[E-rundbrief] Info 1187 - Attacks against rural activists in Brazil

[Matthias Reichl]

E-Rundbrief - Info 1187 - The Right Livelihood Foundation (S): Attacks 
and death threats put members of the Pastoral Land Commission in 
Brazil at risk.

Bad Ischl, 20.2.2013

Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit

www.begegnungszentrum.at

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Attacks and death threats put members of the Pastoral Land Commission 
in Brazil at risk

The Right Livelihood Foundation

Press Release February 19th 2013
		
The Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) (1), which has for years campaigned 
tirelessly to advance social justice and the rights of small farmers 
and the landless in Brazil, suffered three attacks on its headquarters 
in the state of Acre this year. It is suspected that these attacks are 
reprisal attacks on CPT, which recently denounced irregularities in 
forest management and land ownership in the states of Acre and 
Amazonas. The Right Livelihood Award Foundation, which in 1991 
recognised the work of the Pastoral Land Commission, condemns the 
attacks and demands increased security for rural workers.

The Right Livelihood Award Foundation is deeply concerned that the CPT 
has been attacked seven times in the past two years and three times 
since January 2013. These attacks took place at the headquarters of 
the CPT in the state of Acre in western Brazil bordering Peru and 
Bolivia where the organisation had questioned the concentration of 
natural resources in the hands of few.

The Right Livelihood Award was bestowed jointly on CPT and the MST 
(Landless Workers’ Movement) in 1991 precisely because of their work 
on behalf of social justice and respect for the rights of small 
farmers and landless peasants in Brazil.
According to the National Committee of the CPT, burglars forced access 
into the CPT headquarters of Rio Branco, Acre, on the morning of 
January 21, and stole work items such as computers, printers, cameras 
and important institutional documentation. The police could not find 
any fingerprints to provide clues about the attackers. Another attack 
occurred at the same venue during the early hours of January 22. At 
that time the criminals only stole documents, including the police 
report from the day before. An identical attack occurred on January 30.

In addition to these break-ins and thefts, Marlene Braga Maria 
Martins, coordinator of CPT in the region, and Cosme Capistano da 
Silva, pastoral worker in the city of Boca do Acre, have both received 
death threats. The National Committee of the CPT considers that the 
threats are resulting from the organization's work on land 
redistribution issues in conflict zones of Brazil. CPT has filed 
complaints in these cases to the relevant state and federal authorities.

According to a CPT report (2), 29 people were killed in Brazil during 
2011 because of land related conflicts. A partial survey conducted in 
2012 indicates that this trend is continuing.

Land conflict in Brazil is on the rise, as is the number of activists 
being threatened. For each new violent attack, the CPT attributes the 
same causes: economic interests, impunity, delay in court proceedings 
and inefficiency in land reform policy implementation.

The Executive Director of the Right Livelihood Award Foundation, Ole 
von Uexkull, reiterated his concern at the lack of protection given to 
rural workers in Brazil and called on state and federal governments to 
vigorously pursue investigations in the cases reported: "These recent 
attacks on CPT workers and offices, together with the recent murders 
of Brazilian MST activists Cícero Guedes (3) and Regina dos Santos 
Pinho show that threats to rural workers need to be taken seriously 
and deserve our full attention." 		

More information

     * Article about the break-in in Acre (4)
     * CPT Laureate page on Right Livelihood Award Foundation (5)

(1) http://rightlivelihood.org/cpt.html
(2) 
http://www.cptnacional.org.br/index.php/noticias/15-artigos/1471-mortes-no-campo-vergonha-nacional
(3) http://rightlivelihood.org/pressrel_feb13.html
(4) 
http://www.cptnacional.org.br/index.php/noticias/12-conflitos/1442-sede-da-cpt-no-acre-e-invadida-pela-setima-vez
(5) http://rightlivelihood.org/cpt.html

See also: Info 1178 - Condemning the murder of Cícero Guedes, MST Brasil.
http://lists.horus.com/pipermail/e-rundbrief/2013/001245.html

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Matthias Reichl, Pressesprecher/ press speaker,
Begegnungszentrum fuer aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
Center for Encounter and active Non-Violence
Wolfgangerstr. 26, A-4820 Bad Ischl, Austria,
fon: +43 6132 24590, Informationen/ informations,
Impressum in: http://www.begegnungszentrum.at
Spenden-Konto Nr. 0600-970305 (Blz. 20314) Sparkasse Salzkammergut,
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IBAN: AT922031400600970305 BIC: SKBIAT21XXX

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Ausgezeichnet mit dem (österr.) "Journalismus-Preis von unten 2010"

Honoured by the (Austrian) "Journalism-Award from below 2010"