June 6, 2022

15:06

Bruno Pacheco – From Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – The Federal Police in Amazonas (PF-AM) started an investigation on the case of Bruno Araújo Pereira, of the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI), and the english journalist Dom Phillips, a contributor of the British newspaper The Guardian, who disappeared in Vale do Javari, in the countryside of Amazonas. The two disappeared on Sunday, 5, when they were making the journey between the riverside community São Rafael to the town of Atalaia do Norte (1,136 kilometers from Manaus).

In a statement, the PF-AM said it is already monitoring and working on the case and noted that the proceedings are being undertaken and will be disclosed “in due course”. The body, however, did not provide further details about the investigations.

Earlier, the coordination of the indigenous organization União dos Povos Indígenas do Vale do Javari (Univaja) clarified that, according to reports from collaborators, Bruno and Dom Phillips disappeared after receiving threats in the field. In addition, the indigenist was constantly threatened for his actions against invaders in the region: fishermen, gold miners, and loggers.

“The threat was not the first. Others had already been made to other members of the technical team of Univaja, in addition to other reports already made official to the Federal Police, the Federal Public Ministry in Tabatinga, the National Council of Human Rights and the Indigenous Peoples Rights International,” says an excerpt from the note.

Also according to Univaja, Bruno is an “experienced person and has a deep knowledge of the region, as he was Funai’s regional coordinator in Atalaia do Norte for years”. Phillips, on the other hand, according to The Guardian, is working on a book about the environment with the support of the Alicia Patterson Foundation.

‘Excellent journalist’

According to the British tabloid, a spokesperson for Guardian News & Media said, “The Guardian is very concerned and urgently seeks information about Phillips’ whereabouts and condition. We are in contact with the British embassy in Brazil and local and national authorities to try to ascertain the facts as soon as possible.”

The newspaper’s environment editor, Jonathan Watts, made an appeal on social media for Brazilian authorities to urgently launch a search operation for the British correspondent and the indigenist.

“Dom Phillips, an excellent journalist, regular @guardian contributor, and great friend, is missing in the Javari Valley in the Amazon, following death threats to his fellow indigenist, Bruno Pereira, who is also missing. Appealing to the Brazilian authorities to release”.