Long-overdue apology to Latin America Indigenous Peoples
While Pope Francis asks forgiveness for the numerous crimes committed by the Catholic Church during the so called “conquest”, states breach their obligations to respect, protect and fulfill indigenous peoples’ human rights.
At a meeting with social movements last week, the Pope publicly apologized to the native peoples of the Americas for “offenses” committed by the Catholic Church during the conquest of the continents. During his visit to Bolivia, the Pope also took the opportunity to meet Eliseu Lopes, one spokespeople of the Guarani-Kaiowá, in Brazil, who have lived in poverty and with no access to their ancestral lands since the 1970s.
Commenting on this historic apology, the Guarani-Kaiowá spokesperson stresses Pope Francis listened attentively to the story about their struggle, unlike the President and those who govern Brazil. “I told him that we are living through a war, that we are dying and that we are being massacred by both armed gunmen and by the politicians involved in agri-business that a real genocide is happening to us. I asked for a future for our young and old people,” he explains.
In his speech, Pope Francis acknowledged the “grave sins” against indigenous peoples in the name of god. “I want to tell you, and I want to be very clear: I humbly ask your forgiveness, not only for the offenses committed by the Church herself, but also for the crimes committed against the native peoples during the so-called conquest of America,” he highlighted.
Despite this breakthrough, the Guarani-Kaiowá are still today prevented from accessing their ancestral lands, since the spread of soy and sugarcane monocultures began. The 40-year struggle has been permeated with the escalation of violence and the Brazilian’s government disregard for indigenous peoples’ human rights, in favor of the agribusiness sector.
In a FIAN International and CIMI-led speakers’ tour across Europe last year, Eliseu Lopes already raised concerns over the Brazilian government’s approach. “[The Guarani-Kaiowás] cannot bear the disregard from the Brazilian government that appears unable to protect them while they live a humanitarian crisis.”
The latest developments, taking place in Eliseu’s ancestral land, Tekohá Kurusu Ambá, are clear proof of both the violation of the rights of the Guarani-Kaiowá and the government’s disdain: on June 24, 2015, Tekohá Kurusu Ambá was ransacked and burned. Despite the violent attack, which seriously affected children too, the Brazilian government has not taken any measures.
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