April 1, 2020 will be one for the history books for the indigenous Ashaninka people of Brazil. On this special day the Prosecutor General of the Republic, Augusto Aras, registered an unheard of settlement. He guaranteed reparations for crimes that were committed on Ashaninka land nearly 40 years ago. The agreement awards the indigenous people compensation of nearly 3 million US dollars. Most importantly, it awards an apology from the offenders. (1)

The crime? From 1981 to 1987, Illegal loggers brazenly cut down thousands of cedar, mahogany, and other important tree species, to supply the European furniture industry. They clearcut a full quarter of the indigenous reserve, land they had no right to work on. Francisco Piyãko is now a leader in the Ashaninka community. But he was a small child when the illegal loggers were destroying his land. “What matters to us is what this agreement represents for the Ashaninka cause and how it can have repercussions in affirming the rights and values of the indigenous peoples in a broader sense,” explained Piyãko.

Dispute With Illegal Loggers Is Decades Old

This battle has been simmering since 1996, when the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) brought a Public Civil Action against the illegal loggers that had been pillaging the Ashaninka people’s land. These logging companies, owned by the powerful Cameli family, are well-connected. 

The Ashaninka people won the initial court case, and they even won appeals too. They won their case in the Superior Court of Justice, the highest appellate court in all the land, but suddenly the case was stalled when it was taken to the Supreme Court.

The current governor of Acre, the Brazillian state where the illegal loggers did the damage, is Gladson Cameli. His uncle, Orleir Cameli, was governor of this state at one time too. He was in office from 1994 to 1998. (1)  

With the case stalled and both sides unwilling to budge, and extrajudicial settlement was imposed. After a full year of negotiations, the terms of an agreement were finally satisfactory to both sides. “It was a great challenge for everyone because the negotiation involved large sums and constitutional questions. It required a lot of study, partners and various public authorities to analyze each detail,” observes Antônio Rodrigo, attorney for the Ashaninka.

“This is the first time in the history of Brazilian law that something like this happened. I’m so proud. It was hard, but wonderful,” he said. (1)

Illegal Loggers Making Amends

The restitution will be paid to the Ashaninka people in installments over the course of five years. How the money will be used will be decided each year as the group convenes for their annual meeting. The agreement stipulates that the money must be used for projects “in defense of the community itself, the Amazon, the indigenous peoples and the peoples of the forest.” (1)

In addition to the compensation they are required to make to the Ashaninka people, the illegal loggers are also required to pay another 1.2 million to the Human Rights Defense Fund. This is compensation for the general harm that they’ve caused to society through their actions.

While the money is nice, for the Ashaninka people it’s the apology that matters more. To Piyãko, the apology is a victory for all the traditional peoples of the world. Those who have experienced the theft of their lands and traditional ways of life.

“Many indigenous communities have to see themselves in this acknowledgement, because there are things that cannot be paid in money,” he said. “Our intention is for this official apology to be the recognition of an error committed and (a promise) that, from this point on, it will be repeated no longer. And let it serve as a reference for other companies, because some laws and rights must be regarded and respected.” (1)