Cover-up fear in Yanomami massacre
By Cam Walker
The world was horrified by the recent massacre of up to 100 Yanomami Indians by goldminers in the Amazon basin. It has been reported that the inhabitants of two villages were slaughtered and the "mastermind" of the attack has been arrested.
But what has become apparent since is the complicity of Brazilian authorities, according to Roberto Smeraldi, the Amazon program coordinator of Friends Of the Earth International.
Smeraldi was invited to the Yanomami village of Homoxi, where Chief Davi Kopenawa expressed frustration at the way officials had dealt with the investigations. He also called for an international campaign to pressure the Brazilian government to remove all goldminers from the area, to destroy the airstrips and capture those who committed the massacre.
The Yanomami chief said that he had wanted to help look for the bodies of those massacred but had been prevented because the authorities said that Indians would lie. Local parliamentarians from Boa Vista were manipulating the issue, he charged.
Following the expulsion of two diplomats (from the USA and Canada), Brazil's minister for justice, Mauricio Correa, ordered a strict limitation on access to the area. No foreign citizen is allowed into the area of the massacre, and the Yanomami fear a cover-up is in progress.
According to Friends of the Earth, in the past, miners and settlers who have killed Indians have been let off lightly or have not even been arrested. There have been several occasions when these people have been afforded protection by officials and politicians.
Letters of protest should be sent to: Ilmo Sr, Ministro da Jusica, Mauricio Correa, Minsterio da Jusica, Esplanada dos Ministerios Bl T, 70.064 Brasilia DF, Brazil. Fax: 0011 55 61 226 7566. More information can be obtained from Cam Walker of FOE 03-419 8700.