NEWS FROM BRAZIL supplied by SEJUP (Servico Brasileiro de Justice e Paz).
Number 317, August 20, 1998.
Visit our home page: http://www.oneworld.org/sejup/
Our principal topics this week are:
LAND ISSUES:
- MST coordinator is imprisoned
- Report by CPT on violence and conflict over the land question
VIOLENCE:
UPDATE: - Doctor thought fire-fluid was water
UPDATE: - Foreigners in Brazilian jails
HEALTH:
- Prevention of AIDS in children
- Aids and prostitutes
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES:
- Brazil President: Open Season on Eco-Crimes
LAND ISSUES:
- MST coordinator is imprisoned
On the 19 of August around four o clock, the Civil Police of Pernambuco were ordered by Judge Dr.Gilvan Macedo to arrest Jaime Amorim, the coordinator of the Landless Movement (MST). Jaime Amorim is supposed to have organized a group of landless people to occupy a land estate in the district of Espirito Santo, near the city of Sao Bento De Una between the 15 and 23 of April, 1998.
In fact two areas of the estate were occupied by landless people. On April 17, the military police repossessed the land, tore down the makeshift homes of the people and took their food and their clothes. On April 20, 50 people went to the Headquarters of the Military Police and requested the return of their possessions. They went to the court house where they met with judge Gilvan Macedo, who in turn had 19 year old Carlos Roberto Dos Anjos and 22 year old Claudio Jorge De Oliveira arrested for disrespecting authority.
On the same day, April 20, the judge went to the local prison and told the police that the two men could be released on bail. On the 22 of April, the men returned to the estate and reoccupied it. On the 23 the military police went to the encampment and arrested all the men over the age of 18 years. While in prison they were accused of forming a gang and disobeying a judicial order. On the same day all the men were released with the exception of Carlos Roberto dos Anjos and Claudio Jorge de Oliveira. These two men are still in prison. Lawyers for Carlos and Claudio have four times asked for "habeas corpus". The justice tribunal have refused the request to set them free. The lawyers have appealed to the higher tribunal and are awaiting a decision.
In the same process which began with Carlos and Claudio, Jaime Amorim was also denounced for being coordinator of the MST in Pertnambuco. It was announced that he would not be released from prison and he is being charge with ‘disturbing the public order’.
Regarding this accusation, which is very common against the MST, the Higher Tribunal have said that occupying land twice for Agrarian Reform does not give the occupant possession of the land.
We are asking all people who are indignant with yet another manifestation of this arbitrary act which punished those who struggle for Land Reform to write or fax to the following address.
Palácio do Governo
Miguel Arraes de Alencar
Praça da República sn - Bairro Sto Antônio
Cep. 50010 - 040 - Recife
Pernambuco - Brasil
Fone: (081) 425 2222 - Fax: (081) 424 4671
Fórum São Bento do Una
Juíz Dr. Gilvan Macedo dos Santos
Av. Manoel Cândido sn.
Centro - São Bento do Una
Cep. 55370 - 000
Pernambuco - Brasil
Fax: (081) 735 1218
Source: Landless Movement, 20 August, 1998
- Report by CPT on violence and conflict over the land question
On July 21, the Catholic Church's Land Commission (Comissao Pastoral da Terra) released its report on violence and conflicts over the land issue in Brazil for the year 1997. On the one hand, there was a slight decrease in the number of assassinations and assassination attempts on the lives of leaders of the landless movement. The CPT attributes this to the mobilization of popular land movements (such as the Movimento Sem Terra) and the pressure of public opinion. On the other hand, there was an increase between 1996 and 1997 in the acts of violence perpetrated by the state, such as imprisonment of leaders and evictions of families off the land. In the first half of this year, already 120 rural workers have been sent to prison. For the CPT, facts such as these demonstrate that only the type of violence and conflict have changed, but the essence remains.
(1) represents number of families affected
(2) represents number of persons affected
Forms of Violence 1995 1996 1997
Evictions (1) 12,832 17,595 17,070
Destruction of houses(1) 1,112 1,337 2,624
Assassinations(2) 41 54 30
Threats of
assassination (2) 155 8 8 92
Beatings (2) 220 109
Cases of torture (2) 72 12 5
Imprisonment(2) 833 198 381
Total number of people
affected by various acts of violence 318,458 481,490 477,105
Source: Sem Terra: Jornal dos Trabalhadores Rurais
VIOLENCE:
UPDATE: - Doctor thought fire-fluid was water
Dr. Leandro Oliveira Pinho, 27 years who was accused of setting fire to a medical student made a statement to the police saying he thought Rodrigo was covered in water and not fire-fluid. The Police said there are enough witnesses, proof and circumstantial evidence for Pinho to be charged with intent to kill. According to the Police Officer in charge, the fact that Pinho set fire to Rodrigo with a cigarette lighter was enough to place Rodrigo’s life in danger. The other two students - who are also Doctors, who were involved in the burning, Marcelo Tiezzi 23 years and Borstein Martinelli 24 years are also being accused of putting a life at risk.
Tiezzi and Martinelli were at the University party, where the so called "joke" took place. The game consists of throwing a small amount of fire-fluid on somebody, a second person comes with a bottle of water, giving the captured person the impression that it is fire-fluid, and pours it all over the person, a third person comes with a cigarette lighter and sets fire to the victim.
The father of the Rodrigo, Mario Canas Piccini said that his son will have to have four more surgery’s as a result of the burning.
UPDATE: - Foreigners in Brazilian jails
Almost 75% of foreigners in Brazilian jails were caught drug-trafficking. They usually do 15 years in a closed regime. There are 1029 thousand foreigners in jails in Brazil. They have no relatives in the country, the majority have tourist visas and were imprisoned on the spot. With no families and no friends they receive double punishment, they do their time and also are deprived of any rights which they have according to the law.
They represent 1% of the prison population, this figure also represents the number of Brazilians in prisons outside of Brazil. An International meeting organized by the United Nations in 1995, recommended that prisoners be exchanged in order to humanize the situation of foreigners in prisons. On the 20th of this month, the minister for justice Renan Calheiros will sign an accord with England, Argentina and South Africa, and are negotiating with France and Portugal.
Until the end of this year, the Minister of Justice is awaiting the transfer of 10 Canadians and Spaniards, following an agreement approved by president F H Cardoso this year. Among these are David Spencer and Chrisrtine Lamont condemned to 28 years for kidnapping business man Abilio Diniz who were part of the group called ‘Pao de Acucar’ in 1989. Two Argentiand and 5 Chileans who also participated in the kidnapping may benefit from the exchange agreement.
Source: Folha de Sao Paulo August 16, 1989
HEALTH:
- Prevention of AIDS in children
The figures showing the number of children with AIDS is frightening. During the 12th World Conference for AIDS , which was held in Geneva and organized by the UN for AIDS, revealed that 1.600 babies are infected every day.
Three point eight million children under the age of 15, are infected with AIDS. Two point seven million have already died. In 90% of the cases, the transmission of AIDS was vertical, that is from Mother to child. Another frightening fact, is that by the year 2000, the world will have one point six million orphans with AIDS. Brasil will have twenty two thousand orphans as a result of AIDS.
According to the World Organization for Health and World AIDS, there are signs of the illness being controlled in developed countries. However in underdeveloped countries, AIDS continues to grow, in places reaching 90% Of the sixteen thousand new cases per day in the world, more than 50% are youth. The age between 14 - 24 years with 40% being women.
In Brasil between 1980 - 1989 there was registered 128.8 thousand cases of AIDS. Three point 5 percent or 4,500 are children up to the age of 13 years. More than 40% of these children have already died.
- Aids and prostitutes
A research done by the secretary for health in Sao Paulo, shows that 17.8% of a group of 73 prostitutes are HIV carriers. This research took place in the center of the city of Sao Paulo, near the Barra Fundo area. The research was carried out as part of a program set up for the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. Of the 96 women contacted, 73 decided to participate in the research.
According to Nina Laurinda Silva, who is responsible for the research, said these studies will help in setting up programs in the prevention of AIDS among women. She also added that this particular group of women were extremely poor, and are receiving no social help of any kind.
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Source: Folha de Sao Paulo , August 14, 1989
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES:
- Brazil President: Open Season on Eco-Crimes
Brazil Government Declares 10 Year Moratorium on
Environmental Law Enforcement
With a stroke of the pen, Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso reversed Brazil's greatest environmental advance in the 1990's, the Environmental Crimes Act (Lei 9.605 de 12 de fevereiro de 1998), declaring a 10 year moratorium on environmental law enforcement.
Executive Order (Medida Provisoria) 1.170, signed August 7, 1998, establishes that companies that violate environmental legislation can sign a letter of commitment with an environmental agency, promising to bring their operations into compliance and be exempted from fines or other penalties for up to 5 years, renewable for another 5 years. Only six months after the Congress passed the Environmental Crimes Act, giving Brazil's environmental agency, IBAMA,
statutory authority to enforce environmental law for the first time since 1989, the federal government has given environmental lawbreakers a ten year holiday. The legislation with which business has to comply has largely been in force since the 1970s.
The opposition Worker's Party (PT) and the Green Party (PV), on August 12, brought suit in the Supreme Court, charging that the order is unconstitutional. They argue that the order in essence overturns the Environmental Crimes Act, arbitrarily violating the separation of powers established in the Constitution.
Executive order 1.710 retroactively allows lawbreakers in business by March 30th to escape punishment by signing an agreement with the environmental agency by December 31st .
This means that any company penalized under the Environmental Crimes Act (which came into force 90 days after its publication) can now be exempted for another 10 years.
Long-term observers of Brazilian politics note that, with companies responsible for some 20% of Brazil's GDP operating without environmental licenses, and 4,000 fines levied in Sao Paulo state alone since the passage of the Environmental Crimes Act, the order could represent a campaign fund raising bonanza for President Cardoso. Cardoso is running for re-election in the October 3rd election.
Please fax or email President Ferando Henrique Cardoso urgently, requesting that he revoke Executive Order 1.710 immediately.
Fax: 011-55-61-226-7566
Email - pr@planalto.gov.br
Source: Environmental Defense Fund August 13, ’1998.
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