Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Brasilia (Agenzia Fides) – Yesterday, September 22, the bishops of Brazil called for an urgent government intervention to stop the "armed attacks" that are being conducted against two communities of Guarani Indians in the southwest of the country, among the population of Guarani-Kaiowa, in South Mato Grosso. In the press release, also sent to Fides from the Brazilian Bishops' Conference, it states that the Indian community of Y'poí in the town of Paranhos and Ita'y Ka'aguyrusu in Douradina are being attacked with firearms and are subject to "brutal intimidation," being deprived of their freedom of movement, access to water, food, health services, and schools.
The Conference of Brazilian Bishops (CNBB) has not identified the alleged attackers, but the organization of the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI), a body linked to the Catholic Church, said that both communities have been under siege since August by about 80 men armed, supposedly landowners, who two days ago entered the fields where the Guarani are living and set off fire crackers to frighten children and women, and also fired several shots into the air as a threat to everyone.
The bishops "denounced" the threats and emphasized the "dramatic situation" of the Guarani in the region, launching a “desperate” appeal to the government to find a solution “quickly, swiftly, and efficiently." (CE) (Agenzia Fides 23/09/2010)
