e Paz).

Number 227, May 16, 1996.

HUMAN RIGHTS

- Government launches human rights plan.

President Fernando Henrique Cardoso announced the

government's human rights plan on May 13. The plan which contains

168 proposals has been sent to Congress for approval. Some of the

chief points of the plan are as follows:

Right to life: The government plans to map the chief areas

of conflict both in rural and urban areas. A human rights section

will be established in the federal police and human rights will

be included as a subject in the police academies.

Impunity: Here the government plans to hand over to the

federal justice system the judgment of all crimes linked to human

rights and all crimes committed by military personnel to the

common courts. Until now the military have been tried in special

military courts. According to the government proposal, human

rights commissions will be established at state and municipal

levels.

Slave labor: The government plans to bring in measures to

end this abuse of human rights. Labor legislation will be

reviewed and teams will be established to inspect denouncements

of such cases.

Prisons: One of the chief priorities in this area is to

computerize the prison system so that prisoners may not be held

in prison after they have served their sentence.

Children and youth: The National Council for the Rights of

Children and Youth will be strengthened. It is proposed to bring

in laws to penalize child labor and crimes committed in the

homes. Legislation will be introduced to penalize the sexual

exploitation of children and youth.

Women: The government plans to give more support to the

National Council for Women's Rights and also the program which

combats violence against women. It plans to establish centers to

support women who are at risk of suffering domestic or sexual

violence.

Afro-Brazilians: Public data and registration of public

information will have to include information on race. The program

plans to invest in the combat of racial discrimination.

Indians: The government plans to revise the Indian Statute

and to formulate policies to protect the rights of indians. FUNAI

(the government indigenous agency) will be reorganized and will

be given sufficient funds to demarcate indigenous areas as well

as to care for indigenous health and education necessities.

Foreigners: To resolve the irregular situation of

foreigners in the country as well as to pass a new refugee law is

the proposal of the plan.

Education: Human rights will be included in the school

curriculum.

During the launching of the Plan, President Cardoso admitted

that there are numerous infringements of human rights in Brazil.

He listed many of the recent massacres such as Eldorado de

Carajas, Corumbiara and Carandiru and went on to comment "what

pains, what shouts out today isn't the fact that this exists. It

is the fact of impunity". It is likely however that the

government will have significant difficulties in having a number

of the proposals contained in the Plan passed in Congress.

A case in point is the proposal to have military police

tried in the common court system and not in military courts. A

law project prepared by Deputy Helio Bicudo (Workers' Party - PT,

Sao Paulo) supporting such a proposal was passed by the Congress

a few weeks ago. In public, President Cardoso has frequently

claimed that he supports the passing of this law. When it was

voted on by the Senate last week it was considerably changed and

weakened. Those chiefly responsible for the changes were the

government leaders in the Senate. When the leader of the

president's party in the Senate, Sergio Machado, was asked why he

voted against the project he replied "the President did not ask

me to vote in favor of the project". The National Human Rights

Plan also proposes laws to facilitate exapropriation for agrarian

reform projects. In recent weeks deputies representing rural

interests on the government bench in Congress blocked the voting

of such a law.

Such incidents have caused many human rights groups to

question if the National Human Rights Plan is only an exercise in

window-dressing by the government. "The National Human Rights

Plan is a critical first step in the battle to end impunity for

human rights violations in Brazil," said Jose Miguel

Vivanco,Executive Director of Human Rights Watch/Americas. He

continued, however,"the Brazilian Congress must now meet the

challenge that the Plan presents. We are extremely concerned with

the failure of the Congress, in particular the Senate, to

implement measures in the Plan, such as the Bicudo bill on

military jurisdiction. If Congress does not take swift action to

assure that the measures in the Plan are effectuated, it will

fail in its fundamental mission as a democratically elected body

to assure the rights of the Brazilian

people."

Commentators also point to the preoccupation of the

government in getting international attention for its Human

Rights Plan. For the launch, well known NGOs and representatives

of the embassies were invited. On the other hand government

leaders in Congress and the Senate were not included on the

invitation list at the launching ceremony. Foreign reporters

where given the privileged places at the ceremony. A copy of the

Plan was also presented to Pope John Paul 2 by ministers Luiz

Felipe Lampreia ( Foreign Affairs) and Clovis Carvalho on the day

of the launch in Brasilia. According to the ministers, the Pope

showed significant interest in the social situation in Brazil, in

violence and in agrarian reform. Commenting that "all the

bishops" from Brazil have been commenting to him about the

landless, the Pope inquired of the ministers what steps were

being taken to resolve this problem.

- First compensation paid for person assassinated during

years of military repression.

90 year old Ermelinda Mazzaferro Bronca was the first person

to receive compensation in the government project which plans to

make payments to the families of people assassinated by the

military during the repression. Her son, 39 year old Jose

Humberto Bronca was assassinated by the military in 1974.

Ermelinda received a cheque of US $100 thousand from President

Cardoso during the launch ceremony of the Human Rights Plan. She

plans to donate a significant amount of the compensation to an

organization which represents families of activists who were

assassinated and buried in unmarked graves during the years of

military dictatorship. The body of Jose Humberto has not yet been

found.

Meanwhile, in recent days the manner in which two well known

activists from the military period died has returned to the news.

The activists in question are Carlos Marighella who was killed on

November 04, 1969 and army captain Carlos Lemarca who died on

September 17, 1971. According to the official version at the

time, Marighella was killed in a shoot-out with the police in Sao

Paulo. In recent days medical experts re-examining the

documentation and autopsy results concluded that he was

assassinated at point blank range without having the opportunity

to react. This version had been defended by people who witnessed

his death. Evidence being re-examined concerning the death of

Lemarca suggests that he also was not killed in combat with the

army in Bahia but was first captured and was killed while in army

custody.

INDIGENOUS ISSUES

- Newsletter of the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI).

Newsletter n. 209

DECISION OF FEDERAL JUDGE THREATENS JARARA VILLAGE

A decision made by Judge Theotonio Costa, of the Regional Federal

Court, in Sco Paulo, threatens the Jarara village, located in the

municipality of Juti, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. The decision

annuls a preliminary order issued by Judge Jean Marcos Ferreira of the

Federal Court of Campo Grande, capital of the state, according to

which the Indians could remain in the land reclaimed by the Guarani

Kaiowa on March 22. Therefore, the Indians may be evicted at any time.

The action of the Guarani Indians was a means to say no to the

situation of utter poverty they were subjected to during the nine

years they lived in the outskirts of the city of Juti. Since 1987,

they have suffered the consequences of three eviction actions. The

area, where 247 families are living, was one the areas contested under

the provisions of Decree n. 1,775/96.

The Guarani say that they will resist the eviction action at any

cost, even if they have to commit a collective suicide to do it. The

Regional Court fixed the deadline of May 16 for the decision to be

implemented, but so far FUNAI has not been notified. CIMI and

indigenist entities foresee a tragedy in the region if the authorities

actually try to evict the Indians from the area in question.

SURVEY REVEALS LIFE EXPECTANCY OF BRAZILIAN INDIANS

The mean life expectancy of Brazilian Indians is lower than that

of most of the Brazilian population. The data were produced by a

survey carried out by the Tropical Medicine Institute of Manaus

(IMTM), where last year the average life of a Brazilian Indian was

45.6 years, while Brazilians live, in average, 66.7 years. The lowest

rate was registered in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul (37.7 years),

where the Guato, Kadiweu, Camba, Ofaie Xavante, Guarani Kaiowa, and

Terena Indians live. Many Guarani Kaiowa, whose suicide rate last year

was the highest one in 10 years, do not remain alive for more than 38

years. After Mato Grosso do Sul, the states where the lowest rates

were registered were Roraima, Para and Amazonas. In 1993, the average

lifetime of Indians was 48.3, but in 1994 it dropped to 45 years. The

survey mentions a report issued by FUNAI covering a period from

January 1993 to October 1994, according to which 2,951 Indians died

during that period. The main cause of the deaths was the lack of

medical care (22.3%), and preventable and curable diseases killed many

children, whose mortality rate accounted for a large percentage of all

deaths.

TUPININKIM INDIANS ARE THREATENED TO DEATH

CIMI and the Unified Workers' Union (CUT-ES) denounced at least

two cases of death threats against Tupininkim leaders in the Comboios

village in Aracruz, state of Espirito Santo. The first one was

registered on April 22, when vice-chief Toninho Valente was approached

by two armed men in the street who told him to forsake his position of

leadership in the village. On Saturday (May 5), somebody or some group

sent an anonymous letter to the Indians threatening to kill them all

if they don't give up the fight for the land. It is suspected that the

threats are coming from farmers and squatters of the region.

Brasilia, 9 May 1996

LAND ISSUES

- Update: New information on recent massacres.

A rancher from the east of the State of Para admitted to the

"Folha" on May 09 that he gave a financial contribution towards a

fund which had been set up to pay the military police to

assassinate landless peasants in the state. A week earlier, a

ranch administrator from the state denounced to the Minister of

Justice that such a fund had been set up to collect US $100

thousand for the police shortly before the massacre of 19

landless in mid April.

"It was much more than US $100 thousand. The ranchers around

here always pay the military police for protection; some do so on

a monthly basis.....This was the only way that the ranchers had

to defend themselves from the threat of invaders.....I don't

understand why they did this and only killed 19 and not a 100

once off" commented the rancher.

The president of the military police inquiry investigating

the massacre of the 19 landless peasants in Eldorado de Carajas,

Colonel Joao Paulo Vieira, submitted a 910 page report on May 09

in which he apportions culpability to all the 156 policemen

involved in the incident. He commented that even though the 20

days given to him to carry out the investigation was too short a

period, he had come up with enough evidence to conclude that the

policemen had transgressed military discipline and committed

offenses against both civil and military law. "The inquiry shows

that Colonel Pantoja (the officer in charge at the scene of the

massacre) did not take the necessary care in carrying out the

mission and as well lost command of the troops. But not only he;

all the officers who were with him" commented Colonel Vieira.

According to the lawyer who is defending the policemen, the fact

that the blame was placed on all 156 policemen was helpful for

his clients. "The indictment of 156 people pulverizes the

possibility to apportion blame as well as the investigations"

commented the lawyer.

Meanwhile, the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) of Rondonia

announced that it had discovered another three victims of the

police massacre of landless in Corumbiara on August 09 last.

According to official figures 11 people were killed on the

occasion although the landless always claimed that the figure was

higher.

The CPT's lawyer, Ernande da Silva Segismundo, announced

that he has found three death certificates in local registry

offices showing that rural workers Jesus Ribeiro de Souza (46

years), Oliveira Inacio Dutra (71) and Darli Martins Pereira (18)

died as a result of injuries sustained on the occasion of the

police attack on the landless. Souza died on November 29 and his

death certificate states that he died of injuries received during

the conflict; Dutra died on November 02. Pereira's case was

somewhat different. He was seen being put into a police vehicle

with another landless peasant Sergio Rodrigues Gomes. The body of

the latter was found 10 days later in the river Tanaru.

CHILDREN'S ISSUES

- Police investigate assassination of youth.

The civil police of the State of Mato Grosso are

investigating the existence of an extermination group which

includes police in the state capital, Cuiaba. According to

reports the group is responsible for the assassination of

children.

On April 30 and May 01 three adolescents and a 19 year old

youth were kidnaped in the Tijucal neighborhood on the periphery

of the city and have not been seen since then. All had police

records for minor crimes. Human rights groups have called for

more speed in the investigation of the disappearance of the

youth. Carlos Caetano, a representative of the National Movements

of Street Children (MNMMR) commented that there was a

"camouflaged extermination" of children in the city. He claims

that in April another five adolescents accused of also having a

police record were assassinated there.

On May 10, a prison warrant was issued for the arrest of

civil policeman Joao da Silva Mendes known locally as Caravala. A

witness claims that he is one of the persons responsible for the

kidnaping of the youth. Mendes went into hiding after the warrant

was issued. Two other people accused of kidnaping the youth -

Douglas Bazanini de Souza and Reinaldo Pires dos Reis have been

imprisoned.

In a report on May 12, the "Folha de Sao Paulo" published

some statistics regarding the situation of Brazilian children.

According to federal police statistics, 4611 children were

assassinated in 17 Brazilian states between 1988 and 1990 - an

average of four per day. The Brazilian Center for Infancy (CBIA)

calculates that 500 thousand young girls are involved in

prostitution in Brazil. 1990 figures from the Brazilian Institute

for Geography and Statistics (IBGE) show that 7.5 million

children and adolescents (12% of the economically active

population) work in Brazil. Of this total, 3 million are under 14

years of age. The Constitution forbids that children under this

age work. The National Movement of Street Children calculates

that there are approximately 20 thousand children and adolescents

living on the streets of Brazilian towns and cities.

Anthropologist Benedito Rodrigues dos Santos, a former co-

ordinator of this Movement believes that 80% of these children

would leave the streets if the government were to introduce a

program of a minimum family income. "Financial help for the

families is the cheapest way to face up to the problem ..... but

it is also necessary to re-establish the links of these children

with the family and with the school" commented Santos.

SOCIAL ISSUES

- Health is chief preoccupation for urban population.

A survey carried out by Datafolha between April 22 and 24

last in 12 of the principal Brazilian cities shows that health is

the chief preoccupation of the urban population. In the survey an

overall average of 12% replied that health was the most critical

problem. The lack of street paving and foot-paths came in second

place with an average of 10% of the replies.

Further down the scale comes security (9%), basic sanitation

(8%), unemployment (7%) and traffic (7%). Flooding, education,

street-cleaning and housing stood at 6%. 4% placed public

transport and poverty as the most critical areas, abandoned

children stood at 3% and the combat of corruption at 1%. The

survey also asked the respondents in what area the city

government was most efficient. In none of the twelve capital

cities was health placed in first place. According to those who

replied to the survey (16%) the cities were most efficient in

street paving. Next comes street-cleaning (7%), public transport

(6%), education (5%), and housing, traffic and health (3%).

Meanwhile, according to another survey carried out by

Datafolha in the city of Sao Paulo on April 25 the press and the

Catholic Church were the two institutions which which were

classified as having much prestige by the respondents. 68% of

those surveyed said the press had much prestige; the Church

received the same classification by 47% of the respondents. The

National Congress and the political parties shared last place on

a scale of ten with 19% each. Last December a similar survey

placed the Presidency and the ministers at 41%; in the recent

survey they had dropped to 32% - a drop of from fifth to eight

place on the scale.

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