wfn.org | Brazil report

[smm@wcc-coe.org]

                   WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES

        Office of Communication - Press and Information

              150 Route de Ferney, P.O. Box 2100
                  1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland

 Telephone: (022) 791 61 52/51        Telefax: (022) 798 13 46
                   E-mail:  JWN@WCC-COE.ORG

PRESS RELEASE			FOR IMMEDIATE USE		30 JULY 1996

     UNLESS LAND REFORM IN BRAZIL SUCCEEDS, MORE VIOLENCE LIKELY

"Land reform must take place in Brazil if more killings are to be
avoided".  That is the view of Mr Andr? Jacques following an
international delegation visit to Brazil (16-21 July), organised
by the World Council of Churches (WCC).

Jacques, President of the International Service on Human Rights
in Geneva, represented the WCC on the visit which was made at the
strong request of Brazilian church and human rights groups.

The visit coincided with the three-month anniversary (17 April)
of a massacre in which military police killed nineteen landless
peasants and seriously wounded another 50 people, including women
and children.

The team visited the site of the massacre in the town of Eldorado
do Caraja, in the Sate of Para, as well as the small settlement
from which those killed and injured came.  At the settlement, the
visitors expressed sympathy as well as horror for what had
happened.  They also pledged continued WCC support for the
process of land reform.

Jacques said his delegation was appalled at what they had heard
of the way the military had dealt with the April demonstration by
1500 people.  They discovered the massacre had profoundly shaken
Brazilian society because of its blatant nature.  "The people
were marching to protest the fact that although they had been
promised legal title to unused land they had occupied two years
ago, they had received nothing.  The governor of the state sent
200 heavily armed troops to deal with a group of poor peasants
who were angry at these broken promises", said Jacques.

He added the team members believed the evidence contradicted the
military's claim that the soldiers had fired in self-defence. 
"Not only were many of those killed shot at close range or hacked
to death with machetes, but others were found with bullet holes
in the back of their neck, indicating they had been 'executed'
whilst on the ground."

"The commanding officer on the day was initially put under house
arrest but is now free.  No one in the military has been charged
in connection with the massacre and the military insist the
matter be dealt with by its own courts rather than the civilian
judiciary.  People do not believe this will bring justice and nor
do we; it is one more example of how impunity for crimes against
the poor exists in Brazil."

Jacques said the WCC would continue to provide humanitarian aid
for the landless people of Brazil who live in very poor
conditions.  "Medicines, food, education and training of
personnel are among the top priorities.  The people also need
money for legal services."

Other WCC action, said Jacques, would be to alert international
opinion to what is happening in Brazil and to promote land
reform, which Brazil's president has said is a main concern.

"If land reform fails it could be the beginning of even more
violence.  It is the vital ingredient to establishing meaningful
democracy in Brazil.  At the moment not only does just one per
cent of the population own 44 per cent of the land but much of
that land is unused.  The landowners resist any attempt to change
the situation, and often hire mercenaries who harass, torture or
kill peasants who attempt to settle uncultivated land."

The WCC would also provide a link with the UN system for the
landless movement (MST) and raise the issue of impunity at the
next session of the Sub Committee on Human Right in August 1996. 

The delegation believed international pressure must be brought to
bear on Brazil to proceed with its announced programme of land
reform and to eradicate the practice of impunity.  "Impunity
needs silence to succeed, so the WCC, with others, must make
known what is going on in this respect.  The world church must
support those in Brazil who want to the truth to come out and who
refuse to give up the struggle."

Andr? Jacques is available for interview.

Contact: John Newbury  WCC Press & Information Officer
                       (+41.22) 791.61.52 (Office); 369.37.26
(Home)