The Brazilian government announced that it will publicly apologize this Thursday (27) for violations committed against quilombola communities during the construction of the Alcântara Launch Center, in Maranhão. The case is being judged by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IDH) in Santiago, Chile. In a note, the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship informed that the proposal is to present, during today’s hearing, a posture based on respect for traditional communities and their demands, but that also dialogues with the need for technological advancement in the region and that can prioritize the construction of sustainable alternatives. “An attitude that dialogues with the remaining quilombo communities, their rights, guarantees and respect for traditionality, in addition to emphasizing the importance of these communities for the socioeconomic development of the country”, said the executive secretary of the portfolio, Rita Oliveira, before the start of the session. In the trial, which began yesterday (26), victims, state representatives, witnesses and experts are being heard. The complaint was presented in 2001 by towns, unions and social movements to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The complaint was accepted in 2006 and taken to the Court only in January 2022. The complainants want the Brazilian government to grant the definitive title to the quilombola territory, pay compensation to the communities removed and those that remain in the place, create a community development fund in together with the families and carry out an environmental and cultural impact study. Also in a note, the Secretary for Multilateral Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Márcio Bicalho Cozendey, recalled that Brazil has accepted the Court’s jurisdiction since 1998. According to him, what is defined at today’s hearing on the case will be “an international commitment for Brazil to accept”. “The IACHR hearings are important for the judges to better understand the situation of the victims. Obviously it is a complex, difficult situation, in which the Brazilian State effectively failed in many aspects, so all of this will be up for discussion. But all of this needs to be framed within the rules of existing human rights pacts in the region.” Understand the case The Alcântara Launch Center was built near the capital São Luís in the 1980s by the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) as a base for launching rockets. At the time, 312 quilombola families from 32 villages were removed from the site and resettled in seven agrovillages. Some groups remained in place and, according to the denouncers, suffer constant threats of expulsion to expand the base. In 2004, the Palmares Foundation certified the territory and, in 2008, the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (Incra) identified and delimited the area. Working group Yesterday, the federal government determined the creation of an inter-ministerial working group (GT) in charge of proposing a solution to the territorial dispute in Alcântara. The decree was signed by the acting president, Geraldo Alckmin, by the Minister of the Civil House, Rui Costa, and by the deputy attorney general of the Union, Flávio Roman. Comprised of representatives from 12 federal agencies, the Air Force and quilombola communities, the WG must find ways for the government to grant the remaining communities title to land without creating obstacles to the launch center’s operations.
Agência Brasil
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