Massive Indigenous Rights Movement Launches Across Brazil

Started by Toruk Makto, October 01, 2013, 02:51:36 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Toruk Makto

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1, 2013

Contact:
Caroline Bennett, 1 510 520 9390, [email protected]
Christian Poirier, +55 61 8198 5502, [email protected]


Massive Indigenous Rights Movement Launches Across Brazil
Protests tackle threatening new laws on Constitution's 25th anniversary

Brasilia, Brazil – Today hundreds of indigenous peoples representing Brazil's native communities converged on government buildings in the nation's capital to decry unprecedented and growing attacks on their constitutional rights and territories. The historic mobilization coincides with the 25th anniversary of the founding of Brazil's constitution with its groundbreaking affirmation of indigenous rights and aims to preserve these rights in the face of powerful economic interests behind a spate of pending laws seeking access to resources on native territories.

Brazil's Articulation of Indigenous People's (APIB) called the mobilizations – staged simultaneously in various cities across the country such as São Paulo, Belém, Rio Branco – to protest the attack against territorial rights of native peoples. Emanating from the Brazilian government and backed by a powerful congressional bloc representing agribusiness known as the bancada ruralista as well as large mining and energy interests, a series of new proposed laws seek to undermine Article 231 of the Brazilian Constitution, which assures the indigenous right to an exclusive and permanent usufruct to resources on their ancestral territories.

"We are here because Congress wants to take our rights and extinguish our people," said Chief Raoni Metuktire, a legendary Kayapó leader from the Amazon. "This assembly is important because it aims to unite our peoples against this threat."

Hundreds of planned laws and constitutional amendments targeting the rights of indigenous and traditional communities are under debate in Brazil's Congress and risk being passed this month before lawmakers go into recess, making this week's mobilizations both urgent and timely.

Among the proposed changes are Proposed Complementary Law (PLP) 227 which would modify Article 231, eliminating the indigenous right to resources in cases of "relevant public interest," clearing the way for industrial farming, dam-building, mining, road building and settlement construction on indigenous lands. Proposed Constitutional Amendment (PEC) 215 would roll back the demarcation of new indigenous territories by passing the authority to demarcate lands from the Executive to a Legislative branch that is increasingly hostile to indigenous rights.

"These amendments and new laws that the government wants to pass will destroy indigenous rights enshrined in the Brazilian Constitution and the international treaties of which Brazil is a signatory," said Maíra Irigaray Castro of Amazon Watch. "If Brazil denies the rights of these traditional populations they risk extinction, something the world cannot afford. These are the guardians of the rainforests for the benefit of all humanity."

"We're not going to stand by and watch our territories being stolen, our houses being invaded and our rivers being destroyed," said Sonia Guajajara, coordinator of APIB. "Rather than calling Congress the house of the people it should be called the house of agribusiness."

In addition to presiding over this unprecedented assault on indigenous rights, the Rousseff government has demonstrated the worst record of indigenous territorial demarcation since the nation's dictatorship era. Further undermining the integrity of these territories, the office of her Attorney General proposes Ordinance 303 in order to veto any expansion of demarcated lands while authorizing the construction of roads, energy transmission lines, and military installations within their borders when such projects are deemed relevant to "national security."

These moves coincide with increasing government backing and finance for projects and industries, exemplified by Brazil's dam-building boom in the Amazon, that are entirely at odds with indigenous rights.


More Information:

   amazonwatch.org
   internationalrivers.org
   APIB blog

Lì'fyari leNa'vi 'Rrtamì, vay set 'almong a fra'u zera'u ta ngrrpongu
Na'vi Dictionary: http://files.learnnavi.org/dicts/NaviDictionary.pdf

Tìtstewan

That would be absolutely sad, if they destroy the rights of the indigenous people.
I'm afraid that the Brasilian goverment have only eyes for the money, metals, woods, dams etc. The problem is, they put the economy and growth on the first place...
:(

-| Na'vi Vocab + Audio | Na'viteri as one HTML file | FAQ | Useful Links for Beginners |-
-| Kem si fu kem rä'ä si, ke lu tìfmi. |-

`Eylan Ayfalulukanä

I'm glad to see this happen, as they are the real stakeholders in what is going on in Brazil.

We here in the US need to wake up and get a movement going to stop the systematic erosion of our Constitutional rights-- All of them!

Yawey ngahu!
pamrel si ro [email protected]

baritone

Indigenous people harassment is a consequence of the pressure of transnational corporations, which can not be overcome, even if president of some country is socialist. These are the laws of the international market. Time of Communism has not yet come.

Toruk Makto

 Communism has a history of forced social regimentation and involuntary relocation reasoned for the good of the many (or more commonly of the party).  Can you expand on what you mean by the time of communism has not yet come? That is an interesting statement.

Lì'fyari leNa'vi 'Rrtamì, vay set 'almong a fra'u zera'u ta ngrrpongu
Na'vi Dictionary: http://files.learnnavi.org/dicts/NaviDictionary.pdf

Tìtstewan

#5
Quote from: baritone on October 02, 2013, 09:31:15 PM
Time of Communism has not yet come.
I'm originally from a communist country and I'm afraid to say that communism isn't an enviroment friendly system.
The most of the communistic systems are collapsed or has been adapted to capitalism (like in China).

We need an economy system, that is not based on "economical growth" and respect the limited resources of earth. The biggest problem with capitalism is the assumption that the economy has an unlimited growth.
As for this topic I have a simple example:
Brasilia has a growth of 4,2% (2007) and the big corporations and companies as well as the gouverment want to let grow or keep the actual growth. Because their economy grow, they need more energy for their industries. So what they must do? They destroy the forest, homes of the indigenous people who lives near the rivers and the local enviroment.
But unfortunately, all this cause a cain reaction, which will do all bad. More people in the cities want to live more comfortable, have more luxus etc. and this will accelerate the destruction of the nature and the homes of the indigenious people.

To close the circle, do you think, a communistic system would do that better? I think no.

-| Na'vi Vocab + Audio | Na'viteri as one HTML file | FAQ | Useful Links for Beginners |-
-| Kem si fu kem rä'ä si, ke lu tìfmi. |-

baritone

I just want to say that if sometime in the distant future to replace the current system will come better and fairer, it will be that Karl Marx and Bakunin in the 19th century might well call it as a "communism". I think so based on the latest economic news, but I could be wrong. I apologize for my English. I am not a member of the Communist Party of Russia, I am a supporter of the ideas of Richard Stallman. I would not want to say any more about it and even mention the word "communism".

Toruk Makto

Fair enough. But your thoughts have given me some ideas to go learn about.

Markì

Lì'fyari leNa'vi 'Rrtamì, vay set 'almong a fra'u zera'u ta ngrrpongu
Na'vi Dictionary: http://files.learnnavi.org/dicts/NaviDictionary.pdf

`Eylan Ayfalulukanä

Much of what needs to be accomplished is to make people think more about the consequences of their actions.

I work with a mixed group of people, and their habits vary widely. But most people think nothing about throwing away stuff that cna be reused or recycled. For instance, thousands of old video tapes. I have managed to get some of these in the hands of folks that can reuse them. But these days, these folks are few and far between.

Yesterday, someone left a gadget that lowers a studio light fixture to a suitable height below the lighting grid. It was broken in half. The guy who broke was going to throw it out, but then remembered that if I could not fix it, I might be able to repurpose it. So he put iit in my shop. And indeed, it has a number of useful parts, and parts of it are made of cast metal. Later, someone else came in and saw it. they commented 'I'll throw that out for you tomorrow'! Aaaargh!

I have to follow the production department around, turning off lights, monitors, VTRs, etc. It never ends! We get our electric power for free. Although I would like it to stay that way, if we had to pay for our power, habits would change quickly.

These kinds of attitudes seem to be very deeply entrenched in people, who are accustomed to just throwing out stuff they cannot use. It really catches them off-guard if you ask why they are throwing something out. One time, I got a pair of 'grade 1' (used for critical picture evaluation) picture monitors from a TV station that they were just going to throw out. These are $10,000 monitors at today's prices. I asked them why they were tossing them. The answer was 'they don't fit in the new arrangement of the control room'. That was 1994. I still use those monitors today. I also pulled a 3/4 inch VTR out of their dumpster while I was there.

Most movie theaters here simply threw out their old film projectors when the digital projectors came along. I never thought to ask about obtaining a couple.

Changing our 'throwaway mentality' will do far more to protect the environment than any amount of government coercion! In the meantime, I'm happy to be a 'hoarder'!


We also throw out an amazing array of food packaging. Even things like candy bar wrappers have gone from paper to plastic. I try where I can to reduce the amount of food packaging I throw out, but it is hard to do these days.

And now days, they call people who are thrifty, 'hoarders'!

Yawey ngahu!
pamrel si ro [email protected]

Tìtstewan

Quote from: `Eylan Ayfalulukanä on October 04, 2013, 07:22:59 PM
I have to follow the production department around, turning off lights, monitors, VTRs, etc. It never ends! We get our electric power for free. Although I would like it to stay that way, if we had to pay for our power, habits would change quickly.
About this I had a discussion:
Quote from: Toruk Makto on October 05, 2012, 11:38:27 AM
Quote from: Tìtstewan on October 05, 2012, 10:26:38 AM
In germany the electricity cost of ~0.25 €/kWh...
We have, for example, an eco-tax to finance the solar plants.

What is the price of electricity in America? :-\

About a third of that, thanks to coal and other nasty stuff.  However, I do have a bone to pick with our German friends for buying up all the PV panels in the world and keeping the supply tight!   ;) :D

About the 'throwaway mentality':
I see that here too... :(

-| Na'vi Vocab + Audio | Na'viteri as one HTML file | FAQ | Useful Links for Beginners |-
-| Kem si fu kem rä'ä si, ke lu tìfmi. |-

Irtaviš Ačankif

It would be better if there were this incentive for people to not damage their stuff when they throw them a way, and a central recycling thing that actually does recycling without reducing to scrap parts (i.e., refurbish and sell the things, etc).
Previously Ithisa Kīranem, Uniltìrantokx te Skxawng.

Name from my Sakaš conlang, from Sakasul Ältäbisäl Acarankïp

"First name" is Ačankif, not Eltabiš! In Na'vi, Atsankip.