Dozens of Indigenous protesters clashed with security on Tuesday at the COP30 climate summit in Belem, Brazil, attempting to force their way into the main venue.
The demonstrators, shouting slogans and waving flags calling for land rights, demanded access to the UN compound where thousands of delegates from around the world are attending this year’s climate talks. Some carried signs reading “Our land is not for sale.”
Gilmar, an Indigenous leader from the Tupinamba community near the Tapajos River, told news agency Reuters, “We can’t eat money. We want our lands free from agribusiness, oil exploration, illegal miners, and illegal loggers.”
Security personnel pushed the protesters back, using tables to barricade entrances. Witnesses reported one guard being rushed away in a wheelchair and another sustaining a head injury from a heavy object thrown by the crowd. Several batons were confiscated.
The protesters, who had marched in a group of hundreds to the venue, dispersed shortly after the clash. Security later allowed delegates to exit the compound once the area was cleared.
Brazilian authorities referred questions to the United Nations, which oversees security inside the compound, and the UN had not immediately responded. President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva has emphasised Indigenous communities as key participants in this year’s negotiations, while Indigenous leaders like Chief Raoni Metuktire have called for stronger protections to preserve the Amazon.
– Ends
With inputs from Reuters
