Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 23:51:02 +0200
From: Hugh Rodwell <m-14970-AT-mailbox.swipnet.se>
Subject: M-TH: New massacre in Brazil


Just received this. Will be posting more when more news arrives.

Cheers,

Hugh

__________________________



STOP NEW PEASANT MASSACRES IN BRAZIL!

On March 26 a new peasant massacre shaken Brazil. Two important leaders
of the Land-less Movement (MST) where assassinated in Par*.
Para is a northern state in which the Amazon meets the sea. It is a very
rich area for agriculture and mining. The killings happened in the city
of Paraupebas (500 miles from Bel=C8m, Par*=EDs capital) and in the same
municipality (Eldorado dos Caraj*s) in which happened two years a famous
massacre.
Onac=CClio Araujo  de Barros "Fusquinha", a member of the MST=EDs National
Executive Committee and of the PSTU (United Socialist Workers Party,
affiliated to the LIT-Fourth International) and Valentim da Silva Serra
"Doutor", the MST=EDs state co-ordinator, where murdered.
Both comrades where survivors of the previous massacre. Twelve Military
Police (11 of them participated in the previous carnage) and 30 armed
mercenaries where defending the land-owner Carlos Ant=D9nio da Costa. When
the 550 families which organised the occupation of that properties two
days ago where peacefully leaving in order to meet the 690 families
which participated in a former occupation the repressive forces attacked
them. Valentim da Silva Serra "Doutor" was injured and taking prisoners.
=46ew hours later his body was find with plenty ballots and signs of
sadism.
The land-owner previously appropriated illegally this land (150
hectares) and maintained his control base on the force.
The governor of that province is Amir Gabriel, who is from the same
party (PSDB) as the Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso.
Bel=EDem, the state=EDs capital, is ruled by the coalition "bel=C8m Popular",
which is integrated by the Brazilian Workers Party (PT), the former
pro-Albanian Stalinists (PC do B) and the former pro-Moscow "Communists"
(PPS). All of them have responsibility in this new massacre.
The Brazilian government prepared that massacre when last week they
adopted a new set of laws which declared that land seizures are a crime.
Massive demonstrations happened on the 27 march in Paraupebas and Bel=C8m.
Brazil had tens of million of unemployed, sub-employed and land-less
peasants. For the so-call Social Democrat government it is important to
preserve the ancient and anti-historic rural property-owner, despite
that them are using slave or servant relations and are destroying the
Amazon and the ecology. Currently Rondonia is experienced the big fire
in the Amazon=EDs recorder history. Hundreds of species are threatened or
being disappear.   It is capitalism, and its necessity of accumulating
profits, who is responsible for the irresponsible way in which the
world=EDs biggest forest jungle is being liquidated and of the terrible
peoples=ED tragedies.
The peasants, workers and shanty-town poor have to organise councils and
militias with the aim to defend themselves. The masses have to take the
streets. All the big states have to be in the hands of the peasants.
Only the people who work the land should entitled to be the owners. We
are for a workers and peasant alliance, for the nationalisation of all
the big states, for collective rrural communes and for a workers and
peasant government.
We call for the international left to organise actions, pickets and
petitions against the Brazilian government. When Cardoso was in London,
an impressive contingent "welcomed" him. We need a big international
protest.

To co-ordinate with us or to have more information. Please contact:

lcmrci-AT-hotmail.com
BCM 3213 London WC1N 3XX

lbi-AT-fortalnet.com.br,
Caixa Postal 12.108, CEP 60.021.970 BRASIL


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