The Military Police of Roraima clashed with indigenous groups during an operation to remove a road block, according to information provided by the state government on Wednesday (17). The occurrence comes amid increased tensions in the Raposa Serra do Sol indigenous reserve due to illegal gold mining and land invasions.
The Raposa Serra do Sol reserve, the scene of the incident that took place on Tuesday (16), has become a trigger for rival indigenous movements in the country. Recently, President Jair Bolsonaro (non-party) visited a faction that shares his support for mining on indigenous lands.
The Indigenous Council of Roraima (CIR) said six people were injured in a confrontation it called an “invasion”. The group shared photos of the aftermath on Facebook, including an image of indigenous men with bloody wounds to the head and chest.
The CIR says that the barricades are intended to prevent prospectors from entering the territory.
In a statement, the government of Roraima said that the state’s Military Police were obeying a court order prohibiting road blocks.
Police also said that the blockade organizers initially dispersed when the troops arrived, but that they later returned with a group of about 100 people armed with bows, arrows and machetes.
A policewoman was shot in the leg by an arrow, the statement said, adding that she is recovering well.
“At no time was a weapon or lethal ammunition used”, states the note.
Tensions are mounting between the two main indigenous groups in Raposa Serra do Sol, as Reuters reported earlier this year.
The CIR promises to protect the land from gold miners, who are increasingly digging in the reserve.
A rival group, the Society for the Defense of the United Indians of Roraima (Sodiurr), supports gold mining and argues that it has the right to exploit underground resources.
Sodiurr went to court to ask for the removal of the road blocks.
In a statement, Sodiurr said it supported the police operation and that the barricade had been “exciting violence between indigenous peoples.”
Bolsonaro endorses Sodiurr, and has already met several times with the group’s leaders, visited one of their communities on the reserve last month and endorsed their views on mining in indigenous lands.
Indigenous rights activists say Bolsonaro is exacerbating tensions among indigenous peoples through “divide and conquer” methods that have historically helped to destroy native lands around the world.
Reference: CNN Brasil
