February 27, 1997
Dear Friends,
The National Council of Rubber Tappers (CNS) has called for a
mobilization in Brasilia on March 3 and 4, 1997 - next Monday and
Tuesday.
The CNS is calling for the mobilization to demand the implementation
of three important points, to guarantee extractive communities'
permanence - and protection of - the Amazon Rainforest:
-o- Government policy for natural rubber, including a just
price and transportation support;
-o- Credit policy for extractivism;
-o- Immediate implementation of Ecological Land Reform, a
project to create new Extractive Reserves and Extractive
Settlements.
The CNS has been negotiating these points with the Brazilian
government, with encouraging results, but they feel that this
mobilization is necessary in order to push for concrete results. They
have asked the international community to express their solidarity by
writing to President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, requesting him to
listen to their demands.
The CNS was founded in 1985 to defend the rights of tens of thousands
of extractive workers who still live and work in the Amazon
Rainforest. Leaders in the struggle to save the Amazon, the CNS
demands that social justice be included in environmental action. In
the words of Osmarino Am?ncio: "At first, people talking about
ecology were only defending the fish, the animals, the forest, and the
river. They didn't realize that human beings were in the forest - and
that these humans were the real ecologists, because they couldn't live
without the forest and the forest couldn't be saved without them".
Extractive communities across the Amazon continue to face a difficult
situation. They are calling for this important mobilization, and
request your support.
Thanks for helping, and please do not hesitate to call me should you
have any questions. We will do our best to keep you informed about
the mobilization next week.
Sincerely,
Christine Halvorson
Acting Executive Director
Amanaka'a Amazon Network
60 E 13th Street 5th Floor, NY, NY 10003
tel: 212.253.9502 fax: 212.253.9507
E-mail: christine@amanakaa.org
Web: http://www.amanakaa.org/
===> Please send a letter (see draft below) to President Cardoso <===
===> by next MONDAY, MARCH 3. Also please send a copy to Amanaka'a <===
DRAFT OF PROPOSED LETTER
President Fernando Henrique Cardoso
President of the Republic of Brazil
Via Fax: 011 55 61 226 7566 (or 321 5806 or 224 0289)
Email: pr@cr.df.rnp.br
Dear President Cardoso:
The international community is following with deep concern the
struggle to preserve the world's tropical rainforests, particularly
with the Rio + 5 meetings to take place in Brazil next month.
The National Council of Rubber Tappers-CNS has told us that they are
calling a meeting in Brasilia early next week of leaders from
extractive communities from across the Amazon. We understand the
importance of and wish to express our solidarity with their demands,
which include:
The assurance of a market and just price for native
rubber production;
The creation of a credit policy for extractive
communities;
Ecological Land Reform - the continuation of the
creation of Extractive Reserves and Settlement
Projects, in order to guarantee the preservation of
these communities and the forest they have
traditionally inhabited.
We are fully disposed to collaborate in any way we can towards this
just cause, and trust that you will do your utmost to guarantee that
extractive communities will be able to continue living and working in
the forest - thus protecting it for future generations.
Sincerely,