Rubber Tapper Leader Assaulted in Amapa
6/20/91
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
/** rainfor.genera: 144.0 **/
** Topic: Attack on Pedro Ramos, rubber ta **
** Written 6:37 pm Jul 20, 1991 by iea in cdp:rainfor.genera **
June 20 1991
URGENT ACTION:
RUBBER TAPPER LEADER ASSAULTED IN AMAPA ON EVE OF PUBLIC
HEARING ON ROAD IMPACTS
Pedro Ramos, vice president of the National Council of Rubber
Tappers was assaulted last night in his home in Macapa, Amapa in
the northern Brazilian Amazon. The assault came on the eve of the
first public hearing on the environmental impacts of a road in the
history of the Amazon. Answering his door at 3:00 AM, Ramos was
clubbed by two men. One told him, "this is just a warning."
Ramos, long time local union leader and colleague of murdered
rubber tapper leader Chico Mendes, leads the local effort to
suspend the construction of a road, BR 156 until the
construction company follows environmental impact legislation.
The 173 kilometer road links state capital Maraca with
Laranjal do Jari, headquarters of the Jari-Monte Dourado
mining and paper company, cutting through two legally
protected forest areas, the Maraca and Cajari Extractive
Reserves. The road threatens to drastically increase logging and
agriculture and deforestation in the rubber tapper~ areas, and the
state government is promoting agricultural
colonization in the area. Two thousand families of rubber
tappers, Brazil nut gatherers, fishers and small farmers
inhabit the reserves, some 800,000 hectares intended to
protect their natural resources and the forest.
In January, the Council of Rubber Tappers and environmental group
the Institute for Amazon Studies, asked the Brazilian
Environmental Institute (IBAMA) to halt construction, pending
preparation of the legally required environmental impact
statement. IBAMA suspended work on the federally funded road. The
statement was prepared and the groups requested a public hearing.
The hearing, scheduled for July 24, is the first
hearing (permitted under new environmental legislation) to be held
on a road in the Amazon.
The state government has strong interest in the road, as does
Senator Henrique Almeida, one of the owners of the
construction company builidng the road, C.R. Almeida. Gold
mining interests, and loggers, as well as the Jari company
also support rapid completion of the road. Local gold miners or
loggers interested in invading the reserves may be behind the
attack.
The attack comes in the wake of a meeting of Amazon governors
convened by Gilberto Mestrinho, governor of Amazonas state, to
approve proposed legislation exempting all resource
exploitation in the Amazon from environmental control and
denouncing supposed attempts to "internationalize" Amazonia.
Governors of important Amazon states--Para, Acre, and
Rondonia--did not support the proposed law.
Ramos, 50, said "We are not against the road. We are in favor of
respect for the law - we want the reserves demarcated, and use
rights granted to the families there before the road is built."
Ramos reports that Governor Barcellos is fomenting
conflict and tension in Laranjal do Jari, where the hearing is to
be held, accusing the rubber tappers of "internationalizing the
Amazon."
The attack underlines the point made in a letter to President Bush
by eight US senators on the eve of Brazilian President Collor's
visit to the US that effective protection of the
Amazon will depend on minimal guarantees of basic rights of
citizenship in the region.
YOUR RESPONSE TO AND CIRCULATION OF THIS URGENT ACTION
BULLETIN CAN HELP TO PREVENT THE ASSASSINATION THAT THIS
VICIOUS ATTACK CLEARLY THREATENS. PEDRO RAMOS WILL CONTINUE HIS
WORK IN DEFENSE OF THE FOREST AND THE PEOPLES OF THE
FOREST. YOU CAN HELP HIM. WRITE, FAX OR TELEX GOVERNOR
BARCELLOS AND PRESIDENT COLLOR, EXPRESSING CONCERN WITH SAFTEY OF
PEDRO RAMOS AND SUPPORTING HIS WORK IN DEFENSE OF THE
AMAZON. POLITELY REQUEST AN URGENT POLICE INVESTIGATION OF THE
ATTACK AND JUDICIAL ACTION AGAINST THE PERPETRATORS.
FAX, WRITE OR TELEX:
Sr. Annibal Barcellos Ilmo. Sr.
Governdor do Amapa Fernando Collor de Mello Rua.
Gen. Rondon 259 Presidente da Republica
68900 Macapa, Amapa Palacio do Planalto
Brazil 70150 Brasilia D.F.
Brazil
fax 55 96 222 0756 fax 55 61 226 7566
telex 962487 telex 611451
for further information contact Luiz Fernando Allegretti,
Institute for Amazon Studies, Phone: 55-41-262-9494
Fax: 55-41-264-7152