Number 48, October 08, 1992.

HUMAN RIGHTS

- Massacre in Sao Paulo jail. Death toll may be as high as 246; official figures put deaths at 111.

On Friday October 02, Jose Ismael Pedrosa, director of the Casa de Detencao (State Prison) in Sao Paulo telephoned State Secretary of Security, Pedro Franco de Campos at 3.05 P.M. to inform him that a rebellion had broken out in Pavilion 9 of the prison. Just over an hour later, Campos gave the following order to the chief officer of the military police at the prison, Ubiratan Guimaraes, "You are on the spot, make an evaluation and do what has to be done". Thus started what was to be the bloodiest massacre of all time in a Brazilian jail.

Even though by 6.00 P.M. the State Governor, Antonio Fleury Filho) was informed that at least 90 prisoners had been killed, all official news bulletins during the next 24 hours spoke of the death of only 8 prisoners. According to police reporters, this distortion in the official news release was due to the fact that Saturday was election day in Brazil for mayors and councilors (vereadores); according to such sources the gravity of the news was not released so as not to take votes away from the State Governor's candidate - Aloysio Nunes Ferreira, in the municipal elections. By Saturday evening, the number of prisoners killed was stated to be 111 whilst a number of police and other prisoners were said to have been injured.

During the last few days, human rights entities have condemned loudly and clearly the massacre and those who were responsible for it. According to the National Movement of Human Rights (Movimento Nacional de Direitos Humanos - MNDH) the "crime (massacre) is a shame for Brazil and constitutes a genocide and collective crime which reminds us of the more sinister moments of Brazilian history". The note from the MNDH goes on to state that life is of fundamental value to be preserved in all circumstances and that those responsible for the massacre should be identified and punished. The MNDH statement says that the massacre "shows in a clear manner how the death sentence outside of the legal system is executed in Brazil with the active participation and support of some authorities". The MNDH is the umbrella entity for Brazilian human rights groups.

According to the Lawyer's Association of Sao Paulo (OAB /SP), what really happened on Friday evening in the Casa de Detencao was not a rebellion since the only weapons which the prisoners had access to were knives and pieces of timber. According to the OAB what really took place was a premeditated slaughter in which the prisoners were summarily executed in their cells and in the corridors. The OAB made this statement after a visit of representatives of the organization to the prison. The OAB report states that the prisoners had held no hostages and they had no escape plans made. It states that in one of the cells, the bodies of 10 prisoners were found. The report goes on to say "One of the prisoners told us that he saw a colleague being shot while he had his hands on his head and that others prisoners were shot whilst they carried the bodies of their dead colleagues".

The Church Office for Prisoners (Pastoral Carceraria) of the Archdiocese of Sao Paulo is working with the hypothesis that 246 prisoners were killed; their sources of information are the Church workers in the prison. According to the Pastoral Carceraria, 28 prisoners are still gravely injured due to beatings, gun-wounds and dog-bites; 71 people are still unaccounted for. The fact that over the last few days, relatives have not been able to locate members of their families who were imprisoned in the Casa de Detencao, either in the prison or in the city morgues seems to suggest that the number of dead may indeed be higher than the official numbers supplied by the state authorities. A protest statement of the Cardinal of Sao Paulo, Dom Paulo Evaristo Arns, contained the following comment "During the period of office of the present Secretary (the Secretary for Public Security, Pedro Franco de Campos) the most horrible things were perpetuated that I have seen in my 26 and a half years as bishop of Sao Paulo"

A number of police officers present at the massacre and the prison director have been temporally relieved of their duties by the State Governor, Antonio Fleury Filho, until an inquiry has been carried out. Human rights organizations demanded that he dismiss the State Secretary of Public Security, Pedro Franco de Campos. Campos eventually resigned on Wednesday October 07. During the next few days, representatives of Amnesty International, the Organization of American States and Americas' Watch plan to arrive in Brazil to accompany the question.

APPEAL: Foreign messages of protest would be very effective in ensuring that those responsible for the massacre be punished and an impartial inquiry be carried out. For this reason we request you to send such messages URGENTLY to the Governor of the State of Sao Paulo. The address is :

Dr. Antonio Fleury Filho,

Governador do Estado de Sao Paulo,

Palacio dos Bandeirantes,

01.000 Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Fax (011)843-9271 or (011)845-3700, Telex (11)81125 or (11)81911.

Your protest message may be written in any language. We suggest that you demand that a speedy, total and impartial inquiry be carried out and that those responsible be punished.

- Report of Amnesty International on Brazil claims that the death squads are still responsible for hundreds of assassinations.

The 1992 Report of Amnesty International claims that the death squads are still responsible for the assassination of hundreds of children, adults, rural trade union leaders and their advisers in Brazil. Many others receive death threats. In both circumstances, according to Amnesty, the relevant authorities do nothing about this situation. According to the report which was recently published in London, Amnesty continues to receive information concerning what it defines as a generalized practice of police torture in Brazil as well as other violence committed against prisoners. One of the cases listed in the Report is that of 24 prisoners who died in a fire in a jail in Rio de Janeiro; the fire was started by police functionaries.

- Appeal of Dom Helder Camara to celebrate a world without misery in the year 2000.

The former Archbishop of Olinda and Recife, Dom Helder Camara made an appeal in Brussels during his recent journey to Europe that the year 2000 be celebrated by a world where misery is not present. "If we want peace, we need to declare war on misery" said Dom Helder and he went on to say that it is very difficult to announce the values of life and justice in Latin America which is characterized by the lack of even the bare minimum for the majority of the population.

RURAL QUESTIONS

- Agrarian Reform is viable.

Few doubt the need of agrarian reform in Brazil. What many discuss is its economic viability and its need for the development of agriculture. In Brazil there are now a significant number of projects where rural landless workers have been settled after a struggle of many years to acquire land. In such experiences, hypothesis discussed can be tested.

Two things are certain: the land of the settled landless rural workers produces more than the land of the large ranchers and also the social problems of the landless decreases considerably in such projects.

Pirituba, one such settlement in the municipality of Itabera, State of Sao Paulo is a good example. Here, 150 rural families after a long struggle were settled on an area of land which previously had been abandoned. All are former day-workers or share-croppers. With few resources and much organization they have already carried out their third harvest of corn and beans. Their work is organized on two levels - cooperative as well as on a family level.

In May of 1984, 1200 people arrived in trucks in this area in Pirituba. The size of the area and the quality of the land meant that only 180 families could remain. A commission was set up to decide who should stay. By unanimous decision, the criteria defined were three: those who could stay would be rural landless workers, those who had no other income and those who were married.

Six months later each family received two sacks of beans for their own use and what corresponded to approximately ten minimum salaries (approximately US $500). They decided to invest half of this money in the purchase of tractors.

The reason for success can be explained by the excellent organization of the group; this organization was present prior to when the families began to work the land. During the first days of occupation, an association of small producers of the Pirituba ranch was founded. It is this association that is responsible for all major decisions.

For tasks requiring mechanization, the families worked as a cooperative. For more simple manual tasks, the work was done on family level. In the area of mechanization various commissions were set up: that of the tractor drivers, of maintenance and of fertilizers. During the ploughing and also during the harvest, the families work 24 hours per day in shifts.

Another decision which was taken by the families was that they would remain living in a village constructed in the area and not individually on separate family land units. This amongst others benefits facilited the installation of electrical energy.

The production was 300 per cent greater than the investment. Besides it was the families working together who built the houses, roads and water ponds. Ten tractors have already been purchased with all the necessary agricultural equipment as well as 1.700 tons of lime. After the recent harvest, the families bought 3 more tractors. All of these tractors belong not to the individual families but to the association.

NATIONAL POLITICS

- Vice President Itamar Franco takes over presidency after impeachment process.

On the morning of Friday October 02, vice president Itamar Franco assumed the office of President of Brazil for a 180 day period while President Fernando Collor will be tried by the Senate. The House of Deputies voted massively in favor of Collor's impeachment on Tuesday September 29.

During this period of 180 days, President Franco has promised that any drastic economic measures will not be taken nor will the economy be dollarized. He claims that his priority will be a policy to face up to misery, the implementation of a fiscal reform and a dialogue with the National Congress concerning an electoral reform. Two of the main parties - PMDB and PT refused to take part in his cabinet even though they are open to support him politically.

URBAN WORKERS

- Economic crisis aggravates work related diseases.

One of the most perverse effects of the economic crisis which is afflicting Brazil is the increasing and worsening of diseases acquired in the work-place. The economic crisis in the country characterized by recession worsens the situation because the worker fearing unemployment, hesitates to denounce diseases contacted in the work-place.

Brazil already is world champion in work related accidents which are in the region of one million cases per year. In the decade of the 1980s, 40 thousand workers died as a result of accidents and bad work conditions.

One of the most serious situations is the contamination of the gold prospectors in the Amazonian region by mercury used in the washing of gold and other materials. According to the Grupo de Defesa da Amazonia (The Amazonian Defense Group) and the Royal London College, during 1982 180 tons of mercury were deposited in the River Tapajos during the gold prospecting process. A large part of this mercury was used in a clandestine manner.

Another example of a work-place provoked disease is silicosis. In the city of Pedreira, State of Sao Paulo for example, 72 workers in the 120 ceramic industries present in the city have died from silicosis during the last ten years. 3.700 people in the city of Pedreira work in this industry and through pressure of the local trade union, 120 of the 400 people (over 10 per cent of all workers in the industry in the city) suffering from silicosis had received compensation by October of 1991.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

- Brazilian indians remember the 500 years.

The 500 years of the European arrival in the Americas will be remembered this month by Brazilian indigenous groups during two events. These events are being prepared by indigenous organizations and will show the resistance of the indians during the 500 years.

The Indigenous Council of Roraima (Conselho Indigena de Roraima - CIR) and the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations in the Brazilian Amazon (Coordinacao das Organizacoes Indigenas da Amazonia Brasileira - Coiab) plan to bring together more than 500 indians in Boa Vista, state capital of Roraima, on October 12. According to the coordinator of CIR, Waldir Tobias from the Makuxi tribe, "the government thinks that the indians are incapable of organizing themselves" but the manifestation "will show to public opinion that there exists indigenous organizations in Brazil and that they should be respected".

"We will tell the story of the struggle of the indigenous peoples during the 500 years, how they started to organize themselves and the difficulties they have encountered". The result of this process, according to Waldir Tobias was the setting up of Coiab which at the moment brings together almost forty organizations as well as the foundation of the Council of Articulation of the Peoples and of the Indigenous Organizations of Brazil (Conselho de Articulacao dos Povos e Organizacoes Indigenas do Brasil) which took place last April. The high point of the manifestation will be the presentation of dances and the distribution of caxiri, which is a typical indigenous drink.

The event in Boa Vista will be preceded by the Fifth Meeting of Indigenous Teachers of the Amazon and of Roraima. Starting on October 08, the teachers plan to discuss the situation of the schools in both states.

In Manaus, capital of the State of Amazonas, a manifestation against the 500 years of colonization and extermination will take place on October 10. Competitions, talks, shows by local artists and indigenous dances will outline for the participants the history of the indigenous peoples during the last five centuries. This event is being organized by various entities in Manaus, including Coiab.

For further information contact:

Conselho Indigenista Missionario (CIMI),

Secretariado Nacional,

Caixa Postal 03679,

70.084 Brasilia,

DF, Brazil

Fax (061) 225-9401; phone (061) 225-9457 and telex 061-4293.

INVITATION TO FORM "ACTION-TREES" : AN EFFECTIVE RESPONSE IN HUMAN RIGHTS WORK.

In human rights work many questions and problems are common to all countries. Ecology, land questions, violence, indigenous peoples, cultural diversity, women's questions, democracy, poverty ..... are but a few of the numerous human rights questions recurring on a global level. International solidarity is thus becoming more and more important. In Brazil, we have noticed the effectiveness of such solidarity. Messages of protest arriving from other countries to Brazilian authorities have been extremely effective in gaining a just and fair solution for marginalized groups and individuals. The organization of "action-trees" ensures that such messages arrive.

How does an "action-tree" function?

In the first place someone is needed to coordinate this work. Such a person will invite an average of 6 to 10 people to become part of the tree. In turn each one of these people will recruit a further 2 or 3 people who hopefully would also be involved in further recruiting. Thus in a short time, the tree will have upwards on a hundred members.

Since many such trees are being set up, it is expected that each tree will be called upon at most on two occasions each year to write one letter of protest to a Brazilian authority. The coordinator will receive adequate documentation concerning the case in question. Their function then will be to pass this information to the 6 to 10 people on the original "trunk" of the tree who in turn will pass it out to their contacts. There will be clear instructions as to which authority should receive the protest message. The protest message should be written in the language of the country in which you reside. Thus in a matter of weeks, if not days, upwards on a hundred protest messages will arrive on the desk of a target authority.

Invitation

Servico Espiritano de Justica e Paz would like to invite you to participate in such a project. We invite you to organize such an action-tree. Please be assured that this is an effective arm in human rights work in Brazil. All we need to know is the name and address of the coordinator of the group. You may contact us here on the AlterNex network; our electronic mail-box is SEJUP. Alternatively you may write to:

John Kilcrann,

Servico Espiritano de Justica e Paz,

Caixa Postal 62006,

03196 Vila Zelina,

Sao Paulo, Brazil.

On our part, we promise to keep the action-trees supplied with regular information regarding Brazilian human rights questions.

Sincere thanks for your interest and support; please contact us as well if you have any questions or suggestions.

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