Furthermore, the Government had carried out a $1.7 million operation from November 1997 to January 1998 through which 800 non-indigenous goldminers had been expelled from the Yanomami territory.

46. The Vice-President of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, Mr. Ingmar Egede, referred to the recent tragic killing of Brazilian Yanomami, including women and children, due to the influx of goldminers into their territory, and proposed that a message of solidarity be sent to the Yanomami people on behalf of the participants in the Consultation and that an appeal be sent to the Secretary-General of the United Nations to take all necessary action for the protection of the Yanomami.