Friday, February 25, 2005

Murders in Brazil

Two more rainforest activists have been shot dead in the past week. Both were Brazilian citizens working on rainforest conservation programs and speaking out for the rights of indigenous people living in logging areas. One was killed in Rio, another in Papas state.

Info from www.democracynow.org

Another Brazilian Environmentalist Shot Dead
A Brazilian environmentalist has been shot dead, days after gunmen killed a US nun who campaigned to protect the Amazon rain forest from loggers and ranchers vying for its natural resources. Authorities said Wednesday that Dionisio Ribeiro was shot in the head late Tuesday at the Tingua nature reserve near Rio de Janeiro. Colleagues say Ribeiro had received death threats for some time because of his efforts to stop poaching and the illegal felling of palm trees. Ribeiro's murder follows the recent shooting deaths of Sister Dorothy Stang, an environmental activist and advocate for the poor, and Daniel Soares da Costa, an advocate of landless peasants.

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