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Brazil Catholic bishops defend Indian lands
21 Aug 2008 20:57:11 GMT
 Source: Reuters
BRASILIA, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Brazil's Roman Catholic bishops urged the Supreme Court on Thursday to uphold the creation of a native Indian reservation that sparked a violent land conflict earlier this year.

The court is expected to decide in coming weeks whether to annul an Indian reservation in northern Roraima state created by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva three years ago.

Bishop Geraldo Lyrio Rocha, president of the Brazilian Catholic Bishops Conference, warned that a decision against the reservation would undermine the Indians' constitutional right to live on their ancestral lands.

"It would be a huge setback," Rocha told a news conference.

The dispute began in April when police tried to evict rice farmers from the Indian reservation in Roraima, Brazil's northernmost state. The farmers, who claim the same land, resisted by blocking roads, blowing up bridges and hiring gunmen. Ten Indians were wounded in a shootout in May and a farm leader was arrested.

Two senators from Roraima asked the Supreme Court to rule whether the reservation was legal and argued it harmed the economic interests of the state and Brazil.

The governor of Roraima says the 4.2 million-acre (1.7 million-hectare) reserve is too big for the 17,000 Indians inhabiting it. Mining, agricultural and timber officials say Indians are an obstacle to economic development.

Some legislators suggested dividing up the reserve among separate tribes, tourist complexes and rice farmers.

But Bishop Rocha said, "We want this Indian reservation preserved as a single entity."

The head of the government Indian agency, Funai, Marcio Meira, told Reuters last month a Supreme Court decision annulling the reservation would be the biggest blow to Indian rights since the end of Brazil's military dictatorship in 1985. (Reporting by Raymond Colitt; Editing by Peter Cooney)


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Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during the inauguration of Brazilian mining giant Vale's aluminium refinery in Barcarena, in the northen Brazilian state of Para, August 14, 2008. The ...


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Last updated:Thu Aug 21 20:59:12 2008