Come out in solidarity against repression in Brazil! Support NYC IMC journalist arrested in Brazil!
FRIDAY, March 4 3 pm 4 pm The Brazilian Consulate General in New York City 1185 Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue, bet. 46th & 47th St.), 21st Floor New York, NY 10036 consulado at brazilny.org
MASSACRE IN BRAZIL, NYC INDEPENDENT MEDIA CENTER JOURNALIST ARRESTED On February 16th, New York City Independent Media Center journalist Brad Will was arrested while videotaping the Goiás (Brazil) state police’s violent eviction of a peaceful, autonomous land occupation in the city of Goiânia, central Brazil. He was beaten, kicked, smacked and hurt, and his camera was stolen. Brad reports that they are doing nothing to return it, and an eyewitness says they smashed it. It is reported that up to 50 people remain missing, and 20 bodies lie in the morgue unidentified after police razed the settlement of 3,000 homes to the ground.
According to the Brazilian Constitution, land must be productive and have a social function. If land is idle, the government is supposed to take it away it from the owners and redistribute it to those who need it and will use it. The government has been slow to do this, so urban and rural squatters in Brazil carry out occupations of idle land to press the government to follow the Constitution. Homeless people in the city of Goiânia created the Sonho Real settlement in June 2004 on land which was deliberately kept empty by a real estate speculator. On Feb. 16, the Goiás state military police attacked the encampment, killing at least two squatters, wounding many others and arresting 800 people. The families of Sonho Real have nowhere to go and are being subjected to ongoing abuse by authorities.
The national government, under the presidency of Lula da Silva, has been negotiating with the International Monetary Fund, which requires the uprooting of poor people from their lands. In general, the IMF demands that confiscated lands be privatized and turned into export zones under the IMF’s Structural Adjustment Program (SAP).
We demand that the Brazilian government honor the Constitution’s pledge to the Brazilian people.
This Friday, the squatters of Goiânia march for justice and to reclaim land that is theirs by legal right. We are calling on the Brazilian government to restore the rights of the people of Sonho Real, return the land to the “uprooted of Goiânia,” prosecute and imprison the police responsible for the brutal and illegal massacre, and immediately begin a federal investigation.
The community of Sonho Real and its allies in Goiânia are calling for autonomous actions at Brazilian embassies and consulates throughout the world on Friday March 4th as they march to demand justice. We in New York City answer their call!
Please join us!
****************************************** CALL NOW TO DENOUNCE THIS INJUSTICE!! Brazilian Consulate phone: (917) 777-7777; 917-417-8097, 917-417-8662 Fax: 212- 827-0225 (Dial 0 after message and you'll be switched to an operator. Ask politely where you might leave a message regarding the assault on the homeless encampment in Goiânia, Brazil)
MESSAGE: We ask the follow actions be taken in respect to the case of the occupation of Sonho Real (trans., “Real Dream,” the name the squatters gave to their encampment representing their dream for permanent housing), in Parque Oeste Industrial, Goiânia, Brazil:
(pronounced: Sonyo re-ow, parke westche induustree-ow, goy-AH-nia braa-zil)
1. The government of Brazil must allow a federal investigation into the illegal police repression 2. Immediately prosecute and jail the police responsible for the violence 3. Land must be restored to the rightful residents who were displaced on February 16, and all property taken from them or destroyed in the raid must be returned or compensated for.
The international community is watching this situation very closely. We demand that appropriate actions be taken by the Brazilian authorities to right this injustice.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ IN ADDITION TO PHONE CALLS: FAX IS BEST, THEN EMAIL, THEN LETTERS TO THE FOLLOWING:
President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Endereço Pça. dos Três Poderes, Palácio do Planalto 4º andar - 70.150-900 Braslia - DF Telefone: (61) 411 1225 E-mail: sg at planalto.gov.br
Governor of the State of Goiás Marconi Ferreira Perillo Júnior Telefone (62) 213-1456 r. 231 Fax (62) 213-1479 ou 213-1481 E-mail: governador at palacio.go.gov.br
Secretary for Public Security - Secretário de Segurança Pública Jonathas Silva Telefone (62) 265-1000 ou 265-1050 Fax (62) 265-1001 ou 265-1002 E-mail: Isabela at go.gov.br
Mayor of Goiânia Iris Rezende Machado Telefone: 0800 6460 156. E-mail: 156 at goiania.go.gov.br
United Nations in Brazil primapagina at primagina.com.br
International Human Rights Commission Mail: Petitions Team Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights United Nations Office at Geneva 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Fax: + 41 22 917 9022 (particularly for urgent matters) E-mail: tb-petitions at ohchr.org
International Comission for Human Rights Mail: Commission/Sub-Commission Team (1503 Procedure) Support Services Branch Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights United Nations Office at Geneva 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Fax: + 41 22 917 9011 E-mail: 1503 at ohchr.org
Permanent Mission of Brazil to the UN 747 Third Avenue 9th Floor, New York, NY 10017-2803 USA Phone: (212) 372-2600 :: Fax: (212) 371-5716 E-mail: delbrasonu at delbrasonu.org
*************************************** FOR MORE INFORMATION:
rad at riseup.net http://www.midiaindependente.org/ http://nyc.indymedia.org/ http://americas.org/item_18037