More than 20 US deputies signed a letter addressed to Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in which they ask for extra action in relation to the case of Bruno and Dom and more actions by the US government in relation to protection in the Amazon. The document also criticizes President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
The document was proposed by Democratic Representatives Raúl Grijalva and Susan Wild, and endorsed by 21 other party representatives, including Representatives Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and Barbara Lee. The Chamber has a total of 435 parliamentarians.
The document, obtained by Sheet​, is dated this Tuesday (19) and lists five demands. The first is that the US government publicly asks that all those involved in the crime be indicted and that a comprehensive investigation be carried out, which also affects the possible masterminds of the murders.
Lawmakers are urging U.S. officials to speak with local indigenous leaders and send a high-level delegation to the Javari Valley to learn more about conditions in the region and then formulate a set of policies to help secure residents in the area.
The document also advocates that the US make a long-term commitment to the security of indigenous peoples and the region. And to create partnerships for this with other governments, experts and international organizations, such as the UN and the IACHR (Inter-American Commission on Human Rights).
Brazilian indigenist Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips were murdered in early June. The pair traveled by boat in the southwest of the state of Amazonas and visited communities in the vicinity of the Vale do Javari Indigenous Land, which is home to the largest number of uncontacted peoples in the Amazon rainforest.
The letter recalls that the deaths of Bruno and Dom were not an isolated case, and that at least 317 other environmental activists have been murdered in Brazil since 2012, according to data from Global Witness, which makes the country one of the most dangerous in the world for defenders. of the environment.
“Threats against indigenous people, quilombolas and other ‘forest guardians’ have reached disastrous proportions under the regime of President Jair Bolsonaro,” the letter reads. “Other environmental indicators are getting worse, such as increasing numbers related to deforestation and fires, not only in the Amazon but also in other key ecosystems such as the Cerrado and the Pantanal.”
“Impunity is a motto of the murders in the Amazon, and for the future of the Amazon, this case cannot be forgotten,” the letter reads.
“For too long, the Bolsonaro regime has weakened environmental and indigenous protections for corporate profits. President Biden and Secretary Blinken must use the full weight of American diplomacy to reflect our commitment to human rights, hold human rights violators accountable, and protect the planet’s natural resources,” said Grivalja, commenting on the letter.
In June, Grijalva had already called for an independent investigation into the case. “The Brazilian government should allow an independent entity to conduct an intensive and transparent investigation,” he said at the time.
Representative Susan Wild argues that the Biden administration should “take advantage of this tragic moment to create a robust agenda of US engagement with Brazil, focused on curbing deforestation and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples. This type of agenda is urgently needed, not only for the people of Brazil but for the entire planet, given the indispensable role of the Amazon in combating climate change”.
“The Biden administration must move from rhetoric to concrete action. In addition to working behind the scenes, the State Department must make public statements to warn the world that protecting local activists is a real priority,” said Andrew Miller, director of advocacy by Amazon Watch, one of the entities that seek to convince the US government to strengthen its efforts to protect the Amazon.
Last week, Eliesio Marubo, a lawyer for Univaja (Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley), was in Washington and met with some US congressmen and senators. He told Americans that the Brazilian government needs to do more to protect the Amazon region, prevent new murder cases like Dom and Bruno’s, and find out who ordered the crime.
Since 2021, there have been at least seven letters and communiqués from US deputies and senators asking for US government action in relation to Brazil. In one of them, in December, eight US senators asked Biden for a clear reconfiguration [“clear reset”, no original] of the relationship between the two countries”, for Bolsonaro’s attacks on democracy, human rights and environmental protection in Brazil.
Despite opposing pressure from lawmakers, Biden approached Bolsonaro this year. In June, the two presidents had their first face-to-face meeting, during the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles.
