Guarani-Kaiowá Indians left on the roadside

Alessandra Bastos

Reporter Agência Brasil

Brasília - Yesterday, the Federal Police and local Mato Grosso do Sul police agents, acting under a court order, removed some 700 Guarani-Kaiowá Indians from three farms in an area 340 kilometers from Campo Grande, capital of the state. The Indians had invaded the farms to protest a delay in the demarcation of their lands. According to the Indians, the name of the area is Nhande Ru Marangatu, and it belongs to them. The court disagreed.

A total of some 150 police officers, operating out of the cities of Dourados, Ponta Porã and Antonio João, using an aircraft, various police cars, a truck, two buses and two ambulances, were able to remove the Indians peacefully.

However, a new problem has arisen: the Indians are now virtually abandoned on the roadside. They have been left at the mercy of the elements (this is the height of the rainy season) and their leaders say the National Indian Foundation (Funai) has withdrawn and left them unprotected.

Translation: Allen Bennett