Police arrest suspect in killing Ari Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau, indigenous leader in RO

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The Federal Police arrested this Wednesday (13) a man suspected of killing the indigenous leader and teacher Ari Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau, 34, found with marks of beating on April 18, 2020 on a road in Tarilândia, district of Jaru, in Rondônia.

Operation Guardião Uru, named in honor of the indigenous who acted as guardian of the Amazon rainforest, did not disclose the name of the suspect and where the preventive detention took place. The man is accused of other crimes.

Ari Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau may have been drugged and beaten to death, according to police. He was part of a surveillance group formed to monitor and report invasions of the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau Indigenous Land, in Rondônia.

According to WWF-Brasil, the territory covers 1.8 million hectares, is one of the last large remnants of forest in Rondônia and is the target of invasions by land grabbers, who take advantage of the loosening of supervision and punishment in the government of Jair Bolsonaro ( PL).

In a statement, the associations of the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau Indigenous People and the Kanindé Ethnoenvironmental Defense said they were awaiting details about the preventive detention, such as the suspect’s identity and the motive for the crime.

“The crime took place in the midst of a lack of supervision, land invasions by land grabbers, prospectors and loggers. We also hope that this Operation Guardião Uru, named in honor of Ari, will help solve other crimes committed in the region,” the statement said.

According to the two associations, other indigenous people and activists face death threats for defending the forest. They say that the difficulties faced by the indigenous people have been widely reported by the community to Organs competent bodies, but no action has been taken.

For WWF-Brasil, it is important that the Federal Police clarify crucial points to hold those involved accountable and punish. The organization also collects information about the motivation of the crime, the participation of other people and the possibility of a mastermind.

The two indigenous associations and WWF-Brasil highlight the fact that the arrest took place a month after the murders of Brazilian indigenist Bruno Pereira, 41, and British journalist Dom Phillips, 57, as a sign that the Federal Police will intensify the combat this type of crime.

The two were killed in the Vale do Javari region (AM), in a crime that put pressure on the Bolsonaro government for highlighting the scenario of environmental conflict in the Amazon and the insecurity of leaders who act in the defense of indigenous people.

Ari Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau is portrayed in the documentary “The Territory”, which records the struggle of the besieged indigenous people and the motivations of those who invade them. Filming was marked by the murder of the indigenous leader on a road in the region.

Directed by American Alex Pritz, in co-production with the uru-eu-wau-waus, the film was selected this year by the Sundance Festival, the largest independent film festival in the United States.

His death was remembered by Txai Suruí, a 24-year-old who made history by speaking, in English, at the opening of COP26, in Glasgow, in November 2021.

“While you are closing your eyes to reality, the forest guardian Ari Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau, my childhood friend, was murdered for protecting nature,” he said.

This Wednesday, Txai asked for justice and spoke about the pain of losing a friend and protector of the indigenous territory.

“Only those who have lived know the pain of losing someone dear. Even more so when this loss happens in a violent way against a protector and warrior of their territory and people”, he said.

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