Indigenous people to discuss claims at Senate meeting after protests

Indigenous people who went to Brasília to protest against threats to their rights will meet with Senate President Eunício Oliveira today (April 26) to discuss their demands. The issue will also be the subject of a public hearing at the Senate's Human Rights Committee.

The protesters were at the  Acampamento Terra Livre (Free Land Camp), an event that brings representatives of ethnic groups from all Brazilian states to Brasília annually. About 4,000 campers are estimated by organizers to have marched to the National Congress on Tuesday (25). Black coffins in a reference to the genocide of indigenous peoples were placed over the reflecting pool in front of the Congress building. Police used tear gas and rubber bullets to stop the protesters from entering the building.

Indigenous lands

Sônia Guajajara, executive coordinator of an indigenous rights advocacy group called Coordination of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil (APIB), says the group is demanding the government to drop a constitution amendment bill (PEC 2015) tabled in 2000, which sought to hand over land demarcation authorities from the Executive branch to the Legislature.

“Our chief motivation is protecting our land rights. The National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI), an agency housed under the Ministry of Justice, has also been undermined,” she said.

According to her, the protest is also concerned with a bill on mining on indigenous lands. “The National Congress wants to establish pro-mining laws at all costs and give [indigenous] territories away to mining companies,” she said.

There are plans for a new indigenous march in Brasília on Thursday (27) for the meetings where the final documento of the Acampamento Terra Livre will be presented.

Translated by Mayra Borges