Agenzia Fides

Puerto Ayacucho (Agenzia Fides) - The news of the massacre of 80 indigenous ethnic Yanomami in the Amazon rainforest near the border with Brazil, released by the media last week, caused the reaction of the Venezuelan government, which dispatched the Minister of indigenous peoples to the scene. He then said they had found no evidence of the massacre. The Apostolic Vicar of Puerto Ayacucho, Mgr. José Angel Divassón Cilveti, however, pointed out that "it is not enough to fly over the area, because from above you cannot see anything. One must go to the same place where these people live. "The Bishop said that "we must clarify the situation all the way."
In the note sent to Fides Agency, it is emphasized that access to the remote Yanomami community, in the municipality of the Upper Orinoco, it is difficult and takes a long time to arrive. "The most important thing however is to find out the truth - says the Apostolic Vicar - for this reason one has to get to the heart of the Yanomami community. There are also other indigenous communities which are at risk for the presence of the 'garimpeiros', who pass from Brazil to Venezuela for the mining activity, with all the consequences against the environment: water contamination, violence, and diseases. Infact, many Yanomami died because of tuberculosis, contracted because they are fragile," said the Bishop. The complaint of this massacre was presented by organizations that defend the indigenous. Already in 1993 a raid of the garimpeiros in the Haximù community, in Venezuelan territory, caused the violent deaths of 16 indigenous and an international problem was raised. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 06/09/2012)