‘Human Remnants’ Found In Search Of Dom Phillips And Bruno Pereira, Brazilian Minister Says –

SAO PAULO – Brazilian police on Wednesday found “human remains” at an excavation site where Dom Phillips and Bruno Arajoo Pereira were being sought, Brazilian Justice Minister Anderson Torres said on social media.

Phillips, a British journalist, and Pereira, a Brazilian indigenous expert, have been missing since June 5 in the remote Amazon rainforest region of Valle do Javar.

Torres said forensic examination is still needed to confirm if there are remains of Phillips and Pereira’s bodies, but tests will be conducted Wednesday night.

“Federal police recently found out to me that‘ human remains were found at the excavation site, ’” Torres said. Said on Twitter. “They will be subjected to forensic examination.

The Brazilian fisherman arrested by police in connection with the disappearance has admitted to taking part in the killings of Pereira and Phillips, police said at a news conference Wednesday night. To the fisherman, Amarildo de Oliveira, that same day he brought the authorities to the place where he buried the bodies of Phillips and Pereira. He also told police he helped hide the boat Pereira and Phillips were riding in.

Police also arrested Oliveira’s brother, Oseni de Oliveira, in connection with the case. Police said Amarildo de Oliveira said a third man shot and killed Phillips and Pereira.

Phillips and Pereira were in Valle do Javar to meet with indigenous leaders for a book studied and written by Phillips. Leaders of Univaja, a coalition of valley tribes, first announced the couple’s disappearance after they failed to show up at a meeting in the town of Atalaya do Norte.

The disappearance of Phillips and Pereira – a veteran reporter and another veteran of the Amazon and indigenous tribes living there – has sparked a furious search led by indigenous tribes that criticized the Brazilian government’s initial response to the call. of help. , In Valle do Javar, a region where conflicts have grown in recent years between indigenous tribes and illegal miners, lumberjacks, fishermen and other illegal interests. Police investigators suggest their disappearance could be attributed to illegal fishing and hunting activities in the region.

Phillips, 57, has been writing about Brazil and the Amazon for more than a decade and traveled to Val-do Javar to talk to indigenous Brazilians about a book on how to save the forest from destruction. He regularly collaborated with The Guardian and also wrote for HuffPost, The Washington Post, The New York Times and other publications. Phillips is a respected journalist who over the years has covered threats to the Amazon rainforest, other environmentally sensitive regions of Brazil, and the country’s indigenous peoples.

Pereira, 41, is a career fellow at FUNAI, Brazil’s Indigenous Resident Affairs Agency, which once oversaw organ work in Vale do Javari and advised many of the tribes living there. A “A staunch defender of the rights of residents He was appointed head of the FUNAI office in 2018, protecting isolated tribes without known contact with the outside world. He was fired a year later amid a rift with the government of far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, which stripped off environmental protection, the Amazon and indigenous tribes.

Pereira He often receives threats from illegal miners, fishermen and foresters associated with his activities. He and Phillips went missing on Sunday June 5. They both met the day before a new threat from illegal fishermen told Univaja leaders that they were last seen climbing the Itakuay River in the Javari Valley.

Their disappearance has attracted global attention and research. Indigenous groups, including Univaja, first said the Brazilian government and military were “not” involved in the effort to find Phillips and Pereira, driving more global pressure on Bolsonaro and the Brazilian military to work with more research. and to salvation. Surgery.

The Guardian also criticized the government’s reaction to the editorial, its editors and other well -known media outlets, including The Washington Post, New York Times, Associated Press, NPR, and Folha de S.Paulo, one of the largest newspapers in Brazil. Brazil was called to “move forward quickly and make full use of the effort” in a letter to Bolsonaro.

“Cadê Bruno and Dom” – “Where are Bruno and Dom?” In Portuguese – it has become a cry on social media and on prominent Brazilian actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, journalists and TV personalities. Pelé, symbol of Brazilian football, begged The government has intensified efforts to find the missing couple on Twitter, while popular Brazilian musician Caetano Veloso has called on the government to do more. During the concert Shortly after their disappearance.

Indigenous activists Organized protests Outside FUNAI’s headquarters in Brazil, the capital of Brazil, the demonstrations reached London, where he was originally from Phillips. In Los AngelesWhere Bolsonaro attended the American Summit.

Sonia Guajajara, a prominent Brazilian indigenous activist, spoke with the U.S. ambassador for climate issues and former secretary of state John Kerry. Pressure mounts At a meeting with the Bolsonaro government in New York, Kerry promised to brief President Joe Biden on the matter ahead of a bilateral meeting between the U.S. and Brazilian presidents in Los Angeles. US lawmakers and members of the UK parliament tweeted calls for a broader search and rescue mission.

On the contrary, Bolsonaro took a negative stance towards Phillips and Pereira, their loss following their own decision to embark on an “adventure” in a dangerous region.

Illegal invasions of indigenous lands and killings of tribal members Rising sharply Since becoming president of Bolsonaro in 2019, the Brazilian nonprofit has been a member of the Council of Indigenous Missionaries. Bolsonaro has closely allied with wildcat miners, illegal fishermen, and illegal loggers seeking to expand their forest operations – and often caused conflicts with indigenous tribes in the process:

Indigenous tribes of Valle do Javar have already tried to pay attention to the dangers posed by illegal fishermen, miners, drug dealers and the Bolsonaro government, including the president. Try to make an appointment A former Christian missionary who previously argued that isolated tribes should be targeted for religious change in a position that oversees their protection.

Phillips has spent his life telling these stories to the world. Pereira tried to protect indigenous tribes even from the government that wanted to target them.

About 300 Residents Have Been Killed Since Bolsonaro took office, according to the Indigenous Missionary Council, and in 2019, another FUNAI employee was killed in Valle do Javar. His case was never resolved.

That year, Human Rights Watch accused him of rewarding Bolsonaro with the Blanc cart “Criminal networks operating within the Amazon. A right-wing president who considers illegal mining, deforestation and other similar interests among his most ardent allies and supporters undermines the Brazilian government’s ability to protect the forest and its people- or journalists, environmentalists and human rights defenders. Instead I tried to protect them.

“The loss of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira and the inadequate response of the Brazilian government is President Jair Bolsonaro’s desire to address the massive environmental damage in the Amazon,” said Elian Broome, a journalist from the Amazon region. write For The New York Times. “It is not in Mr. Bolsonaro’s interest or character to do anything for the rainforest.”