a boiada” (pass the cattle), opening the way for an increase in deforestation rates, which goes against its own commitments to zero illegal deforestation.
Indigenous peoples express their consternation over this absurd and irresponsible sign emanating from the self-proclaimed “People’s House”. By approving this project, the Chamber demonstrates that it is gradually and unavoidably becoming the home of ruralists, agribusiness, deforesters, land grabbers – all of them, except for the people.
The Brazilian indigenous movement continues in the struggle for its constitutional rights.
19/Jul/2021
For the last 521 years this land has been characterized by violations, racism and genocide. Centuries of attempts to subjugating peoples, cultures and territories. Today there are not only guns tearing at bodies, but also pens signing extermination laws. When not only criminals are directly attacking, governments skip away from their duty of protecting our peoples. And as much as the fights overlap, we won’t allow it!
We are the first ones in this land, before even Brazil becomes Brazil.
Against bills that violate the Constitution itself, we will continue to be mobilized in the federal capital, sounding our maracas and singing our songs, between the 22nd and 28th of August.
We make this call, even during the pandemic, because we cannot remain silent facing genocide and echocide, because the Earth screams even when we are quiet. May the country listen to its native peoples. Our lives are linked to the earth, as we live in communion with it. We are the guardians of the forests and all forms of life that there inhabit. Facing a Congress that advances in an anti-indigenous agenda and against the Temporal Framework, scheduled to be voted by the Supreme Court on August 25th, we will resist!
We will lead vaccinated to Brasília, with all the hygiene precautions against Covid-19, to play our maracas to guarantee the rights of indigenous peoples.
Come together, relatives, to STRUGGLE FOR LIFE Camp.
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