Confrontation between indigenous people and BOPE officers ends with seven injured in Roraima

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Bruno Pacheco and Arnoldo Santos – Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – A confrontation between indigenous people and military police of the Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE) of Roraima, on Tuesday, 16, ended with at least seven people injured and a vehicle destroyed. The case occurred in the indigenous community Tabatinga, in the Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Land, in the northeast of the state.

According to the Indigenous Council of Roraima (CIR), the community was attacked by police officers with plastic bombs and rubber bullets during the removal of a surveillance post located inside the region. In a statement, the Military Police of Roraima, through the State government’s advisory body, affirmed that around 100 indigenous people attacked first, using arrows and stones, causing the police to defend themselves with shields and strike back.

To the magazine CENARIUM, the general coordinator of the CIR, Edinho Batista de Souza, declared that the indigenous people of the community were monitoring the territory to prevent the advance of mining and “that the State, once again, is acting violently against the indigenous people and covering up the crimes of invasion and mining. According to him, the activity of monitoring the territory occurs because of the absence of public power to combat the invasion of indigenous lands.

“The position of the CIR is against this action, against this criminal act that happened in the indigenous community of Tabatinga, injuring six of our people, our community, including a lady who was shot at the behest of the State government that, once again, delegates its police instead of protecting the indigenous communities”, said Edinho Macuxi.

Among the indigenous people wounded are a woman and the Tuxaua of the Tabatinga community, whose names were not revealed. In images published in social networks it is possible to see the wounded indigenous people, the materials used during the confrontation and the Military Police vehicle that was destroyed.

According to the CIR coordinator, the entity will take appropriate measures. “We defend life, we defend the dignity of that people and the people will not lower their heads in the face of the situation that is occurring, because this really has always happened against the people, but here, they will not shut our mouths, they will not stop our actions. On the contrary, now, we are going to start doing our actions, because we feel that the Brazilian State is contrary to the life of indigenous peoples, and this we will not accept”, declared Edinho.

Judicial Determination

According to the Military Police note, BOPE teams had gone to the Água Fria community, in Uiramutã, to comply with the judicial determination that prohibits the obstruction of roads in the Raposa Serra do Sol, guaranteeing the constitutional right to come and go of residents of the communities in the region. According to the text, this decision is based on the request of indigenous people who do not agree that the local streets should be blocked.

In the first contact with the police, the note reports, the organizers of the blockade were helpful and responded in a peaceful manner to the judicial determination and cleared the way. Shortly after the blockade, according to the note, approximately 100 indigenous people returned armed with bows and arrows, as well as with bladed weapons (knives and machetes).

“Before the policemen could begin the new mediation, the indigenous people attacked them, throwing their arrows and stones. The policemen defended themselves with shields and retaliated against the unjust aggression with less lethal weaponry and civil disturbance control chemical material. At no time were lethal weapons or ammunition used”, says an excerpt from the note.

An injured military police officer was hit by an arrow in the leg, but is well and not at risk. Also in the note, the Military Police highlighted that it was guaranteeing the order and security of the place and that any excessive action will be investigated by the internal affairs department.

REVISTA CENARIUM contacted the communications office of the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) of Roraima at 7:30 p.m. and was unable to confirm at that time whether or not the office had already received any type of complaint from the indigenous people.