e Paz)

Number 157, December 01, 1994.

URBAN QUESTIONS

- Army accused of torture in shantytown.

Father Olinto Pegoraro, parish priest of the Catholic church in the Borel shantytown in the city of Rio de Janeiro, handed into the local regional commanding officer of the armed forces and to the archdiocesan offices, letters protesting alleged torture carried out by the soldiers who occupied the shantytown on November 25. Two thousand soldiers took part in the operation.

Father Pegoraro claims that approximately 15 people were tortured in the sacristy of the church during the army operation. Four residents already had medical examinations carried out and the results show that three have injuries which were likely caused by the kind of torture denounced. Pegoraro showed blood marks on the floor of the sacristy. "The church was occupied. Even I could not enter. I could only hear the screaming" he commented.

In a phone call to the Catholic Bishops' Conference (CNBB) on November 28, army spokes-person, General Gilberto Serra requested the help of the Church to monitor the army's presence in the shantytowns. According to General Serra, the Church is well accepted by the social movements and could help the army. The army so far has not accepted the denouncement of torture but claims that "justice will be done" if the practice of torture is confirmed.

The Torture Never Again (Tortura Nunca Mais) group plans to request the lawyers' association (OAB) to open a criminal case against those responsible for torture in the army operation in Rio. The president of the organization, Cecilia Coimbra, said that it is necessary to have official statements of the people who claim that they were tortured. "Brazil has signed two international agreements against torture" she commented. The governor of Rio, Nilo Batista, promised to ask the Secretariat of Justice to open an inquiry about the alleged cases of torture in Borel.

General Camara Senna who commands the Rio operation, in a meeting with town councilors from the city of Rio de Janeiro on November 22 commented when speaking of the army operation "Unfortunately some constitutional rights will be infringed. I recognize that liberties are being restricted. We are not a battalion of social workers. It is impossible to avoid one or other excess..... We are prepared for war and we did not ask to get into this situation".

LAND QUESTIONS

- Rancher claims he poisoned bishop.

An official statement released by the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops (CNBB) concerning the death of Irish-born Bishop Patrick Hanrahan of the Diocese of Conceicao do Araguaia on May 24, 1993 comments that the statement made by rancher Jairo de Andrade to the "O Estado de Sao Paulo" "demands a careful examination of the facts".

Andrade declared that he had poisoned Bishop Hanrahan. A spokesperson for the diocese commented that "the opinion of the doctors who attended him (Bishop Hanrahan) in Goiania does not support this possibility". The statement from the CNBB which was signed by its president, Archbishop Luciano Mendes de Almeida continues "As president of the CNBB, it is necessary to declare that the denouncement is serious and it obliges us to demand of the competent authorities a rigorous examination of the facts. There is no evidence of poisoning until this moment according to the doctor who wrote the death certificate of Bishop Hanrahan".

The CNBB statement adds "We lament however the increasing violence which afflicts the southern area of Para. The declarations published in the "O Estado de Sao Paulo" on the 5th. and on previous days are terrible and demand an urgent inquiry and intervention of the juridical and police authorities in order to prevent new excesses and inadmissible impunity following threats, tortures and assassinations".

- Expulsion of 70 families in State of Paraiba.

On November 04, 70 families had their houses demolished and 150 hectares of crops and a further 162 hectares of fruit trees destroyed by the bulldozers of rancher Jose Guilherme de Queiroz in Capim de Cheiro, municipality of Caapora situated in the coastal region of the State of Paraiba. As a result of the eviction, approximately 300 children have become homeless.

The struggle of the rural families in Capim de Cheiro dates back almost 70 years when the then landless families arrived and settled in the area. The land was regarded as being of poor quality and so their presence was not contested until 1975. From that year on, with the expansion of the plantation of sugar cane for the production of sugar and alcohol, neighboring ranches became interested in the Capim de Cheiro area.

In 1983 the Maravilha distillery (then known as the Cia. Acucareira de Goiania) began expanding its sugar cane plantations and encircled the Capim de Cheiro area of approximately 800 hectares. The rancher initially tried to buy out the families; some families accepted his proposal and he took ownership of 203 hectares divided in two lots. Since that date violence and intimidation against the families has been very common- this includes the kidnaping of members of families from the area, illegal imprisonment, destruction of crops and expulsion.

In 1986, INCRA (the government land agency) disappropriated the area but since it did not complete the necessary legal requirements within the time limit, the disappropriation process became null and void. In 1988, in an agreement drawn up between INCRA, the families, the local rural workers' union, the rancher, the local archdiocese and the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), INCRA agreed to purchase 550 hectares for the families. Once again INCRA failed to complete its promises and failed to pay the agreed amount. On November 04 last, the rancher with the help of hired gun-men and police evicted the families using a court order issued by the judge of Alhandra, Aluizio Bezerra Filho.

- Bishop and priest persecuted by judge in State of Bahia.

Participants at the 32nd Assembly of the North East 3 Region of the National Catholic Bishops of Brazil which took place recently in Salvador, Bahia, published a document of solidarity with Bishop Itamar Vian of the Diocese of Barra and Father Bartomeu Gorges of Buritirama. Both are victims of absurd accusations made by judge Jefferson Alves de Assis who since last year has been persecuting 25 rural families on the Cupins/Redencao ranch in the municipality of Buritirama.

The families in question have occupied this area for approximately 50 years. On October 20, 1993, the judge arrived with armed gun-men and destroyed their fences and burned some of the crops. He then fenced in an area traditionally used by the families as a source of wood used in their cooking fires. When the families removed the fence, the threats of the judge against them doubled.

Bishop Vian and Father Gorges denounced the violence committed by the judge to the competent authorities and to the press. As a result, the judge opened a court case against them where he accuses them of manipulation and agitation.

- Church group finds sub-human living conditions in charcoal furnaces and distilleries.

Members of the Migrants Pastoral were joined by trade unionists and members of human rights entities on a recent inspection visit to charcoal furnaces and distilleries in the States of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul. "We found a situation of penury and misery in which thousands of workers in both states find themselves" commented a spokesperson of the Migrants Pastoral.

Examples were given of the misery and penury. In the Itamarati distillery which is owned by the Brazilian "Soy King", industrialist Olacir de Moraes, three thousand migrants are employed. In one of the workers lodgings comprised of ten sheds, two thousand men live in precarious conditions. In the Sonora distillery, 900 Terena indians work cutting sugar cane. In the Jaciara distillery in Mato Grosso, 2500 men from the States of Minas Gerais, Bahia, Alagoas and Sao Paulo work and live also in precarious conditions. In the charcoal furnaces, the employees work in temperatures which range between 40 and 45 degrees. Most do not know who their employer is because they are contracted by middle-men and so cannot claim benefits after work accidents.

- The UDR has become extinct.

The Democratic Rural Union (UDR) which has been accused in recent years of promoting violence especially against landless rural workers and farmers without documents (posseiros) decided to disband at a recent assembly in Brasilia. The decision affects the organization at national level only since regional sections of the organization will be allowed to continue. Deputy Ronaldo Caido, a founder member and leader of the UDR claimed that the decision was taken due to lack of mobilization by the large ranchers.

ECOLOGY

- Recent ecology news.

The following is a summary of the news items carried by the principal Brazilian newspapers during recent days dealing with ecology. The date is given for each summary and the newspapers are identified as follows:

FSP = Folha de Sao Paulo.

OESP = O Estado de Sao Paulo.

November 24, 1994.

- An unknown virus has been killing large numbers of catfish on the southern coast of Sao Paulo. IBAMA (the government environmental agency) has prohibited the sale of catfish in the States of Sao Paulo, Parana and Santa Catarina. (FSP).

- The Legislative Assembly of Sao Paulo has approved the sale of a third of the shares of the state electricity company - Eletropaulo. The project was discussed at length previously with firms interested in making such purchases. The PSDB party which is taking over the state government in January claims that a bargain has already been made with such groups. (FSP).

- President-elect Fernando Henrique Cardoso plans to complete the Transamazonian highway investing over US $2 billion in the project. The highway was started in 1970 and construction stopped in 1978. 3664 of the planned 5619 kms. were constructed at a cost of US $1.5 billion. Maintenance of large sections of the highway has not been kept up and the forest has re-covered such sections. (OESP).

- The Angra 1 nuclear station has begun to test its' security system after having remained 20 months idle. The tests are surrounded by controversy since the local municipality of Angra dos Reis formally withdrew from the commission which is preparing the plan for the withdrawal of the local population. It holds that the plan is not adequate. (FSP).

- The Municipal Legislature of Salvador, State of Bahia has been discussing noise pollution. 80% of the complaints to the Municipal Secretariat of the Environment deal with this problem. (FSP).

November 25.

- Angra 1 nuclear station will start functioning next week. The security tests were carried out without any serious problems. (FSP).

November 26.

- With an increase of 11% in the number of vehicles on the streets, the traffic control company in Sao Paulo is wasting more time with traffic jams, more fuel is being used and the air is more polluted. (OESP).

November 27.

- 95 of the more polemical law proposals were left by the Senate for next year. Such proposals include the question of patents and the participation of non government companies in the electricity sector. (OESP).

November 28.

- Cocaine has become an attractive investment in the Amazon; the financial returns are higher than on any other investment. In the town of Tabatinga which is separated by an avenue from the Colombian town of Leticia, the number of local inhabitants interested in drug traffic is on the increase. Leticia is the headquarters of the third largest drug cartel in the world. (FSP).

CHILDREN'S ISSUES

- A child's dream.

On November 21 a video called "A Child's Dream" (Sonho de Crianca) was launched in Goiania, State of Goias. The video which deals with rural child labor in Goias was produced by a number of entities from the areas of human rights and trade unions in the state.

The chief proposal of the video is to let children describe their work reality. They speak of their work, their salary, the use of their salary and they describe their lives and their dreams. The video shows the work situation of children during the harvesting of sugar cane, tomatoes, cotton and onions and it encourages a debate about child labor.

According to Isidoro Revers of the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) of Goias, one of the sponsors of the video, the parents are often the first to react against the proposal of not letting children work since the money they earn helps to increase the meager family income. In some cases, the children earn more than adults especially in the harvesting of tomatoes and onions. The video hopes to promote a discussion on this question as well as on the question of the middle-men (known as gatos) who are responsible for the hiring of the children. In many instances because they are contracted by middle-men the children do not know who they are working for. Thus when problems such as work accidents arise, the owners do not take responsibility. In a debate the legal responsibilities of the middle-men need to be clarified and if necessary new legislation made in this area.

- Thought provoking statistics.

In a survey of young offenders carried out during last August in the 2nd. Juvenile Court in the city of Rio de Janeiro some thought provoking statistics emerged:

- 70% of the offenders live in less favored communities and 7% have no fixed address.

- 40% are illiterate; 50% did not complete their primary education.

- 72% of the young offenders stole in order to survive, because of hunger or because of pressure put on them by adults.

CHURCHES

- The Catholic Bishops' Conference requests measures against social injustice.

A document prepared in recent days by the Catholic Bishops' Conference (CNBB) will be presented to the president-elect Fernando Henrique Cardoso, to the judiciary, and to the governors, senators and members of Congress recently elected.

The document remembers that this is a time of hope in Brazil especially in the possibility of changes for the better. The document claims that conditions are present to bring about a better Brazil. Some such conditions are listed:

- The recent elections which were democratic despite some isolated incidents of fraud.

- Civil society which is now more organized and conscientious and wishes to exercise the citizenship which for so long it was prohibited to do. The CNBB believes that the people are now ready to participate in a project for the common good.

- The population is beginning to be more secure since the financial plan in July even though there are some doubts about the final consequences of this plan. The plan demands measures to end the shameful "social aparteid" which exists in the country.

- Now that the elections are over it is necessary to seek new directions where an openness, transparency and ethical criteria will be characteristics of the action of the state.

Given the above outlined favorable conditions, the CNBB requests sensitivity to the drama that millions of Brazilians excluded from the system face. The document remembers that Brazil is not an under-developed country but an unjust nation. Thus it demands that lack of equality in the economy, in social relationships and in political life be overcome. It recognizes that there would be obstacles - both international and national, to such a project.

The CNBB claims that there are two fundamental questions which need to be debated by society and defined by the incoming government. The first question is the model of development which will be chosen - it is necessary to clarify what is this model, to whom it is directed and how it will be carried out. The human person and the quality of life should be central to this model.

In the second place the document claims that the political participation of society should be amplified in all decisions which are of public interest especially those which affect directly the well-being of the population and its basic needs. The judiciary has an important role since the increasing violence in the country demands that the population can trust in the law and the equality of the law for all. The legislature on the other hand will need to examine important constitutional matters. The population expects that decisions made in Congress will not favor interest groups but the country and the population in general.

Finally, the document calls attention to such very urgent questions. These include:

- The widening difference between rich and poor regions in the country.

- Education and health need very especial attention.

- While economic stability is necessary, it is essential that this process will not cut back on the value of salaries.

- The causes of violence need to be examined. While violence needs to be combated this cannot be done by disregarding constitutional rights.

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