Brasil: Outrage over
killing of local man by Fibria Celulose’s guards
On 16 March 2010,
Henrique de Souza Pereira, 24-years old, was killed by a team
of guards of the private ‘security’ company hired
by Fibria, former Aracruz Celulose and partner of Stora Enso in
the Veracel Celulose company.
They alleged
that Henrique was stealing wood in an area of the company with
eucalyptus trees and that he had responded ‘aggressively’
when he was requested to leave. Henrique’s father Osvaldo
Pereira Bezerra was accompanying his son and during the incident,
the security force broke his arm. Henrique eventually died of
his wounds since after shotting him, the security force left the
area and returned with an ambulance only after 40 minutes.
As the press
release of the Socio-Environmental Forum of the Extreme South
of Bahia and the Alert against the Green Desert Network
recalls, Henrique was “one of the innumerous neighbours
of the extensive eucalyptus areas who are trying to survive, fenced
inside small properties. Another murder happened in 2007 when
Antônio Joaquim dos Santos, geraizeiro [traditional inhabitant
of the Cerrado region], was killed by the Security force of V&M
Florestal when he was collecting firewood in an area with eucalyptus
from V&M Florestal. It is noteworthy that both V&M Florestal
as well Fibria had at the moment that these incidents happened
the international FSC certificate that affirms to the consumer
that the production comes from a “socially beneficial
forest management”.
The statement
adds that “in the Extreme South of Bahia and in the north
of Espirito Santo, tens of local people, landless workers and
especially quilombolas [Afro-Brazilians] are being criminalized
and persecuted, supposedly because of ‘stealing’ wood
of the company from lands that have always belonged collectively
to these communities and that always guaranteed their subsistence.
On November 11, 2009, the state government of Espirito Santo carried
out in the quilombola community of São Domingos a big police
action with 130 armed police men with rifles and sub-machine guns,
dogs and horses, arresting 39 quilombolas”.
The root of the
conflict remains unsolved. While big plantation companies like
Fibria continue receiving support and even public funds from the
authorities to expand their land area to plant eucalyptus monoculture
–Fibria presently occupies more than 1 million hectares
in Brazil- the agrarian land reform and the demarcation of quilombola,
indigenous, peasant and geraizeira lands keep being past over.
The concerns
expressed in the press release are more than relevant: “In
the face of what happened, one may ask: what is this social and
economic development that destroys the life of local inhabitants?
That ignores the rights of communities and destroys the hope of
the people? It is unacceptable that a company with these practices
can obtain supposed ‘sustainability’ seals such as
FSC and Cerflor, besides the many ‘sustainability ratings’.”
Based on the
press release "Armed security force of Fibria (Aracruz) kills
local villager in Bahia", Sócio-Environmental Fórum
of the Extreme South of Bahia and the Alert against the
Green Desert Network, March 23, 2010
