Friends, please help us work to free Cacique Marcos Xukuru!!!

Please copy the letter below into the following link:

http://www.trf5.jus.br/comentarios/?orgao=presidente

1. when you get to the link, the first box on the top left is where you put your name
2. the second box on the right top isk where you put your email address
3. this is the box where you paste the letter below
4. send your letter by clicking in the bottom left blue box that says "Enviar Commentario"
5. MAKE SURE YOU INCLUDE THE ENTIRE LETTER AND THE WEB PAGE AT THE END OF THE LETTER

I am writing to you to express my concerns regarding the historic actions taken against the Xukuru people, their Cacique Marcos Xukuru, and numerous Xukuru leaders in Pesquiera, Pernambuco, Brazil. I am a citizen in support of the Xukuru people and agree with and support the American Anthropological Association’s Committee for Human Rights decision that the criminal charges against Cacique Marcos Xukuru are unjust. As anthropologists we have followed the cases of institutional violence against the Xukuru people and their leaders which has led to the legal criminalization of the Indigenous Xukuru. We are writing this letter to request that the 5th Regiona Tribunal in Recife in Brazil reverse all of the criminal processes of injustice that are currently under review against Cacique Marcos Xukuru and his people. We ask that justice and fairness be applied to all cases under review and that the historical antecedents be taken into account by all those rendering judicial decisions in the case against Cacique Marcos Xukuru and other Xukuru leaders. The crimes committed have been against Cacique Marcos, who lost his father and several other human rights defenders over the last 20 years. We contend that there have been several instances of violations against the Xukuru which we outline above, and we urge you to bring credit to Brazil’s legal system by dropping all charges against Cacique Marcos Xukuru and the Xukuru leaders now under review. We urge you to comply with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007), the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (1948), and the Brazilian Constitution, Chapter on Indigenous Peoples (1988), and bring an end to the criminalization of the Xukuru people. Below, you will find a link to the American Anthropological Association’s web page where they posted a letter in support of the Xukuru. In this letter, they recognize the violations of the Xukuru’s human rights. In addition, they recommend that the Brazilian Judges revers all the criminal charges against Cacique Marcos Xukuru and the other Xukuru leaders. The American Anthropological Association has a committee that specifically evaluate human rights abuses around the world, and is comprised of the most respected and influential anthropologists in the world. This association has been closely following the judicial processes as related to the Xukuru, and they are hopeful that the Brazilian justice system will rule on the side of integrity and human dignity in the case of the Xukuru.

Respectfully,

http://www.aaanet.org/cmtes/cfhr/Xukuru-Letter.cfm