20.11.2008

A Brazilian government official has warned that the last known survivors of an uncontacted Amazon tribe will face genocide unless illegal logging and ranching on their land are stopped.

An official from Brazil's Indian affairs department, FUNAI, said today, ‘There is a real risk of genocide if FUNAI is not able to protect the Piripkura’s land.’

The last two known members of the Piripkura tribe live in the Amazon forest in the state of Mato Grosso. Their territory is in the Colniza district, which is estimated to be the most violent area in Brazil, and one of the worst in the Brazilian Amazon for deforestation.

Survival is launching an urgent campaign asking the Brazilian government to sign the Piripkura’s land into law and protect it.

The Piripkura numbered around 20 people when FUNAI first contacted them in the late 1980s. After contact they returned to the forest. Since then, contact has been re-established with three members of the tribe, but no one knows if there are any more survivors.

In 1998 two Piripkura, named Mande-í and Tucan, walked out of the forest of their own accord. One of them was ill and was hospitalised, but both later returned to the forest. Rita, the third known Piripkura, has married a man from another tribe.

Mande-í, Tucan and any surviving relatives are in great danger as their land is constantly being invaded by illegal loggers. The loggers have purposefully blocked the Indians’ traditional paths in an attempt to force them to leave the area.

Survival’s director Stephen Corry said today, ‘The Piripkura’s land must be signed into law and protected immediately, otherwise they will be wiped out. We do not know how many they are, but the annihilation of a tribe, however small, is of course genocide.’

Mande-í and Tucan rely on what they hunt and gather. They do not make arrows, but use wooden sticks and a knife they found in the forest.

‘Piripkura’ is a nickname given by a neighbouring tribe. It means ‘butterflies’, a reference to the Indians’ custom of travelling rapidly over vast areas of forest.

For more information please contact Miriam Ross at Survival International (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or (+44) (0)7504 543 367 or email mr@survival-international.org

18.11.2008

A recent investigation by the Al Jazeera programme ‘101 East’ has shown the devastating impact of the HIV/AIDS crisis amongst the tribal people of West Papua, Indonesia. West Papua has the highest HIV/AIDS infection rate outside Africa: 3% of the population are now infected with the virus, and experts fear that by 2025 that figure will rise to 7%. Of every four people who are infected, three are indigenous, even though almost half of those now living in the region are outsiders.The mining and logging industries have brought environmental destruction and social catastrophe to West Papua’s tribal people. They have also brought the military, which supports many of the businesses, and provides protection for others. The armed forces have an appalling reputation for human rights violations against the tribes. This industrial development is now also responsible for the spread of the deadly HIV virus. Most of the cases of HIV/AIDS in West Papua can be traced back to the commercial sex industry, which has sprung up around logging and mining projects. A study in 2001 found that more than a quarter of prostitutes tested were HIV positive. Papuan men, drawn to these industries for work, have now taken HIV/AIDS back to their villages. Official figures put the HIV/AIDS figures at 15 times the Indonesian national average, but field workers say the real figure is closer to 50 times.The Papuans have suffered years of violence and brutality at the hands of the Indonesian military. As a result, many tribal people blame the government and the military for introducing sex workers infected with HIV, and for failing to take adequate measures to halt the spread of the disease.Much government treatment and awareness raising about the disease is failing to reach the Papuans – most is centred in the towns, which are dominated by the Indonesian outsiders. Many worry that the epidemic is even worse than feared because so few people in the remote areas have ever been tested, or are even aware of how to prevent the disease.For more information and to take action on this, and other problems caused by the impact of imposed ‘development’ on tribal people around the world, see Survival’s campaign, ‘Progress can kill’.

18.11.2008

Survival International has sent an emergency submission to the United Nations (UN) about the plight of Paraguay’s last uncontacted Indians, whose forest is being rapidly destroyed by Brazilian cattle-ranchers.

‘We believe this is currently the most serious threat to tribal peoples anywhere in the world,’ reads a statement from Survival to the UN’s ‘Special Rapporteur’ on indigenous issues, James Anaya.

‘Unless the Paraguayan government takes urgent measures to stop the deforestation extremely quickly, the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode will have little chance of surviving. Survival urges you to take effective action to ensure they can live in their own territories in their own way.’

The Totobiegosode’s land is being destroyed by two Brazilian companies: Yaguarete Pora SA and River Plate SA. Yaguarete’s environmental licence to work in the area has recently been cancelled by Paraguay’s Environment Ministry.

‘Based on past experience, there is an imminent risk of a violent clash between the company workers and the Totobiegosode that could have fatal consequences,’ Survival’s statement to the UN continues. ‘The Totobiegosode are also extremely vulnerable to any form of contact with outsiders because of their lack of immunity to diseases.’

Survival’s director, Stephen Corry said today, ‘It's ironic. The Brazilian government puts money into protecting its own uncontacted tribes, yet Brazilian companies are allowed to destroy the land and livelihoods of others elsewhere. We hope that the UN can step in and help save the Totobiegosode from being wiped out.’

17.11.2008

A government team is currently investigating the activities of a Brazilian company destroying land belonging to Paraguay’s last uncontacted Indians.

The company, Yaguarete Pora, is bulldozing a remote part of Paraguay’s ‘Chaco’ forest – the ancestral territory of Ayoreo-Totobiegosode Indians. After the recent publication of satellite photos showing how much land the company has cleared, a government team has gone to the area to witness first-hand what is happening.

A government team recently tried to enter the area, but was barred from doing so by Yaguarete employees. Yaguarete’s licence to work in the area was cancelled at the end of last week.

Yaguarete wants the Totobiegosode’s land to graze cattle for beef. The Totobiegosode are just one of an estimated 100 uncontacted tribes around the world.

14.11.2008

A Brazilian company devastating the territory of uncontacted Indians in Paraguay has had its licence to work in the area withdrawn.

The decision was announced yesterday by Paraguay’s National Environment Council (CONAM). It comes after satellite photos revealed the destruction of the Indians’ land, widespread condemnation in Paraguay, increasing media coverage of the issue around the world, and hundreds of letters from Survival supporters to the Paraguayan government.

Whether CONAM’s decision will actually stop the devastation remains to be seen. A government team recently tried to inspect the area, but personnel from the company, Yaguarete Pora, barred it from entering. Another government team is visiting the area today.

The Indians, from the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode tribe, are the only uncontacted people in South America outside the Amazon basin. Yaguarete want their land to graze cattle for beef.