Monday, April 2, 2012

URGENT - PLEASE READ, SIGN, AND POST ON 5TH REGIONAL TRIBUNAL WEB PAGE

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URGENT: PLEASE READ THIS HISTORY AND POST THE LETTER BELOW TO THE WEB PAGE OF THE 5TH REGIONAL TRIBUNAL IN RECIFE, PERNAMBUCO, BRAZIL TO HELP BOTH THE XUKURU AND ALL INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF BRAZIL

Dear Friends, (LETTERS IN PORTUGUESE AND ENGLISH BELOW)

I am an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of North Dakota. I have been working extensively with the Xukuru Indigenous Peoples in Pesquiera, Pernambuco for several years, and have submitted their human rights cases (assassinations, legal criminalizations, and land rights struggles) to the American Anthropological Association's Committee for Human Rights (AAA-CfHR). The AAA-CfHR has vetted my documents and publicly taken a stand in support of the Xukuru. The 5th Regional Tribunal in Recife is deciding the fate of Cacique (Chief) Marcos Xukuru on 4-17-12. An assassination attempt was made on his life in 2003 (his father, Cacique Xicao Xukuru was assassinated in 1998). Cacique Marcos escaped but two young Xukuru men in their early 20s were murdered as they struggled to save him. Cacique Marcos fled into the countryside as shots were fired after him. He was injured as he struggled to cross barbed wire fences. He was found by members of the Xukuru who took him to the hospital where he was treated and sedated. Word spread throughout the Xukuru community that an attempt was made on his life and several thousand Xukuru gathered and protested those accused of planning the assassination in the village (aldeia) of Cimbres. During these protests, cars and some buildings (homes) were burned. The Federal Police accused Cacique Marcos of inciting the "riot" - but this has been proved to be incorrect since he was in the hospital and under sedation. The assassin who murdered the two young men essentially was set free after a short incarceration. Judges in 2009 convicted Cacique Marcos Xukuru to 10 years and 4 months in prison for starting a riot. The trial was a travesty of justice, and the documentation I sent to the AAA0CfHR agreed with my findings, the Xukuru Lawyer, Gilberto Marques, and CIMI's (The Catholic Indigenous Missionary) legal documentation. The case of Cacique Marcos Xukuru is what will be decided by the 5th Regional Tribunal in Recife on 4/17/12. We are asking people to use the letter below by pasting it into the Tribunal's web page where the letter will go directly to the president of the tribunal. These letters can turn the tide in favor of the Xukuru.

Marcia Mikulak
Associate Professor
Department of Anthropology
University of North Dakota
Grand Forks, ND 59202
701-777-4718 Office
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LETTER IN PORTUGUESE:

Por favor, deem uma lida nessa carta e se voces se sentirem a vontade de escrever em ajuda ao povo Xukuru, é só copiar e colar no link abaixo:

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

Estou escrevendo para expressar minhas considerações sobre as ações históricas tomadas contro o povo Xucuru, o cacique Marcos Xucuru, e outros inúmeros líderes dos Xucuru em Pesqueira, Pernambuco, Brasil. Eu sou um simpatizante do povo Xukuru e suporto as decisões do comitê de direitos humanos da Associação Americana de Antropologia (AAA), em especial nos casos de criminalizações que envolvem o cacique Marcos Xucuru e outros líderes. Eu atesto que as decisões tomadas até agora pela justiça brasileira são injustas. Como cidadão, tenho acompanhado os casos de violações constitucionais contra o povo Xucuru e seus líderes, que resultaram na criminalização de alguns membros da comunidade Xucuru. Estou escrevendo esta carta para pedir que o 5° Tribunal Regional do Recife, no Brasil, reverta todos os processos criminais que estão atualmente sob revisão contra o cacique Marcos Xucuru e seu povo. Pedimos que a justiça e a igualdade seja aplicada a todos os casos em andamento, e que os antecedentes históricos sejam levados em conta por todas as decisões judiciais do caso contra o cacique Marcos Xucuru e outras lideranças. Na realidade, os crimes cometidos foram contra o cacique Marcos, que perdeu seu pai assassinado e outros vários defensores dos direitos humanos nos últimos 20 anos. Temos ciência de que houveram vários casos de violações contra os Xukuru, e pedimos que os juízes envolvidos neste processo tragam crédito para o sistema legal do Brasil, desconsiderando todas as acusações contra Cacique Marcos e os líderes Xukuru agora em análise. Nós queremos que a justiça brasileira cumpra com a Declaração das Nações Unidas sobre os Direitos dos Povos Indígenas (2007), a Declaração das Nações Unidas sobre os Direitos Humanos (1948), e a sua própria Carta Magna, no capítulo sobre Povos Indígenas (1988), e ponha fim à criminalização das lideranças Xukuru. Abaixo, encontra-se o link onde a Associação Americana de Antropologia manifestou-se favorável ao povo Xucuru, reconhecendo que houveram violações graves dos direitos humanos nos casos em que envolvem os Xucuru. Também recomendamos que a justiça brasileira reveja todo estes processos considerando os pontos de justiça, igualdade, e respeito aos direitos humanos. A Associação Americana de Antropologia, que tem em seu corpo de membros sobre direitos humanos, com alguns dos mais respeitados e influentes Antropólogos da atualidade, tem acompanhado de perto todos os processos envolvendo os Xucurus, e acredita na integridade do sistema judicial brasileiro.

Respeitosamente,

ps. Parecer do AAA:

http://www.aaanet.org/cmtes/cfhr/Xukuru-Letter.cfm (para ler a carta da Associação Americana de Antropologia)

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LETTER IN ENGLISH: 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 supporter of the Xukuru and I also support the American Anthropological Association’s Committee for Human Rights decision that the criminal charges against Cacique Marcos Xukuru are unjust. Renound anthropologists 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. I am 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. I 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. I agree with the American Anthropological Association who contend that there have been several instances of violations against the Xukuru which are briefly outlined above, and I 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. I 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 reverse 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 (Link to read the letter by the American Anthropological Association’s Committee for Human Rights)

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