I think we take many of our freedoms for granted. Take the Occupy Wall Street people for example. They have been demonstrating in NYC in a public park for almost two months now. The police are on duty, but as far as I know, no protesters have been harmed. If only it were so easy in Brazil.
This week, an environmentalist who was an outspoken protester of illegal logging in the Amazon has been killed. This is the eighth environmentalist killed since May. Pastoral Land Commission spokesperson Gilson Rego said that Joao Chupel Primo, 55, a farmer, was shot to death “because he condemned illegal deforestation in Itaituba.” Hours before Primo’s death, he had appeared before the State Public Prosecutor to denounce the illegal logging activities. On the 20th of this month, he had reported an illegal route loggers were taking to get wood out of the nearby reserve and forest.
Itaituba is located in the southwestern region of Para. Satellite photos of the Amazon taken by the government (National Institute for Space Research) show that deforestation has been on the increase for a second year in a row. Before that, it had been on a decrease since 2004.
Primo had been receiving death threats, but he continued to speak out against the illegal activities. Rego said, “In early October, a police operation sought to halt illegal deforestation near Itaituba after Chupel Primo’s protests. This led to increased tension in the region but Chupel Primo continued his denunciation of illegal deforestation.”
Others killed this year in what is believed to be retaliation against protests includes Jose Claudio da Silva, 52, and his wife Maria do Espirito Santo da Silva, 51. They too had been receiving death threats due to their efforts to preserve the Amazon rainforests.
Because of the killings, prosecutors have asked the federal police to provide protection for two more farmers who have been protesting the illegal logging as well.