Human Rights
/African Descendants
- Tue Dec 21 2004
Source:
COHRE
Quilombola land area was recognized by the government in 2000 but it was not until recently that work to gain back the land was restarted.
While some progress in the case of the "Quilombos (1) of Alcântara has been made, "quilombola" leaders in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco - the "Pernambuco of Conceição das Crioulas Community"- have recently suffered an attempt against their lives. Peasants have continously been threatened with death and suffered other violent aggressions but this time things went much further. A group of land-owners cut the power of 150 villagers and thus in darkness, set fire the Quilombola Association centre in the night of December 11, 2004. Of 15 leaders that were death threatened, two women appeared first in the list.
Quilombola land area was recognized by the government in 2000 but it was not until recently that work to gain back the land was restarted. The INCRA, a governmental organization that works for the regularization of the land in favour of the quilombola families, started to work on the grounds of a presidential decree of the Civil House of the Presidency of the Republic, n° 4,887 of 20 of November of 2003.The local community helped during all the process suffering constant bullying from land owners.
The reason for this violent response are deeply rooted: land dispute aggravated since the defeat of the land owners political party on the last regional state's elections. Moreover, for the first time, a "quilombola" woman runs for the election of the legistlative municipal theatre: Givânia Maria da Silva, who has been death menaced as well.
Another quilombola woman leader, Maria Aparecida Mendes, recently addressed the public audience in Brasilia to empower quilombola women while she also launched the national campaign for the regularization of the territory belonging to the community.
We ask for your support to urge the Brazilian authorities to intervene in the conflict in order to guarantee the protection of the menaced leaders and the quilombola community, as well as to demand justice for the crimes committed.
(1) "Quilombos" are ethnic groups, predominantly composed by african-descendent rural population from northern Brazil, that share a common land, parenthood, historical background, traditions and culture.
Related information:
On the respect of the human rights of Quilombos communities in Alcântara, State of Maranhão, Brazil
Joint Declaration: COHRE (Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions), Centre on Global Justice, Social Watch. Brazil – 23 June 2004.
|
|
