Dozens of indigenous protesters blocked the entrance to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Brazil on Friday to spotlight their struggle in the Amazon, prompting high-level interventions to defuse the situation.
The protest lasted about two hours, but intensified concerns over security at COP30 after a demonstration on Tuesday in which indigenous activists stormed the conference venue.
About 60 men and women in tribal garb and headdresses, some carrying babies, formed a human barricade at the main summit entrance as tens of thousands of delegates were arriving.
Photo: AFP
Dozens of armed soldiers and military police were guarding the venue entrance, but the UN said in a message to attendees that there was “no danger.”
Beneath a blazing sun, the group demanded a meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and stood their ground as diplomats were ushered through side doors into the venue.
“Come on, Lula, show yourself!” shouted indigenous leader Alessandra Korap. “We want to be heard, we also want to participate in the negotiations,” she added. “We have too many problems.”
COP30 president Andre Correa do Lago skipped a morning event to meet with the group, accepting the hand of one protester and at another point, holding a baby in a feathered headpiece.
The demonstrators had “strong and very legitimate concerns,” Correa do Lago said after the consultations in a nearby hall where indigenous people of all ages sang, danced and chanted.
“We had a very positive, very constructive dialogue,” he said.
After a second intervention that lasted many hours, Correa do Lago said: “You can be sure that this government will defend you at COP30” and denied there was any “threat” to their rights.
The protesters, from the Munduruku community, are seeking to advance the process of demarcating their traditional homelands.
They also contest the so-called Ferrograo project, a nearly 1,000km railway intended to cross Brazil from west to east to transport grain.
“Fighting for our territories is fighting for our lives,” read a banner held by one demonstrator.
Lula is a self-proclaimed ally of the indigenous cause.
He has advanced recognition of tribal groups, cut deforestation in the Amazon and appointed a widely respected figure to head the first-ever Ministry of Indigenous Peoples.
However, many deplore the slow pace of demarcating indigenous lands and oil exploration launched last month near the mouth of the Amazon.
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