Guardian of the Amazon shot dead while protecting forest from illegal loggers
Activists have expressed anger after it was announced that an indigenous ‘guardian of the forest’ had been shot dead by illegal loggers.
Paulo Paulino Guajajara and another tribesman, Laercio Guajajara, were ambushed late on Friday while patrolling the Arariboia territory in the northeastern state of Maranhao.
Both men are members of the Guardians of the Forest, a group of more than 100 tribesmen who attempt to protect their land from criminal logging gangs.
Paulo Paulino was shot in the neck and died in the jungle, according to Survival International, a group that defends indigenous rights. Laercio was shot in the back but managed to escape.
The two men had left their village to look for water when the attack occurred, the Maranhao government’s human rights secretariat said on Twitter.
Survival International researcher Sarah Shenker said: ‘Violence and death threats against the guardians have been happening for years.
‘There is a lot of impunity. The authorities are unwilling to protect the indigenous lands. Their racist words and genocidal, anti-indigenous proposals give a kind of green light.’
Greenpeace said the two men were ‘the most recent victims of a state that refuses to comply with what the constitution determines’.
coordinator of the Association of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil Soni Guajajara said: ‘It is time to stop this institutionalised genocide. Stop authorising the bloodshed of our people.’
Since taking office in January, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been accused of harming the Amazon and indigenous tribes in order to benefit his supporters in the logging, mining and farming industries.
Amazon deforestation nearly doubled in the first eight months of the year, compared with the same period a year before. Raging fires in the region made international headlines.
In September, Human Rights Watch said the threats and attacks on forest defenders were ‘only getting worse’ under Bolsonaro.
The group said the right-wing president’s ‘assault on the country’s environmental agencies is putting the rainforest and the people who live there at much greater risk.’
Bolsonaro has vehemently defended his policies.
After the attacks on the forest guardians in Maranhao, Justice Minister Sergio Moro tweeted that police would investigate the murder, which took place some 310 miles from the state capital San Luis.
‘We will do everything to bring those responsible for this serious crime before the courts,’ said Moro, a former federal judge.
Shenker, who was in the region in April, said they would hold Moro to his promise.
She said: ‘The Brazilian government has to accept that it is their responsibility to protect those lands.
‘That they do not, their absence there, is what pushes the guardians to assume this defense – a very hard and dangerous job.’
In a video interview released by Survival International last year, Laercio said: ‘They want to kill us all.’
The Arariboia territory is home to about 5,000 indigenous people – the Guajajara and the Awa.
Three other forest guardians have died in previous attacks there, Survival International said.
Brazil’s National Indian Foundation, Funai, issued a statement lamenting the death of Paulo Paulino, and said it would send a special team of technical experts to the area.
Got a story for Metro.co.uk?
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected]. For more stories like this, check our news page.
Source: Read Full Article