International support was vital in the successful campaign to demarcate the Raposa-Serra do Sol territory. Now the Indigenous Council of Roraima has launched an urgent appeal asking supporters to send lettersto the Brazilian government and Supreme Court demanding that they uphold the Brazilian constitution and remove all the illegal farmers immediately.
The Indians of Raposa Serra do Sol have written an open letter, saying, ‘We cannot accept that the authorities have waited three years to act, that they have allowed the terrorism of the last eleven days in Raposa Sera do Sol, and that the Supreme Court has even suspended the removal operation. We reject the attitude of the state government, which chooses sacks of rice to the detriment of the lives of 18,992 Indians.’
Your letter can make a difference. Please act now.
The Supreme Court (STF) is due to rule soon on Raposa Serra do Sol indigenous territory in Roraima state. The area was ratified by the President in 2005, but a small and powerful group of rice farmers has refused to leave the area, and continues to threaten and intimidate the indigenous communities who live there. The state government of Roraima, which has brought the case before the STF, supports the farmers’ demands for the territory to be reduced.
I urge you and other STF judges to uphold Brazil’s constitution, which guarantees indigenous peoples’ land rights, and maintain the ratification of Raposa-Serra do Sol.
Failure to do so would be a huge setback for indigenous rights throughout Brazil and would condemn the peoples of Raposa-Serra do Sol to more hardship and suffering if they lose land which is so essential to their future well being and survival.
President
Supremo Tribunal Federal
Praça dos Três Poderes
Brasília
DF
CEP 70175-900
Brazil
Fax: +55 61 3217418
Email: mgilmar@stf.gov.br
Begin: 'Your Excellency'
