Human rights defenders insist on demanding respect for the indigenous communities, after four members of the Yanomami ethnic group died in the middle of a confrontation with members of the Venezuelan Military Aviation when the officials refused to share their internet access.
Miguel Rodríguez, governor of the Amazonas state, in southern Venezuela, confirmed that the events that occurred on Sunday left “4 dead and 5 injured.”
“A real tragedy was caused by something that could be seen as irrelevant elsewhere. However, by not having the necessary information to deal with ancestral cultures with different worldviews, any confused official can generate painful situations, ”he wrote on his Facebook account.
The Attorney General of Venezuela, Tarek William Saab, reported on Wednesday that two prosecutors, together with a commission of experts from the scientific police, went to the scene to carry out “the relevant expertise and determine the responsibilities that may arise.” .
Giovanny Espinoza, defender of fundamental rights in the state of Amazonas, told Voice of America that the router that supplies internet to the area is owned by the indigenous community and that it was granted as a loan to the military detachment.
“These refused to give them the Wi-Fi access key, and that sparked a conflict between the uniformed men and the indigenous people,” he explained.
According to Romel Guzamana, indigenous deputy of the 2015 Parliament for the state of Amazonas, for a month the Yanomami had been requesting the equipment, but in exchange for returning it “the military asked them for gold, which they refused.”
Espinoza condemned the acts of violence and highlighted the vulnerability of the indigenous peoples who are governed by “their own laws, culture and tradition.” In addition, he stressed that they have a special treatment within the Venezuelan legal system.
Olnar Ortiz, national coordinator of Indigenous Peoples of the Penal Forum, recalled that in March 2012 the Venezuelan State signed a friendly agreement for the Haximú massacre, which occurred in 1993 in Yanomami territory in Brazil, near the border with Venezuela.
“Ten years later, another hostile situation occurs against our brothers in their own territory,” he wrote on Twitter.
Ortiz told VOA that the right to life and free self-determination of indigenous peoples was violated.
He added that, since the events occurred in indigenous jurisdiction, it is expected that indigenous justice should be applied, however, he clarifies, the Venezuelan Constitution establishes that certain cases belong to ordinary jurisdiction.
“We could say that an indigenous trial could be established in Yanomami territory to comply with international standards, with the rights of indigenous peoples and bring it on a par with the ordinary jurisdiction. It would be an unprecedented case in Venezuela”, he pointed out.
Delsa Solórzano, deputy of the Parliament of 2015, assured that the Venezuelan Government violates the Constitution by not guaranteeing the protection of indigenous peoples, and pointed out that the facts “are the responsibility of the International Criminal Court.”
The Venezuelan Program of Education Action for Human Rights (PROVEA), reacted by recalling that in 2021 members of indigenous communities on the border with Brazil warned about the increase in the presence of illegal armed miners and the complicity of the Venezuelan military with these groups.
“Since 2013, it has permanently insisted on the serious risks that the militarization of indigenous territories and communities entails, without a multidimensional approach of respect and protection of the ways of life and customs of these peoples,” the program exposed on Twitter.
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