Marcela Leiros – From Cenarium Magazine
MANAUS – The National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI) retracted, on Tuesday, 28, what it called a “defamatory and violent note” published by the institution after the disappearances of the foundation’s licensed indigenist, Bruno da Cunha Araújo Pereira, and British journalist Dominic Phillips, in June 2022. The body was headed by the Federal Police (PF) delegate Marcelo Xavier. Today, the president of Funai is indigenous Joenia Wapichana.
In the document published on Tuesday, Funai apologized to the families of Bruno and Dom, stating that the names of the two “were insulted by public authorities at the most difficult moment in their families’ lives”. “It is the duty of the Brazilian State to recognize the defamatory violence they suffered, apologize to their families and never allow the repetition of acts of this nature,” Funai said.
The note was published on June 10 of last year, five days after Bruno and Dom disappeared. According to Funai, the document “threatened the Union of Indigenous Peoples of Vale do Javari (Univaja) with legal action and brought a series of untruths” against the victims.
“Today, Funai retracts and apologizes for this regrettable chapter in its history”, says the text, published on Tuesday, recalling that the previous note was removed from the site by order of the Federal Court of Amazonas, which considered it “violating human rights”, “untimely”, “undue” and that its content was not “compatible with the reality of the facts and the rules in force”.
Read also: PF says Colombia is the principal of the murders of Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips in AM
Court order
On June 15, 2022, Judge Jaiza Maria Pinto Fraxe, of the 1st Federal Civil Court of the Federal Justice in Amazonas, determined that Funai should not discredit the trajectory of the indigenous leader and British journalist Dom Phillips. The order complied with a request from the Public Defender’s Office of the Union, which questioned the note in which Funai contested the authorization of the indigenist Bruno Pereira to enter the Vale do Javari Indigenous Land.
In the same text, the agency stated that it would contact the Federal Public Ministry to “investigate the responsibility” of Univaja “regarding the possible approach to the recently contacted indigenous people without the knowledge of the institution and, apparently, without the adoption of appropriate health measures, among them, the completion of a PCR and a 14-day quarantine.
Respect for indigenous people
In Funai’s retraction, the agency affirmed the importance of the work of Univaja, an indigenous organization created to reduce the fragility of the peoples of the region. It was the indigenous people of Vale do Javari who located the exact point of the crimes and provided information so that the investigations into the deaths of Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips could go deeper.
The publication, available on the Funai website, also emphasizes the work of the victims. “Bruno was a dedicated indigenist, of widely recognized seriousness and commitment, who suffered persecution within the body that should protect him and was removed from his duties for bothering criminals, that is, for doing his duty as a State employee. He paid with his life for his unwavering commitment to the indigenous peoples,” the text said.
“Dom Phillips was a journalist who devoted his work to the protection of the Amazon and its peoples, and he also paid with his life for this dedication”, it added.
Funai also pays tribute to indigenist Maxciel Pereira, who was murdered in 2019 in the municipality of Tabatinga, in the interior of Amazonas, pledging to monitor and demand resolution of the case, unsolved to this day. Maxciel also worked in the inspection of the Vale do Javari Indigenous Land.
“The negligence of public authorities and their actions that are often contrary to the rights of indigenous peoples is directly related to this crime and all the others that have occurred in Javari. Funai is committed to monitoring and demanding the resolution of the investigations, so that Maxciel’s family has the right to justice”, said Funai.
Read the note in full:
The National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI) has come out to correct the terms of a defamatory and violent note previously published by this foundation when it was presided over by delegate Marcelo Xavier. The note published on June 10, 2022, just five days after the disappearance of Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips, threatened the Union of Indigenous Peoples of Vale do Javari (Univaja) with legal action and brought a series of untruths against Bruno and Dom.
The text was removed from the Funai website by order of the Federal Court of Amazonas, which considered the note “violating human rights”, “untimely”, “undue” and that its content was not “compatible with the reality of the facts and the norms in force”. Today, Funai retracts its statement and apologizes for this lamentable chapter in its history.
We affirm the importance of the work of Univaja, an indigenous organization whose collaboration is fundamental for the protection and promotion of indigenous rights in the Javari Valley region and without which the murders of Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips would not have been, at least in part, solved. It was the indigenous people of the Javari who located the exact point of the crimes and provided crucial information so that investigations could go deeper.
Today, Funai joins other federal authorities and ministers of state, responding to the invitation of Univaja for a first step in the retaking of the Javari Valley, ravaged by criminal gangs because of the abandonment promoted by the previous government. This first step has to be accompanied by the recognition of the institutional responsibilities for what has happened and is still happening in the region.
Today we also pay homage to Maxciel Pereira, an indigenous person who was assassinated by the organized crime that operates in the region due to his work of monitoring the Vale do Javari Indigenous Land. The negligence of public authorities and their actions that are often contrary to the rights of indigenous peoples is directly related to this crime and all the others that have occurred in Javari. Funai is committed to monitoring and demanding the resolution of the investigations, so that Maxciel’s family has the right to justice.
Bruno was a dedicated indigenist, of widely recognized seriousness and commitment, who suffered persecution within the agency that was supposed to protect him and was removed from his functions for bothering criminals, that is, for doing his duty as a State employee. He paid with his life for his unwavering commitment to the indigenous peoples. Don Phillips was a journalist who devoted his work to protecting the Amazon and its peoples, and he also paid with his life for this dedication.
For all these reasons, today we apologize to the families of Bruno and Dom. Their names were insulted by public authorities in the most difficult moment of their families’ lives, and it is the duty of the Brazilian State to recognize the defamatory violence they suffered, to apologize to their families, and to never allow acts of this nature to be repeated.
Compartilhe:
Comentários
