Judge orders Brazilian government to protect indigenous people | abroad

Judge Luis Roberto Barroso said that the government “must immediately take all necessary measures to protect the life, health and safety of the indigenous people living in the Yanomami and Mondoruco regions”.

On May 10, the Hotukara Yanomami Association (HAY) reported a confrontation between Yanomami indigenous people and illegal miners who had invaded the Palemio community in Roraima state. Four miners and one indigenous were shot.

Since last year, Yanomami natives have warned of the extremely tense situation in their reserve, the largest in Brazil, covering 96,000 square meters and inhabiting nearly 27,000 indigenous people.

Indigenous and environmental organizations denounce the presence of about 20,000 illegal miners in Yanomami province. The Bolsonaro government claims that the number of illegal miners does not exceed 3,500.

Illegal mining is one of the main reasons for the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. By 2020, illegal mining in Yanomami will increase by 30 percent. In addition, according to a report published by HAY at the end of March, the equivalent of 500 football fields have been destroyed.