Brazil: Peasant communities will hold People’s Court in Junco do Maranhão
We publish an unofficial translation of the article of A Nova Democracia.
On March 9 and 10 the People’s Court will be held against the crimes of the latifundium and land grabbing in Junco do Maranhão with the aim of judging the crimes that took place in Gleba Campina, which affect more than 10 peasant communities in the Gurupi Region, in municipalities on the Pará-Maranhão border. The peasants of Gleba have faced, in addition to land grabbing, increasing attacks by goons and the Military Police. On February 10, police heavily invaded the area to try to arrest peasants struggling for the right to land.
The activity will be carried out in partnership between the Solidarity Committee for the Struggle for Land [Comitê de Solidaridade à Luta pela Terra (Comsolute)] and the Union of Communities in Struggle [União das Comunidades em Luta (UCL)] and complaints from the following communities will be heard: Sede do Município e Povoado Vilela –Junco do Maranhão (MA), Povoado Glória – Boa Vista do Gurupi (MA), Sede do Município e Povoado Nova Vida – Amapá do Maranhão (MA), Iricuri, Pimenta, Murujá e Manaus da Beira do Rio Gurupi – Carutapera (MA) e, por fim, Santo Antônio e São João do Gurupi do Município de Viseu (PA).
In a note, the Solidarity Committee for the Struggle for Land (Comsolute) wrote that “the Popular Court is a methodology in which personalities, social activists, human rights defenders and academic researchers from various parts of Maranhão and the country will assess the complaint brought by the people, forming a Judging Committee. Testimonies will be done by those who are directly affected by the case, and the Judging Committee will carry out an inspection visit and listen to the case’s lawyers’ report on the crimes committed by the land grabbers so that, on March 10, 2024, each member can comment about everything they read, saw, heard, exposing their personal considerations and evaluations. In the end, a single report will be produced with the necessary steps”, it concludes.
