RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg, 16, denounced on her social media on Sunday, December 8th, the death of two Guajajara indians in Maranhão.
She mentioned that such attacks are frequent and criticized the silence of authorities in the face of such crimes.
“The indigenous peoples are literally being murdered for trying to protect the forest from illegal deforestation. Repeatedly. It is shameful that the world remains silent about this,” wrote the activist.
The murders took place on Saturday, December 7th, when men in a car shot at the indigenous people on federal highway BR-226, which cuts through the villages of El Betel and Boa Vista, in the state of Maranhão.
The attack took the lives of Firmino Prexede Guajajara, who died instantly, and Raimundo Belnício Guajajara. Nelsi Olímpio Guajajara was shot in the leg and is wounded.
According to reports, the two were returning from a meeting of indigenous peoples to advocate for their rights.
Last month, Paulo Paulino Guajajara, who worked as a forest guardian defending the indigenous territory against illegal exploitation, was also murdered by loggers near the crime scene on Saturday.
Source: Revista Forum