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Brazil - SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN

Movement of People Affected by Dams- MAB | 18.03.2005 01:56 | Ecology | Repression | Social Struggles | London

Every year, dam-affected populations demonstrate, in March, to celebrate the International Day of Action Against Dams, for Rivers, Water and Life, the 14 of March. In 2005, MAB’s day of action is being target of a series of aggressions and political arrests.

SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN
Political arrests and violence against dam-affected populations

Every year, dam-affected populations demonstrate, in March, to celebrate the International Day of Action Against Dams, for Rivers, Water and Life, the 14 of March. In 2005, MAB’s day of action is being target of a series of aggressions and political arrests. Please, see below a brief story of what is occurring:

1 – Violence and Arrests in Minas Gerais

In March 8th, the military policy of the state of Minas Gerais ended, in a violent form, a protest of peasants against the construction of Jurumirim Dam, in the city of Rio Casca. The dam-affected protested during the public hearing that would approve the construction of the dam. The police had spanked about 35 small farmers, including 11 women and children. Six people identified as leader of MAB had been arrested, being set free in the following morning. Among the prisoners, was the Priest Antonio Claret Fernandes. According to coordination of MAB in Minas Gerais, nowadays is very easy to build dams in the State. "To construct dams is simple and easy here: the company chooses the place, the environmental agencies delivers the river, them the company receives loans from the government and the police force takes care of people ".

2 – Army action in Tucuruí

Since 11 of March, the Brazilian Army gave one more demonstration of its disposal to act against the civil population of its own country. The command of 23º Squadron of Cavalry of Forest initiated an operation in Tucuruí Dam, in the State of Pará, to prevent manifestations in the place and to prevent a possible "interruption of the energy production". Tucuruí was built during the military dictatorship and until today, the majority of the 20 thousand affected people waits for compensation. The energy produced in Tucuruí is given with subsidized price for the aluminum industries of the region. The affected population that moved to the borders and islands formed in the lake, did not receive anything, and also does not have electric energy in their houses.

In the operation, the army classifies social movements clearly as "enemies". Some coordinators of MAB in Pará are threatened of death for denouncing illegal squatters that act in the region. However, the State, instead of protecting popular leaderships, repress them and does very little to restrict the action of big farmers. Despite the movement of the army, the dam-affected are not intimidated and had initiated mobilization in the region in 15 of March. About two thousand people had occupied part of the dam and they are camped in the place.

3 – Political Prisoners in Campos Novos / SC

In the night of 12 of March, the military policy of Santa Catarina initiated actions to arrest 10 small farmers affected by the Campos Novos Dam. The policemen with weapons in hand had invaded the houses of some families, threatening to arrest the women of the peasants if they did not present themselves. Until now, they are imprisoned: Edio Grasse, small farmer of the city of Celso Ramos; Carlos da Silva, Leodato Vicente (70 years old) and João Vilmar de Oliveira, small farmers of the city of Campos Novos; Dorneles Vicente and Aurélio Dutra, of the city of Anita Garibaldi. In the operation, the peasants had not been informed of the reason of the arrest. A child of only seven years was taken together with his father to the police station.

The justification given by the judge Adriana Lisboa, who allowed the arrests was the guarantee of public order. Also 16 vehicles of the peasants had been apprehended, under the accusation that they would be used to carry militants from MAB to their protest.

We ask everybody to send letters and messages asking for freedom for our political prisoners and the end of violence against the dam-affected people. Please send messages to the following addresses:

Adriana Lisboa – Judge of the city of Campos Novos –SC
Address: Praça Lauro Muller, 121 Centro - 89620-000 Campos Novos –SC
Phone: (55-49) 551 0400/ 0402
Fax: (55-49) 551 0407
E-mail:  al8058@tj.sc.gov.br

Ronaldo José Benedet – Public Security Secretary of Santa Catarina
Address: Rua Esteves Júnior, 80 centro – Florianópolis SC - 88015-530.
Phone: (55-48) 251 1112/ 1113
Fax: (55-48) 251 1120
E-mail:  benedet@ssp.sc.gov.br

Dilma Roussef – Minister of Mines and Energy
Address: Esplanada dos Ministérios - Bloco U - 70065-900 Brasília-DF
Phone: (55-61) 319 5041/ 5452/ 5073
Fax: (55-61) 319 5074
E-mail:  mme@mme.gov.br

Copies to:
 feijo@ssp.sc.gov.br;  hubner@mme.gov.br;  marina_silva@mma.gov.br;  claudio.langone@mma.gov.br;  casacivil@planalto.gov.br;  sg@planalto.gov.br;  tadeurigo@planalto.gov.br;  pr@planalto.gov.br;  mab@mabnacional.org.br;  sul@mabnacional.org.br

Movement of People Affected by Dams- MAB
- e-mail: mab@mabnacional.org.br
- Homepage: http://www.mabnacional.org.br

Comments

Hide the following 3 comments

OTHER SIDE OF THE FACTS

18.03.2005 06:27

OTHER SIDE OF THE FACTS: social moviments in brasil make crimes also and against workers.

The other side of the facts: you know them and YOU decide if you want to go on wasting your money in donations which go to the pocket of the heads and to buy alchool, cigarrets and parties. They DON'T take care of their own children and just use them to touch people internationally and get donations.

I'm just a brazilian who works very much, pays high taxs and is tired of seeing people using children and cheating others who also work and pay taxs like me. I was cheated for many years until I started paying better attention to the reality and I don't want others to be cheated like I was. The truth NEVER can be hiden. Let everybody know the other side of the facts and they make their mind but based on the truth. Why would I post this if it weren't the truth since I should be very glad for international donations cause they should relieve a lot the costs to the brazilian workers??? Right or left wing shouldn't metter cause this is true and I am telling only what I read in a trustfull newspaper and what I HAVE SEEN IN NORTH OF BRASIL BY MYSELF. I could tell you many other facts.

MST threat to pillage; supermarket delivers 1,5 t of food

Maceió - About 2 a thousand agricultural, on workers to the Movement of Trabalhadores Rurais Sem-Terra (MST), they had obtained a ton and stocking of foods donated for the Bompreço Supermarket, after threatening to pillage the establishment, that is in the center of Maceió. Armed scythes, machetes and pieces of woods, the without-land had left in march of the headquarters of the National Institute of Colonização and the Agrarian Reformation in Alagoas (Incra), where they are camped since the last monday, and if they had directed for the Bompreço, where they had invaded the parking and they had not only entered to consummate the booty because the direction of the supermarket closed the doors and negotiated with the leaderships of the MST the release of foods. During all the morning, customers of the Bompreço had lived tension moments. Crying out words of order and threatening to invade the all instant, the workers had formed a barrier human being, in the main door of the hipermercado one, leaving the customers who if find in the sufficiently nervous interior of the store. With the arrival of the Battalion of Shock of the Military Policy, the situation was controlled. However, the action of the workers was not only ece of fish in practical because the management of the Bompreço, in meeting with the coordination of the movement, guaranteed the view of 1,5 tons of foods, that had been deliver in the beginning of the afternoon. Coordinating according to state of the MST, Jose Carlos Da Silva, the foods must guarantee the feeding of the workers camped in the square per two days. "After this, the movement will have to take other initiatives to obtain food", alerted it, without raising which measures. Ricardo Rodrigues
 http://forum.estadao.com.br/forum/materia/view/050301197


One part of the society is working and paying tributes, a part of the society is trying to construct its life based on work, responsibility and respect, all with many difficulties; another part of this same society simply seats, drinks beer, plays cards, talks, does not take care nor of yheir children, uses these children as shield and to demand benefits and assistencialisms guided for a minority that only wants to promote itself politically and/or economically and this also it is not crime? Children are the only victims in this immoral history of corrupt government and irresponsible people. And the ignorant people because when they disrespect the law and the order also they are weakening the Justice and then what will be valid more and more will be the law of strongest and then they will be most wronged. Parasitic culture is this culture to only give without charging responsibilities, friend. If the hunger motivates this people to steal, why does not motivate them to work in this system capitalist so hated but of who they want to receive benefits? Is there bigger motivation to some one than to see his/her proper children crying hungry??? You give them land and they do not work nor to eat because they also want machines. Just see the examples that I cited before: they receive food and complain that they also want CIGARETTES. I am Brazilian and live in the north of Brazil, I have 42 years, I am of very poor family and I studied with much difficulty, I passed hunger and so my parents, I do know the people of the north and Brazilian northeast and I can say that a great part lives in the misery because it does not like and it does not want to work. They want carnival, parties, beaches, soccer, beer, cachaca, cigarette and to make children to abandon them or to use them to beg almses in the streets and to take the money for the ' parents ' or are spanked. The reality of the Brazilian culture is very different of that they divulge. We have a deeply immoral government, corrupt of one side(and does not import if of left or right), and a great part of the ignorant and/or lazy and/or criminal people of the other side. Who works and live with responsibility and respect is being strangled.

I saw lands next to a small city to the State of Pará to be given without-lands and they sold the trees of 5m of height in foot for 1/3 of the value of the cubical meter of the wood while that mount of women talked, with children dirty running in return and another mount of men passed the seated day playing cards, smoking and drinking, I asked why they did not knock down to measure and then sell the wood, they reply short and it was followed of laughs as if I was dull to ask that: ' it is too much work '. After few months, they already had sold the lots of lands for a very low price and they were another time disturbing the life of the city with that mount of children being used to ask for almses and to touch the people. Something very similar can be witnessed every day in an invasion in entrance of city of Belém where it has lands where they could plant for their survival but they nor keep the clean place, nor takes care of of children that, now and then, are running over in highway that passes in front and they live blocking it in protests to ask for blocks in the highway, that the city hall orders to clean the area and to collect the garbage, that does not have electricity and canalized water and that the basic basket is very little and ' nor comes with meat of first quality, nor a coke, nor a CIGARETTE package, chocolate... ' and ' ours children need something tasty', only some of the things that they find themselves in the right to receive gratuitously when there are millions of workers who nor meat of third quality have to eat, many times they nor have something to eat. When I speak in serious birth control is because children are the victims of this irresponsible people and, mainly, are give birth to be used as commotion. It is the irresponsible parasitic culture.

AND OTHER CRIME LAST WEEK:  http://www.estadao.com.br/nacional/noticias/2005/mar/08/185.htm


Without-land puts fire and depredates farm in the Pontal Sorocaba

In the imminence to be unhouse, the 150 integrant ones of the Movement of Trabalhadores Rurais Sem-Terra (MST), that since last week they occupy the farm Tupi Conan, in President Epitácio, in the Pontal of the Paranapanema, are depredating the property. The immediate ousting was determined yesterday by judge Rogério De Pierre, of the Fórum de Epitácio, but until today the Military Policy it alleged lack of half for the execution. The ousting was foreseen to have occurred per the morning. according to proprietor João of Barros Júnior, 64 years, the without-land had set fire in the used corral for milks of the cows. The flames had also consumed two milk coolants with capacity for 450 liters each and 600 bags of bovine salt. The fire still destroyed 150 palanques wooden and 300 chips of circa. The without-land had knocked down a tower of radio communication of 50 meters of height, had abated pigs and killed sheep. The farmer counts that he tried to take off photographs of the estragos, but the militant ones had taken the machine photographic and had pulled out the film. "They had ordered that I left my property senão would be worse." According to it, the without-land threatened to place fire in annuls and the used housings of the six of the farm. "they had not only made it because they and its familiar ones if had denied to leave the houses." The lawyer of the farmer, Cristiane Garci'a Bosso, asked for police protection. "the command of the Military Policy informed that it could not keep a viatura there, but guaranteed that it would make patrols." According to it, the situation is very tense in the farm. "the families of the employees are acuadas." This was 12ª time that the Tupi Conan suffered. In all, Justice determined the ousting, but the without-land comes back. according to lawyer, it already asked for the arrest of the leaders. The command of the p.m. informed that the ousting was not carried through before because it fit to the city hall to provide conduction for the without-land, what it was not made. The city hall alleged lack of conditions. The proprietor contracted trucks. The leader of the without-land in the region, Edi Ronan, was not found.
Jose Tomazela Maria

Verena


Big liar!!!!!!

19.03.2005 18:08

You are a liar!

You´re shame our nation for attacking those that steal only to eat....

All of the mentioned information sources, for you, are of the official media that always flat the Brazilian social movements, like MST.

Left people.


if poining out that so-called "social movements" are comitting crimes...

20.03.2005 04:49

...against their own workers is "lying", then with your "four legs good, two legs bad" logic (if you don't have a clue what that means read Animal Farm you idiot), I am a "liar" too.

I am sick of people getting barrages of abuse when they refuse to accept the line of giving total praise towards "the movment's" organisation of the week without highlighting their flaws.

The Bolsheviks were supposedly a "social movement" too. Look what happened there.

the middle finger


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