Brazil: Brazil’s government has started expelling thousands of non-Indigenous people from their native territories. The latest move is expected to affect thousands of people who live within the core of the Amazon rainforest.
According to the Brazilian intelligence agency ABIN, indigenous land trespassing action was initiated to return to the original peoples the right to ownership and exclusive use of their territories, including the Apyterewa and Trincheira Bacaja lands in Para State, as determined by Article 231 of the Federal Constitution.
The territories are located around the municipalities of Sao Felix do Xingu, Altamira, Anapu, and Senador Jose Porfirio in Para State. Brazil’s government said the Supreme Court and other judges had ordered the operation. According to indigenous groups, more than 10,000 non-Indigenous people are living inside the two territories. ABIN noted that as many as 2,500 Indigenous people live in 51 villages within.
“The presence of strangers on Indigenous land threatens the integrity of the Indigenous [people] and causes other damages, such as the destruction of forests,” the agency said in its statement. “About 1,600 families lived illegally in that region, with some involved in illegal activities such as cattle raising and gold mining. They also destroy native vegetation,” the agency added.
According to reports, the Apyterewa territory had the most deforestation of any indigenous land in Brazil for four years running. Other authorities that participated in the action included Brazil’s ministry of Indigenous Peoples, the environment protection agency IBAMA, the federal police, and the armed forces.
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