Gov’t pledges to fight crime in Vale do Javari indigenous territory
The government of Brazil plans to ensure safety in the Vale do Javari indigenous territory, in Amazonas state, and fight organized crime with efforts in line with data from the research by killed indigenous expert Bruno Pereira.
The announcement was made by National Public Safety Secretary Tadeu Alencar on Monday (Feb. 27) during an event held by local indigenous association Univaja, in the municipality of Atalaia do Norte, also in Amazonas.
Brazil’s indigenous agency
The presence of the authorities in Vale do Javari was described as not only symbolic, “but an act of responsibility” by Joenia Wapichana, head of national indigenous agency Funai, considering, she said, the vulnerability in which the government left indigenous activist Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips.
The government, she argued, owes a debt to the families of both victims. Pereira and Phillips were murdered for denouncing crimes in the region, including illegal mining and hunting.
“We must seek justice and start investigating, not only for [Pereira and Phillips], or Maxwell, or other civil servants who are here with us, but also for our leaders, who continue being threatened, and have been raising the alarm for a while,” Wapichana argued.
