Brazilian Army to Permanently Occupy Indigenous Territories

Last week Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed a decree to permanently station the military on every indigenous reserve along the border.

The question is if the move was made to protect the indigenous communities or to protect Brazil. A recent news reports cites “possible incursions by guerrilla fighters, drug traffickers and others,” as the reason behind the occupation. But another news reports says that the Brazilian government is worried about indigenous nations declaring themselves separate nations.

During a seminar in Rio de Janeiro, General Heleno said the United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples gives room for indigenous people to cede from the state and adopt another nationality. That makes it a threat to ‘National Sovereignty.’

One month later, following a ceremony to commemorate the end of WW2, Brazil’s Defense Minister Nelson Jobim stated the military should be deployed because the State’s “territorial sovereignty is at risk,” says another report by Reuters.

“We want to be clear on something fundamental — Indian lands are Brazilian lands,” Jobim said. “There are no nations or Indian peoples, there are Brazilians who are Indians.”

Such a move could be a violation of International and Brazilian law.

Not only is it a violation of international agreements, but according to Claudio Luiz Beirao, a legal consultant to the Catholic Church’s Indigenous rights group, CIMI, it’s also against the law. “The constitution says only Indians can occupy indigenous lands unless Congress passes special legislation,” says Beirao — “and it didn’t.”

Source : The Intelligent Aboriginal News Service, Intercontinental Cry