Number 330, December 17, 1998.
Dear readers,
Due to the upcoming holiday, NEWS FROM BRAZIL will not be sent out the week
of December 20. Thank you for your readership, and have a happy holiday
season!
Peace,
Your friends at SEJUP
Visit our home page: http://www.oneworld.org/sejup/
Our principal topics this week are:
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
- Council Wants To Avoid Cuts in Environmental Projects
JUSTICE
- Ex-Military Officer Admits To Have Tortured
THE DROUGHT
- Recife Begins Water Rationing
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
- Council Wants To Avoid Cuts in Environmental Projects
The advisory council of an international pilot program, Conservation of the
Brazilian Rainforest, highly urged the Brazilian government to reconsider
its cuts in funding for the program. Due to structural readjustments
brought on by the world financial crisis, the government plans to cut the
resources for 1999 from 6.1 million to 2.1 million. The council said the
cuts in budget are a serious threat to the projects for 1999, which include
the demarcation of an indigenous reserve, Javar ; a project which seeks
ways to generate income for communities that live in the rainforest in a
way that does not damage the environment; ecotourism; and research of
medicinal plants in the rainforest.
Source: Folha de S o Paulo, 14 December 1998
JUSTICE
- Ex-Military Officer Admits To Have Tortured
The following interview recently appeared in ôVejaö magazine. It is one
of the first times in Brazil that a military officer openly admitted to
torturing persons during the dictatorship (1964-85). Marcelo Paix o de
Ara·jo served in the Military from 1968-71. Of the 444 names of torturers
published in the book, ôBrasil: Nunca Maisö his name appears at the top of
the list as the one who tortured the most victims. Below are excerpts from
the interview:
Veja: In testimonies , twenty-two political prisoners have accused you of
torture. Is it true?
Ara·jo: Who told you this?
V: I saw it in the cases from the military court. And by the number of
prisoners who have cited your name, you tortured more than anyone else. It
it true?
A: Yes, all of the accusations against me are true.
V: Were you just keeping orders or did you think you should do it?
A: I could have declined to do it and claimed it was a matter of
conscience and not participated. I did it because I thought it was
necessary. Obviously I was carrying out orders, but I accepted them. .
.DonÆt think I was forced or set up. If we had let the VPR, Polop
(anti-government organizations) or whoever gain power, who would have taken
advantage of the situation would have been the communist. We didnÆt want
Brazil to become the Chile of Salvador Allende. At that time, I was 21
years old, but I wasnÆt a naive little boy. I really beat them. Who says
there was no torture is an idiot.
V: How did you learn to torture?
A: By watching.
[Ara·jo goes on to describe the different methods he used. At one point he
states:] The next stage [of torture] was our famous ôtelephoneö [a form of
torture using shock treatment]. Some say the equipment came from the US
Army. Absurd! It was 100% Brazilian. The method was used often in the US
and England, but our equipment was Brazilian.
V: How many people did you torture?
A: I donÆt know. IÆm not the kind of person to put a feather in my cap
for every person I tortured. But you want an approximate number?
V: Yes.
A: Thirty-some.
V: What is true and false concerning what has been written about torture
in Brazil:
A: There are some untruths, but the majority of it is true. People who
participated [in torture] during this period still do not speak truthfully.
The highest authorities of the country were the first to deny involvement.
I died laughing upon reading the book about Geisel (one of the last
presidents during the military rule). According to the testimony of
Geisel, he didnÆt know anything, totally innocent. ThatÆs pretty funny.
All government agents who wrote about the military regime were quite
discreet. Even Pharisaical. They didnÆt know anything, they were saints,
thought torture never happened. Who signed the AI-5? It wasnÆt me. By
suspending constitutional rights, everything was permitted in the torture
chambers. Clearly, there were many persons involved in this. But IÆm not
going to mention any names. I can only speak for myself.
V: Are you sorry you tortured?
A: IÆm not sorry. But if you ask me if I would do it again, thatÆs
another conversation.
V: Would you do it again?
A: If I thought there was no other way to free the country from communism,
yes. But in principle, no. Because torture. . . takes a lot of energy. I
never refused to torture someone, but I only did it when it was a
necessity. But, itÆs a little game thatÆs not a bit fun. (laughs)
V: Why did you agree to give this testimony now?
A: Because no one ever asked me before.
Source: Veja, 9 December 1998
THE DROUGHT
- Recife Begins Water Rationing
The population of Recife, Pernambuco, and four other cities of the
metropolitan area will begin water rationing today. It is the biggest
water rationing effort in the history of the area. Because of the lack of
rainfall caused by El Nino, the 2.56 million inhabitants of the area will
only have water for 20 hours in a four day period. According to public
works, if the rationing were not carried out, the metropolitan area would
run out of water in February. The current rationing efforts should
conserve the water until April when the rainy season begins. ôIf it
doesnÆt rain then, we will have a catastrophe on our hands,ö said director
Ricardo Camara Limo.
Source: Folha de Sao Paulo, 15 December 1998
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cited.
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