Sister Dorothy Stang's brother updates us on the lack of justice five years after his sister's murder.
By Guest Blogger David Stang
Corruption, impunity,
and oppression in Para, Brazil did not begin with Sister Dorothy Stang's murder
on February 12, 2005. Dorothy was very aware of murder and crime all around
her. The murder of hundreds of farmers, judicial impunity, the enormous stealing
of land, the illegal destruction of the forest, poverty, and oppression were
everywhere, the result of criminals working together.
Dorothy's letters to
the government of Brazil, to the Stang family, to the Sisters of Notre Dame de
Namur, to friends are full of disclosures of these crimes. She made the
Brazilian government aware on a daily basis of what was happening in Anapu. As
one of the founders of the Catholic Pastoral Land Commission and a defender of
the rights of native peoples, Dorothy was enormously important in the Amazon. She
even had a price on her head.
Yet five year after
her murder, my family and I, the Sister of Notre Dame de Namur, and the Anapu
farmers are still waiting for justice, as Vitalmiro ("Bida")
Bastos de Moura avoids prosecution.
Immediately after
Dorothy's murder, the federal government started an "External Commission to
Monitor Investigations into the Murder of Sister Dorothy Stang," headed by the
now-governor of the State of Para, Ana Julia Carepa. According to this report, Bida is accused of attempting to impede the
implementation of the Sustainable Development Project (PDS) started by Dorothy.
The report says that
four months before Dorothy Stang's murder, a judge sent an official letter to
the Police of Para requesting protection for Dorothy Stang. The report found
the absence of security agents where they are most necessary. The state public
security authorities forbid the police from fulfilling their duties.
Also, Raifran and
Clodoaldo, the accused gunmen, have stated as explicitly as possible that they
had been assured by Bida and Amair Feijoli da Cunha, known as Tato, that immediately after the
murder, a lawyer would be hired at the cost of up to 100,000 Reais ($50,000)
to defend them. It proved almost beyond all doubt the existence of a network to
support the man who ordered the killing.
The report continues
that in August and September 2003, the Social Movements in Anapu had denounced
in detail perpetrators, invasion, violence, and crimes that had taken place on
each individual plot of land assigned PDS settlers. The documents included
Sister Dorothy's letters and was signed by Dorothy and the vice mayor of Anapu.
It lists the names of the culprits, including a man who fell the trees in plot
55, where Dorothy was murdered. Can one not ask, what are the results of all
this official documentation and condemnation?
Let us now proceed to
March 31, 2010. I arrive in Belem, Brazil on March 29 for the trial of Bida in
order to support the Dorothy Stang Committee, the Sisters of Notre Dame de
Namur, our family, and the people of Anapu.
At the same time, Rayfran
the killer, Clodoaldo the accomplice, and Tato the go-between are all home from
prison for Easter week as part of their rehabilitation. They were getting
excellent coverage in the press. Rayfran even said on TV, he would like to be a
lawyer to help others. He continues to say that he alone killed Dorothy Stang
in an emotional event and not for money, contradicting his last court
appearance where he said he killed for money.
As we entered the
court room on March 31, there was much whispering. The press was there in full
force. We had a full team of prosecutors, lawyer, witnesses, and the presence
of sisters, family and friends. The jury was in the front row ready to be
chosen. The time arrived for the trial but there were no defense lawyers on
that side of the courtroom, no witnesses, no family present. Bida, the
prisoner, was brought in and sat down. We waited.
Suddenly a man
appeared with a letter which he gave to the judge saying that the defense
lawyers will not be present. They said that the Habeas Corpus appeal with the
Supreme Court Justice in Brasilia was still pending, and therefore they were
using the principle of Ample Defense so stated in the Brazilian constitution.
The Judge again called for the defense. There was no response. The Judge
angrily stated that this behavior is not acceptable. He declared that there
will be a trial April 12 and that there will be a public defender if they do
not show up to defend Bida. Our legal team quickly claimed that there was no
legal standing for the defense not to show up.
We had wondered how these criminals working
together would handle this case and now we know. These criminals working
together showed their power, their defiance, and their ability to insult the judicial
process, the people of Brazil.
The Sisters of Notre
Dame de Namur, the Dorothy Stang Committee, Anapu farmers, I representing the
Stang Family, and now Brazilian government
officials from other agencies, all of us, will be present to give strong
witness and encourage the process on April 12. The letters of Dorothy Stang
will be presented at this trial.
The press asked me
what the Stang Family felt about this lack of a trial-this lack of justice-on
March 31. "I, representing the Stang Family, representing Dorothy, came from a
long distance," I responded. "I wanted justice. Where were they? What are they
afraid of?"
David Stang travels to Brazil for all the trials related to the murder of his sister, Sister Dorothy Stang, S.N.D. de N.
Guest blog posts express the views of the author.
They do not
necessarily reflect the views of U.S. Catholic, its editors, or
the Claretians.
