Yanomami organizations denounce the entry of illegal miners into Pico da Neblina.
The place is sacred to indigenous people, who are asking for protection of the area.
Brazil Agency - With the mobilization of security forces in the Indigenous Territory (TI) YanomamiSome of the miners have been moving from areas with more repression to other locations. This warning comes from the Association. Yanomami of the Cauaburis River and Tributaries, of the Women's Association Yanomami Kumirayoma and the Federation of Indigenous Organizations of the Rio Negro.
Community leaders denounce the increase in illegal miners around Pico da Neblina, a sacred place for them. yanomami"It has long been known, on the part of..." yanomami"The movement of small-scale manual mining in the region, with the Pico da Neblina area also being one of the access points to other mining operations in Venezuela," they write in a letter addressed to the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (Funai), and the administration of the Pico da Neblina National Park.
Located in the municipality of Santa Isabel do Rio Negro, in the northern part of the state of Amazonas, in the Serra do Imeri mountain range, Pico da Neblina is the highest point in Brazil, with an altitude of 2,995.30 meters, according to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
In the document sent to the authorities, the indigenous people mention the arrival of mining equipment at the site and a "miner shot in a conflict inside the mine" on the 3rd of this month. According to the leaders' account, the injured man's companion threatened the secretary of the Association. Yanomami Vilmar da Silva Matos, from the Cauaburis River and its tributaries, was taken to a health facility after local leaders refused to help transport him to another health unit. The gold miner sought help at the Ariabu community's Base Camp.
What the associations are asking the federal government is that the territory of Maturacá be included in the actions to combat illegal mining. "We request that the reports of illegal mining invasion in the Pico da Neblina area be investigated with the utmost urgency, considering the safety of the communities." yanomami "from the region with a population of over 3 people," they added.