Statement by Indigenous Leader on Occupation of the Belo Monte Pimental Dam site
Statement by Mukuku Xikrin, indigenous spokesperson on Day 10 of the occupation of Pimental coffer dam, Belo Monte
"Today we are in day 10 of the occupation.We had the meeting on Thursday with Norte Energia but did not reach any agreement. Construction on the coffer dam and in the work camp is still paralyzed. The Xikrin, the Arara and the Juruna of the Big Bend are still occupying the site. Many more of our relatives are asking for rides to get here. For this reason we are calling for support, for more resources to arrive as soon as possible to allow us to bring more of our people to join the occupation.
Today there are more our relatives arriving, the Parakana people are on their way to the occupation in the next few hours.
It was important for us to organize this action ourselves, the indigenous people of here without any help from white people because later we did not want the government or the company to say that it was the white people who put this idea in the indigenous people’s head. For this reason, we did not want or need the help of anyone from the outside and we did it. Now we have taken the initiative we ask for outside support so we can continue the occupation.
Saturday June 30, 2012
Translated from an interview in Portuguese recorded by Atossa Soltani, Amazon Watch
- Article and video report from Gabriel Elizondo - Al Jazeera: Brazil tribes occupy contentious dam site
- Article in New York Times: The Dam Boom in the Amazon
- Blogspot in Portuguese with latest news from the indigenous protestors: http://xingubacajairiri.blogspot.com.br/