PROVEA pulls the Venezuelan State up for failing Yanomami indians

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Sunday, April 27, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Venezuelan human rights groups PROVEA accuses the Venezuelan government of failing the Yanomami indians,  after assuming a formal commitment before the Inter American Human Rights Commission (IAHRC) to redress a massacre in 1993, when 12 Yanomamis were murdered by Brazilian wildcat miners in the border area of Haximu.

The case came to the attention of IAHRC in December 1996 and in 1999, the court reached a friendly agreement with the Venezuelan State to settle the matter of compensation with the Venezuelan government.

PROVEA's Marino Alvarado criticizes the government because it has boasted about its improving the lot of indigenous peoples but when it comes to the crunch, it leaves them suffering high levels of misery.

"Even though the crimes were committed by Brazilian miners, the Venezuelan State must assume some kind of responsibility."

Venezuela as a State has come under increasing criticism for its failure to comply with state obligations and IAHR Court rulings, especially in compensating victims of massacres by security forces during the last two decades ... El Amparo in 1988, Caracazo in 1989, just to mention two highly-profiled cases.