Number 72, April 1, 1993.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

The format of our bulletin will be modified.

Because of suggestions from a number of our readers, we propose to introduce changes in the format of our bulletin BEGINNING APRIL 15. Each section will now be sent as a separate bulletin, to cater to the different interest groups among our readers. Thus, we will have separate bulletins on topics such as:land questions, indigenous questions, women, human rights, etc. We will continue to place these materials in the Ax.Agen Eng. conference each Thursday. We would appreciate receiving your comments regarding this new format.

RURAL QUESTIONS

- URGENT APPEAL: HUNGER STRIKE CONTINUES

The National Secretariat of the Church's Pastoral Commission for Land (CPT), has issued an urgent appeal for the support of four hunger strikers, whose health is deteriorating rapidly and who are protesting for agrarian reform in Rio Grande do Sul.

The appeal says that "the state of health of the strikers is critical. Sixteen days ago, Rev. Sergio Gorgen (CPT), Gilberto Borges and Valdinei de Matos of the Landless Worker's Movement (MST), and Ziad Rasdek (Bank employees' union) began a hunger strike to put pressure on the authorities to take concrete steps to settle landless families in Rio Grande do Sul and in the rest of Brazil.

The national president of INCRA (The National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform), Osvaldo Russo, who is in Rio Grande at the moment, is trying to negotiate a plan for agrarian reform for Brazil with President Itamar Franco and the government's leader in parliament, Roberto Freire.

With regard to the immediate demands of the landless workers, (21 thousand hectares of land for 1400 families and financial credit for 3100 other families, already settled on land), the INCRA president, Osvaldo Russo, holds out very little hope. Because of this, the four men continue their strike, even though doctors say they are very weak, with low blood pressure and in a lot of pain.

One of the hunger strikers, Valdinei de Matos, was hospitalized early on March 31, suffering from very low blood pressure.

Meanwhile, civil society in Rio Grande do Sul is being mobilized. 800 landless families have been camped in the INCRA offices in Porto Alegre since Monday. Unfortunately the Brazilian press has refused to publish one word about the hunger strike.

We appeal to all entities concerned with defending human rights and promoting a more dignified life for everyone, to send more messages to the authorities in Brasilia and Rio Grande do Sul, demanding that they take immediate steps to resolve this dramatic situation". The addresses to write to are:

Sr. Itamar Franco,

Presidente da Republica,

Palacio dos Tres Poderes,

Cep. 70049-900, Brasilia, DF,

Brazil

Fax. (061). 226.7566;

Dr. Alceu Collares,

Governador do Rio Grande do Sul,

Palacio do Governo,

Rua Caldas Junior, 120, 15 andar,

Porto Alegre, RS,

Brazil,

Fax. (0512) 25.5044;

Sr. Lazaro Barbosa,

Ministro da Agricultura,

Esplanada dos Ministerios,

Cep. 70043-900,

Brasilia, DF,

Fax. (061) 218.2586.

- Landless families threatened with eviction.

In August of 1992 the Movement for Landless Rural Workers (MST) promoted the occupation of an estate called Xangrila, in the neighborhood of Jaru, Roraima.

The property owner lives in Sao Paulo, where he has a transport company. Since the occupation, 60 families have been living there and cultivating the area. This week, the judge of Jaru, Dr. Jose Torres Ferreira, issued a court order, giving the owner repossession of the estate and setting the eviction date for March 30th.

The MST is appealing for letters of support for these families, soliciting the suspension of the evictions and a guarantee that the families be settled as soon as possible.

Messages should be sent to:

Exmo. Sr. Dr. Osvaldo Russo,

Presidente National do INCRA,

Brasilia - DF, CEP.71609-970,

Brazil,

fax: 061.226.3855

And to:

Exmo. Sr. Dr. Jose Torres Ferreira,

Juiz de Direito,

Jaru,

Roraima,

CEP 78941-000,

Brazil,

Fax: 069.521.2388.

- Progress made in worker's struggle in Araguaia-Tocantins area.

The founding of the Regional Association of Rural Women Workers in Bico do Papagaio and the viability of the project for Alternatives for the Small Land Holder in Tocantins, are just two small signs of progress in the struggle for land reform in the Araguaia and Tocantins region, in the north of Brazil, according to the Church's Pastoral Commission for Land (CPT).

The CPT says that two of the most important events of last year, that helped give heart to the movement, were the Padre Josimo land procession in Tocantinopolis and the Rural March in Defense of Life, that united a thousand rural workers, representing 55 rural conflict areas and 32 settlement projects.

As the workers try to implant alternative projects, such as commercializing the babassu coconut, the cases of violence and slave labor continue to increase. Statistics from the National Colonization and Agrarian Reform Institute (Incra) show that, in Brazil, 275 land owners control more than 37 million hectares of land, an average of 135,640 hectares each. There is more than 160 million hectares of productive land lying idle, an area the size of Holland, Denmark, England, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and Italy joined together.

INDIGENOUS QUESTIONS

- Verdict of "not guilty", in Marcal case, shows impunity continues in Brazil.

In the anxiously awaited trial of wealthy landowner Libero Monteiro de Lima, which took ten years to take place and lasted only twelve hours, the jury of seven returned a verdict of "not guilty", six votes to one. Libero Monteiro stood in the dock, accused of being the one that ordered the killing of the indigenous leader, Marcal de Souza, in 1983. The trial took place on Monday, March 29th, in Ponta Pora, 350 kms from Campo Grande, in Mato Grosso do Sul, 10 years after Marcal's murder.

Once again the usual impunity enjoyed by the rich and powerful, involved in killing indigenous leaders, won the day. Ponta Pora looked like a war zone since Sunday. At least 300 agents of the military, civil and federal police occupied the streets, intimidating principally the Guarani, Kaiowa, Terena and Guato indians, who traveled to Ponta Pora to protest peacefully during the trial. Many of the indians were searched and some were detained. From the top of the City Hall, where the trial was held, and other buildings, sharp-shooters from the police's Elite Squad showed off their new weapons.

Access to the court-room was limited to those with special credentials, supplied by the local judge. The number of credentials available was a lot less than the demand. Many of the seats in the court-room were taken up by landowners, belonging to the "Democratic Rural Union" (UDR), the major organization of the wealthy Brazilian ranchers, with which Libero Monteiro is connected.

Even before the trial began, Marcal's daughters, indigenous leaders and human rights organizations, considered the possibility of the landowner being found guilty to be very remote. Libero is one of the wealthiest ranchers in the state of Mato Grosso.

The Public Attorney in Ponta Pora, Adhemar Mombrum de Carvalho Neto, made no effort to hide his irritation at the presence of so many representatives from civil entities, committed to the indigenous question. On Monday morning, when he received members of the National Movement for Human Rights (MNDH) and the "Marcal de Souza" Center for the Defense of Human Rights, in his office, he stated that among those sent by their entities to look for credentials to witness the trial, "there were many trouble-makers". When asked to whom he was referring, he specifically named the Unified Federation of Workers (CUT) and the negro movement "Zumbi", of Mato Grosso. Members of the MNDH contested these accusations, but the attorney insisted, adding that the UDR "is also a national organization and has every right to promote manifestations during the trial".

In fact, while the trial was in progress, several landowners cheered openly for Libero Monteiro, and ridiculed the lawyers for the prosecution, Luiz Eduardo Greenhalgh and Michael Mary Nolan.

The lawyer responsible for defending Monteiro, was Rene Siufi, a former president of the Lawyers Association of Mato Grosso and former defender of political prisoners {known to be an ex-member of the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB)}. Siufi tried the whole time to prove Monteiro's innocence, by claiming he was being used as a "scapegoat" and insinuating that other indians were responsible for Marcal's murder.

Libero Monteiro, himself, tried to involve pastoral agents of the Catholic Church - including the priests of Dourados (MS) and the former executive secretary of the Church's Missionary Council for Indigenous People (CIMI), Antonio Brand - with the murder, accusing them of "inciting indians to invade land". Two of the witnesses for the prosecution - Eulice, Marcal's daughter and Laerte Tetilla, a historian from Dourados - refuted the accusations. Eulice told the jury how Marcal always complained of death threats and bribery attempts made by Romulo Gamarra, in the name of Libero Monteiro, to get the Guarani to leave an area of around 100 hectares, called Pirakua, which is situated alongside Monteiro's almost 5000 hectare-farm of Serra Brava, an area he still claims to be his to this day.

Tetilla - who has just finished a historical work on the life of Marcal - told the court that Marcal had been persecuted by Libero since 1978. In 1982, Libero made a complaint to the police in Antonio Joao about Marcal. A few days later, the police invaded Marcal's house and beat him up in front of his wife and children, without any explanation. (Marcal was 62 years old at the time).

Not long after that, the federal police also invaded his house and stole a diary and original documents of a book he intended to publish.

The bribery attempt made by Libero, occurred soon after Marcal announced, publicly, that he was going to leave his own village, to live with the Guarani, in Pirakua. All these facts were thoroughly presented by witnesses and the prosecution, accusing Libero of ordering Marcal's death. Nevertheless, the defense based their case on the lack of material evidence. Gamarra - who headed the group of gunmen that executed Marcal - has been missing for a long time and it is said, in Ponta Pora, that he was murdered so as to cover up the crime.

Another factor was that the original police inquiry left much to be desired. The case was left lying for the last ten years and it was only because of pressure from national and international entities that the case finally got to a courthouse.

After the trial, the two groups into which the court-room was divided, left - the landowners euphoric, and the indians and their supporters down-hearted. A lady lawyer, linked to the UDR commentated, "after all, why such a fuss over a simple savage ?" One of the Guarani from the Pirakua village remarked, "where there's money, you can't expect anything else".

The trial in Ponta Pora will go down in history as yet another chapter in the long and tragic history of 500 years of conquest.

The lawyers for the prosecution intend to appeal to the Justice Tribunal of Mato Grosso demanding a re-trial on the basis that some of the seven jury members have connections with the police chief who headed the preliminary inquiries in 1983. (From our special delegate, Dermi Azevedo).

- Taking miners out of Yanomami territory isn't enough, says CCPY.

Taking the miners and prospectors out of the Yanomami territories, on Brazil's frontier with Venezuela, is a vital measure but it's not enough, says the commission for the Creation of the Yamomami Park (CCPY).

The Commission says in a statement released in Sao Paulo, that "Operation Free Forest", which the federal government are carrying out to take the miners out of the demarcated Yanomami territories, "is absolutely necessary to give the indians time to breath, but, in itself, it isn't a long term solution to the problems of invasions". For this to happen, says the CCPY, and for a more lasting solution, "the government must define a policy on the indigenous question, as well as a policy on the mining of minerals, establishing effective and coherent guidelines that will put an end to the constant invasions".

- Army obstruct demarcation of indian territory.

The "O Globo" Newspaper says that the Republic's Attorney General's Office has served a notice on the Minister for Army, Zenildo Lucena, demanding the immediate demarcation of the indigenous area of Guato, on the island of Insua, located on the frontier between Mato Grosso do Sul and Bolivia.

According to the document from the Attorney General's office, the Army Minister, counteracting an order from the Minister of Justice, determining the demarcation of 12,716 hectares by FUNAI (the National Foundation for Indians), refuses to permit the work to be done and to allow the indians into the area, where there is a military unit installed.

The Army Ministry sent a letter to FUNAI in December, stating that it was against creating an indigenous area on the island of Insua and recommending that a study be done so that Funai could continue to attend the Guato indians, without the army relinquishing it's jurisdiction over the area in question.

Army sources say that the island is considered to be an area of national security because of its position on the frontier. The newspaper also states that Funai tried to demarcate the area but was obstructed by the commander of the military unit on the island.

- Five years since the Tucunas murders.

The fifth anniversary of the murder of 14 Ticuna indians and the wounding of 23 more, was remembered last Sunday, March 28th, by indigenous people and indigenous organizations in Brazil.

The massacre happened in 1988, in the village of Benjamin Constant, in the Amazon, on the frontier between Brazil and Columbia. The indians were killed by the rancher, Oscar Castelo Branco and 20 hired gunmen. They all remain unpunished. The bodies were thrown in the river Solimoes.

The indians were gathered in Benjamin Constant, awaiting the return of their leaders who had gone to look for help from the National Foundation for Indians (FUNAI), because of the threat of invasion of their land by Oscar Castelo Branco.

CHURCH AND PRISONS

- Prisoners to be protected from holy war - [From an article in the Jornal do Brasil]

The incredible proliferation of religious sects in Rio's prisons is worrying the authorities. Every week, a legion of missionaries and suspect representatives of churches, (some of them unheard of), invade Rio's prisons, to get at the lost sheep.

Already, the Order of Baptist Ministers of Brazil and Fr. Bruno Trombeta, the coordinator of the Catholic Church's Pastoral Care of Prisoners for the Archdiocese of Rio, have made formal complaints to the authorities about the problem. Fr. Bruno feels that the excess of sects is creating an atmosphere of agitation and confusion amongst the prisoners. The lack of preparation of the "spiritual leaders", he says, could lead to madness. "The decision to convert must come from within the human person", he concludes.

According to the social coordinator of the prisons, Tania Maria Dahmer, "those religious, who have no formation, are distorting the gospel message and even changing the prisoner's personality". She hopes to make out a new register for all groups and churches, visiting the prisons and exclude those that are not affiliated to some federation, like the Order of Evangelical Ministries or the Pastoral Care Group. She intends to demand documents of the pastoral plan, history and copies of the civil register of these institutions or sects.

The results will be evaluated by the Technical and Social Department for Prisons and those not registered, will be refused entry to the prisons.

HUMAN RIGHTS

- Families of political prisoners await government definition.

Groups and entities involved with the families of the political prisoners who disappeared during the time of the military dictatorship, are anxiously awaiting a decision from President Itamar Franco on whether archives, in the power of the armed forces, and which concern the whereabouts of the bodies of victims of the military regime, will be opened to public scrutiny or not.

Last week, parliamentary members, participating in a special commission on the subject, met with the President to discuss the matter. Up to now, the only concrete step taken, has been the preparation of a abridged report by the Minister for the Navy, on the disappearences, based on information from CENIMAR, the Navy's Information Center. It is believe that CENIMAR was one of the groups responsible for human rights violations and other crimes during the repression.

The ministers for the Army and the Air Forces have also prepared reports, but the families consider them to be weak and superficial. Sources in Brasilia say that President Itamar Franco is worried about creating a conflict between his government and the armed forces over the issue.

Nevertheless, the families are insisting that the President do all in his power to resolve the problem and clear up, once and for all, where the prisoners were buried.

The families are also worried that time is running out, because after the referendum of April 21st, the presidential campaign for 94 will start and the question will once again be put on the shelf.

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