e Paz)

Number 158, December 08, 1994.

LAND ISSUES

- International case brought against Brazilian government.

The Inter-American Commission for Human Rights has notified the Brazilian government that it has opened a case against it. The Commission has requested more information relating to deaths and threats in the Rio Maria and Xinguara regions in the south of the State of Para. The government has 90 days to reply and after considering the case, the Commission may condemn Brazil for its neglect in defending human rights.

The case was brought to the Commission (which is linked to the UN) by the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), Human Rights Watch/ Americas and the Center of International Justice and Law. The Brazilian government was denounced for having violated several items of international law including the right to life, physical integrity and protection of the individual which it had agreed to uphold when it signed the American Convention of Human Rights.

Amongst examples pointed to in the denouncement is the apparent participation of police in the crimes in Xinguara where five people have been assassinated, a further two people escaped attempts on their lives and 40 are on a death list. People in this region who have prison orders decreed against them have not been arrested. Impunity in the south of Para also figures in the denouncement. Here, 190 rural workers have been assassinated since 1980. Many are on death lists including three Catholic priests - Ricardo Rezende, Benedito Rodrigues Costa and Henri des Roziers.

- Significant price rises in land values during 1994.

According to a study carried out by the Center of Agricultural Studies (CEA) which is attached to the Gertulio Vargas Foundation (FGV), the sale value of land has increased significantly during 1994. When compared with the second half of 1993, the prices of land which was sold during the first half of 1994 increased by just over 23%.

Maria Jose Cyhlar Monteiro who was involved in the study explained that the chief reason for the increase were the uncertainties caused in the pre-election and the pre -economic plan (Plano Real) period. In such circumstances land became an alternative form of investment.

CHILDREN

- Malnutrition of children greater than official figures.

Data collected by the Committees of Citizen Action in the entire country and catalogued by the National Council for Food Security shows that the malnutrition levels of children in many parts of the country are significantly higher than those given by official figures.

Data was collected in 15 states relating to 300 thousand children and alarming statistics emerge. In Rui Barbosa, State of Bahia, for example, 68.2% of the children who attend public clinics suffer from malnutrition. Even in richer regions of Brazil, malnutrition levels are high. For example, on the periphery of Curitiba (State of Parana) of 16347 children examined, 5358 (32.8%) presented symptoms of malnutrition. In the State of Rio Grande do Sul, 93 thousand children were examined and 17.5% (16254) were found to be suffering from malnutrition.

In the city of Samambaia situated 20 kms. from the Brasilia headquarters of the Ministry of Health, 28.2% of the children were found to be malnourished. Almost half of this total (46.9%) were categorized as being gravely malnourished showing such symptoms as swollen hands and stomachs.

Meanwhile in the State of Alagoas a low cost project reduced drastically the rate of infant mortality due to malnutrition. During the first six months of 1994, the town of Teotonio Vilela registered 377 deaths of children per thousand births. With the distribution of basic food baskets and basic medical attention, the death rates of children dropped in October to one child.

"It is not a miracle that caused the drop in infant mortality. The children are surviving because they now have begun to eat with the free food distribution" commented the mayor of the town Florentino Santana. According to the municipal Secretary of Health, Eugenio Costa Melo, the infant mortality rate is directly related to a situation of misery in which the majority of the population finds itself. Over 90% of the 34 thousand local population works in the sugar cane plantations. Between crops, the local population has no income.

- Protest by street children.

Almost 400 adolescent prostitutes, all street-children, protested on November 24 in Recife against the lack of funds and resources being made available to the Casa de Passagem, (a reception center for such adolescents) in the city.

The Casa de Passagem which attends approximately five thousand poor girls runs the risk of closure due to lack of funds. It needs just over US $400 thousand each year to function; approximately US $16 thousand of this total comes from government funds. A further US $300 thousand comes from foreign groups and agencies. At the moment funds are lacking for medicines, food and other bills.

SOCIAL QUESTIONS

- Migration from the north-east to south has decreased.

According to data of the 1991 census recently published migration from the north-east of Brazil has decreased. Now, migrants from the north-east tend to move to the cities of the region. The reason for the decline in the movement south seems to have been the decrease of jobs in industry and construction in that region.

In Bahia, a significant increase in the capital, Salvador, can be attributed to local migration. While the population increase in the entire State of Bahia was 25.52% between 1980 and 1991, in the city of Salvador it was 38.16%. This represents a growth in the state from 9.45 million in 1980 to 11.86 million in 1991 and from 1.5 million to 2.07 million in the city of Salvador during the same period. In the State of Bahia, the urban population made up 49.29% of the total in 1980 and 59.12% in 1991.

HUMAN RIGHTS

- Survey shows chaos in prison system

VEJA (30 Nov.) ran an article showing the chaos that exists

in the penitentiary system in the country. The weekly gave the

following figures taken from a recent survey done by the Ministry

of Justice on the situation of prisons in Brazil. This census

clearly demonstrated that the overwhelming majority of the

prison population are poor and that the overpopulation of the

prisons has reached alarming levels.

The following are some the the statistics highlighted in the

census.

- There are 129,169 prisoners in Brasil.

- 42,954, or 33% of the total, are in local public jails, but

should be in the State penitentiaries.

- 59,954 cells have to be created in order to house the

prisoners. This would necessitate 120 new prisons at a cost of

$1.5 billion.

- The UN recommends 4 sq. meters per prisoner . Brazilian law

recommends 6 sq. meters, but the best of the prisons give a

little more than 1 sq. meter per person.

- 95% of the prisoners are poor.

- 96% are male.

- 12% have no access to any type of juridical assistance.

- 74% of the prisoners have not finished grammar school.

- The medium age of prisoners is 30 years.

- For every 10 prisoners, 3 have children

- For every 10 prisoners, 3 committed minor crimes like, stealing

bricks, or a can of milk.

- At the end of a prison term, 7 out of 10 return to prison.

- For every 59 homicides that occur in the country, one occurs in

prison.

- For every 10 suicides committed in the country, one occurs in

prison.

- The penitentiary system spends $9.41 daily for each prisoner.

The Council responsible for the survey plans to recommend

that the community service aspect in sentencing be broadened. In

Brazil at the present time there are 3 types of alternative

sentencing. In the US, there are 18 and in England 11. Another

alternative, that the survey recommends would be the use of an

electronic bracelet to monitor prisoners outside of the prison.

It is calculated that 3 out of every 10 prisoners could be on

this alternative program because of the minor crimes that were

committed.

The president of the National Council that did the survey

almost had the survey called into question when he recommended

chemical castration as a punishment for those convicted of rape.

Helio Bicudo, federal deputy from Sao Paulo, states that

these facts presented in the survey are proof that the

penitentiary system does not produce what it sets out to produce: justice.

CHURCHES

- 7th Pastoral Plan of the Archdiocese of Sao Paulo.

Late in November, members from various communities and

parishes of the Archdiocese of Sao Paulo came together in

assembly and chose a series of activities that will become the

7th Pastoral Plan of the Archdiocese. The plan has the following

dimensions.

A. The Communitarian and Participative Dimension

- Creation of a coordination of the Pastoral of the

Archdiocese.

- Celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Archdiocese

and the 50th anniversary of priesthood of Cardinal Arns.

- Stimulate courses in theology for laity.

B. Missionary Dimension

- Begin again "Operation Periphery".

- Re-animate the project "Sister Churches"

- Formation of a permanent Missionary Center.

- Promote workshops on the Urban Pastoral.

C. Biblical-catechetical Dimension.

- Begin a Biblical-catechetical school

- Founding of a Biblical-catechetical Center with special

attention for catechetics in schools.

D. Liturgical Dimension.

- Re-doing the leaflet, "Povo de Deus em Sao Paulo", giving

it a face of the church in Sao Paulo.

- Revision of the Sacramental Pastoral, adopting it to the

urban reality.

- Create archdiocesan teams for the Baptism, Matrimony and

Health Pastorals.

E. Ecumenical Pastoral and Religious Dialogue Dimension.

- Re-organizing and improving the Week of Prayer for

Christian Unity.

F. Social Transformation Dimension.

- Coordination and interchange between the Social Pastorals

of the Archdiocese.

- Articulating the pastoral of those on the fringes of

society.

- Re-vitalizing the Week of Faith and Social Commitment.

- A rally at the Plaza da Se on the health of the people of

the city.

- Reflection on the city level for the whole year on the

theme of the Lenten Campaign.

- A prophetic celebration of unity and pastoral life of the

Archdiocese on the feast of Corpus Christi.

- Formation of laity, religious and priests to be active in

the area of communications.

- Re-structuring of the Human Rights team and that of Faith

and Politics in the light of the general objective of pastoral

action.

The general objective of the Pastoral Action of the Church

of Sao Paulo will be: "To evangelize the city of Sao Paulo

through the urban pastoral , renovating the life of the ecclesial

communities, hearing and responding with solid action to the

cries of the people, especially, those excluded from work,

health, housing and education.

The new Pastoral Plan is seen as a continuation of the

previous one, with the addition of the priority on Education and

with particular emphasis on the "excluded".

INTERNATIONAL

- Effects of US election on Latin America

A well-known sociologist and economist, Jorge Castaneda,

wrote in the FOLHA DE SAO PAULO (Dec.5) giving his comments on

how the Republican Party winning both Houses of Congress in the

recent elections in the US will hurt Latin America. He views

Clinton as a president who is not dead but seriously wounded due

to the victory of the Republican Party. In the area of foreign

policy, Clinton's agenda is frozen until 1996. The new Republican

leaders in Congress and the Senate, Gingrich and Helms, have

stated clearly that they want to present a new orientation to the

American foreign policy. They have expressed opposition to GATT,

the US participation in missions under UN command and the sending

troops to Haiti and other countries. For Castaneda, this ambience

will make it very difficult to concretize the hopes of the Latin

American presidents that meet this week in Miami.

Castaneda sees a serious defect in American democracy. This

past election showed a large abstention of poor voters - black

and hispanic, and the high participation of anglo-saxon,

suburban, middle and upper class whites. The Republican victory

was a victory of the homogeneous majority of a minority. This

latter represented 50% of the 35% who voted. Castaneda sees what

happened to Clinton is the same that happened to Carter. Both

hoped that what happened to Roosevelt in 1938 and Johnson in 1964

would not happen to them. Clinton believed that Roosevelt and

Johnson moved too far to the left and the middle class abandoned

them. So, Clinton began moving more to the right so that the same

thing would not happen to him, i.e., the loss of the middle class. By doing this, Clinton lost the traditional electorate of the Democratic Party - the poor, which abstained from voting. In recent years, Clinton sacrificed the health reform program, got approval of an anti-crime bill and approval of NAFTA. The conservative voters did not like this latter and the progressive voters did not forgive Clinton for his abandoning the former.

Castaneda feels that the impulse given to these new leaders

of Congress will not limit itself to the traditional themes of

classical Republicanism. It will include a culture of extremism,

noted for its "phobias" i.e., anti-abortion, anti-immigration, anti-gay, pro-religion and an exultation of American "values". These 'dogmas' for the new leadership of Congress are not negotiable. The clintonian disposition for conciliation will enter in shock with the conservative fervor of the christian right. This could cause serious turbulence at least in two areas of importance for Latin America. The first being the combat against drug trafficking. Republicans give great importance to this subject. Many Reagan extremists of the anti-drug crusade days of the 1980s hold positions in the new right. Under the new Republican leadership strong emphasis will be placed on conditioning all type of support, commercial preferences and north-american finances on accepting the program of the Republican right. Washington's interference in the anti-drug war could be intensified within each country of Latin America. Especially, if the countries of this region do not declare war

against drugs.

But for Castaneda, the more negative consequences of the

Nov. 8th elections, a conservative tidalwave, will be in respect

to the immigration question. The new Republican majority in

Washington has an immigration agenda and will carry it forth.

This past election has shown that the immigration question stirs

up the middle class, especially, the racist middle class which

disapproves of the presence of foreigners, namely those from

Latin America.

Castaneda feels that the new right, if they do not push for

a federal equivalent to Proposition 187, which seeks to take away

the rights to education, health care for undocumented workers and

their families, they will favor changes in the immigration law

that will restrict the entrance of undocumented workers. He

believes the era of liberal immigration to the US is over as well

as the era in which immigration issues remained outside of the

area of hemispheric negotiation. There are many Latin American

countries that send a high percentage of their population to the

US.- 5% in some cases and 10% in others, Mexico, almost all of

Central America, a good part of the Caribbean, Columbia, Equador

and Peru.

INDIGENOUS

The following material has been translated and placed on our conference by the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI).

Newsletter n. 141

TRIAL OF THE ACCUSED IN THE TIKUNA MASSACRE MAY BE POSTPONED

The trial of the murderers of fourteen Tikuna Indians in March 1988 in the Brazilian State of Amazonas is in danger of being postponed again. Although the trial was scheduled to begin on 12th December, the Court of Justice of the State of Amazonas claims that it lacks the necessary funding to transport the thirteen defendants, and the witnesses and indians who survived the massacre, roughly one thousand kilometers to Manaus for trial. Possibly the Court is using this argument in an attempt to counter the mobilization which has resulted from the efforts of Indian and Indigenist organizations who have been mobilizing support to ensure that the murderers come to trial and are punished.

The fourteen Tikuna Indians were murdered near the town of Benjamin Constant, on the Brazilian frontier with Peru and Colombia. The Indians were gathered at the village of Sa~o Leopoldo, on the banks of the Solimo~es river when they were surprised by a group of men who arrived firing guns. Only four bodies were located, the others having been carried away by the river. The murder was organized by a lumber man, Oscar Castelo Branco, who at that time was living illegally on the Tikuna lands. The murdererswere at one point arrested by the Federal Police, but were released by a writ of Habeas Corpus.

So as to avoid the anti-Indian bias which is prevalent in Benjamin Constant, a petition was made to hold the trial in Manaus. Only in April of this year, however, did the Court of Justice consent to the transfer.

PAIAKAN ACQUITTED

Kayapo' Chief Paulinho Paiakan and his wife Irekran, who were accused of having sexually abused a student named Silvia Leticia, were acquitted this week at a trial in the town of Redengco in the State of Para'. In sentencing the judge stated that there was no material evidence that the crime had ever taken place.

Paiakan became known internationally when he received the Global 500 Award from the United Nations in recognition of his efforts to preserve the environment. Paiakan has spent the last two years judicially confined to his village in the Kayapo' Indian Area, awaiting trial.

Brasi'lia, 1st December 1994

CIMI - The Indigenous Missionary Council.

CHIEF OF THE XUKURU-KARIRI MURDERED AT FAZENDA CANTO

Recent land conflicts between Indians and farmers lead to the first murder at Palmeira dos I'ndios in the State of Alagoas.

At dusk on Monday 14th November the Chief of the Xukuru-Kariri community at Fazenda Canto, LUZANEL RICARDO DA SILVA, 57 years old, was brutally murdered by a group of armed men trespassing on the Indian Area. According to witnesses, after shooting the chief through the neck, the murderers subjected him to three further shots and various kicks and blows. Two other Indians were wounded in the incident. The first of these Jose' Camilo da Silva, 54 years old, was hit by four bullets: one which caused a flesh wound on his forehead, and another which went through his right shoulder, and two which hit his right hand. The second was Atai'de Ricardo da Silva, the nephew of the murdered chief, who was hit by a bullet just below the temple, and another which lodged itself in a bone of his right arm.

The incident occurred less than an hour after a disagreement had taken place between the members of the Indian community and former-chief Manoel Celestino. The dispute arose because the former-chief was taking photographs of houses and people in the area. When asked why he was taking the photographs, the former-chief (who had been removed from office owing to his ties with farmers engaged in trying to take the land away from the Indians) replied that they were to illustrate a book by IVAN BARROS, who had asked him to take the pictures.

Ivan Barros is a lawyer and former public prosecutor who is currently representing the farmers, Leopoldino Torres, He'lio Alves and Rosival Medeiros in a case against the Indians relating to the possession of the land, and he considers himself to be an authority on subjects relating to the Xukuru-Kariri. In fact, he is responsible for organizing farmers of the region who wish to dispossess the Indians of their land, and conducts a campaign by means of a radio programme called "Bom Dia Palmeira" on the Radio Sampaio station, duing which he spreads intimidation, defamation and slandered against the Indian leaders and missionaries of CIMI (Indianis Missionary Council).

Fearing for their safety and suspicious of the motives of the lawyer and the former-chief, the Indian community refused to let Manoel Celestino continue taking photographs. They expelled the photographer and searched the party for weapons, which infuriated the former-chief, who then left the area with all his family.

Moments later, while the Indians were in their homes, a taxi from Palmeira dos I'ndios drew up, driven by Luiz Ferreira da Silva, alias Luiz Queijeiro (who is not an Indian). Witnesses report that two or three persons got out of the taxi at the telephone post which is strategically located by the two roads providing access to the village. The taxi then proceeded to the house of Quite'ria Celestino (daughter of medicine-man Miguel Celestino who like her father has received death threats). Chief Luzanel approached the vehicle, attempting to identify the occupants. Luiz Queijeiro used the door to knock down the chief and then proceeded to fire four shots at him. Jose' Camilo and Atai'de Ricardo were shot as they tried to rescue the chief, and only managed to escape being killed themselves by hiding in the bush until the invaders had fled. In the next thirty minuets the invaders fired shots and shouted insults in an attempt to lure the Indians into a confrontation. Frightened and unarmed, the Indians remained in hiding in their homes.

When the Indians requested that the Civil Police remove the body of the victim and arrest the murders in, the local Police Chief refused, alleging that the case would have to be conducted by the Federal Police. The wounded were taken to the Emergency Unit at the Armando Lages Hospital in Maceio', where they remained until Thursday 17th, when they testified at the headquarters of the Federal Police before Police Chief Bergson Toledo (who was born in Palmeira dos I'ndios). The Body of Chief Luzanel was removed from the scene of the crime by the Indians and taken to the Coroner's Office in Arapiraca, where an autopsy was performed, the results of which are still awaiting signature

of the expert witnesses.

Luiz Queijero and an Indian called David Celestino, nephew of former-chief Manoel, who was identified by witnesses as one of the gunmen, presented themselves to the Delegacy of the Federal Police on Friday 18th. They accepted responsibility for the crime, but claimed that it had been committed in self defense, and accused the Indians of attacking them with clubs. As they had presented themselves spontaneously, and since the period for arrest in the act of commission of the crime had past, both of them will be allowed to await the criminal trial at liberty. If they are found guilty they could be liable to between six and thirty years of imprisonment.

Meanwhile in Palmeira dos I'ndios the atmosphere was of high tension. On the local radio farmer He'lio da Purina, former-chief Manoel, and lawyer Ivan Barros have been taking turns in spreading a campaign to defame the victims, accusing CIMI and the head of the FUNAI Post (Indian National Foundation) of having instigated the violence. They allege that the incident is purely an internal dispute among the Indians and claim that it has nothing to do with any land dispute. They are attempting to influence local public opinion against the struggle for Indians' rights and argue that the case should be tried in the local District Court rather than in a Federal Court.

In view of the various threats made against the leaders of the Indians (and especially against Maninha Xukuru-Kariri, Quite'ria Celestino, Gessivaldo and Miguel Celestino), the anti-Indian campaign being carried out by the local radio stations by farmers who are accused of having been the instigators of the crimes, and the risk to surviving witnesses owing to the importance of their testimony, it is feared that at any moment new attacks on the community may take place. In view of this situation on 18th November Indian leaders, accompanied by Legal Advisors from CIMI, petitioned the Regional Delegacy of FUNAI (in Maceio') and the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic, to call in the Federal Police, with a view to ensuring the security and lives of the community as a whole and the witnesses in particular. After a tense two-hour meeting the representatives of these two agencies, a telephone call was made to the Superintendent of the Federal Police, Jose' Guedes Bernardes, who replied that such protection was out of the question, owing to the scarcity of agents and the lack of funding for the payment of daily expenses. to their homes without any guarantee that their lives would not once again be placed in jeopardy.

In the light of this situation, which has been brewing since the land conflicts involving farmers He'lio Purina and Leopoldino Torres last August, CIMI considers it to be of extreme importance that organizations active in the fields of Human Rights and Indians' Rights should show their support, by helping to inform the local population of Palmeira dos I'ndios of the injustices being committed against the Indians, putting pressure on the Federal Government to provide guarantees for the life and physical integrity of the Indians in the face of the threat of further aggression, and demanding that the facts of the case be fully investigated and those guilty punished.

CIMI - Indianist Missionary Council - Northeast Region

Recife, 21st November 1994.

The Authorities listed below could be sent letters with the

following wording:

In view of the murder of the Luzanel Ricardo da Silva, Chief of the Xukuru-Kariri community at Fazenda Canto, committed on Monday 14th November, and the wounding of the Indians Josi Camilo da Silva and Atamde Ricardo da Silva, both from the same community, who attempted to provide succor to the Chief, and in view of the persistent anti-Indian campaign being conducted by local farmers and their lawyer, Ivan de Barros; We request that Your Excellency take appropriate measures with a view to: a) applying all efforts to guarantee the lives and physical and moral integrity of the surviving victims and of other Indian leaders threatened with death merely for the fact that they seek to exercise the most legitimate and inalienable of their rights ensured by the Federal Constitution and the demarkation and perpetual possession of their lands; b) exhaustive and complete investigation of the facts of the case and the punishment of those guilty, both the actual murderers and those who ordered the killings.

The letter should be addressed to:

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE REPUBLIC

Dr. Aristides Junqueira Alvarenga

Ministe'rio Pu'blico Federal

SGAS Q 603 Lote 23

70200-901 Brasi'lia DF

Fax 0055 61 313-5197

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF ALAGOAS

Dr. He'lio Jose' Tavares

Pra<a Visconde de Sinimbu, 105 - Centro

57020-720 Maceio' AL

Fax 0055 82 221-7781

THE PRESIDENT OF FUNAI

Dinarte Nobre Madeiro

SEPS 702 Edifi'cio Lex 3o. andar

70390-025 Brasi'lia DF

Fax 0055 61 226-8782

THE REGIONAL ADMINISTRATION OF FUNAI IN MACEIO'- ALAGOAS

Dr. Nascimento

Rua Libertadora Alagoana, 56 - Centro

57030-920 Maceio' AL

Fax 0055 82 326-4818

MINISTE'RIO DA JUSTI<A

Dr. Alexandre Dupeyrat

Esplanada dos Ministe'rios

70064-900 Brasi'lia DF

Fax 0055 61 224-2448

OAB Se<a~o Alagoas

Dr. Marcelo Teixeira

Pra<a Montepio dos Artistas, 60 - Centro

57020-350 - Maceio' - AL

Fax 0055 82 221-4369

PREFEITURA MUNICIPAL DE PALMEIRA DOS I'NDIOS

Sr. Helenildo Ribeiro

Pra<a da Independe^ncia s/n

57600-970 Palmeira dos I'ndios AL

DEPARTAMENTO DE POLI'CIA FEDERAL

Dr. Jose' Guedes Bernardi

Av. Fernandes Lima - Farol

57057-000 Maceio' AL

The reproduction of this material is permitted as long as the source is cited.