[resent due to accented characters destroying the post; I hope this solves the problem. -rkm] ~-===================================================================-~ PEOPLES PRESS INTERNATIONAL (PPI) - a public service of CADRE (Citizens for a Democratic Renaissance) - http://cyberjournal.org - all stories copyrighted - republication permission given for non-commercial and small-press use only http://cyberjournal.org/cadre/PPI-archives - - - Since sending this posting, Cesar's email address has become unreachable. We at CADRE are concerned that he may have been the vicitim of some kind of pressure by Brazilian authorities. Besides responding to the call Cesar makes to write to the Brazilian government, we also request that anyone who is in Rio make an effort to contact Cesar and then to reassure us that he is OK. -Editor ~-===================================================================-~ 002-ALERT>Brazil Massacre ** ALERT - ACTION REQUESTED ** "MURDER OF PEASANT LEADERS IN BRAZIL" Rio de Janeiro, 28 March 1998 Cesar Roberto <•••@••.•••> Dear friends: The translation sent below was received from Marko Ajdaric, a journalist who issues a daily newsletter focused on Brazilian popular movements called "A Luta Continua" (the fight goes on): <•••@••.•••> I am sending the bad news of the murder of two peasant leaders in Northern Brazil, Onalício Araujo Barros and Valentim Serra, by local landlords. They were members of MST (The Landless Movement). MST is a nonpartisan league of peasants that has been very successful both in pushing the agrarian reform onwards and in managing prosperous cooperative farms with the help of technicians and teachers in former derelict or nonproductive lands. Some months ago Time magazine published a very sympathetic report on MST, although it ironically said something about a melt of Che Guevara with capitalistic management witty. Well, Brazil is a fierce capitalist country and the accelerated mechanization of farm lands is driven millions of peasants and little farmers out from work. MST appeals for a wordwide protest addressed to the President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Fernando Henrique Cardoso (see below). He is a "soi disant" social-democrat who is strongly supported by the most right-wing parties, including landlords. The President will certainly answers on the ground of Federalist juridical technicalities, because these crimes fall under the jurisdiction of State police and courts. It is a half-truth, since there is a remarkable lack of political will by the neoliberal government of Brazil in promoting the legal amendments needed to make such crimes fall under Federal jurisdiction, that has been much less subject to the influence of local politics. Furthermore, the victims were survivors from the massacre of 16 peasants by the State of Para's military police in 1996 in the same county of Eldorado dos Carajas, a crime that is unpunished till today. By the way, massacres of peasants and small farmers usually get no punishment at all. in solidarity, Cesar Roberto •••@••.••• 1848 / 1998: Proletarier aller Lander, vereinigt euch ! ======================================= From: "Marko Ajdaric" <•••@••.•••> To: <•••@••.•••> Subject: Murder_of_Landless_Leaders_in_Brazil._URGENT_! Date: Sat, 28 Mar 1998 16:50:17 This is our translation from the official notice of the MST (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra). Please, do forward and/or come visit our home page. We will be updating the news and issuing other resources as well as newspaper issuings in French, Italian and others available. http://www.angelfire.com/ok/markoajdaric/index.html The murder of Onalício Araujo Barros and Valentim Serra a.. MURDER OF TWO MST LEADERS IN THE REGION OF ELDORADO DOS CARAJAS - PARA - BRAZIL. While Brazilian government delivered to the Pope John Paul II its justifications on the agrarian situation in Brazil, the MST leaders, Onalicio Araujo Barros (also known as "Fusquinha") and Valentin Serra ( nicknamed "Doutor") were executed by farmers. The crime occurred on March 26th in the township called Parauapebas (Para', northern Brazil, in the Amazon region). They were negotiating an area to settle the landless families who had to leave a farm they have been occupying. 01. OCCUPATION At the dawn of March 14th, about 550 families occupied the farm "Goias II", 1,487 hectares wide. This area is unproductive and is maintained forcefully by a farmer called Carlos Antonio da Costa. 02. THE NEGOTIATION On March 18th, Carlos Antonio da Costa asked at the local tribunal to maintain the ownership of the farm, thus having the right to expel the landless workers. Still on March 18th, the local judge Maria Vitoria Torres assigned him this right. From this day on, two agents of the local justice visited the settling frequently, admonishing the landless workers. On March 26th, in the afternoon, these agents entered the settlement, followed by ten military policemen. The Para's Security State Secretary , Paulo S. Camara, told the MST that the Military Policy would not be used against the workers. After a short negotiation, the landless workers decided to go away, leaving the the farm Goias II. 03. LEAVING THE FARM Close to 5:00 P.M., the workers began to leave the area. Soon there a group of 30 gunmen arrived at the farm, commanded by well known farmers (Donizete, Lazinho, Nozinho, Antonio Barcelos, Luciano Sartorio and Carlos Antonio da Costa himself). They began to provoke the workers, who did not react to the offenses. 04. THE SHOOTING Close to 5:00 P.M., the workers were already some 3 miles away from the farm, and arrived to the settlement called Carajas III (Vila Cedere I). Two MST leaders in Para, Onalicio Araujo Barros and Valentin Serra, decided after consulting their fellows, to camp there. The gunmen, farmers and policemen who were following the workers, reached them. Two farmers, Donizete and Carlos Antonio da Costa, shot Valentin twice in the chest. Onalicio ran, trying to reach the road. While he tried to escape, Donizete shot him in the back. The group of gunmen put Valentin in a car and flew away at high speed. Valentin was found dead, near to a river, some 2,5 miles away, half-buried. He has been evidently spanked to death. [from now on, abridged] 05. IMPUNITY The state of Para is marked by violence. The Military Police and the farmers kill because they know that the justice benefits only rich people. In last 2 years, 30 agricultural workers in the region called Grande Carajas have been assassinated. [Onset in our home page] 06. THE RESPONSIBILITY We do affirm that President Fernando Henrique Cardoso has responsibility in this issue , since he is supposed to be running an agrarian reform in Brazil. However, he has only taken palliative actions, always trying to benefit his allied state governors with propaganda based on non accomplished deeds. On March 18th, the Federal Government launched a few measures stimulating the use of armed strength against the landless workers. 07. THE DEMANDS These deaths only do confirm the innability of Brazilian Federal Government to attain a solution for the agrarian problems. We demand: 1) Immediate settling of all families that have already entered non profitable farms; 2) An effective agrarian reform; 3) Punishment for the culprits of all deaths of agricultural workers that fought for the agrarian reform. a.. 08. SOLIDARITY b.. c.. We do invite all the persons and organizations to express their opinion on this facts to the President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, urging for an immediate agrarian reform and punishment for those guilty of landless workers deaths. d.. e.. Please write to: f.. g.. Presidente da Republica h.. Fernando Henrique Cardoso i.. Palacio do Planalto j.. 70150-900 - Brasília - DF - Brasil k.. 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