A federal prosecutor has ordered FUNAI, the Brazilian government's
Indian affairs department, to draw up a plan to recognise the land of a
group of Arara Indians.
The prosecutor stated that
'environmental crimes are being committed daily' on the Indians' land
and that 'the government's negligence is threatening the Arara people
with extinction'.
The Indians live in the heart of the Amazon in a territory called
Cachoeira Seca ('Dry Rapids').
FUNAI will incur a daily fine of £2,500 (US$4,700) if it does not
present a plan within 30 days. It was supposed to have drawn up plans
to demarcate the Cachoeira Seca territory by June 2005.
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