In the following we publish an inofficial translation of an article of the Brazilian newspaper "A Nova Democracia".
In the people' assembly held on the morning of October 27 after the families returned to the area, the families affirmed that they will reclaim the land. Photo: AND database
The LCP flag waved during the People's Assembly (PA) held in the Tiago Campin dos Santos region on the morning of Oct. 27. Photo: AND database
On October 27, hundreds of families displaced from the Tiago Campin dos Santos and Ademar Ferreira areas returned to their land after putting up a terrific resistance in the face of a blatant war operation carried out by more than 3,000 soldiers of the Military Police of Rondônia (PM-RO) of Marcos Rocha and the National Public Security Force of the genocidal military government of Bolsonaro. Inside the territory, the peasants held a popular assembly in which they reaffirmed their determination to continue fighting for their land.
The return of the families took place about a week after the official start of Operation Nova Mutum, which was announced by the repressive forces as an evacuation operation, but in reality was carried out with all the procedures of a war operation against an enemy contingent, with cowardly and terrorist means. This action mobilized auxiliary forces of repression, but had already been announced by Bolsonaro himself and orchestrated by the reactionary armed forces.
In the midst of the warfare against the peasants, several crimes were committed by the troops, including an illegal siege that restricted access to food, and all kinds of abuses that are reprehensible even in times of conventional warfare. In response, during the operation that lasted more than two weeks (and remained in force even after the STF's decision to suspend the eviction), the families showed courage and organized. Only part of the 800 families living in the Área Tiago Campin dos Santos were evicted in the middle of the night. This action took place with the force of arms of the police, who supported the terroror against the masses of workers. The troops did not even reach the other part of the families due to different resistances.
On October 26 and 27, a solidarity mission, with the participation of several organizations for the defense of the people, lawyers and prosecutors, accompanied the return of the peasants to their properties. AND also participated with a team, and since October 25, our team followed directly from Nova Mutum Paraná the fierce resistance of the workers and the result that culminated in the repossession of the lands.
Families are illegally under siege
The peasant families staying in the improvised shelters at the Santa Julia School left on May 26 in a large convoy with several motorcycles, cars, vans, buses and trucks, as well as the supporters of the Solidarity Mission, towards the area of Tiago Campin dos Santos.
When they arrived at the entrance of the area, they faced an illegal and criminal military siege. In front of dozens of police officers armed with rifles and without identification, the peasants began a resistance that defeated all attempts at division and intimidation by the military police and the national armed forces.
There was a police camp in the area. The base was forcibly set up in a small store with various vehicles that housed about 16 police officers. Heavily armed, they were positioned in front of the crowds of peasants and formed a line that was a physical barrier on the access road to the area.
Hundreds of families arrived and a sea of people formed, chanting the slogans: the land, the land those who work it! And long live the agrarian revolution! after singing the anthem of the League of Poor Peasants Occupying the Land.
At the entrance to the compound, the military police arbitrarily let in only lawyers and Raphael Bevilaqua, the prosecutor who accompanied the mission. With time, vehicles from inside the area arrived, as well as troops from the Roraima Military Police, the National Armed Forces, the Mobile Tactical Patrol (Patamo), the Border Guard Special Group (Gefron) and even a helicopter from the Nucleus of Aerial Operations (NOA).
Photo: AND database
During the meeting, the peasants demonstrated the spirit and determination to return to their land, singing songs like O risco and also slogans like "Nem que a coisa engrossa essa terra é nossa! Destroy the Latifundium! and Go to battle without fear, dare to fight, dare to win! The commander of the action, visibly shaken by the demonstration of strength and courage of the workers, asked the lawyers to order the end of the songs. The MP's helicopter flew over the crowd, which was bursting with determination and ridiculed the intimidation attempt.
At the end of the meeting, late at night, the lawyers shared the proposals of the repressive forces and the peasants began a popular meeting to discuss ways to continue the resistance. The families decided to stay put and enter the area in the morning. More slogans were shouted while workers fired firecrackers.
Residents of the area who supported the return of the families donated an ox to feed the crowd. Farmers soon organized and prepared a meal there, the only source of food within a few hours.
The tents were soon expanded in the early evening of Oct. 26. Families took turns resting, tending to the sick, and providing security for the farmers. The troops threw lights from the cars and left the gyrophone on to attack the families.
The mothers and children were "invited" by the MP to spend the night in their camp on the condition that they would not leave the house all night and would have no contact with the rest of the families or with other peasants. However, the peasant women refused, stating that they did not trust the police, who assaulted them daily with war operations. The farmers also denounced that the police action was absurd.
More troops arrived on the morning of Oct. 27; thermometers already showed nearly 40 degrees and several people became ill and dehydrated. The military police refused to provide water to the families, although they had access to it at the base location, which aggravated the poor health condition, especially of the elderly and children, as dehydration was compounded by poisoning from drinking the water from the shelter, which was in an unsanitary condition.
After about 24 hours of resistance, the families arrived on the afternoon of Oct. 27. Facing imminent defeat, the angry troops continued their illegal actions, collecting photographs, RG and CPF numbers, and the plots of land where each farmer lived as a condition of entry. They abusively and violently searched all vehicles, bags, and also the farmers, including children.
A farmer's wife reported, "The child is sick, he is lying in the sun, he has no means, the medicines were not given, the bags were left behind. The neighbor's child is desperate. What is happening to us is distressing and inhumane".
Another farmer denounced during the search, which they call "baculejo", in front of the police who searched all their belongings: "This is a humiliation for the working people. Why aren't the police going after bandits? I am a worker, we have our hands full of calluses, we are not bandits. This is a very big humiliation. People there are sick, pregnant women, children, without water, without food. The state leadership should be ashamed, it is a lack of shame on the part of the state leadership." And he concluded by saying, "We have entered this land and we will not leave it! Our motto is: occupy, resist and produce! The land is ours. It is land for those who live and work on it!
In this failed attempt to prevent the peasants from returning to their land, even the Secretary of State for Security, Hélio Cysneiros Pachá, was involved (known for his appearance as leader of the police troops in the Battle of Santa Elina in 1995, which earned him the nickname "the Butcher of Santa Elina" among the peasants). Pachá personally flew to the site in a helicopter, spoke with the command and withdrew.
However, nothing prevented the families from returning, and as a result of the persistent and organized struggle, at the beginning of the night of October 26, everyone was in the "shed" of the area where the meeting was held.
The victorious return
When they arrived in the area, the masses of peasants, proud and full of the spirit of victory, joined the others who had not been expelled and began to prepare food. The workers whose houses had been destroyed found shelter in the barracks, as did the people who belonged to the Solidarity Mission. The food and medicines collected during the solidarity actions were distributed to the families.
On the morning of 10/28, a large loudspeaker system began. The families once again vigorously sang the hymn "Conquer the Land," acknowledging the great resistance they had made and declaring that they would prepare for future battles, affirming that they had conquered these lands.
See the pictures of the AND team:
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The Butcher of Santa Elina (Hélio Cysneiros Pachá), current Secretary of Security, Defense and Citizenship of Rondonia, was spotted among the police forces. Photo: AND database
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