500 Amazonian Indians expected to protest on the Xingu River in Brazil

Close to 500 delegates from various indigenous Amazonian peoples are gathering in Altamira in the state of Pará on the banks of the Xingu River today, the International Day of indigenous Peoples, to participate in a four-day „protest camp.” The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) in Göttingen announced on Monday, that the Indians are using the motto „In Defense of the Xingu River against Belo Monte” to demonstrate above all that they still have a chance to avert the controversial construction of the Belo Monte Dam. „If the Xingu River is dammed up as planned, huge areas of forest will be flooded and roads will cut through the surrounding regions, making it necessary for the indigenous people who have lived there for hundreds of years to give up their way of life,” said Yvonne Bangert, consultant for Indigenous peoples at the STP. „Furthermore, no concrete plan has been made with regard to ways in which these people might be able to construct a future for themselves despite this huge project being built on their land. This uncertainty comes as a threat to many of the approximately 25,000 Indians who live along the river, from its source in the state of Mato Grosso, through the state of Pará to its mouth in the Amazon.”

The „Protest Camp” was organized by the governing body of the Amazonian Indians of Brazil COIAB, the Network of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil APIB, the Indigenous Missionary Council CIMI, the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA) and the movement „Xingu Vivo para Siempre.” It will end on August 12th in Altimira with the presentation of a final statement and a rally. The goal of the indigenous people is, together with those non-Indians who are nonetheless long-established residents along the river, to finally start a dialogue with the government about the ruinous effects of such a gigantic project.

„Brazil ratified the UN ILO Convention 169 and is therefore obligated to receive consent from the Indian community before going through with such a project.,” criticized Bangert. „The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples likewise stipulates the responsibility of the government to consult with the indigenous population beforehand, a requirement which has not been complied with in any way. The Brazilian government is hurting the basic right if its citizens, the indigenous people.”

The licensing procedure for the Belo Monte Project is well underway. German companies could profit from the invitations of tenders. The German ambassador Wilfried Grolig visited the project area at the beginning of August in order to gauge the possibilities. „Brazilian media were to believe that it was important to the ambassador to take the concerns of the population seriously. We would be pleased if he would act as an advocate for the Indian population as well.”

Translated by Sophia Chambers