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| Latin America |
| Second UN witness shot in Brazil |
| 2003-10-10 |
| Another country going down the tubes with very few people paying attention. EFL: A Brazilian man who gave evidence to a United Nations human rights commission visiting Brazil has been shot dead. Gerson Jesus Bispo was the second person to be killed after speaking to UN envoy Asma Jahangir about alleged death squads, murder and torture by police. Human rights groups say the two men were killed in retribution for talking to the envoy, who has been outspoken about the situation in Brazil. Some of the country’s most senior judges have responded angrily to her suggestion that the United Nations should offer advice on reforming the country’s legal system. I guess they feel the same way about the UN we do. Mr Bispo, 26, was on his way to work when he was shot dead by gunmen on a motorbike on Thursday in the city of Santo Antonio de Jesus, in the state of Bahia. Those damm motorcycles again. The car mechanic had presented evidence to Mrs Jahangir about the murder of his brother last year. He said a death squad possibly linked to the police was responsible. Nilmario Miranda, head of Brazil’s federal human rights office, told reporters that Mr Bispo’s death was "an open challenge" by the death squads "to demonstrate that they are untouchable". Two weeks ago a 24-year-old, Flavio Manoel da Silva was shot dead in the state of Paraiba, also in the north-east of Brazil. Just days earlier he too had spoken about death squads to the UN envoy. Bet she doesn’t get many invites to cocktail parties. Mrs Jahangir spent three weeks in Brazil investigating summary executions and other killings allegedly carried out by police before concluding that some of the country’s police force did continue to kill civilians with impunity. During her meeting with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva she suggested the UN could offer recommendations to help reform Brazil’s legal system. They’ve been so successful doing that in, er, ........ The president responded favourably but some judges view the idea as unconstitutional. One said that agreeing to an external inspection would put Brazil in the same position as Iraq. He said the country would be then a republic subjected to international control. Mrs Jahangir is now preparing a report on her visit. It’s what the UN does best, preparing reports. Then they’ll discuss it for a couple of years before they release a statement. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #4 Oh, UN peacekeepers would not always stand by idle. If they entered Israel, they'd make sure the Palis got to load the Jews onto trains to death camps in some semblance of order… |
| Posted by: Atrus 2003-10-10 4:43:02 PM |
| #3 Too bad they didn't shoot the Frog FM instead |
| Posted by: SOG475 2003-10-10 10:53:02 AM |
| #2 What is the UN doing poking around in Brazil? I thought they were hot on stopping spankings in Canada. Notice how the unarmed civilian got shot by the armed assailant - possibly a government employee. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-10-10 10:50:31 AM |
| #1 Gerson Jesus Bispo was the second person to be killed after speaking to UN envoy Asma Jahangir about alleged death squads, murder and torture by police. Usually the death squads are more politically astute than this. Then again, they know that the UN is powerless. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-10-10 9:01:23 AM |