Brazilian elite force prepares to evict outside settlers from Amazon Indian reservation

[Judi Lynn]

Brazilian elite force prepares to evict outside settlers from Amazon Indian reservation
The Associated Press
Friday, April 4, 2008

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil: Elite Brazilian police are preparing to evict outside settlers from an Amazon Indian reservation, Brazil's justice minister said Friday — and settlers have pledged to resist.

Settlers and a minority of Indians who support their continued presence have burned bridges and blocked roads in recent days to keep federal forces off the 1.7-million-hectare (4.2-million-acre) Raposa Serra do Sol reservation.

Justice Minister Tarso Genro said the National Security Force will be sent in when conditions are ripe for a nonviolent eviction.

"We don't want violence, so there may be some going forward and then backing off," said Genro, whose ministry oversees both the federal Indian bureau and the federal police, in a meeting with foreign correspondents.

The elite force recently took part in a crackdown on illegal logging in the Amazon and in patrolling Rio de Janeiro ahead of last year's Pan American games.

More:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/04/america/LA-GEN-Brazil-Indian-Conflict.php