Barracks planned on Indian land
August 1, 2001
This page was created in 2001 and may contain language which is now outdated.
Yanomami Indian land is again under threat after the minister of defence referred to a 'mistake' in its demarcation, and the need to 'revise' – that is, reduce – the area. The Yanomami are completely dependent on the reservation which was established in 1992 following an international campaign led by the Yanomami-support group, CCPY, and, internationally, by Survival. Reducing it would be a catastrophe as miners and loggers would quickly flood in.
Another threat is already present from the three army barracks there. Relations between soldiers and Indian women are spreading sexually transmitted diseases, yet a fourth barracks is now planned near the Yanomami settlement of Ericó. In fact the army has recently announced its intention to build a whole string of barracks along Brazil's northern frontier. This will bring massive disruption to the Yanomami.
