“This approval of the bill threatens our rights. All of us, the indigenous people of Brazil, do not accept it,” nonagenarian Raoni told AFP in the Kayapó language, in Paris, translated by his nephew Bemoro Metuktire.
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Promoted by deputies sympathetic to agribusiness and opponents, the approval of the “time frame” was a setback for promeenvironmental actions of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who announced the demarcation of new indigenous land reserves.
“It means a genocide approved by the Chamber of Deputies. It's taking away our right to live, it's ending our children's future. Ending the future of indigenous peoples is also ending the future of forests”, added Watatakalu Yawalapiti, leader of the Xingu indigenous women's movement.
The indigenous struggle
In Brazil there are a total of 764 territories belonging to indigenous peoples, but around a third have not yet been demarcated, according to data from the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (Funai).
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Indigenous communities reject the “time frame”, as many people did not occupy certain territories in 1988 because they were expelled, especially during the last military dictatorship (1964-1985).
And “killing indigenous rights is also killing life on the planet, because we take care of the forests, we teach people to value the environment”, emphasized Watatakalu, asking Lula to “veto” this project.
@curtonews Why is the demarcation of indigenous lands important? #CurtoNews ♬ original sound – Curto News
International pressure
The vote fell like a bucket of cold water during the indigenous leaders' visit to Europe to raise awareness and raise funds to protect the Amazon, and now they are seeking a demonstration in Brazil on the day June 7.
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That same day, the Federal Supreme Court (STF) must rule on the “time frame” and indigenous leaders expect their members to “tomem the right decisions”, in the words of chief Tapi Yawalapiti.
In addition to “pressuring” the Senate and the STF, Tapi asks not to vote for parliamentarians who approve the project, denounce the violation of indigenous rights and alert the world about the situation.
“At this moment, I ask for everyone’s unity, everyone’s strength so that we can save the forest. We are screaming here, asking for help because we are protecting the forest for the world”, added Tapi.
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As the world seeks to limit global warming, scientists say that the demarcation of indigenous lands is a fundamental barrier to the advancement of deforestation in the Amazon, the largest tropical forest in the world.
Watatakalu Yawalapiti emphasized that the objective of the bill is to “authorize more deforestation, authorize the construction of railways, more soybean plantations” and “produce more meat”.
And he asked presidents, companies and citizens around the world to pressure and support Lula in front of deputies, especially when “everything that happens is in the name of the people outside”, to produce things for “Europe” and “China”.
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“What’s the point of talking about climate change if you buy products that are killing indigenous peoples and killing the forest?” questionor the indigenous leader, calling for a boycott of these products if the situation does not change.
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