To All Supporters of Labor and Democratic Rights
Dear Friends:
We just received the following appeal from Brazil. We urge
you to add your name (and that of your organization) in
support of this appeal. We will gather all the names and
send them collectively to the authorities in Brazil, with
an e-mail copy to the Brazilian Justice Committee (c/o State
Deputy Renato Simoes).
Bringing to justice the assassins of the leaders of Brazil's
peasant and rural workers' movements is a central task facing
supporters of labor and democratic rights worldwide.
As you know, the assassins of Chico Mendes, the legendary leader
of the Rubber Workers Union in the state of Acre, were openly
allowed to escape from jail after serving only a brief sentence.
Today Darcy Alves and his son, the men convicted in the assassination
of Chico Mendes, are scot-free. They have a large estate and even a
family store in the city of Rio Branco (Acre). The Brazilian
authorities have done nothing to apprehend Alves and his son and
return them to prison.
Moreover, the Brazilian government has refused to lift a finger to
detain and bring to justice the assassins of countless other leaders
of the workers' and peasants' movement of Brazil.
Now is the time to put an end to the killings. We must build a
mass-based international campaign to demand that those responsible
for the assassinations of Jurandir dos Santos and Roberto Duarte de
Oliveira be brought to justice.
Please send your endorsement to:
Open World Conference, c/o San Francisco Labor Council, 1188 Franklin St.
#203, San Francisco CA 94109. Fax: (415) 440-9297, or e-mail: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
or <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
In Solidarity,
Ed Rosario and Mya Shone,
co-coordinators,
Open World Conference in Defense of the Independence
of the Trade Unions and Democratic Rights
**************************************************
INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR JUSTICE
FOR JURANDIR DOS SANTOS & ROBERTO DUARTE DE OLIVEIRA
Open Letter to the Brazilian Authorities
To the attention of:
Mr. Renan Calheiros
Minister of Justice of Brazil
Esplanada dos Ministérios; Bloco T;
CEP 700064-900; Brasília; DF
Fax: 061-322-6817
Mr. Jose Afonso da Silva,
Minister of Public Security of Sao Paulo state
Av. Higienópolis 758
CEP 12380-000; São Paulo; SP
Fax: 011-3823-5708
Dear Messrs. Calheiros and Da Silva:
We the undersigned have been informed of a motion adopted
unanimously by the 96 families of the Santa Rita Encampment on
Jan. 5, 1999 that calls for:
"- a prompt investigation into the assassinations of Jurandir dos
Santos and Roberto Duarte de Oliveira, and
"- the immediate punishment of those responsible for these
assassinations."
What are the facts?
The motion adopted by the Santa Rita Encampment states the
following:
"Jurandir dos Santos and Roberto Duarte de Oliveira, both members
of the Movement of Landless Peasants of Brazil (MST), were last
seen the night of December 19, 1998, at the MST encampment of
Nova Esperança (New Hope) on the Santa Rita estate in the
township of Sao Jose dos Campos (state of Sao Paulo).
"They had taken off by foot to the closest town to do some shopping
for the upcoming Christmas holiday. En route they were
assassinated. Their bodies were found December 23. They had been
shot in the head at close range. Jurandir had been brutally tortured;
his body was severely slashed and several limbs were fractured.
"These crimes cannot go unpunished. The assassins seek to
intimidate the 96 families in the encampment [land occupation].
These are rural workers who are simply fighting for a small plot of
land so they can have the right to a future. The assassins wish to
silence the MST and prevent it from expanding its struggle for
agrarian reform in Brazil.
"We accuse:
"- the Federal Government of Brazil is responsible for these deaths
insofar it continues to refuse to implement an agrarian reform
program, thereby denying millions of rural Brazilians the most
elementary means of subsistence.
"- the large landowners (fazendeiros) are responsible for these
deaths, as they systematically hire armed goons (jagunços) who then
carry out the threats and ultimately the assassinations. The
landowners¹ association -- UDR -- was formed to prevent the
landless peasants from having access to the land. The UDR¹s
methods include the most heinous forms of terror and murder.
"We demand that the Brazilian authorities undertake a rigorous and
immediate investigation into the assassinations of Jurandir dos
Santos and Roberto Duarte de Oliveira, as well as the exemplary
punishment of the criminals.
"We will call on all supporters of democratic and human rights to
join us in support of our demands for:
"- Agrarian Reform. It¹s Everyone¹s Struggle!
"- Occupy, Resist, Produce!
"- Whereas the Landowners Want War, We Want Land!
"- Investigate the Assassinations of Jurandir dos Santos and
Roberto Durate de Oliveira and Punish those Responsible!
(motion approved by the general assembly of the 96 families at the
Santa Rita Encampment, January 5, 1999)
We the undersigned endorse the above statement and join our voices
to demand a thorough investigation into these two assassinations
and the punishment of those responsible.
Sincerely,
(initial list of endorsers of this appeal)
Journalists Union of the state of Sao Paulo; Public Service Workers
in Science and Technology; Municipal Workers Union of Sao Jose
dos Campos; Postal Workers Union of Sao Jose dos Campos;
Metalworkers Union of Sao Jose dos Campos; SEEC of Sao Jose
dos Campos; Industrial Kitchen Workers Union of Sao Jose dos
Campos; Workers Party (PT) of Maua; Workers Party (PT) of Poa;
Workers Party (PT) of Ribeirao Pires; Workers Party (PT) of Sao
Jose dos Campos; PSTU of Sao Jose dos Campos; PcdoB of Sao
Jose dos Campos; CA History Dept., USP; Dr. Denis Landyer
(lawyer); Milton Bueno de Almeida, City Councilperson (PY), Poa;
Renato Simoes, State Deputy for Sao Paulo and President of the
Commission on Human Rights of the Legislative Assembly of Sao
Paulo; MST of Sao Jose dos Campos; Nova Esperança (New Hope)
Encampment; MST of Sao Paulo.
* Please add your name to this list of endorsers. Send all copies
of your appeals and all letters of support to:
Justice Committee
Office of Deputy Renato Simoes
Assembléia Legislativa do Estado de São Paulo
Av. Pedro Alvares Cabral s/nº
Fax: 011-884-3986
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List
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The Year 2000 Bug - An Urgent Sustainability Issue
http://www.peg.apc.org/~psutton/grin-y2k.htm
LL:URGENT APPEAL: LANDLESS PEASANTS BRAZIL
Western Hemisphere Conference Wed, 13 Jan 1999 02:54:57 -0500
