Milena Assis
Agência Brasil

Brasília – The Indian Missionary Council (Conselho Indigenista Missionário) (Cimi), which is linked to the Catholic church, has released a report entitled "Violence Against Indigenous Peoples in Brazil " (Violência Contra os Povos Indígenas no Brasil), with data for the years 2003 to 2005. The last time Cimi published a report on violence against Indians was in 1997,

The Cimi vice president, Saulo Feitosa, says that the report shows that there is a connection between violence against Indians and land demarcation. "The less land that is legally set aside for the Indians, the more violence there is." declared Feitosa, explaining that of the approximately 800 Indian reserve areas in Brazil, only 35% have actually been demarcated. And he adds that while the annual average number of areas demarcated between 2003 and 2005 was six, the average number of Indians assassinated annually was 40.

Feitosa explains that the demarcation process for Indian lands is extremely slow, weighed down by red tape. "There is a big difference between our numbers and the government's numbers on Indian reserve areas that have been demarcated. The reason is that we only count areas where demarcation has been completed. The government counts areas from the moment when the process begins."

Translation: Allen Bennett