Industrial Workers of the World

Latin American Solidarity Updates Join the International Day of Peasant's struggle! Globalize the struggle! Globalize hope! Let's unite for peasant's rights! Join the International Day of Peasant's struggle!

Friday April 17, 12 Noon At GPO, Corner of Elizabeth and Bourke Street Melbourne-City More Info: lasnet@latinlasnet.org, call 0414 970 418 or 0400 914 944 LASNET

Upcoming events Workshops and Satll at Melbourne Social Forum, MSF April 18-19, at Ceres more info at www.melbournesocialforum.org

Colombia Forum , Campaign Launch "Campaign launch in support and Solidarity with Indigenous peoples, Political prisoners, Trade union movement and against the Multinationals corporation take-over (intervention) in Colombia" Speakers, Video Conference link directly with ONIC (indigenous national organsation) and Sinaltarinal (Colombia food union) Thursday April 23, 7:00 PM, Uniting Church, 251 High Street, Northcote

LASNET general meeting, Sunday April 26, 2pm - Venue TBA

Friday May 1st., Tribute and Celebration of Immigrant Latin American workers supporting the immigrant in USA 7pm Che plaque in trades hall and get together Meeting Room 1, Trades Hall Corner Lygon and Victoria streets, Carlton

Mexico Forum, Documentary Film and Discussion Night Documentary, Juarez, Femicidio in Juarez, & Launch International Campaign Freedom for the Political Prisoners in Atenco Speakers Colm McNaughton, award winning radio documentary producer will discuss his upcoming project in and about the city of Juarez. Thursday May 14, 7:00 PM, Unitig Church, 251 High Street, Northcote _______________________________________________

http://www.latinamericansolidaritynetwork.org/node/255

Why April 17?

The massacre of Eldorado de Carajás Because they had been evicted from their land more than two years earlier and because all their attempts to get the right to settle down on an unproductive land had failed, around 1,500 landless peasants and their families, members of MST, the Brazil's Landless Peasants Movement, decided to march to the state capital of Pará, to present their demands.

The march stopped on the highway at Eldorado de Carajás, as pregnant women and children were tired and needed to rest. At about 4pm on 17 April 1996, 68 military police from the Paraupebas Platoon arrived and at 4.30pm 87 police arrived from the other direction of Marabá. The peasants were then caught between two platoons of police.

After firing tear-gas, the police raised their machine guns to body level and began firing into the crowd. The crowd dispersed as people began to realise they were being shot at with live ammunition.

The first to fall and die was Amâncio Dos Santos Silva, known as "Surdo-Mudo" ("deaf-mute"). Unable to hear the shots, he took longer than the others to understand what was happening. In total, 19 peasants were killed, 69 were severely injured.

Among the victims, at least 10 of the peasants were extra judicially executed after they had been overpowered. Others, although killed from a distance, were shot in the head or thorax.

More information: www.mst.org.br

www.viacampesina.org

www.latinamericansolidaritynetwork.org