update:

Brazil authorises Indian reserve
By Tom Gibb
BBC News, Sao Paulo

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has signed a decree creating an Amazonian Indian reserve the size of a small country in northern Brazil.

The reserve, Raposa Serra Do Sol, is called “the land of the fox and mountain of the sun” by the 12,000 Indians who live there.

Its hills, rivers and forests cover 17,000 sq km (6,500 square mies).

The move follows 30 years of campaigns by the Indians, which led to bitter conflicts with settlers and farmers.

During that time, human rights groups say at least a dozen Indians were killed in conflicts with miners and settlers.

Parts of the reserve, in the northern state of Roraima, are now planted with rice or grazed by cattle.

Indian protests

The decree for demarcation – the last step in a long process – has been sitting on the Brazilian president’s desk for a couple of years.

Whenever he has looked like signing, it has provoked fierce protests against the reserve from settlers and local politicians.

Justice Minister Tomas Bastos said that over the next year, farmers inside the reserve would be moved to alternative land.

Only roads, a frontier military base, and a small town inside the area have been excluded from the reserve.

Lula, as the president is known, will be hoping the decree will head off anti-government protests planned for next week by Indian groups.

They have been accusing him of not living up to promises over land.

might as well toss this one in here too:

Brazil urged to protect Indians

Amnesty International has accused Brazil of failing to protect its indigenous population and set up long-promised reservations

In its 32-page report, the human rights group says the “very existence of Indians in Brazil” is threatened.

Several Indian leaders have been killed by ranchers over land disputes.

The report is a blow to President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, who had pledged a “clear, democratic, objective and coherent” policy on indigenous peoples.

Most of Brazil’s 700,000 Indians live in the Amazon rainforest.

Land disputes

The report, called “Foreigners in our own country”, says that land rights are the most crucial issue.

“The removal of indigenous people from their tribal lands leaves them vulnerable to violence and chronic poverty and threatens their very existence in Brazil,” said Dr William F Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International USA, in a written statement.

According to Brazil’s 1988 constitution, 580 officially recognised Indian reservations should have been ratified by 1993.

But so far, only 340 have been created, and Amnesty says the necessary funds have not been allocated.

This has slowed down the process which, according to the Justice Ministry, should be completed by 2006.

This failure to demarcate the territories has allegedly exposed Indians to a variety of threats, such as disputes over the control of territories rich in diamond and gold deposits.

The Amnesty report has also denounced attempts to deprive Indians of acquired rights, such as a 2004 proposal that all land demarcations be re-evaluated by the Senate.

The plan fell through following international protests.

According to Amnesty, the government failure to act has led to the 2004 massacre of 29 Amazon prospectors by Cinta Larga Indians as well as the murder of two Indian leaders in 1998 and 2001.

Amnesty has called on Brazil to resolve current land disputes and take concrete steps to put an end to human rights abuses against Indians.

Amnesty International press release

Full report

I think this goes in the file of stories about south america moving to the left. It’s getting to be a rather sizable file at that.