An armed group attacked Guarani Kaiowá indigenous people during land reclamations in the Panambi-Lagoa Rica Indigenous Land, in Douradina (MS), on Saturday (3). At least ten people were injured, two in serious condition. According to the Indigenous Missionary Council (Cimi), the attack occurred shortly after the National Force left the territory. Cimi reports that armed gunmen fired lethal ammunition and rubber bullets from pickup trucks.
One indigenous person was shot in the head and another in the neck. Both are in serious condition. The injured were taken to the Hospital da Vida in Dourados. According to Cimi, reports from indigenous people accuse the National Force of being complicit in the crime. One said he heard an agent say: “Take your people and get out of here or you will die,” shortly before the attack. Another indigenous person was more incisive: “We want to know why the National Force left here. The agents left and the attack happened. It seems like it was planned. We want to understand,” he told Cimi.
The Ministry of Indigenous Peoples said it received the complaints and sent a team from the ministry and the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI) to the territory. The group was accompanied by the Federal Public Ministry to provide assistance to the Guarani Kaiowá. The Secretariat of Indigenous Health was called to deal with the less seriously injured. One of the injured remains in serious condition.
The executive secretary of the MPI, Eloy Terena, contacted the Ministry of Justice and Public Security and asked for explanations about the withdrawal of the National Force from the area. He also asked that the force remain in the territory to avoid further cases of violence. The MPI also reported that it had sent a letter to the general director of the Federal Police requesting an immediate investigation into the incident. The Commander of the 3rd Battalion of the Military Police was also contacted and said he had reinforced policing.
According to Cimi, Saturday’s attack occurred more precisely in the Pikyxyin reoccupation, one of seven in the Lagoa Panambi Indigenous Land, identified and delimited since 2011. An attack had already occurred in the area on Friday (2), without injuring the indigenous people.
On Thursday (1), an armed ruralist was detained by the National Force at the site. Cimi said it had been informed by the Public Defender’s Office of the Union (DPU) that it will file a representation to remove the command of the National Force in Mato Grosso do Sul.
Ministry
The Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship (MDHC) said in a statement that it is monitoring the escalation of violence against Guarani Kaiowá indigenous communities in the state. The general coordinator of the Program for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, Communicators and Environmentalists (PPDDH) arrived in Mato Grosso do Sul this Sunday (4) to join the team coordinated by the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples. The MDHC said it is in talks with the Ministry of Justice and Public Security to improve the use of the National Force in controlling conflicts, protecting and defending the lives of affected people and respecting the human rights of indigenous peoples.
* Article updated at 4:56 p.m. to add statement from the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship
