Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Hundreds of Brazil's eco-warriors at risk of assassination, according to new report
• Study marks 20 years since Mendes murder
• Environmentalists divided over activist's legacy
Twenty years after the killing of Chico Mendes, one of the world's most prominent rainforest defenders, hundreds of human rights and environmental activists still face the threat of assassination in Brazil, a new study claims.
The report, compiled by Brazil's Catholic Land Commission (CPT) and due to be released in full early next year, reveals that at least 260 people, among them a Catholic bishop, live under the threat of murder because of their fight against a coalition of loggers, farmers and cattle ranchers.
See full Article.