BRAZILIAN HUMAN RIGHTS SECRETARIAT SPEAKS ABOUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 000532

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/28/2015
TAGS: PGOV CASC PHUM PREL SOCI KCRM BR TIP
SUBJECT: BRAZILIAN HUMAN RIGHTS SECRETARIAT SPEAKS ABOUT
DOROTHY STANG MURDER

REF: A. A. BRASILIA 00369

B. B. BRASILIA 00437

C. C. BRASILIA 00464

Classified By: POLITICAL OFFICER BISOLA OJIKUTU. REASON: 1.4 (D)


1. (C) Summary. On February 23, Poloff met with Perly
Cipriano, Under Secretary for Human Rights Promotion at the
Brazilian Secretariat for Human Rights, to discuss the
Dorothy Stang murder case (reftels A, B, and C). During the
meeting, Poloff and Cipriano discussed Stang's refusal to
accept police protection, the involvement of the logging
industry in Stang's murder, violence in the region, and
"federalizing" Stang's murder case. Poloff also discussed
Stang's murder with the Ministry of Foreign Relations' Human
Rights Division. End summary.

Police protection
--------------

2. (C) Refs reported the murder of Dorothy Mae Stang, a US
citizen and Catholic nun, who was shot to death by three
hired gunmen on February 12 near Anapu, Para. Stang lived in
Brazil for thirty years and was a well known agrarian reform
activist. One week before her murder, Stang, Cipriano, and
others from the Secretariat for Human Rights met to discuss
the ongoing conflict and Stang's security. Cipriano spoke
with Poloff at length about this meeting and how those who
participated expressed their "deep concern" for Stang's
safety. Since Stang had received a number of death threats,
the meeting's participants offered police protection or entry
into the Brazilian witness protection program. Stang refused
both offers because she strongly believed that her age,
profession, and faith would protect her, according to
Cipriano.

The Logging Industry
--------------

3. (C) Cipriano stated that elements within the logging
industry were responsible for Stang's murder and refused to
believe that other sectors could have been involved. Since
"few could afford to pay R$50,000 (approximately USD 20,000)
to each hired gunman," Cipriano and the GOB believed that
Stang's murder was financed by a group of farm owners and
loggers rather than one. (Note: There is no confirmation of
Cipriano's interpretation that the R$ 50,000 was offered to
each gunman rather than a lump sum. End note.) This was
based upon police and press reports in Anapu that provided
him information about a "group of financiers." He thought
that those responsible would be "captured in a few days."
(Note: Press reports published days after our meeting
supported this view. The police chief in charge of the
Federal Police investigation stated publicly that a number of
loggers and land title falsifiers may have worked together to
commit the crime. Federal Police are now investigating names
included in documents and letters sent by Stang to the
Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) and to state and federal
authorities. End note.)

Local Violence
--------------

4. (C) Immediately after Stang's murder, senior GOB officials
spoke strongly against her murder and President Lula ordered
the Justice Minister to send federal police to assist in the
investigation. The violence in the days after her murder
killed at least three, including a local leader of the
landless community, and led to the deployment of Army troops
to support state police. According to Cipriano, this
violence was due to the "criminal element's" reaction to the
GOB's "tough" stance against the murder. In addition, he
thought the violence was an attempt to force the GOB against
taking action which, he quickly responded, "we would never
accept." (Note: Our sources told us that the violence and
killings that occurred days after Stang's murder are endemic
to the region and do not appear to be directly related to
Stang's death. End note.) While he was quick to blame local
criminals for Stang's murder and local violence, Cipriano
also blamed poor Para state government regulation and the
weak state judicial system.

Federalization
--------------

5. (C) When asked about the status of federalizing Stang's
case, Cipriano stated that this decision rests with the
Brazilian Supreme Court. Since the law that allows case
federalization is two months old, the GOB "will tread
carefully" on this issue since the outcome will influence
other cases and set future precedence. Cipriano strongly
believed that the Supreme Court would federalize the case due
to widespread international interest and evidence of local
corruption that would hinder local judicial proceedings.
(Note: On February 24, Justice Minister Bastos publicly
stated that he saw little need to federalize the case, as the
state judge involved in the case has the GOB's confidence.
End Note).

Ministry of External Relations' Human Rights Division
-------------- --------------

6. (C) In a separate meeting on February 22, Cristiano
Figueiroa from the Ministry of External Relations' (MRE)
Human Rights Division (DDH) also spoke to Poloff about the
Stang murder case. Figueiroa called the murder "a tragic and
barbaric act" and "hoped that the GOB's actions and the
judicial process would lead to an adequate and just
solution." According to Figueiroa, federalizing the case
would lead to a more transparent judicial process and could
ensure that the accused would be "brought to justice." At
the end of our meeting, Cristiano stated: "Ironically, one
week before Stang's death, the Human Rights Secretariat
launched a campaign in Para to promote the same issues that
Stang was fighting for."


7. (C) Comment: Now that the investigation into Stang's
murder has slowed and both federal and state police have
closed the investigation, it appears that the key question
before the GOB is whether or not the case should be
federalized. Cipriano, Figueiroa, and other contacts that we
have spoken to have little faith in state police officials
and the local judicial process due to evidence of corruption
and involvement of influential farmers and politicians in the
judicial process. We agree with our contacts and believe
that the case should be federalized to ensure a transparent
and fair trial, but Justice Minister Bastos' comments
(paragraph 5) may foreshadow a GOB decision to let the case
run its course in Para's judicial system. Given the GOB's
aggressive investigation of the killing and sensitivity to
political perceptions of its handling of this high-profile
crime, we are perplexed about the thinking behind Bastos'
position and will make additional queries on that point. End
Comment.

DANILOVICH