UPDATED ON:
Thursday, August 28, 2008
04:17 Mecca time, 01:17 GMT
News Americas
Brazil reserve ruling delayed
Indigenous Brazilians attended the
hearing in the Brazilian capital [Reuters]

Brazil's supreme court has delayed a ruling over the future of a tribal reserve on the country's northern border until later in the year.

A panel of 11 judges is to vote on whether to uphold a petition by two Roraima state senators who are contesting the creation of the 4.2-million-acre reserve and have asked for it to be reduced in size.

Wednesday's proceedings the court in Brasilia were delayed after one of the judges, Carlos Alberto Menezes Direito, asked for more time to look into the case.

Carlos Ayres Britto, the only judge to have voted so far, rejected the complaint, saying the reserve's current shape and size had to be maintained to ensure the tribes preserved their way of life.

"Fragmented demarcation, like Swiss cheese, makes it impossible to adhere to the constitution," Britto said, referring to alternative proposals advanced by the two senators and Roraima farmers.

Farming conflict

The governor of Roraima says the Raposa-Serra do Sol reserve, about the size of Kuwait, is too big for the 19,000 Indians who live there.

Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo in Brazil says rice farmers in the state have refused to give up what they say is their rightful claim to the land.

Mining, agricultural and timber officials say the tribes are an obstacle to economic development.

The Brazilian army's chief Amazon commander as well as conservative politicians have said the reservation could compromise national security by allowing armed Colombian fighters and drug traffickers to use it.

The Makuxi, Wapixana, Ingariko, Taurepang and Patamona tribes and their supporters say the reservation is being targeted, sometimes violently, by the farmers and other economic interests.

 Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
 
Topics in this article
Country

Feedback Number of comments : 1
 
Meg
Brazil
28/08/2008
Raposa Serra do Sol
Background analysis posted by member organization of Forum for Defense of Indigenous Rights (Portuguese) http://www.trabalhoindigenista.org.br/noticias_raposaserradosol_001.asp

 
ARTICLE TOOLS
 Email Article  Email article
 Print Article  Print article
 Send Feedback  Send feedback
 Share article  Share article
Aljazeera.net/english 2003 - 2010 ©
Designed & Developed by Aljazeera IT