AMAZON INDIANS REJECT GOVERNMENT ORDER TO STOP CUTTING BORDER AROUND THEIR LANDS TO KEEP OUT ILLEGAL LOGGERS
Greenpeace and Brazilian organisations continue their support of the Deni people's demarcation of their lands

2 October 2001

Manaus, Amazon, Brazil - In the face of Brazilian government attempts to shut them down, the Deni Indian chiefs pledged that they would continue to physically cut a border around their lands to keep out illegal loggers. Three Brazilian non-governmental organisations, including Greenpeace, who have been supplying logistical support, such as cooking, transport and communications, to the Deni, have declared their continued support.

Last Friday, 17 days after the Deni started the demarcation of their lands in the Amazon rainforest 1000 kilometers southwest of Manaus, Greenpeace received a letter from FUNAI, the Federal Government Indian Agency, ordering the immediate suspension of the demarcation of the Deni Indian land until the Minister of Justice formally acknowledges Deni ownership.

"We have being waiting for the Government to demarcate our lands since they said they would in 1985. They haven't kept their promises so we had to do it. Why are they trying to stop us now?" said Chief Biruvi Deni by satellite phone from the Deni Lands to the Greenpeace ship the Arctic Sunrise in Manaus. The Arctic Sunrise is in the region to highlight the impact of illegal and destructive logging on the future of the Amazon rainforest.

Greenpeace Amazon Project Coordinator Paul Adario said: "the Brazilian Government must be very embarrassed as the Deni have shown that they can do the physical and technical demarcation process themselves. Now all they ask is for the government to sign the decree which makes legal the work the Deni have already done, to formally protect the land from illegal loggers waiting to step in and tear down the forest."

Located on the Cuniua and Xerua river valleys (tributaries of the Purus and Jurua rivers, in Amazonas State), the Deni land is under threat from the Malaysian logging company WTK that purchased over 313,000 hectares of rainforest. More than 50 percent of this area overlaps with the Deni land. It is illegal in Brazil to log on Indian land.

The Deni were first informed in May 1999 that a part of their lands had been purchased by WTK, when a Greenpeace expedition went to the area to investigate illegal logging activities in the region. The Deni people were unaware of this sale and the plans to log their land. At this point the Deni asked Greenpeace to help them with their demarcation process. Greenpeace is working closely with CIMI and OPAN, organisations experienced in Amazon Indian issues, to assist the Deni in the process. In further discussions with Greenpeace, WTK subsequently stated that they will not challenge the demarcation.

A team of Brazilian experts and an international team of 12 Greenpeace volunteers are providing logistical support to the Deni people during the demarcation process. Volunteers from Brazil, Chile, the UK, Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Greece, Germany, Austria, the US and China have been filing daily reports to Greenpeace's website, and doing interviews from the jungle, to make it known that the Brazilian government must support this process for the Deni lands to be protected. Once demarcation is recognized by the government, permits for logging and other destructive industrial activities cannot be issued for these lands.

According to CIMI, it is the Minister of Justice, not the Deni, who is wrong. "By law, the Minister was obliged to either sign the decree, reject the application, or request additional information from FUNAI before the 21st of August. Nothing was done. The government also failed to respect the constitutional mandate for demarcation of all Indian lands by 1985," said Chico Loebenz, from CIMI. According to Loebenz, it would be a moral disaster for the Deni if the government stops them from protecting their own land. "The government should go there and help them, instead of destroying the Deni's dreams by weakening their borders," he said.

This project is part of Greenpeace's campaign to protect the world's remaining ancient forests. Some 80 percent of the world's ancient forests have already been degraded or destroyed, and only 20 percent remain intact. Time is running out for the last 20 percent unless governments around the world take swift action to ensure their future.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
In Manaus Paulo Adario, +55 92 9985 5001, In Amsterdam Natalia Truchi +31 621296908
Photos and video available from Lucas de Freitas in Manaus + 55 92 9603 4801