On Monday April 24, Brazilian prosecutors charged 37 people of La Via Campesina related to the action in the company Aracruz on March 8. 26 Brazilian citizens are charged for participating in the action (that actually gathered about 2000 people) and 11 people are charged for masterminding it. Statement of La Via Campesina- Rio grande do Sul:
LA VIA CAMPESINA
Press Release
25/04/06
Declaration regarding the denunciation presented by the Public Prosecutor of Rio Grande do Sul
La Via Campesina makes the following statement in regards to the denunciation presented by the Public Prosecutor on Monday , based on the actions of the women of La Via Campesina on March 8 against the company Aracruz.
1. The charges presented by the Public Prosecutor are based on assumptions and have no legal basis. These unfounded charges aim to respond to the pressure of the media, sponsored by Aracruz and in particular the RBS Group who have systematically criminalized and persecuted the social movements of Rio Grande do Sul. In court, La Via Campesina will prove that these charges are irrelevant and expects that the Judicial Branch will put the public interest above the pressures of big corporations and big media.
2. La Via Campesina of Rio Grande do Sul reaffirms our commitment to struggle against eucalyptus monoculture, in the same way that we have always fought against other monocultures that prey on the environment, the lives of rural workers and the health of the population. We are not against science, rather we are clear that all science has a political project behind it. For this reason, we are against green deserts, the enormous plantations of eucalyptus, acacia and pine for cellulose, which cover millions of hectares in Brazil and Latin America. Wherever the green desert advances the biodiversity is destroyed, the soil is damaged, and the rivers dry up, not to mention the huge pollution problem generated by the cellulose factories which contaminate the air and the water, and threaten human health. The actions of the women of La Via Campesina, carried out on International Women’s Day, will be a reference to the future generations in defense of life on earth.
3. We expect that the Public Prosecutor of Rio Grande do Sul, as well as the States of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais and Bahia, demonstrates the same speed in prosecuting the real crimes committed by the Aracruz corporation for their aggressions against the indigenous, Quimbolo and rural communities, for failing to respect environmental legislation and the harmful effects on biodiversity and water resources in the regions where the company installs itself. This same company will be put on trial in the “International People’s Tribunal of European Transnationals and the System of Corporate Power in Latin America and the Caribbean” which will take place in Vienna, Austria from May 10 to May 13. In fact, the Federal Prosecutor of Rio Grande do Sul have recently requested to stop the plantation of eucalyptus in the National Park of Lagoa do Peixe, for the proven harmful impacts caused by monoculture.
We seize the opportunity of diffusing the manifesto of support to women of La Via Campesina which has circulated the entire world and have been signed by hundreds of people, intellectuals, artists and representatives of the social movements: click here
LA VIA CAMPESINA OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL
Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST)
Small Farmers’ Movement (MPA)
Movement of Dam-Affected People (MAB)
Peasant Women Movement (MCC)
Pastoral Commission of Land (CPT)
Pastoral of Rural Youth (PRJ)
Federation of Agronomy Students of Brazil
GLOBALIZE THE STRUGGLE! GLOBALIZE THE HOPE!
