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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Joseph Wilkes

Amazon rainforest tribal leader and 'forest guardian' killed by illegal loggers

A tribesman in the Amazon has been killed by illegal loggers in what is believed to have been an ambush.

Paulo Paulino Guajajara, an indigenous leader of the Guajarara tribe and part of a group known as the 'Forest Guardians', was shot in the neck.

The 'Forest Guardians' were formed by indigenous people to fight off gangs of illegal loggers who are pillaging their rainforest.

Another tribesman and guardian, Laercio Guajajara, was injured by a bullet to the back in the ambush in the northeastern Brazilian state of Maranhao on Friday.

Nonprofit pro-indigenous organisation Survival International said he was able to escape. He was hospitalised.

A logger has also been reported missing.

Paulo Paulino Guajajara previously said 'My blood is boiling. I’m so angry' (REUTERS)

The Human Rights Secretary of Maranhao reports the two tribesmen left their village to find water when five armed men began shooting at them immediately.

Sergio Moro, who is Brazilian Minister of Justice and Public Security, declared this incident a "terrible crime."

In a tweet, Moro said: "We will spare no effort to bring those responsible for this serious crime to justice."

The Guardians were trying to protect their home (REUTERS)

An investigation was understood to have been launched by Brazilian Federal Police.

The Guajarara tribe has tasked itself with protecting the rainforest but this often places them in danger from dangerous criminals.

A number of Guardians have been killed in recent years Maranhao.

Paulo Paulino Guajajara wasn't willing to let the rainforest be destroyed without a fight (REUTERS)
Indigenous leader Laercio Guajajara, a "Forest Guardian", holds a gun as he prepares to search for illegal loggers on Arariboia indigenous land near the city of Amarante, Maranhao state, Brazil, September 10, 2019 (REUTERS)

This latest attack was in the Araribóia indigenous territory in Maranhao. It is a reserve which is home to around 5,300 Guajajara and Awá tribespeople. The Awá is known as the world's most endangered tribe.

Gilderlan Rodrigues, Maranhão regional coordinator of Brazil’s indigenous missionary council, told the Guardian newspaper the tribesmen had been threatened many times before.

He said: “Their work bothers those that want to loot their territory. These criminal actions must be combated so that more lives are not lost.”

Survival International's Sarah Shenker said the reserve was an “island of green amid a sea of deforestation”.

Murdered Paulo Paulino Guajajara was quoted by survival international earlier this year as saying: "It makes me so mad to see this.

"These people think they can come here, into our home, and help themselves to our forest?

It is a battle that some say the Brazilian Government is making harder for the tribespeople (REUTERS)
Paulo Paulino Guajajara was shot in the neck (REUTERS)

"No. We won’t allow it. We don’t break into their houses and rob them, do we? My blood is boiling. I’m so angry.”

Many killings related to the targeting of the reserve by the illegal logging gangs go unsolved.

Some observers link an increase in the killings and attacks to the presidency of right-wing Jair Bolsonaro, who has made cuts to environmental and indigenous protection agencies.

Indigenous leader Sonia Bone Guajajara said: “The indigenous genocide of Brazil is legitimised by the discourse of the president."

Armed land-grabbers, known as grileiros – emboldened by Brazil’s new far-right president Jair Bolsonaro – are responsible for many of the blazes, burning thousands of acres of forest to make room for cattle and crops.

Bolsonaro supports landowners over indigenous people, who he has compared to animals trapped in the zoo. He has threatened to revoke the protected status of tribal reserves.

Indigenous leader Laercio Guajajara was also injured in the attack (REUTERS)

The protection of indigenous land is guaranteed by the Brazilian constitution to preserve 305 tribes, who have been persecuted for centuries.

Any lessening of rights for the tribes poses a dire threat to both them and the Amazon.

Along with the fires, the forest is being cut down by cattle ranchers, farmers and mining companies.

Bolsonaro’s stance has emboldened the grileiros, and violence has surged since his 2018 election.

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