Indigenous Tribes Occupying Belo Monte Vow to Continue Resisting Amazon Dams

Indigenous peoples demand free, prior and informed consent following failed talks with Brazilian government

Amazon Watch, International Rivers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | June 6, 2013

For more information, contact:
Caroline Bennett, +1 415 487 9600, caroline@amazonwatch.org
Brent Milliken, +55 61 8153 7009, brent@internationalrivers.org
Renato Santana, CIMI, +55 61 9979 6912, renato.renato25@gmail.com

Brasilia, Brazil – Deeply frustrated with the Brazilian government's unwavering attitude about building large-scale hydroelectric dams, indigenous protesters refused to leave Brasilia following a high-level meeting this week.
140 people from six indigenous groups from the Xingu, Tapajós and Teles Pires River basins traveled on Tuesday to Brasilia following 17 days of protest at the Belo Monte dam construction site. During their four-hour meeting with representatives of the Brazilian government, including Gilberto Carvalho, President Rousseff's Chief of Staff, indigenous representatives reiterated calls for the suspension of dam survey and construction activities within their territories and insisted on their constitutional right to be consulted prior to any dam project.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the group expressed their indignation with the talks and ongoing commitment to resist dams, "We came to Brasilia to demand the suspension of feasibility studies and the construction of dams on the Xingu, Tapajós, and Teles Pires Rivers. You are not only talking with the Mundurukú people. You are talking with Xipaya, Kayapó, Arara, Tupinambás, and with all the people who are together in this struggle, because this is a major struggle for us all. We did not bring wish lists. We are against dams. We demand the federal government's commitment to consult with us and to guarantee our right to veto projects that destroy us."
While direct interaction with high-level government officials was an important demand of the indigenous people, the meeting represents a failure of the Brazilian government, which has systematically disrespected and disregarded national law. Gilberto Carvalho expressed a willingness to "dialogue" but stated that the government is entirely unwilling to re-evaluate their plans to build dozens of hydroelectric dams across the Amazon. Regarding any prospective future consultations Carvalho is reported to have said, "I'm not going to lie to you. You will have no right to veto."
"The way Dilma Rousseff's government has been treating indigenous peoples and ignoring our constitution is entirely unacceptable," said Maíra Irigaray, Brazil Program Coordinator at Amazon Watch. "Why talk about free, prior and informed consent if affected people have no meaningful say or veto power? A consultation is not a simple formality, it must be taken seriously and respected."
During Tuesday's meeting, an indigenous leader named Saw declared that the government is selling off the forest and putting at grave risk the ancestral knowledge of native people, "Everything is just business now. You (the government) don't talk to anyone. That is not happening only with indigenous peoples – you don't listen to anyone. You do what you want to regardless, and that is not good."
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