Dear friends,

This is to inform you about the present situation in relation to the Tupinikim/Guarani land struggle, and to ask your signature for an important public letter which you can read below this message.

Between 6 and 14 September, the Tupinikim and Guarani communities cut eucalyptus trees and burnt them in the territory in dispute with Aracruz (11,009 ha), aiming to, as the leaders commented, “take the evil out of our lands”, and to put pressure on the Brazilian government to demarcate their lands as soon as possible.

Concrete result of these actions was that the FUNAI finished their opinion paper on the challenge/defense of Aracruz Celulose. They rejecting the arguments of Aracruz, and recommended the Minister to edit the demarcation decree. The Minister of Justice received the documentation on 12 September and has a 30-days legal period to decide on the issue.

 

The main reason to write you now is to inform about a recent campaign which has been strenghtened last week, in which Aracruz, by using trade unions and other related companies, tries to incite the local and regional population against the Tupinikim and Guarani indigenous peoples, using false accusations:

–     at least 10 big paid announcements in the main regional newspapers, calling the Indians “pseudo-indians”, “barbarous”, “criminals”, “thiefs”, just to mention some terms, and appealing to the government to intervene against the indigenous protest actions;

–     several enormous outdoors spread in the town of Aracruz with sentences like “we do not want Indians anymore, who are threatening workers”;

–     a demonstration was held on Friday, 15 September, in the town of Aracruz against the Indians and against NGOs that support them; the demonstration counted with more than 3,000 participants, especially workers of Aracruz and the companies where outsourced employees work; the workers had two choices: continue working or going to the demonstration; some witnesses affirmed that extra hours were paid to worker; the demonstration was headed by two of the trade unions of workers related with Aracruz Celulose (Sinticel and Sintiema) over which the company has 100% control. Aracruz commented in the newspapers this demonstration as “ a sign of maturing of trade-unionism in Brazil”!

Result of this all is a wave of racism and discrimination against the Indians. For example, one indigenous leader was stopped by two (non-indigenous) children at the street, and one of the children said to this father, pointing his finger to the indigenous leader,  “father, so this is a thief?” Another example are indigenous students being impeded to assist school lessons in the Aracruz town because they are using indigenous paintings on their body. Part of the indigenous population start to hide their identity.

 

We are quite concerned with this and therefore made the below letter which we intend to send to all the official authorities that have the aim to combat discrimination and racism.

 

Please sign up this letter (sorry for errors in the English), as possible before 21^st of September. It is just one of the urgent measures we are taking to combat this perverse campaign of Aracruz.

 

We are also preparing another campaign of sending letters to the Minister of Justice, asking him for the urgent land demarcation, of which we intend to send you an example letter as soon as possible

 

Thanks for your support,

Alert against the Green Desert Movement

19 September 2006

 

 

 

ARACRUZ CELULOSE PRACTICES

HIDEOUS CRIME AGAINST THE INDIANS!

 

The civil society, by means of organizations, movements and persons, wishes to demonstrate publicly its opinion and its indignation about the defamatory campaign and the racism that Aracruz Celulose S/A is practicing against the Tupinikim and Guarani indigenous peoples.

 

The strategy of defense that Aracruz has adopted over the past few months, when it sees itself confronted with the eminent decision about the devolution of the indigenous lands that it invaded, has been to deny the existence of these traditional peoples in Espirito Santo and to disqualify and ridicule their indigenous identity. THIS IS RACISM! RACISM IS A HIDEOUS CRIME AND UNBAILABLE!

 

The strategy of Aracruz Celulose not only shows a disrespect with the history, the memory and culture of the Espirito Santo people, but also that this company has no scruples when it deals with the issue of guaranteeing its interests, at the expense of the misery and destruction of traditional peoples and the environment. Campaigns, costing millions of reals, financed by this company is camouflaging the impacts caused by the eucalyptus monoculture in Brazil and exposing the traditional peoples of this country to unspeakable bad humiliations.

 

Those who know the history of this state can not just assist passively to this violation of the dignity and the rights of the Tupinikim and Guarani. If, on the one hand, we see the Aracruz Celulose company co-opting trade unions, financing politicians, manipulating governments, outsourcing companies, and NGOs – used to pay less taxes -, besides the big media that has a commitment with its interests, we see, on the other hand, the indigenous people being attacked every time more,  while they are struggling untiringly – already for 40 years – to get their lands and their liberty back.

 

In this moment, the Brazilian state, through the Minister of Justice Márcio Thomas Bastos, has an historical opportunity to correct grave mistakes committed in the past against the Tupinikim and Guarani in Espirito Santo, by guaranteeing their constitutional right and demarcating their entire territory, already identified by the FUNAI and recognized as such by the ex-Minister of Justice Iris Resende in 1998 through the ministerial decree of 06/03/1998.

 

We appeal to all citizens to manifest publicly against the racist practices of the multinational Aracruz Celulose and its allies. From our side, we will take all possible legal measures against this hideous crime, demanding that the Constitution of the Federal Brazilian Republic be respected.

 

OUR SOLIDARITY TO THE TUPINIKIM AND GUARANI INDIGENOUS PEOPLES