Public officials to visit area where Amazon killings occurred
Leaders of Univaja, the indigenous association of Vale do Javari, in the Amazon, are expected to welcome federal government and security officials in Atalaia do Norte, Amazonas state, on Monday (Feb. 27).
The meeting aims to strengthen the presence of public authorities in the region—home to the highest concentration of isolated indigenous peoples in Brazil and the area where the indigenous activist Bruno Araújo Pereira and the UK journalist Dom Phillips were murdered for denouncing environmental crimes back in June 2022.
Expected to attend are representatives from the ministries of Indigenous Peoples, Justice and Public Safety, and Human Rights and Citizenship, as well as of all the institutions currently seeking to reduce violence against indigenous groups, especially in North Brazil.
One of the requests from the leaders is increased protection for threatened people. Another is to combat mining, hunting, fishing, deforestation, and the wood trade, prohibited under the law on indigenous lands.
In a note, the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples acknowledged their demands, saying it seeks the “expeditious investigation into the threats targeting environmental advocates in an integrated plan of action by the federal government in the area.”
Crime
Even though the three accused of killing Bruno Araújo Pereira and Dom Phillips and hiding their bodies are in jail, locals argue there are still aspects of the crime that need to be clarified, such as who ordered the executions.
As a precaution, the detainees were transferred to maximum security prisons. It was believed they could escape, or even be murdered by the individuals behind the killings.
