Indigenous people report illegal fishing and shootings in Vale do Javari

The second largest indigenous land in the country and the site of the largest concentration of isolated peoples in the world, Vale do Javari, in Amazonas – where journalist Dom Phillips and indigenist Bruno Pereira disappeared – has been suffering from gunshots against indigenous people, irregular fishing trips and constant invasions for the irregular extraction of animals.

The information is contained in six documents made by the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley (Univaja) and sent to the Federal Public Ministry of Amazonas, the Federal Police, the National Public Security Force and Funai (National Indian Foundation).

THE CNN the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office informed that a procedure to investigate the case was initiated since the institution received representations from Univaja.

“The Federal prosecutors who work at the MPF unit in Tabatinga were in Atalaia do Norte, at the end of May, for a series of meetings related to objects of action of the MPF in the region — among the topics was the investigation in question — to survey information that could support the procedures. The investigation into the threats is under wraps, which prevents further information about the case from being released at this time.”

Between April 12 and May 10 of this year, the complaints documented by Univaja report irregular fishing within the Javari Valley, close to a village of indigenous people of the Korubo ethnic group.

One of the documents bears the name of Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, who had his temporary arrest decreed last Thursday (9) by the Justice and is considered, so far, the only suspect in the disappearance of the journalist and the indigenist. In the letters sent to the authorities, Univaja attributes to him the authorship of “several firearm attacks against the Funai base between 2018 and 2019”.

According to Guenter Francisco, a member of the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI), in the area where Bruno Pereira and Dom Philips disappeared, the most common action is that of fishermen who, irregularly, extract fish considered noble, such as pirarucu, and trade illegally with other countries — the Javari Valley is an area that borders Peru and Colombia.

In the region, there has been a strong presence in recent years, according to him, of drug traffickers.

In a letter sent on April 12, Univaja informs the local Funai representation that members of the indigenous guard team were shot seven times by fishermen. The documents also reveal the presence of invaders and illegal fishing on the 15th, 18th and 23rd of March.

The indigenous people also claim that after the invasions, the illegal fish market in the city of Atalaia do Norte heats up.

THE CNN contacted Funai, the Federal Police and the National Public Security Force and is awaiting responses.