2024-04-05 11:16:55
The Amnesty Commission of the Brazilian Ministry of Human Rights approved an unprecedented request for collective reparations for serious violations of the rights of the country’s indigenous communities during the military dictatorship (1964 to 1985).
The commission recognized crimes committed against members of the Krenak and Guarani-Kaiowá ethnic groups, who were persecuted and forcibly removed from their lands by the military in the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso do Sul.
The members of the commission also formalized an apology on Tuesday on behalf of the Brazilian State and approved a series of recommendations to be implemented to prevent these events from happening again.
The decision is unprecedented because until then the Amnesty Commission only approved individual reparation processes for crimes committed during the military dictatorship. Last year, the commission changed its internal regulations and also started to judge collective reparation cases.
The actions presented by the Public Ministry showed that during the military dictatorship Krenak indigenous people were arrested, subjected to ill-treatment, forced labor and forced to leave their territory.
Among the illegal acts carried out by the military cited in the case are the installation of the Krenak Reformatory, which was a prison for indigenous people, and the forced displacement of indigenous people to the Guarani farm, in the municipality of Carmésia, which also functioned as a detention center for indigenous people after the extinction of the Krenak Reformatory.
The Guarani-Kaiowá, from the Guyraroká indigenous community, from Caarapó, were removed from the territory during the dictatorship and began a return process in 2004.
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Although the commission’s decision does not result in an action for financial compensation, it could represent a new stage in guaranteeing rights to indigenous communities and progress in the land demarcation process.
The actions brought by the two ethnicities were rejected in 2022, under the government of former President Jair Bolsonaro, but the Public Ministry appealed and the processes began to be analyzed by the commission.
2024-04-05 11:16:55