This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 001164 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/02/2015 
TAGS: PGOV CASC PHUM PREL SOCI KCRM BR
SUBJECT: AGRARIAN TENSIONS REMAIN HIGH IN BRAZIL'S PARA 
STATE 
 
REF: A. BRASILIA 821 
     ¶B. BRASILIA 464 
 
Classified By: POLOFF BISOLA OJIKUTU, FOR REASONS 1.4B AND D. 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY.  Tensions between small farmers, large 
landowners and government authorities continue to run high in 
the Brazilian state of Para, two months after the murder of 
US citizen nun Dorothy Stang.  Five suspects are in custody 
for Stang's killing.  The Brazilian Agriculture Minister 
relayed concerns to the Ambassador over the growing security 
concerns in Para.  The Chief Justice of the Para state Court 
of Justice does not foresee any delays in the Stang murder 
trial.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (C) In an April 25 meeting with Ambassador Danilovich, 
Brazilian Agriculture Minister Roberto Rodrigues said that he 
and President Lula da Silva would travel to the area because 
of growing concerns about the security situation there. 
Minister Rodrigues told the Ambassador that they (presumably 
large landowners) "are getting ready to kill again". 
Rodrigues added that he is aware that there are four US 
citizen nuns still in the area.  However, when Lula traveled 
to the area on April 27, he merely inaugurated a biodeisel 
project but did not address public security issues at all. 
 
¶3. (U) Brazil's Para state, at the mouth of the Amazon River, 
was the site of the February murder of US citizen nun Dorothy 
Stang (refs).  Five suspects are now in custody for that 
killing, including two landowners, one middleman, and two 
alleged gunmen.  Stang was long involved in activities on 
behalf of the landless and small farmers that drew the ire of 
large landowners, ranchers, and loggers in the region. 
Despite the presence of military troops, deployed to support 
the Federal Police in the wake of the Stang murder, the 
situation in Para's rural areas remains unsettled. 
 
¶4. (C) Jose Sales, Superintendent of the Federal Police in 
Para, told Consular Agent this week that the Stang murder has 
been concluded with the five arrested suspects (two gunmen, 
two middlemen, and two landowners who masterminded the 
conspiracy).  The Federal Police are no longer looking to 
expand the investigation to a possibly broader conspiracy of 
landowners. 
 
¶5. (U) Recently, there has been a concerted effort in some 
Para media outlets to impugn Sister Dorothy Stang.  A 
magazine called "Hoje" ("Today") published last week in the 
interior town of Altamira (near to where Stang was gunned 
down) ran stinging criticisms of the nun, and local 
left-of-center Workers' Party officials.  Federal Police 
supervisor Sales also told us that a number of clandestine 
radio stations in the area are running similar stories. 
Federal Prosecutor Felicio Pontes has asked Sales to close 
down the pirate radio stations, but Sales faces bureaucratic 
hurdles before he can do so. 
 
¶6. (C) Sales also shared with us his personal view that Stang 
had gone too far:  she once approached Sales and asked him to 
"remove the land poachers at all costs".  To Sales' reply 
that it would have to be done through legal means, she 
responded she would do it "her own way".  Sales  recognizes 
that Stang's high-profile public image gave courage to the 
landless and environmental activists, yet he doubts that 
other religious figures will be willing to follow her 
tactics. 
 
¶7. (C) Sales estimates that only about 50% of the 1,800 Army 
troops assigned to support the GoB's peacekeeping efforts in 
Para are still there --spread over an enormous and remote 
area.  The military deployment, he says, was very costly, 
particularly with the use of helicopters and with little 
support in terms of lodging and logistics. 
 
¶8. (C)  Sales also commented on the role of Milton Nobre, 
Chief Justice of the State Court of Justice.  (Sales himself 
opposes the idea of "federalization", i.e., letting the 
federal courts take over the Stang murder trial.)  Milton 
Nobre has just recently been elected Chief Justice of the 
court by his peers.  He is dynamic, he knows what he is doing 
and is correcting mistakes of the past, according to Salas. 
Nobre's ambition is to be a federal high court justice, so he 
is eager to make his mark.  Sales says that he knows no 
federal judge who would perform as well as Nobre. 
 
¶9. (C) Separately, Judge Nobre assured us that there will be 
no undue delays in the Stang murder trial and guarantees that 
this case will be prosecuted in record time.  He said that, 
within 40 days, it will be presented before a jury.  The case 
can be appealed within 30 days, he said.  Regarding 
federalization, Nobre points out that there are only nine 
federal judges in Para state, versus 244 state judges hence 
the state courts have a stronger structure for a complicated 
case.  Nobre adds that the state courts have prosecuted major 
human rights cases in Para in the past (e.g., Canuto, 
Fontelles, Joo Batista, El Dourado dos Carajas), although he 
signally did not comment on the quality of justice 
administered in those cases. 
 
¶10. (U) In late March, EmbOffs met with Justice Arnaldo 
Esteves, the Brazilian Supreme Court (STJ) judge in charge of 
federalizing Stang's murder case.  Esteves invited the four 
defendants to file motions to federalize the case and 
expected to receive them soon.  The STJ recently told us that 
the motions have not yet been filed because the prosecution 
is still gathering evidence.  After the motions are filed, 
the STJ will schedule a hearing to hear oral arguments and 
issue a decision.  Theoretically, if the STJ decides to 
federalize the case, Para state authorities and the 
defendants could appeal.  Judge Esteves noted that there are 
no written rules or criteria for this process, and has never 
been done before, hence he is "inventing" the process as he 
goes.  If the case is federalized, it would be heard by a 
federal judge and a popular jury in Para.  Whether the trial 
is ultimately handled by a state or federal court, he guessed 
that the actual murder trial would begin no earlier than July 
¶2005. 
 
COMMENT -- FOUR NUNS NOT IN IMMEDIATE DANGER 
--------------------------------------------- 
¶11. (C) The US Consular Agent in Belem, the capital of Para 
state, has alerted the Belem-based "Sisters of Notre Dame", 
Dorothy Stang's order, about our concerns about high tensions 
in the area.  One of the Notre Dame nuns responded that they 
have not suffered death threats and are not unduly concerned 
for their safety.  The nun noted that there are only four US 
citizen nuns in the area, and while one is a bit of an 
activist, none have anything like the public profile of 
Dorothy Stang.  Meanwhile, Sister Stang's work has been taken 
on by a Brazilian novice to the order in the town of Anapu 
(where Stang was killed).  The sisters report that the novice 
is recommitted to the work in the wake of Stang's death. 
Post will also review Consular Information Sheet with an eye 
to including language on rural Para. 
 
DANILOVICH