[01/16/08] URGENT ACTION NEEDED: Letters Needed to Stop Continued Criminalization of MST Activists
Dear Friends of the MST,
We are writing to update you on the situation in Brazil regarding Syngenta, and to tell you about the next steps in the struggle to punish the transnational for its crimes. As you know, the most recent occupation of a site owned by Syngenta, carried out on October 21st, 2007, was met with extreme violence on the part of NF Security company, which Syngenta had contracted to guard its property. During the altercation, activist Valmir Mota de Oliveira (“Keno”) was killed and several people were seriously injured. A security guard was also shot to death by other guards. Despite evidence to the contrary, the prosecutor's office has pressed baseless yet serious charges against several of the MST/Via Campesina activists who were victims of the Syngenta-sponsored attacks.
The prosecutors’ office asserts that the activists are responsible for the October 21st deaths and injuries because, by participating in the land occupation, they assumed the risk that their activities would cause violence. The prosecutors even went so far as to request preventative prison terms for two MST/Via Campesina leaders in order to “maintain public order.” Luckily, the judge denied the preventative prison request, but charges are still being pressed against the leaders and other activists. Also, the gunmen who were being held in prison were released.
We are also extremely concerned about aspects of the police report which were ignored by the prosecutors, which increases the likelihood that the instigators of the crimes will go unpunished. Although the police report uncovered evidence which would allow for the indictment of Alessandro Meneghel, president of the Rural Society of Western Paraná (a landowner militia group with ties to Syngenta), the prosecutors’ office did not charge him with any crimes associated with the October 21st violence. Additionally, the police report noted that some of the gunmen had fled in a car belonging to Syngenta, and that it was a well-known fact in the area that the company used armed guards to protect its property. Additionally, at a hearing in late December, the owner of NF Security testified that Syngenta had not terminated its contract with him. In spite of all these facts, the prosecutors failed to even mention Syngenta in their indictment.
It is essential to continue our pressure onto Syngenta to disband the armed militias that they sponsor, and to ensure the punishment of those responsible for the aforementioned crimes. We are asking all friends and allies to send letters to the Syngenta headquarters in the United States, with a copy to the Swiss Embassy in Washington, DC. **SEE DRAFT LETTER BELOW**
Your action is crucial to ensure an end to injustice and impunity in Brazil’s countryside. Please ACT NOW!
Yours in Solidarity,
Jeffrey Frank
National Coordinator,
Friends of the MST
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INSTRUCTIONS -
Send separate letters to Syngenta’s two principal representatives in the United States, Michael Pragnell (CEO) and Michael Mack (COO). Copies of these letters should be sent to the Swiss Embassy in Washington, DC.
If possible, electronic copies of both letters should be sent to the MST in Paraná and FMST-US for our records (1)mstpr@mst.org.br and (2) info@mstbrazil.org.
SEND ORIGINALS TO -
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(1) Michael Pragnell, CEO
US National Headquarters of Syngenta
Syngenta Corporation
2200 Concord Pike
P. O. Box 8353
Wilmington, DE 19803-8353
Ph : (302) 425-2000 or 1-800-759-4500
Fax: (302) 425-2001
~
(2) Michael Mack, Chief Operating Officer
US National Headquarters of Syngenta
Syngenta Corporation
2200 Concord Pike
P. O. Box 8353
Wilmington, DE 19803-8353
Ph : (302) 425-2000 or 1-800-759-4500
Fax: (302) 425-2001
~~~
SEND COPIES TO –
(1) Embassy of Switzerland
2900 Cathedral Ave NW
Washington, DC 20008
Ph : (202) 745-7900
Fax : (202) 387-2564
~
(2) MST in Paraná [ mstpr@mst.org.br ] and FMST-US [ info@mstbrazil.org ]
~~~
SAMPLE LETTER –
Dear Sir:
I, (YOUR NAME / NAME of ORGANIZATION), am writing to express my deep concern regarding the violence that occurred in Brazil last October, as well as Syngenta’s general behavior in that country. As you are undoubtedly aware, there was a violent incident on October 21, 2007, in which Syngenta’s security company, NF Security, violently attacked a Via Campesina/MST occupation, leaving two people dead and several others injured. The violence followed a peaceful occupation of Syngenta’s research station by two social movements, Via Campesina and the MST. While your company insists that it did not order or permit the violence, human rights groups in Brazil report that NF Security had a long history of unlawful behavior. By hiring a disreputable security firm, Syngenta behaved in an outrageous manner, and should acknowledge that this action makes it partially responsible for the violence.
To make matters worse, several victims of the violence are now being charged with crimes. In spite of all the evidence faulting NF Security and exculpating the MST and Via Campesina, the public prosecutors are nevertheless criminalizing the human rights activists. I realize Syngenta is not involved in the criminal proceedings being conducted by the government; nonetheless, Syngenta has failed to publicly address some of the most important facts that arose during the police investigation. For example, the police report established that some of the October 21st gunmen fled the scene in a van owned by Syngenta, and that it is commonly known in the area that your company uses armed guards to protect its property. Also, in late December, the owner of NF Security testified in court that his contract with Syngenta had not yet been terminated.
Everything mentioned above demonstrates to the international community that Syngenta is not behaving the way a responsible corporate citizen should. If Syngenta truly wishes to “benefit Brazilian society,” as it claims to on its website, the best way to accomplish this is to make up for its past errors by obeying the wishes of the Brazilian people and the state of Paraná. It can do this by handing its research station property over to the government so that it can be made available for land reform and an agroecology center. I also hope Syngenta will publicly acknowledge that, by hiring NF Security, it is responsible for the October 21st violence. Your company should also address and explain the facts in the police report which connect it to the violence.
Most importantly, it is absolutely essential that your company take steps to ensure that there will not be any more violence associated with Syngenta, its contractors, or any of its properties. I hope Syngenta will take these actions immediately, and show the international community that it takes human rights seriously.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. I eagerly await your response.
Respectfully,
[YOUR NAME / NAME OF ORGANIZATION]
[LOCATION]