News-Letter Nr. 476

Neglect of the Ministry of Justice Outrages the Xukuru

The chief of the Xukuru people, Marcos Luidson de Araújo, and vice-chief José Barbosa dos Santos (Zé de Santa) were in Brasília on August 28 and 29 for an audience with the minister of Justice, José Gregori. They returned to their village outraged with the way they were treated. The audience with the minister had been requested by representative Fernando Ferro (Workers' Party - PT- State of Pernambuco), for the leaders to convey to the minister the worries and fear of the Pesqueira indigenous community, located in the state of Pernambuco, as a result of the violence prevailing in the region. Last week gunmen of the region murdered leader Francisco Assis Santana (Chico Quelé) with two shots fired from a 12-mm rifle when he was going to a Funai station inside the Xukuru indigenous land to discuss the payment of compensations for farmers to leave the area, which was homologated on April 30th, 2001 and measures 27,555 hectares.

To the surprise of the indigenous people, the minister did not receive them. Gregori assigned two advisors to represent him, ambassador Marco Antônio Diniz Brandão, director of the Human Rights and Social Affairs Department, and Humberto Pedrosa Espínola, coordinator of the Council for the Rights of Human Beings. The indigenous leaders were even more frustrated when the ambassadors simply told them that they would give the dossier they received at the audience to minister José Gregori. "They don't seem to care much about our problems and the Ministry of Justice doesn't seem to be interested in paying any attention to our situation. They still haven't solved the case of Xicão Xukuru and they treated us with utter neglect," Marcos Luidson said. Representative Nilmário Miranda (Workers' Party- PT- State of Minas Gerais), who accompanied the indigenous people, witnessed the disappointment of the Xukuru.

The chief, who is the son of Francisco de Assis Araújo (Xicão), complained that three years after the murder of his father the Civil Police Civil have not even indicted a suspect they arrested at one point and later on released. Xicão was killed at the doorsteps of his sister's home in broad daylight in the busy central area of the Pesqueira neighborhood, close to the Xukuru indigenous area. When the crime was committed, it was considered extremely daring, but this weekend an even more daring crime occurred, as Chico Quelé was murdered inside the indigenous area. Based on the evidence found, gunmen ambushed the indigenous leader after hiding for at least two days as they waited for him to pass by.

To the Xukuru, Chico Quelé was murdered by farmers because the federal administration is taking too long to indemnify them for improvements made in good faith in the farms they occupy in the indigenous area. "The farmers are saying that they don't believe in the promises made by the government, and that, for this reason, they will not leave the area. Chico Quelé was killed as a result of the neglectful attitude of the government," insists Marcos. The indigenous people reported that Xukuru leaders are being killed as announced beforehand. In 1992, indigenous leader José Everaldo Bispo was killed as announced. Three years later it was the turn of a Funai lawyer, Geraldo Rolim.In 1998, chief Xicão was killed and, in 2001, Chico Quelé was murdered. All these names were in a list of people marked to die that the Xukuru found in 1992 and delivered to the Police Federal and to the Federal Public Prosecution Service.

The most serious fact was personally witnessed last year by the president of Funai, Carlos Frederico Marés, and by district attorneys, councilmen and federal prosecutors. During a meeting to discuss the payment of compensations to farmers, their lawyer announced that the same thing that happened in Eldorado dos Carajás (PA) could happen in Pesqueira. He was referring to the massacre of 19 landless rural workers by the military police in that locality when they were called to clear a road that had been blocked by those workers. At that meeting, Funai promised to release funds for those compensations to begin to be paid.

According to the president of the agency, Funai pledged to pay about R$ 500,000 to the farmers every month until all compensations were paid. But this never happened. Early in August, the Xukuru said that they could not wait any longer and decided to reoccupy two farms and to occupy the administrative headquarters of Funai in Recife to demand the officially promised funds. Funai then confirmed to them that part of the funds required to compensate 258 squatters who had made improvements in good faith in their farms inside the indigenous area would finally be given to them.

"The disappointment of the Xukuru for not having been received by the minister of Justice, José Gregori, is grounded. The climate of violence and political pressures that prevail whenever they try to settle the land issue makes them think that there is no Justice," said the Cimi deputy secretary, Roberto Liebgott. Considering the personal efforts made by minister José Gregori to put an end to the kidnapping of the daughter of businessman Silvio Santos and to find the men who killed six Portuguese tourists in the state of Ceará recently, his behavior in relation to the murder of indigenous leader Chico Quelé becomes even more unacceptable.

Some of the farmers who invaded the Xukuru area might be relatives of the vice president of the Republic, Marco Maciel (Liberal Front Party - PFL - State of Recife), whose family controls the region politically. "Our people is disillusioned and is tired of seeing their leaders die. What will it take for the minister of Justice to hear what we have to say?" asked Zé de Santa. "Is he waiting for a massacre, a genocide, to happen? We cannot believe in Justice any longer," stressed Marcos Luidson.

In the afternoon of Wednesday, the 29th, the Xukuru had a new meeting at the Funai office in Brasília. The agency's director for land affairs, Arthur Nobre Mendes, once again promised to them that the compensations would begin to be paid immediately. The Xukuru asked him to draft a document stating this in writing for the indigenous community to evaluate its contents.

Brasília, 30 August 2001.
Indianist Missionary Council - Cimi

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