Press Release
More than 80 organizations and individuals from all over the world sent today the letter enclosed below to relevant authorities in Brazil, Germany and California / USA rejecting “any and all attempts to intimidate or censor people and organizations that critique and oppose the environmental and climate policies implemented by the Acre government.”
In the letter the organizations and individuals reaffirm their “solidarity with all those who suffer threats or retaliation because of their firm political stance to defend their territories against the incessant exploitation of capital: You are not alone!”
August 3rd 2017
Tião Viana Governador do Acre gabinete.governador@ac.gov.br
Dr. Torquato Lorena Jardim
Ministro da Justiça e Segurança Pública assessoria.ministro@mj.gov.br; marcelo.varella@mj.gov.br; gracioneide.rodrigues@mj.gov.br
Franklimberg Ribeiro de Freitas Presidente da FUNAI-
BSB presidencia@funai.gov.br
Ministério Público Federal-Acre atendimento.cidadao@mpf.mp.br
6a Camara de Coordenação e Revisão do MPF-Brasilia 6ccr@mpf.mp.br
Christiane Ehringhaus
KFW – programa REDD Early Movers Christiane.ehringhaus@kfw.de
Jerry Brown
Governor of the State of California Fax: + 1 - (916) - 558-3160
Mary Nichols, Chair
California Air Resources Board - mnichols@arb.ca.gov
cc: Floyd Vergara, Chief Industrial Strategies Division -- floyd.vergara@arb.ca.gov
cc: Rajinder Sahota, Assistant Division Chief Cap-and-Trade Program
cc: Industrial Strategies Division-- rajinder.sahota@arb.ca.gov
cc: Jason Gray, Branch Chief Cap-and-Trade Program -- jason.gray@arb.ca.gov
cc: Veronica Eady, Assistant Executive Officer, Environmental Justice - Veronica.Eady@arb.ca.gov
cc: Office of the CARB Ombudsman - ombcomm@arb.ca.gov
cc: La Ronda Bowen, Ombudsman - ombudsman@arb.ca.gov
Minister Dr. Gerd Müller
Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) gerd.mueller@bmz.bund.de
Cc:: Lena Siciliano Brêtas lena.bretas@bmz.bund.de
Ministerin Dr. Barbara Hendricks
Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, Bau und Reaktorsicherheit (BMUB) barbara.hendricks@bundestag.de
cc: Programmbüro Internationale Klimaschutzinitiative – programmbuero@programmbuero-klima.de
Motion of rejection and solidarity with local leaders facing threats in Acre - Brazil
From May 26-28, 2017, a gathering was held in Xapuri, in the state of Acre, Brazil, around "the effects of environmental and climate policies on traditional peoples." In addition to the publication of the Xapuri Declaration, videos were disseminated with statements from indigenous leaders, seringueiros (rubber tappers) and other participants at the event. Since then, many of those leaders have been pressured and threatened by the „owners of power in Acre“.
Outraged by this latest aggression against the rights of peoples and communities that live in and depend on forests, those of us who participated in the aforementioned gathering—and those who support Amazonian peoples and communities' struggles—express our vehement rejection of any and all attempts to intimidate or censor people and organizations that critique and oppose the environmental and climate policies implemented by the Acre government.
We specifically denounce and reject attempts by the Acre government, and non-governmental organizations associated with it, to slander such critics—in particular their claim that critics' questioning could make it impossible to receive resources that could benefit the people of Acre's forest. We know that the government has sufficient resources to protect the rights and serve the true interests of indigenous peoples and local communities. There is no need to put these peoples and communities' futures at risk through questionable and nebulous projects. The government must act transparently in investing the resources it has already received through such projects, disclosing who the true beneficiaries are.
We demand that the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) cease to intimidate officials who participate in these civil society discussions and meetings. We also demand that FUNAI fulfills its mission, which is to protect and promote the rights of indigenous peoples. With its intimidations, FUNAI is once again harming these indigenous people's rights to free expression.
We understand that, as the bankruptcy of the underlying model of the environmental and climate policies and projects in question becomes more obvious, those whose private interests are intertwined with such policies and projects tend to defend them in increasingly repressive and violent ways. As the philosopher Paul Valer once said: "He who cannot attack the argument attacks the arguer."
We cannot tolerate these continued attacks! That is why we reiterate our support for the Xapuri Declaration. We reaffirm our solidarity with all those who suffer threats or retaliation because of their firm political stance to defend their territories against the incessant exploitation of capital: You are not alone!
| ORGANIZAÇAO | PAÍS |
| Rettet den Regenwald e. V. | Alemanha |
| Forum Ökologie & Papier | Alemanha |
| Down to Earth Consult | Alemanha |
| Amigos de la Tierra Argentina | Argentina |
| Friends of the Earth Australia | Australia |
| Red de Comunicaciones Indigenas Apachita | Bolivia |
| Center for Environment from Bosnia and Herzegovina Conselho Indigenista Missionário - CIMI | Bosnia Brasil |
| Fórum Mudanças Climáticas e Justiça Social | Brasil |
| Equipo Itinerante Manaus y Equipo Itinerante BOLPEBRA | Brasil |
| Instituto Agrario de Chimoio-Manica | Brasil |
| Associação Movimento Paulo Jackson - Ética, Justiça, Cidadania (Bahia) | Brasil |
| Articulação Antinuclear Brasileira | Brasil |
| Comissão Paroquial de Meio Ambiente de Caetité (Caetité - Bahia) | Brasil |
| FASE Bahia | Brasil |
| Centro de Estudos e Defesa do Negro do Pará - CEDENPA | Brasil |
| Centro de Educação, Pesquisa e Assessoria Sindical e Popular - CEPASP. | Brasil |
| Coordenação nacional de articulação das comunidades negras rural quilombolas - CONAQ | Brasil |
| CDDH Marçal de Souza Tupã-i | Brasil |
| Comissão Pastoral da Terra – CPT-Nacional | Brasil |
| Terra de Direitos | Brasil |
| Conselho de gestão kaapor | Brasil |
| Aliança RECOs – Redes de Cooperação Comunitária Sem Fronteiras | Brasil |
| Movimento Mulheres pela P@Z! | Brasil |
| INSTITUTO AMAZÔNIA SOLIDÁRIA (IAMAS) | Brasil |
| Pastoral nacional da Mulher Marginalizada - SP | Brasil |
| Justiça Global | Brasil |
| Fórum de Direitos Humanos e da Terra MT | Brasil |
| Centro Burnier Fé e Justiça | Brasil |
| O Movimento dos Pequenos Agricultores - MPA | Brasil |
| FAMOC - Federação das Associações de Moradores de Cariacica | Brasil |
| O Instituto Madeira Vivo | Brasil |
| Aliança dos Rios Panamazonicos | Brasil |
| Aliança dos 4 Rios da Amazonia: Madeira, Teles Pires, Tapajós e Xingu | Brasil |
| Núcleo de Pesquisa Estado, Sociedade e Desenvolvimento na | Brasil |
| Amazônia Ocidental (NUPESDAO-UFAC) | |
| Amigos da Terra Brasil | Brasil |
| Combate Racismo Ambiental | Brasil |
| Red de Accion por los Derechos Ambientales (RADA) | Chile |
| Censat Agua Viva-Amigos de la Tierra Colombia | Colombia |
| COECOCEIBA - Amigos de la Tierra Costa Rica | Costa Rica |
| Red de Coordinación en Biodiversidad | Costa Rica |
| Asociación Conservacionista YISKI | Costa Rica |
| Accion Ecologica de Ecuador | Ecuador |
| Cesta - Amigos de la Tierra | El Salvador |
| Salva la Selva | España |
| Asociación galega Cova Crea | España |
| Ecologistas en Acción | España |
| Friends of the Earth - US | Eua |
| Clean Energy Alliance | Eua |
| Global Justice Ecology Project | Eua |
| Indigenous Environmental Network | Eua |
| WilderUtopia | Eua |
| The Environmental Justice Coalition for Water | Eua |
| Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles | Eua |
| Oakland Climate Action Coalition | Eua |
| New Wind Association | Finlandia |
| Emmaus Aurinkotehdas ry | Finlandia |
| Friends of the Earth Finland | Finlandia |
| Organización Fraternal Negra Hondureña - OFRANEH | Honduras |
| Clifton Justice and Peace Commission | Inglaterra |
| Amigos de la Tierra Internacional | Internacional |
| World Rainforest Movement | Internacional |
| Consumers' Association of Penang (CAP) | Malasia |
| Borneo Project | Malasia |
| Movimiento Mesoamericano contra el Modelo extractivo Minero - M4- | México |
| Otros Mundos A.C./Amigos de la Tierra México | México |
| Medio Ambiente y Sociedad, A.C. | México |
| U Yits Ka'an, La Escuela de Agricultura Ecológica de Maní Yucatán | México |
| Organización Campesina de Producción Por Un Mundo Mejor OCPMM | México |
| Justica Ambiental/FOE | Moçambique |
| Human Rights Organization of Nepal (HURON) | Nepal |
| Social Action | Nigeria |
| Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) | Nigeria |
| Colectivo Voces Ecológicas COVEC | Panamá |
| Lucha indígena | Peru |
| The Corner House | Reino Unido |
| EcoNexus | Reino Unido |
| Taiga research and protection agency | Russia |
| Agro-ecolgy and green environment association | Tunisia |
| REDES-Amigos de la Tierra Uruguay | Uruguay |
| Environmental Association for Latin America - EALA | |
| Asociación ambiental e cultural Petón do Lobo | |
| NOME | PAIS |
| Klaus Goeckler | Alemanha |
| Christoph Hess | Alemanha |
| Peter Clausing | Alemanha |
| Eduardo Lofiego | Argentina |
| Claudio Sergio Nadal | Argentina |
| Clara Riveros Sosa | Argentina |
| Marina Panziera | Argentina |
| Gerardo Roberto Martínez | Argentina |
| Lucas Horacio Moavro | Argentina |
| Lino Pizzolon | Argentina |
| Pablo A. Regalsky | Bolivia |
| Helder Gomes | Brasil |
| Dom Erwin | Brasil |
| Carlos Alberto Lungarzo | Brasil |
| joaninha Honório Madeira | Brasil |
| Marly Cuesta | Brasil |
| Izalene Tiene | Brasil |
| Laia Serra Valls | Brasil |
| Carlos de Uríbarri | Brasil |
| Zoraide Vilasboas | Brasil |
| Patricia de la Roca | Brasil |
| Schaiani Vanessa Bortolini | Brasil |
| Ivo Lesbaupin | Brasil |
| André F. Barbosa | Brasil |
| Elmara de Sousa Guimarãaes | Brasil |
| Luz Guillén Cornejo | Brasil |
| João Claudio Zanatta | Brasil |
| Joannes Paulus Silva Forte | Brasil |
| Matheus Otterloo | Brasil |
| Amilton Pelegrino de Mattos | Brasil |
| Rubens Nunes da Mota | Brasil |
| Victoria Puntriano Zuniga de Melo | Brasil |
| Vânia Regina Carvalho | Brasil |
| Sebastião F. Raulino | Brasil |
| Fernando Rios | Brasil |
| Rodolfo Ricardo Geiser | Brasil |
| Ivo Poletto | Brasil |
| Aldisio Gomes Filgueiras | Brasil |
| Verônica Dantas Meneses | Brasil |
| Amyra El Khalili | Brasil |
| Nayá Fernandes | Brasil |
| Leonel Wohlfahrt | Brasil |
| ORMIFRAN PESSOA CAVALCANTE | Brasil |
| Gerhard Dilger | Brasil |
| Alexandre Bitar | Brasil |
| Djalma de Sá | Brasil |
| Clóvis Cavalcanti | Brasil |
| Simone Raquel Batista Ferreira | Brasil |
| Paulo Roberto e Souza | Brasil |
| Antonio Valentim | Brasil |
| Maria Madalena Ferreira | Brasil |
| Maria Suelí de Aguiar | Brasil |
| Orlando Mantilla Torres | Colombia |
| Fernando Javier Quirola Anzoátegui | Equador |
| Maria Jesús Pinto Iglesias | España |
| LUZ MARÍA PAZ VIVAS | España |
| Kenneth Ruby | Eua |
| Mari Rose Taruc | Eua |
| Valerie Tomlinson | Inglaterra |
| Hugh Lee | Irlanda |
| Mauricio Macossay Vallado | México |
| Mauricio Macossay Vallado | México |
| Nemesio J. Rodríguez M. | México |
| Jorge Chávez de la Peña | México |
| Argelia Arriaga García Puebla | México |
| AJELE SUNDAY | Nigeria |
| Sue Ingham | Reino Unido |
| Flurina Doppler | |
| Francisco Almenar | |
| Thomas Engel | |
| Mugove Walter Nyika | |
| Jan Dietrick, | |
| Pam Tau Lee | |
| Laura Borsellino | |
| Sonia Mariza Martuscelli | |
| Maria Fernanda Gebara | |
| João Marcelo Lima Simões | |
| Josefina Cervera Arce | |
| Isabella harding |