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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

Time Running Out to Recapture Assassins of Chico Mendes?

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Forest Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises

May 22, 1995

OVERVIEW & SOURCE

Following is Rainforest Action Network's May Action alert, which

draws attention to the fact that Rubber-Tapper leader Chico

Mendes' murderers remain at large after having escaped from

prison. The killing of Mendes was one of almost 1700 murders in

land conflicts in rural Brazil over two decades. Brazil has a new

president, and it is urgent that the new government become aware

that international indignation continues over the escape of Chico

Mendes' assassins. Letters are requested. This was posted in

econet's ran.news conference.

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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:

/* Written 9:27 PM May 15, 1995 by rainforest in igc:ran.news */

/* ---------- "Action Alert: Mendes Assassins" ---------- */

Action Alert 108

May, 1995

Time running out to recapture assassins of Chico Mendes?

The two men convicted of assassinating rubber-tapper leader Chico

Mendes are still at large, and time is running out to put one of

them behind bars.

A Brazilian jury convicted rancher Darly Alves da Silva and his

son Darci Pereira da Silva in the 1988 murder of Mendes. Chico

Mendes was leader of the rubber-tappers' union headquartered in

Xapuri in the western Amazon state of Acre. He enlarged the

rubber-tappers' economic struggle to include concern for

labor-union organizing, the entire rainforest ecosystem, and the

future of the planet.

The killing of Mendes was one of almost 1700 murders in land

conflicts in rural Brazil over two decades. But the 1990 trial of

his assassins marked the first time a rancher behind such a crime

was convicted and sentenced to prison.

The da Silvas escaped from the prison in Rio Branco, Acre in

February 1993. It was no surprise. Local citizens' groups had

long predicted the escape, protesting the scandalously lax

security at the jail. The killers just walked out, with the

apparent complicity of the police.

A state appeals court had already overturned Darly's conviction

on the grounds of insufficient evidence. That ruling is on appeal

to Brazil's Supreme Court.

At the time of the escape, Darly was being held only to face

trial on a previous murder warrant from Parana state. The statute

of limitations on that crime runs out this year.

Brazil has a new president, and it is urgent that the new

government become aware that international indignation continues

over the escape of Chico Mendes' assassins. The murder of Chico

Mendes and the conviction of his killers was a national public

event of immense proportions in Brazil.

As a result, the escape of the murderers enormously reinforced

the pattern that the rich and powerful are above the law. Such

impunity for the perpetrators of violence against minorities and

the poor unfortunately remains the rule. Consider also:

* the escape of the killers of union leader Expedito Ribeiro in

Para,

* the massacre of Yanomami in 1993, when marauding gold-miners

brutally slaughtered scores of men, women and children,

* the 1993 slaughter of 111 inmates by military police at

Carandiru prison in Sao Paolo.

New programs for the protection of the Amazon or high-level

commitments to sustainable economic development are unlikely to

have substantial effects without at least a minimal functioning

judicial system.

What you can do

This situation can be changed with political will. Please fax or

write Brazil's new leader to express your concern over the

recapture of the assassins of Chico Mendes.

Sample letter:

Ilmo. Exmo. Sr. Fernando Henrique Cardoso

Presidente da Republica

Palacio do Planalto

70150-900 Brasilia DF

Brasil

fax: 011-55-61-224-0829

Copy to:

Ilmo. Exmo. Sr. Ministro da Justica

Nelson Jobin

Ministerio da Justica

Esplanada dos Ministerios

70150-900 Brasilia DF

Brasil

fax: 011-55-61-321-5145

Dear Mr. President:

Chico Mendes is a hero in Brazil and around the world.

Environmental and human-rights activists are saddened and angry

that his killers are escaping punishment.

The eyes of the world are on Brazil. Your nation's reputation in

the community of nations may well depend on returning these

assassins to the domain of law.

I respectfully encourage and urge you to use the full powers of

your office to recapture the convicts Darly Alves da Silva and

Darci Pereira da Silva. Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

###RELAYED TEXT ENDS###

You are encouraged to utilize this information for personal

campaign use; including writing letters, organizing campaigns and

forwarding. All efforts are made to provide accurate, timely

pieces; though ultimate responsibility for verifying all

information rests with the reader. Check out our Gaia Forest

Conservation Archives at URL=

http://forests.lic.wisc.edu/forests/gaia.html

Networked by:

Ecological Enterprises

Email (best way to contact)-> gbarry@forests.org

Phone->(608) 233-2194 || Fax->(608) 231-2312