A shocking video depicting infanticide among Amazon tribes has revived a debate in Brazil about whether the practice should be criminalized, or respected as a traditional belief.
The debate was given new vigor by the emergence of the video, which was posted online by the Hakani Campaign, an organization opposed to the practice.
The live burial depicted in the Hakani video is one of several ways infanticide is practiced among indigenous tribes, who also differ in their reasons for the tradition.
In some cases, the children affected are born albino or with birth defects and are either buried alive or abandoned in the forest.
Other tribes believe that sets of twins represent the pairing of good and evil and will kill the baby they think represents the latter.
But the video has been attacked by supporters of indigenous rights, who claim it was illegally obtained by Christian missionaries.
A spokesperson for the National Foundation for Indians (FUNAI) said that evangelical missionaries filmed the video among the recently discovered Suruwaha tribe.
He accused the group of “interfering in the social interactions of people who have chosen to distance themselves from Western culture and preserve their traditions.”
In statements on its Web site, the Hakani organization rejects claims that the video was obtained illegally, but it does acknowledge that the footage was filmed by members of Youth with a Mission, an evangelical organization that calls on its associates “to know God and to make Him known.”
Survival International, a non-governmental organization that defends indigenous rights, cast doubt on whether the burial depicted in the controversial video is even real and has accused the filmmakers of inciting racial hatred against Indians.
The organization says the film, which has been viewed by more than 500,000 people on video-sharing Web site Youtube, is a clear attempt to put pressure on the Brazilian government to pass legislation banning infanticide.
Since 2007, a group of lawmakers has been attempting to adopt legislation that would prosecute individuals who know infanticide is going to happen but fail to report it to authorities.
FUNAI believes the issue is best debated by Indians, anthropologists, human rights organizations and the UN.
The practice of infanticide will eventually die out on its own, said Saulo Ferreira Feitosa, a professor of bioethics at Brasilia University and vice president of the Catholic Indigenous Missionary Committee.
“Of the 250 indigenous tribes in Brazil, we think this practice still exists in only 13,” he said.
“This type of problem will not be solved with punitive legislation. If that were the case we would not have a million underground abortions” in Brazil, where the procedure is illegal, he said.
PRECARIOUS RELATIONS: Commentators in Saudi Arabia accuse the UAE of growing too bold, backing forces at odds with Saudi interests in various conflicts A Saudi Arabian media campaign targeting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has deepened the Gulf’s worst row in years, stoking fears of a damaging fall-out in the financial heart of the Middle East. Fiery accusations of rights abuses and betrayal have circulated for weeks in state-run and social media after a brief conflict in Yemen, where Saudi airstrikes quelled an offensive by UAE-backed separatists. The United Arab Emirates is “investing in chaos and supporting secessionists” from Libya to Yemen and the Horn of Africa, Saudi Arabia’s al-Ekhbariya TV charged in a report this week. Such invective has been unheard of
US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Canada that if it concludes a trade deal with China, he would impose a 100 percent tariff on all goods coming over the border. Relations between the US and its northern neighbor have been rocky since Trump returned to the White House a year ago, with spats over trade and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney decrying a “rupture” in the US-led global order. During a visit to Beijing earlier this month, Carney hailed a “new strategic partnership” with China that resulted in a “preliminary, but landmark trade agreement” to reduce tariffs — but
SCAM CLAMPDOWN: About 130 South Korean scam suspects have been sent home since October last year, and 60 more are still waiting for repatriation Dozens of South Koreans allegedly involved in online scams in Cambodia were yesterday returned to South Korea to face investigations in what was the largest group repatriation of Korean criminal suspects from abroad. The 73 South Korean suspects allegedly scammed fellow Koreans out of 48.6 billion won (US$33 million), South Korea said. Upon arrival in South Korea’s Incheon International Airport aboard a chartered plane, the suspects — 65 men and eight women — were sent to police stations. Local TV footage showed the suspects, in handcuffs and wearing masks, being escorted by police officers and boarding buses. They were among about 260 South
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) purge of his most senior general is driven by his effort to both secure “total control” of his military and root out corruption, US Ambassador to China David Perdue said told Bloomberg Television yesterday. The probe into Zhang Youxia (張又俠), Xi’s second-in-command, announced over the weekend, is a “major development,” Perdue said, citing the family connections the vice chair of China’s apex military commission has with Xi. Chinese authorities said Zhang was being investigated for suspected serious discipline and law violations, without disclosing further details. “I take him at his word that there’s a corruption effort under
RSS