The president of the National Indian Foundation (Funai), Marcelo Xavier, said in an interview with Empresa Brasil de Comunicação (EBC) on Wednesday (8), that the indigenist Bruno Pereira and the British journalist Dom Phillips would not have communicated to the security about the trip to Vale do Javari, in Amazonas. Official documents to which CNN had access, however, indicate that the indigenist complied with authorization protocols.
According to the document, issued by Funai on May 17, indigenist Bruno Araújo Pereira was authorized to enter the Indigenous Land and participate in meetings. Journalist Dom Phillips is not named in the document and would not have participated in any activity in the territory.
“This was not a mission communicated to Funai. Funai has not issued any entry permits. It’s important for people to understand that when you’re going to enter an area like this, there’s a whole procedure,” Xavier said on Wednesday. The authorization issued in May, however, proves the Foundation’s knowledge of the expedition.
Prior authorization from Funai to enter Indigenous Lands has become a necessary protocol as part of the sanitary measures during the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil.
Although the authorization was valid only until the 30th of May, the place where the indigenist and the journalist were last seen, on the 5th of June, did not require any documentation for access.
Source: CNN Brasil
