On the one-year anniversary of the murder of the indigenist Bruno Pereira and the British journalist Dom Phillips, in Vale do Javari (AM), the main demands of the indigenous population have not changed. Requests for a more accurate investigation into the crime and public policies that guarantee security in the region remain on the agenda. Second largest indigenous land in Brazil, Vale do Javari is located in the municipalities of Atalaia do Norte and Guajará, in the Amazon. The region is home to the largest concentration of isolated peoples in the world, with 64 villages of 26 peoples and around 6,300 people, but it faces problems such as illegal fishing, logging and drug trafficking. The legal attorney of the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley (Univaja), Eliesio Marubo, says that the investigation must be comprehensive and not focus only on the perpetrators of the crime, but on the agents who support predatory activities in the Javari Valley. “The issue of investigation into the group that gives political support to that set of illegal activities that operate in the region. Another point that also needs to be investigated is the path of crime in the region. This investigation, analyzing these two points, needs to happen precisely so that we can guarantee the security of the region, not only for the indigenous land but also for the surrounding population”, says Marubo. The Univaja representative also calls for more articulation between State policies to permanently provide security for the native populations of the Javari Valley. He complains that measures suggested during the transition to the current government have not yet come to fruition. “The ostensive policing in the form that we proposed to the government, to the current government, in the transition commission, the priority that we indicated within the 100 days of government also did not happen and that makes the region more vulnerable”, he declares. Measures For the president of the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (Funai), Joenia Wapichana, it is necessary to strengthen structures and guarantee a more permanent policy in the region. To do this, the agency sets a cooperation term between indigenous organizations and counts on the help of the entire government. “It is necessary to invest so that priority is given to strengthening these phases, in which the other bodies of the ministries can also share the responsibility for a more permanent protection policy. And that there may also be respect for these rights by the State itself in indigenous lands”, says Wapichana. Last Friday (2), the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples created a working group to fight crime in the region. The group will be made up of ten ministries, Funai, the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) and will have representatives from the Federal Public Ministry, the Federal Public Defender’s Office, the Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil and Univaja itself. Wapichana, criticizes the previous management of the body. She says that inspection and dialogue with the indigenous people were left aside and considers that the foundation was responsible for the crime. “If I see that there is a death threat, threat to servers, I have to walk to understand. Depends on a security force. Let’s say so, [uma força] to support that security. So, at that most fragile moment when Bruno died, there were no conditions to protect his own servant”, he analyzes. Justice It was exactly Dom and Bruno’s search for evidence against criminals in Vale do Javari that motivated the murder. Suspected of being the mastermind of the crime, businessman Rubens Villar Pereira was released on bail in October last year on bail of R$ 15,000. Currently, three people accused of participating in the deaths are in prison, awaiting trial. Last month, the 4th Panel of the Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region (TRF1) decided to collect new testimonies from the defendants Amarildo da Costa Oliveira, Oseney da Costa Oliveira and Jefferson da Silva Lima, who had their first testimony annulled. The police authorities placed under suspicion at least eight people, for their possible participation in the homicides and in the concealment of the corpses. Three weeks ago, the ex-president of Funai Marcelo Xavier was indicted for his omission in the case. Former Vice President Alcir Amaral Teixeira was also indicted. The Federal Police considers that the agency did not take action after learning of the risk that the indigenist was running. Legacies As a souvenir, friends and relatives keep the last photos of the two alive. The images were retrieved from Bruno’s cell phone, found by indigenous people from the Javari Valley four months after the murder. Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips were killed on June 5 last year, when they were traveling to interview indigenous and riverside leaders in communities close to Vale do Javari. The journalist was preparing a book about the Amazon. A Funai graduate since 2020, the experienced indigenist worked as a technical consultant for Univaja and accompanied Dom Phillips on the mission. Ever since he discovered the Amazon, in 1998, Dom has been enchanted by the place. “I think everyone who goes to the Amazon is a little impacted because it’s a grandiose life there, right? Dom realized that so much that he talked about it, right? He said he saw God in nature”, recalls the widow of the British journalist, Alessandra Sampaio. Regarding Bruno Pereira, Eliesio Marubo recalls that Funai’s licensed employee had a complete role, which was not restricted to the study of indigenous communities. “Bruno is considered a big name in Brazilian indigenism, because his performance was not based only on the work itself. There is a whole concern not only with the indigenous peoples, but also with the communities surrounding the indigenous lands”, he points out. According to Dom Phillips’ widow, respect for indigenous peoples and the Amazon is one of the legacies that the journalist and indigenist left for the world. “I think Dom and Bruno saw that clearly. They lived with these people, with the riches that these people brought, how to learn from nature. I think we lost connection with nature and stopped learning from it. The legacy is for us to look back at nature and understand that we are nature too”, concludes Alessandra. *With information from TV Brasil
Agência Brasil
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