On the morning of Sunday, June 5, Brazilian indigenist Bruno Araújo Pereira and British journalist Dom Philipis, contributor of The Guardian, disappeared in the indigenous land of Javari Valley, in the state of Amazonas, Brazil[1]. Information about the defenders was lost while they were travelling between the São Rafael community (starting point) and the town of Atalaia do Norte, where they were expected. Both were working in a project of the Union of Indigenous Organisations of Javari Valley (Univaja).
The indigenous land of Javari Valley was demarcated in 2001, and it’s inhabited by 26 indigenous peoples, among them isolated peoples and peoples of recent contact. It is located in a tense border area between Brazil, Peru and Colombia due to the presence of drug trafficking. The land has been constantly invaded by loggers and miners, which creates a huge tension in the area, with denounces of child sexual abuse[2] and threats to local defenders of human rights, Bruno Araújo among them. Those invasions have been destroying the traditional ways of life.
Another problem is with the coordination of the National Indigenous Foundation (Funai), which is in the hands of a professional military man. In 2021, indigenist entities denounced the coordinator for his declarations which incentivised violence and genocide of the indigenous peoples[3]. It is worth noting that promoting violence against indigenous peoples and their territory has been usual for the Bolsonaro administration in Brazil. The indigenous organisation Univaja reported that it has been receiving threats in the field actions, and that those denounces had already been made at the federal police and entities of human rights. On September 6, 2019, indigenist Maxciel Pereira dos Santos was murdered in that area.
Therefore, we call for internationalist solidarity which can put pressure on the Brazilian government with demonstrations in Brazilian embassies, production and divulgation of material about it, denouncing the invasions of the Indigenous Land Javari Valley, so that the Brazilian state:
- Keep sending search and investigation parties, providing all the structure with helicopters, boats, agents for locating the missing people. According to local reports, searches have not been done adequately;
- Carry on with the investigations and punish the people responsible for invading the Indigenous Land Javari Valley;
- Guarantee the territorial rights and self-determination of the indigenous peoples in Brazil.
[1] https://terrasindigenas.org.br/pt-br/noticia/216262
[2] https://terrasindigenas.org.br/pt-br/noticia/216049
[3] https://cimi.org.br/2021/07/nota-repudio-declaracoes-coordenador-funai-vale-javari/