URGENT APPEAL BRAZIL LANDLESS PEASANTS

[theorganizer at labornet.org]

URGENT APPEAL BRAZIL LANDLESS PEASANTS

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To All Supporters of Labor and Democratic Rights

Dear Friends:

We just received the following appeal (reprinted below) from 
Brazil. We urge you to add your name (and that of your organization) 
in support of this appeal. We will gather all the names and
send them collectively to the authorities in Brazil, with
an e-mail copy to the Brazilian Justice Committee (c/o State
Deputy Renato Simoes).

Bringing to justice the assassins of the more than 220 leaders 
of Brazil's rural workers' movements who have been 
killed in recent years is a central task facing supporters of 
labor and democratic rights worldwide.

As you know, the assassins of Chico Mendes, the legendary leader
of the Rubber Workers Union in the state of Acre, were openly
allowed to escape from jail after serving only a brief sentence.

Today Darcy Alves and his son, the men convicted in the assassination
of Chico Mendes, are scot-free. They have a large estate and even a
family store in the city of Rio Branco (Acre). The Brazilian 
authorities have done nothing to apprehend Alves and his son and
return them to prison.

Moreover, the Brazilian government has refused to lift a finger to
detain and bring to justice the assassins of the other 200-plus 
leaders of the workers' and peasants' movement of Brazil.

Now is the time to put an end to the killings. We must build a
mass-based international campaign to demand that those responsible
for the assassinations of Jurandir dos Santos and Roberto Duarte de
Oliveira be brought to justice.

Please send your endorsement to:

Open World Conference, c/o San Francisco L
abor Council, 
1188 Franklin St. #203, San Francisco CA 94109.
Tel. (510) 234-6403
Fax: (510) 234-6998, 
or e-mail: <owc at igc.org> or <theorganizer at igc.org>

Financial donations to help defray our campaign costs (mailings,
publication of information bulletins, translations, xeroxing,
phone calls, etc.) would also be greatly appreciated. They should
be mailed to our attention at the San Francisco Labor Council
(address above).

In Solidarity,

Ed Rosario and Mya Shone,
co-coordinators,
Open World Conference in Defense of the Independence
of the Trade Unions and Democratic Rights

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INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR JUSTICE 
FOR JURANDIR DOS SANTOS & ROBERTO DUARTE DE OLIVEIRA

Open Letter to the Brazilian Authorities

To the attention of:

Mr. Renan Calheiros
Minister of Justice of Brazil 
Esplanada dos Ministerios; Bloco T; 
CEP 700064-900; Brasilia; DF
Fax: 061-322-6817

Mr. Jose Afonso da Silva, 
Minister of Public Security of Sao Paulo state
Av. Higienopolis 758
CEP 12380-000; Sao Paulo; SP
Fax: 011-3823-5708


Dear Messrs. Calheiros and Da Silva:

We the undersigned have been informed of a motion adopted 
unanimously by the 96 families of the Santa Rita Encampment on 
Jan. 5, 1999 that calls for:

"- a prompt investigation into the assassinations of Jurandir dos 
Santos and Roberto Duarte de Oliveira, and

"- the immediate punishment of those responsible for these 
assassinations."

What are the facts?

The motion adopted by the Santa Rita Encampment states the 
following:

"Jurandir dos Santos and Roberto Duarte de Oliveira, both members 
of the Movement of Landless Peasants of Brazil (MST), were last 
seen the night of December 19, 1998, at the MST encampment of 
Nova Esperanca (New Hope) on the Santa Rita estate in the 
township of Sao Jose dos Campos (state of Sao Paulo).

"They had taken off by foot to the closest town to do some shopping 
for the upcoming Christmas holiday. En route they were 
assassinated. Their bodies were found December 23. They had been 
shot in the head at close range. Jurandir had been brutally tortured; 
his body was severely slashed and several limbs were fractured. 

"These crimes cannot go unpunished. The assassins seek to 
intimidate the 96 families in the encampment [land occupation]. 
These are rural workers who are simply fighting for a small plot of 
land so they can have the right to a future. The assassins wish to 
silence the MST and prevent it from expanding its struggle for 
agrarian reform in Brazil.

"We accuse:

"- the Federal Government of Brazil is responsible for these deaths 
insofar it continues to refuse to implement an agrarian reform 
program, thereby denying millions of rural Brazilians the most 
elementary means of subsistence.

"- the large landowners (fazendeiros) are responsible for these 
deaths, as they systematically hire armed goons (jaguncos) who then 
carry out the threats and ultimately the assassinations. The 
landowners' association -- UDR -- was formed to prevent the 
landless peasants from having access to the land. The UDR=B9s 
methods include the most heinous forms of terror and murder.

"We demand that the Brazilian authorities undertake a rigorous and 
immediate investigation into the assassinations of Jurandir dos 
Santos and Roberto Duarte de Oliveira, as well as the exemplary 
punishment of the criminals.

"We will call on all supporters of democratic and human rights to 
join us in support of our demands for:

"- Agrarian Reform. It=B9s Everyone=B9s Struggle!
"- Occupy, Resist, Produce!
"- Whereas the Landowners Want War, We Want Land!
"- Investigate the Assassinations of Jurandir dos Santos and 
Roberto Durate de Oliveira and Punish those Responsible!

(motion approved by the general assembly of the 96 families at the 
Santa Rita Encampment, January 5, 1999)

We the undersigned endorse the above statement and join our voices 
to demand a thorough investigation into these two assassinations 
and the punishment of those responsible.

Sincerely,

(initial list of endorsers of this appeal)

Journalists Union of the state of Sao Paulo; Public Service Workers 
in Science and Technology; Municipal Workers Union of Sao Jose 
dos Campos; Postal Workers Union of Sao Jose dos Campos; 
Metalworkers Union of Sao Jose dos Campos; SEEC of Sao Jose 
dos Campos; Industrial Kitchen Workers Union of Sao Jose dos 
Campos; Workers Party (PT) of Maua; Workers Party (PT) of Poa; 
Workers Party (PT) of Ribeirao Pires; Workers Party (PT) of Sao 
Jose dos Campos; PSTU of Sao Jose dos Campos; PcdoB of Sao 
Jose dos Campos; CA History Dept., USP; Dr. Denis Landyer 
(lawyer); Milton Bueno de Almeida, City Councilperson (PY), Poa; 
Renato Simoes, State Deputy for Sao Paulo and President of the 
Commission on Human Rights of the Legislative Assembly of Sao 
Paulo; MST of Sao Jose dos Campos; Nova Esperanca (New Hope) 
Encampment; MST of Sao Paulo.


* Please add your name to this list of endorsers. Send all copies 
of your appeals and all letters of support to:

Justice Committee
Office of Deputy Renato Simoes 
Assembleia Legislativa do Estado de Sao Paulo
Av. Pedro Alvares Cabral s/n=BA
Fax: 011-884-3986
e-mail: rsimoes at ibase.org.br

Initial list of International Endorsers:

Initial List of International Endorsers: 

Baldemar Velasquez, President, Farm Labor Organizing 
Committee/FLOC (AFL-CIO); Buzz Hargrove, President, 
Canadian Auto Workers (CAW); Trim Bissell, national 
coordinator, Campaign for Labor Rights (Washington, DC); 
Warren Mar,  Organizing Institute, AFL-CIO; Ellen M. 
Starbird (Oakland, CA); Daniel Gluckstein, Coordinator, 
on behalf of the International Liaison Committee for a 
Workers¹ International (ILC); Pharis J. Harvey, Executive 
Director, on behalf of the International Labor Rights Fund 
(Washington, D.C.); Ralph Schoenman, Editorial Board, 
The Organizer; David Wald; USA/Cuba InfoMed; Edward Abplanlap 
(Lincoln, NE); Alice Zachmann, Director, Guatemala Human 
Rights Commission/USA; Prof. Ray Morris, Dept. of Sociology, 
York University; Alan Benjamin, Organizing Committee, Open 
World Conference-2000; Wanda Ballentine; Resource Center of 
The Americas; Pamela Costain, Executive Director, RCTA; Ana 
de Ita, Centro de Estudios para el Cambio en el Campo Mexicano 
(Mexico); Albert Vetere Lannon, Chair, Laney College Labor 
Studies Department; Karl Fischbacher, Independent Unionists
 within the OeGB (Austria); The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur 
Base Communities; Grassroots News Network (Austin Texas); 
Greg Durka; Project South (Atlanta, GA); Bruce Allen, 1st Vice 
President, St. Catharines & District Labour Council (Canada); 
Tom Athanasiou, writer; Julian Kunnie, Member, Socialist Party 
of Azania; Peg Morton (Eugene, Oregon); Christina Holcroft, 
Sc.D., University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Karen Brodkin; 
Professor Al Campbell, Department of Economics, University of 
Utah; S. Leticia Figueroa Ramìrez, UAM (Mexicali, Mexico); 
Comite de Coordination, Colloque Feministe Francophone 
(Dakar, Senegal); Marcela Alvarez P.D. (Mexico D.F.); Joyce 
Wallace; Marcelo Suarez, Coordinator, Community Action on Latin 
America - C.A.L.A. (Madison, Wisconsin); Garvin, Kristin M; 
John Martin West, IWW (El Paso, TX); Jon Jonakin, Associate 
Professor, Economics Department of Economics and Finance, 
Tennessee Technological University; Paul Williams (Atlantic 
City, NJ); Etan Wexler (Vienna, VA); Mustard Seed Catholic Worker 
(Saginaw, MI); Roger S. Gottlieb, Professor of Philosophy, 
Department of Humanities and Arts (Worcester, MA); Christopher 
B. Gray, Assoc.Prof., Philosophy, Concordia U., Montreal, 
Executive member at large, CU Faculty Assn.  (Quebec, Canada); 
Red Solidaridad con America Latina "Oscar A. Romero" en 
Europa, Grupo Dinamarca; AH-Group Stockholm (Sweden); Louis 
Lefeber, CERLAC, York University Professor-emeritus (Toronto, 
Canada); Martin Zabe, University of Louisville, Department 
of Biochemistry (Louisville, KY); John Witeck, Coordinator, 
Philippine Workers Support Committee (Hawaii, U.S); Charles 
F. Moreira (Jaring, Malaysia); Millie Phillips; SF unit chair 
for IBEW 1245; J. Shafer for SISIS; Ole Fjord Larsen, Secr.,  
on behalf of the formative world parliament of the united 
peoples; Dr Syed Husin Ali, President, Parti Rakyat Malaysia 
(Malaysian People's Party); Dr. Molly Lee, Co-ordinator 
International Bureau, ALIRAN (Malaysia); Erin Randel, Columbus, 
Ohio; Joe Silvaggio; Katie Halloran; Mike (Bread and Roses 
High School, New York, NY); Global Sweatshop Coalition 
(Disney/Haiti Justice Campaign); IWW NY General Membership 
Branch; NY CISPES; Nicaragua Solidarity Network of Greater NY; 
Mary Jean Braun (Tucson, Arizona); Nell A. Beekman (Oberlin 
College, Oberlin, Ohio); Fellowship of Reconciliation ‹ Task 
Force on Latin America and the Caribbean/ Panama Campaign 
(San Francisco, CA); Tony Saunois, for the Committee for a 
Workers International (with affiliated parties and groups in 
more than 30 different countries); Dr. David Bernans (Part-time 
faculty @ Concordia University, Montreal); Paula Niemeyer, 
York University Faculty Association (YUFA - North York, Canada); 
Enrique Priego, Leticia Figueroa, Margarita Barajas, Guillermo 
Alvarez, Adriana Wells, Julieta Curiel, investigadores del 
Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales de laUniversidad Autónoma 
de Baja California; Víctor Nuño, Juan Ortiz Huendo, maestros de 
la UABC; José Moreno Mena, Centro de Derechos Humanos y Educación 
Cívica; Javier Cañizares, Jesús N., Isauro Jerez, trabajadores 
mineros de Cananea, Sonora; Gemma López; Raymundo Blas, Comité 
Fronterizo de Derechos Humanos "Ricardo Flores Magón"; Federico 
García Estrada, subprocurador; Rosa Arreguín, Manuel Guillén, 
visitadores, Procuraduría de Derechos Humanos y Protección 
Ciudadana de Baja California; (Gruppe Internationale Berlin / 
Germany); Paul Morse (Lowell, Massachusetts); Mujer y Medio 
Ambiente A.C. (Mexico DF, Mexico); Ross Swanston (New Zealand); 
John Dillon, research co-ordinator, Ecumenical Coalition for 
Economic Justice (Canada); Jeanie Keltner, editor, Because People 
Matter (Sacramento, CA); Erin Randel (Columbus, Ohio); Sharon a. 
Bonney; Prof. Beatriz Urrea, Dept. Spanish and Portuguese, U. 
of Arizona (Tucson, AZ); Guatemala Solidarity Committee 
(London, Ontario, Canada)