On the night of this Monday (6), when the disappearance of journalist Dom Phillips and Funai indigenist Bruno Araújo had already exceeded 30 hours since the notification to the authorities, a press release signed by the Military Command of the Amazon (CMA) of the Brazilian caused revolt and outrage on social media.
Without naming Dom or Bruno — referred to only as “an English journalist” and “an indigenist” — the note states that the CMA “is able to carry out a humanitarian search and rescue mission, as it has done throughout its history.” “However”, he continues, “the actions will be initiated upon activation by the Upper Echelon”.
The note ends by thanking the “trust placed in the Armed Forces”. And users question where the institution’s sense of urgency lies.
The army’s passivity in the face of the case puzzled those who expected the authorities to be immediately involved in this case of international repercussion, in which “every minute counts”, as Sian Phillips, sister of the Guardian contributing journalist, said in her appeal to the Brazilian authorities.
The Vale do Javari Indigenous Land, where Dom and Bruno disappeared on the way between the community of São Rafael and Atalaia do Norte, has often been the target of invasions by illegal miners.
According to Univaja (Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley) and Opi (Observatory for the Human Rights of Isolated and Recent Contact Indigenous Peoples), Bruno was under threat before disappearing.
The note from the Brazilian Army caught the attention of foreigners, who understood that the institution admitted, then, that it had not entered the searches. “Shame” and “shocking” are some of the terms used to classify the answer.
A few hours later, in another press release, the CMA stated that it “unleashed a search operation in the region of Atalaia do Norte (AM), employing a team of military jungle fighters, using the Lancha Guardian vessel”.
In the networks, the announcement, hours after the note in which the organ claimed to depend on authorization “from the highest level”, was received as a retreat “better late than never”.
This Tuesday morning (7), the Navy reported that it is carrying out the search using a helicopter from the 1st General Employment Squadron of the Northwest, two vessels and a jet ski.
The Federal Police said the investigations will be “disclosed in due course”. Together with the Civil Police, he will help with the investigation work, interviewing people in the region in search of information about the whereabouts of the duo. Military police are reinforcing the search, according to the state government.
