Activists and indigenous people are harassed in Rondônia – 05/17/2023 – Folha Social+

A group of 16 people, made up of indigenous people, activists and journalists, was surrounded and harassed this Sunday (14) in the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau Indigenous Land, in the Burareiro PAD (Directed Settlement Project) region, in Rondônia.

According to the victims, around 50 men kept the group under surveillance for more than three hours. Some of them were armed.

Among the people surrounded were the social entrepreneur and human rights activist Neidinha Surui, her daughter, also an activist and columnist for Folha, Txai Surui, and the plastic artist Mundano, in addition to five indigenous people.

The episode occurred after the group tried to start an artistic work with painting the ground. The idea was to draw attention to the fight against deforestation and the need to demarcate indigenous lands.

“We were surrounded by approximately 50 men. They kept saying that it was private property. They closed the road on one side and on the other. There was no way for us to leave”, says Neidinha. “I hadn’t realized it was an ambush.”

Neidinha explains that the place is Indigenous Land. According to her, four of the men carried weapons in their belts. Despite not having been singled out for the group, the men reportedly approached the activists in a hostile manner.

Neidinha classifies the episode as an attempt at “private imprisonment” and claims that the attack only ended after she and Txai cited federal laws. She was released after more than three hours of discussion with members of the settlement.

Mundano, the English journalist Heydon Prowse, and other members of the production were compelled to remain in place until the arrival of a video creator, a supporter of the group.

Located about 250 kilometers from the capital, the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau Indigenous Land has been the subject of dispute for decades.

The region was recognized by presidential decree in 1991, but the legislation is not respected by members of the settlement created by Incra in the same area.

Rural producers have been working in the TI for over 40 years alleging that the Indigenous Land was demarcated with errors and are contesting Funai’s right over the territory.

For Neidinha, many of the men who tried to intimidate the group this Sunday are land invaders. She says that one of them recognized that he does not have a title to the property issued by Incra.

In Brazil, occurrences of invasions of indigenous lands broke a record according to the report by the CMI (Conselho Indigenista Missionário). In 2021 there were 305 records, the highest number in 20 years.

After the incident, the threatened group in Rondônia filed a report with the Federal Police.

A Sheet was unable to contact members of the siege of the activists. In a note, the Federal Police stated that the appropriate judicial police measures will be adopted and that the case is being processed confidentially.

Despite the scare, Neidinha says she does not intend to stop the fight in defense of the original peoples. “We are asking for a protective measure and for them to put police at the Funai post, because the situation of the indigenous people who are there is dangerous. It is urgent.”

Also on Mother’s Day, the same date as the accusation of intimidation in Rondônia, a leader of the Tembé indigenous people was shot in the head in the municipality of Tomé-Açu, in Pará.