Yanomami Indians seize plane in health protest

Yanomami and Yekuana health is suffering as thou-
sands of goldminers operate illegally on their land.

Yanomami Indians in the Brazilian Amazon have captured an airplane used by health workers, in protest at corruption within the health service.

The Yanomami are outraged by the nomination of a new indigenous health coordinator, who has little connection with indigenous peoples, and who is thought to be favored for political reasons. Yekuana Indians have also joined the protest. In 2007 political appointees to the regional health office were arrested in a major police operation, which revealed that US$19 million designated for indigenous health care had been stolen.

In a letter sent from the Yanomami organization Hutukara to the Minister of Health, the Indians state, ‘We are very angry… the politicians did not consult the leaders in the Yanomami territory. We do not know what the authorities are up to behind closed doors, when it comes to the health situation’.

Last month, Yanomami protested outside the regional health authorities’ office, and held another plane captive in the Yanomami territory.