Brasília, April 16, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - The president of the National Indian Foundation (Funai), Mércio Pereira Gomes, defended, yesterday (15), the creation of a law authorizing Indians to exploit the mineral riches found on reserves. "Many indigenous communities are confined to land without physical conditions to produce their own sustenance," Gomes alerted.

In an interview with the Agência Brasil, the Funai president also declared that he still lacks conclusive information about the conflict between Indians and prospectors on the Roosevelt Indian reserve, in Rondônia. The reserve is rich in diamonds. "Many of those who were possibly killed might be victims of confrontations among the prospectors themselves," the anthropologist explains.

Leaders of the Espigão D'Oeste Prospectors Union told the Federal Police (PF) that a group of 20 men invaded the reserve on Sunday (11) and discovered 17 bodies in two locations. Yesterday the PF intensified the search in the region with a helicopter, an airplane, and 30 agents.

The vice-president of the Funai, Roberto Lustosa, fears a new conflict between prospectors and Indians. "This group that invaded the reserve runs a very high risk. They say they are heavily armed. If a confrontation occurs, there will be many more deaths," Lustosa predicts.

Translator: David Silberstein