Rise for the Earth
Brasília – DF, June 15, 2021.
We, indigenous peoples, live in a state of constant threat, which requires us to be in constant vigilance and mobilization. At this time, June 2021, still under the restrictions of a devastating pandemic that is approaching the victimization of 500,000 Brazilians, of which more than 1,110 indigenous are part, we are forced to intensify our struggles and amplify our voice of protest to defend our most basic rights: our lives and our territories.
The fight for life called, and we came to Brasília to set up our Levante for Earth camp in defense of our rights, mainly territorial. We returned to occupy the lawns of the federal capital after two years without in-person mobilizations, especially the Acampamento Terra Livre (largest assembly of indigenous peoples in Brazil, which, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, was held virtually in 2020 and 2021).
Our leaders, who are already fully immunized with the vaccine against the new coronavirus, gather at this moment to echo our maracas and reaffirm that, in the midst of the greatest health and humanitarian emergency in recent years, Indigenous Lives Matter.
In this manifesto, we reaffirm our banners of struggle and decree our PERMANENT STATE OF MOBILIZATION.
FOR THE IMMEDIATE INTERRUPTION OF ANY ANTI-INDIGENOUS MEASURES AT THE NATIONAL CONGRESS!
- Definitive withdrawal from the CCJC voting agenda and filing of PL (Bill) 490/2007, which threatens to nullify the demarcations of indigenous lands;
Filing of PL 2633/2020, known as PL da Grilagem, because if approved, the project will give amnesty to land grabbers and legalize land theft, further aggravating violence against indigenous peoples; - Filing of PL 984/2019, which intends to cut the Iguaçu National Park and other Conservation Units with roads;
- Filing of PDL 177/2021 authorizing the President of the Republic to abandon Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO), the only international treaty ratified by Brazil that specifically and comprehensively addresses the rights of indigenous people;
- Filing of PL 191/2020 that authorizes the exploration of indigenous lands by large infrastructure and industrial mining projects;
- Filing of PL 3729/2004, which destroys the environmental licensing and brings major setbacks for the protection of the environment and for guaranteeing the rights of populations affected by the environmental degradation of infrastructure projects, such as hydroelectric plants.
These genocidal and ecocidal projects use the Covid-19 pandemic as a smokescreen, increasing violence against indigenous peoples and conflicts in our territories, including among relatives. These conflicts are fueled by the Government with the objective of dividing, weakening and demobilizing our peoples, organizations and leaders. Know that we will not let this strategy overwhelm us!
SUPREME COURT: OUR RIGHTS MUST BE SURVEILLED AND PROTECTED!
The STF judges the case of general repercussion on the demarcation of indigenous lands, the well-known Extraordinary Appeal (RE) 1,017,365 related to the case of the Xokleng-La Klanõ Indigenous Land, belonging to the Xokleng people, in Santa Catarina. The status of “general repercussion” given by the STF to the case means that its resolution will serve as a guideline for the federal government and all instances of the Judiciary regarding the demarcation of indigenous lands, in addition to serving to guide legislative proposals that address rights of original peoples – such as PL 490, which opens indigenous lands to predatory exploitation and makes new demarcations impossible, in practice.
This process is suspended by intervention of Minister Alexandre Moraes. The STF has a duty to protect our constitutional right to our territories! The trial must be resumed!
Especially in this moment of attacks, the voice of the Supreme Court needs to echo strongly and guarantee the Yanomami and Munduruku peoples the removal of invaders from their lands. This same protection should be extended to five other Indigenous Lands, also discussed at the STF: Tis Karipuna and Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau, in Rondônia, Kayapó and Trincheira-Bacajá, in Pará and Araribóia, in Maranhão.
This is what Apib is demanding at this time, with a proper sense of urgency, from the ministers and ministers of the Supreme Court. We do this through this document, through the voices of our leaders, from our territories throughout Brazil, and also concentrated in the Levante pela Terra camp in Brasília. We also do it in court, within the scope of the Action for Non-compliance with Fundamental Precepts (ADPF) 709/2020, authored by Apib and several national institutions in solidarity with indigenous peoples. This ADPF is on the agenda of the STF, and must be debated by the plenary until June 18th.
For the life and historical continuity of our peoples, tell the people to move forward!
Rise for the Earth
Apib – Articulação dos Indígenas do Brasil
Organizações regionais de base da Apib:
APOINME – Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Nordeste, Minas Gerais e Espírito Santo
ARPIN SUDESTE – Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Sudeste
ARPINSUL – Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Sul
ATY GUASU – Grande Assembléia do povo Guarani
Comissão Guarani Yvyrupa
Conselho do Povo Terena
COIAB – Coordenação das Organizações Indígenas da Amazônia Brasileira