The natives demand a hospital for the Yanomami from Lula and say they oppose the hydroelectric plant

The visit of President Lula (PT) and a delegation of ministers to the indigenous country of Raposa Serra do Sol, in the border region of Brazil and Guyana, Roraima, lasted just over two hours this Monday (13).

Lula got off the helicopter near Karakarana Lake in the center of the area and saw the goods at the fair. He then went to the main stage of the 52nd General Assembly of the Indigenous Peoples of Roraima and listened to brief speeches by the leaders. The president spoke for 20 minutes. A few more minutes and he’ll start heading back to Brazil.

The short visit, the first by the president to the General Assembly, served to present indigenous leaders with a list of old issues and historical demands to the PA, according to organizers.
In addition, leaders such as Davi Kopenawa, one of the main representatives of the Yanomami people, used the assembly to present demands for Lula’s third term.

Among the points raised by Kopenawa are the need to establish a field hospital on Yanomami land in the Surukuku area, a promise that has yet to be dated, made after declaring a health emergency in the area, the need to spray against malaria and; the urgency to reach communities where children remain severely malnourished.

According to the Yanomami leadership, these urgencies have not yet been resolved.

In the letter sent to Lula by the organizers of the General Assembly, there are other demands that are treated as urgent by the represented peoples. The assembly gathers in Raposa Serra do Sol until this Tuesday (14), with around 2,500 indigenous people from nine ethnic groups, the Yanomami, Makusi and Wapichana, among them, and the leaders of the main associations of Roraima.

The indigenous people want action from the federal government against the impending encroachment of farmers, especially those interested in planting soybeans.

In addition, the associations state in a document submitted to the president that they do not accept the construction of the Bem Querer hydroelectric power station on the Branco River, one of the main rivers that cross the state.

According to the letter, led by the CIR (Indigenous Council of Roraima), indigenous people were not consulted about the project, even though it had an impact on nine areas and the lives of riverside residents and fishermen.

Opposition to hydroelectric dams in the Amazon is persistent among the directly affected indigenous and riparian communities, and even then the governments of Lula and Dilma Rousseff (PT) implemented high-impact projects. The most iconic is Belo Monte, located in the middle of the Xingu River in Pará. The plant destroyed sections of the river, especially in the Volta Grande. To this day, Lula protects the factory.

As for the Yanomami, represented in the General Assembly in Raposa Serra do Sol, the letter to the President points to the need to hold former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and Roraima Governor Antonio Denario (PP) accountable for encouraging mining. in the area. The indigenous people are against any type of amnesty.

Associations also say that the withdrawal of miners from Yanomami land. more than 20,000 squatters were in the region at the peak of illegal activity, posing a threat of invasion into other areas. This invasion has already taken place in some places, according to indigenous leaders, such as in Raposa Serra do Sol itself.

According to Raposa Serra do Sol, a local territorial protection and control group, the gold mine operates in the area and employs about 450 people, including indigenous and non-indigenous people. The illegal activity is at least three years old.

In addition, indigenous land was used as a route by former Yanomami land invaders in Guyana, which borders Brazil, to mines in Roraima. The route is made by rivers in the region, especially at night, to avoid inspection.

Both situations were previously reported to Lula’s security teams as a risk alert to the president.

The natives gathered at the assembly demand the repair of the airstrip in the Surukuchu area, on Yanomami land. The poor condition of the runway, which is home to the Army’s PEF (Special Frontier Force), has prevented larger aircraft from landing. This situation caused, for example, the first food baskets to be thrown into the air at the beginning of emergency operations.

A health emergency was declared on January 20. The establishment of a field hospital in Suruchuku, one of the areas most affected by the humanitarian, health and health crisis, continues indefinitely.

“There is still a lot of malnutrition in areas where there is mining and where planes don’t land. [que não seja do garimpo]. The solution is to remove these trackers immediately,” says Kopenava.

In his address to the assembly, Lula told the natives that the government was going to facilitate the final removal of the miners.

“We are going to solve the problem of those people,” said the president. “From the airport [da pista de pouso] We will visit all the villages from Suruchuchu region. The natives were massacred by the scouts. We are definitely going to remove the miners from the indigenous lands.”

VINICIUS SASSIN

RAPOSA SERRA DO SOL INDIGENOUS LAND, RR