We publish the english translation of an important call for support by the Poor Peasants League - Brazil. the original can be found here.
More than 50 peasants were arrested and the garbage press attacks LCP
On July 7, the peasants occupied the big land of Verde Vale, known as Italian´s farm, located on the BR 429 road in the municipality of West Dawn (Alvorada do Oeste).
This farm, illegally settled by land-robber landlords, was already occupied in other occasions. The families suffered attacks and displacements by armed gangs of the landlords on different occasions.
This time, the families were attacked by the civil and military police, without any kind of judicial order, resulting in the arrest of 50 peasants, including elders, women and children. Then, from these, 23 had the preventive detention declared.
A war apparatus was used in this arbitrary action – dozens of police cars, a helicopter and police officers armed with rifles and other guns of high caliber. The action was personally monitored by the commander of the PM (military police), Colonel Flores, who – following the steps of his predecessor, the fascist Enedy – wants to further apply state terrorism against the peasants and the struggle for land.
As usual, the garbage press of Rondonia, the spokesman of the police and lackey to the landlords, started to attack the peasants and the LCP – Poor Peasants League. In the sensationalist headlines, like “Armed gang with rifles and other heavy guns invade a farm and holds a family hostage”, they accuse “members of the LCP” of stealing and torturing hostages among other lies, accusations and insinuations.
All the accusations, without proof, has the clear intent of justifying the arbitrary action of the police, and to criminalize the LCP and the peasant families that hoisted its flag.
On the very pictures and video spread by the garbage press it is possible to see that no weapon was found, not even hunting rifles, let alone rifles and “heavy guns” as they accuse. The only rifles and “heavy guns” that can be seen are the ones broadly used by the police officers.
The arrest of the peasants itself, which they accuse of “gang of dangerous invaders”, happened on the road, while some peasants naively gathered and pacifically waited the arrival of the police.
They also accused us of “defending the occupation of big lands across Brazil”. This “crime” we confess. We defend and apply the slogan of seize all the lands of the latifundium! And we support, defend and join all the combative struggles that intend to destroy latifundium for the conquest of the land and territories, for the rights of the people, and for a new Brazil where the state will be led by the popular classes, with true democracy for the people and that offer everything for the progress of the nation and that the workers could live and work with dignity, assuring their rights and desires.
These arrests and attacks reveal, once more, how the old state with its polices and spokesmen do not measure efforts to serve the interests of the latifundium and desperately act to attempt to detain the growth of the struggle for land and to keep the current situation of wealth concentration in the hands of handful super-rich people as the people lives in misery, without land and without any rights.
But those who think that with state terrorism they will stop the struggle for land are wrong. They will inevitably fail! The struggle for land only grows! The peasants are losing the last illusions with the false promises and crumbs, they increasingly mobilize and organize themselves, taking their destinies in their own hands!
Tremble gentlemen, because what you do by applying state terrorism is to accumulate even more hatred and revolt among the people. Sooner than later the people will know how to charge the bill of so much injustice. Soon the peasant masses will rise in great waves to sweep away the latifundium, unleashing the Agrarian Revolution!
In the end we call for support and solidarity for the arrested peasants.
The terror of the latifundium and its old state will not stop the struggle for land!
Long live the Agrarian Revolution!
