Brazil Refuses Israeli Settler as Diplomatic Envoy

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Brazil’s reluctance to accept an Israeli ambassador who is a West Bank colonist has set off a diplomatic crisis and led to concerns in the Israeli government that the clash could encourage pro-Palestinian activism against it.

Dani Dayan and Naftali Bennett.
The appointment four months ago of Dani Dayan, a former head of the Jewish colony movement, did not go down well with Brazil’s left-leaning government, which has supported Palestinian statehood in recent years.

Most world powers deem the "Jews-only" colonies on Palestinian land as illegal.

The regime’s previous ambassador, Reda Mansour, left Brasilia last week and the Israeli government said on Sunday that Brazil risked degrading bilateral relations if Dayan was not allowed to succeed him.

“Israel will leave the level of diplomatic relations with Brazil at the secondary level if the appointment of Dani Dayan is not confirmed,” Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely told Israel’s Channel 10 TV, saying Dayan would remain the sole nominee.

She said Israel would lobby Brasilia through the Brazilian Jewish community, confidants of President Dilma Rousseff and direct appeals from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Brazilian government officials declined to comment on whether Rousseff will accept the nomination of the Argentine-born Dayan.

But one senior Foreign Ministry official said: “I do not see that happening.”

The official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said Israel would have to choose a different envoy because the choice of Dayan has further worsened relations that turned sour in 2010 when Brazil decided to recognise Palestinian statehood in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, which Israel occupied in a 1967 war and colonised.

Israel quit Gaza in 2005 but claims occupied Jerusalem as its “indivisible capital” and wants to keep swathes of West Bank colonies under any eventual peace deal with the Palestinians.

Rousseff’s predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, angered Israel by drawing Brazil closer to Iran.

Tensions rose last year when an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman called Brazil a “diplomatic dwarf” after Brasilia recalled its ambassador from Israel to protest a military offensive in Gaza.

Brazil’s government was also angered by the announcement of Dayan’s appointment by Netanyahu in a Twitter message on August 5 before Brasilia had been informed, let alone agreed to the new envoy as is the diplomatic norm.

Over the weekend, Dayan went on the offensive to defend his nomination, telling Israeli media that Netanyahu’s government was not doing enough to press Brazil to accept him. Dayan said not doing so could create a precedent barring colonists from representing Israel abroad.

Emmanuel Nahshon, spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, said ties with Brazil were “good and important”, noting Israel’s recent opening of a new consulate in Brazil and the business opportunities for Israeli security firms during the Olympic Games to be held in Rio de Janeiro in August.

Israel has a considerable role in providing avionics technology for Brazil’s aerospace and defense industry.

Celso Amorim, a former Brazilian foreign and defence minister, said on Friday that the diplomatic dispute over Dayan’s appointment showed that “it is time the Brazilian armed forces reduced their dependence on Israel.”

http://www.imemc.org/article/74388

Good for them.

Really hope they stick to this.

Israeli Settlers, Meet Brazil’s Settlers

Brazil says it will not confirm the Israeli ambassador-designate to the South American nation, Dani Dayan, because it does not want to “show support for the settlement enterprise,” for which Dayan has been an activist. But anyone familiar with Brazilian history knows that it has an extensive “settler” history of its own.
The Portuguese settler leader Pedro Alvares Cabral is said to have “discovered” Brazil in the year 1500, although the indigenous tribes living there since time immemorial no doubt saw things differently. The natives numbered at least several million people — divided among an estimated 2,000 tribes — but they were no match for European settlers carrying rifles and tuberculosis. Centuries of persecution, slavery, and exploitation of natural resources became the hallmarks of the Portuguese occupation regime. Before long, more than 90 percent of the natives had been wiped out.
As the years passed, a colorful array of additional Portuguese settlers duly arrived — traders, slave-dealers, Jesuit missionaries and more. The discovery of gold in the Minas Gerais region in 1693 was a cause for considerable excitement — except, that is, among the locals, who soon found their native lands overrun by hordes of speculator-settlers and all the unpleasantries that accompany a rapacious gold rush. The occupiers were not inclined to give the tribesmen a vote on any of that, of course.
Brazil’s surviving indigenous tribes today number only about 800,000, in a nation of more than 200 million settler-descendants. Sadly, the legacy of settler violence persists. Just last month, Amnesty International sent a letter to Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff — she’s the one said who she doesn’t want to “show support for the [Israeli] settlement enterprise” — charging her with mistreating the Guarani-Kaiowá indigenous people.

Richard The Lionheart wrote:Israeli Settlers, Meet Brazil’s Settlers

Brazil says it will not confirm the Israeli ambassador-designate to the South American nation, Dani Dayan, because it does not want to “show support for the settlement enterprise,” for which Dayan has been an activist. But anyone familiar with Brazilian history knows that it has an extensive “settler” history of its own.
The Portuguese settler leader Pedro Alvares Cabral is said to have “discovered” Brazil in the year 1500, although the indigenous tribes living there since time immemorial no doubt saw things differently. The natives numbered at least several million people — divided among an estimated 2,000 tribes — but they were no match for European settlers carrying rifles and tuberculosis. Centuries of persecution, slavery, and exploitation of natural resources became the hallmarks of the Portuguese occupation regime. Before long, more than 90 percent of the natives had been wiped out.
As the years passed, a colorful array of additional Portuguese settlers duly arrived — traders, slave-dealers, Jesuit missionaries and more. The discovery of gold in the Minas Gerais region in 1693 was a cause for considerable excitement — except, that is, among the locals, who soon found their native lands overrun by hordes of speculator-settlers and all the unpleasantries that accompany a rapacious gold rush. The occupiers were not inclined to give the tribesmen a vote on any of that, of course.
Brazil’s surviving indigenous tribes today number only about 800,000, in a nation of more than 200 million settler-descendants. Sadly, the legacy of settler violence persists. Just last month, Amnesty International sent a letter to Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff — she’s the one said who she doesn’t want to “show support for the [Israeli] settlement enterprise” — charging her with mistreating the Guarani-Kaiowá indigenous people.

Yes, no people were more ruthless than the Portuguese. So it looks like, modernly, they have turned over a new leaf. In fact, Brazil is rapidly becoming a superpower, with civil rights highest in their mind.

Good for them. Remember, South America is a part of the New World...as distinct from the old one, which we left behind.

Original Quill wrote:

Richard The Lionheart wrote:Israeli Settlers, Meet Brazil’s Settlers

Yes, no people were more ruthless than the Portuguese.  So it looks like, modernly, they have turned over a new leaf.  In fact, Brazil is rapidly becoming a superpower, with civil rights highest in their mind.

Good for them.  Remember, South America is a part of the New World...as distinct from the old one, which we left behind.

I suggest you read again, which shows the worst double standards being applied here and makes me wonder how much gulf money plays part in such announcements in South America where we fund some of the worst human rights abuses against the real indegeneous people




Sadly, the legacy of settler violence persists. Just last month, Amnesty International sent a letter to Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff — she’s the one said who she doesn’t want to “show support for the [Israeli] settlement enterprise” — charging her with mistreating the Guarani-Kaiowá indigenous people.

Richard The Lionheart wrote:

Original Quill wrote:

Yes, no people were more ruthless than the Portuguese.  So it looks like, modernly, they have turned over a new leaf.  In fact, Brazil is rapidly becoming a superpower, with civil rights highest in their mind.

Good for them.  Remember, South America is a part of the New World...as distinct from the old one, which we left behind.

I suggest you read again, which shows the worst double standards being applied here and makes me wonder how much gulf money plays part in such announcements in South America where we fund some of the worst human rights abuses against the real indegeneous people




Sadly, the legacy of settler violence persists. Just last month, Amnesty International sent a letter to Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff — she’s the one said who she doesn’t want to “show support for the [Israeli] settlement enterprise” — charging her with mistreating the Guarani-Kaiowá indigenous people.

Let's hope the get that straightened out and we can all be pro-civil rights.

Open letter from Amnesty International to Brazil’s President about violations of the rights of the Guarani-Kaiowá Indigenous People



At the end of September 2015, Brazil submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution to the UNFCCC. The introduction to the INDC states that Brazil is committed respecting human rights, including those of indigenous populations.
An open letter from Amnesty International to Brazil’s President Dilma Roussef reveals that the reality for the Guarani-Kaiowá indigenous people is far from the fine sounding words in the INDC.
As the letter points out, Brazil’s failure to uphold the rights of the Guarani-Kaiowá is in breach of Brazil’s Constitution as well as ILO Convention 169 and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigneous Peoples.
In the letter, Amnesty International also raises its concerns about PEC 215, a proposed amendment to Brazil’s constitution that would transfer decision-making powers regarding the demarcation and titling of Indigenous Peoples’ land from the Executive Branch (FUNAI) to the Legislative (Congress):

Land ownership is a question of legal entitlement and rights under national and international law. Amnesty International is concerned that politically motivated considerations that ignore Brazil’s obligations under international law will lead to negative outcomes for Indigenous Peoples in violation of their rights.

Amnesty International’s 5 November 2015 letter is posted here in full. The Portuguese original version is available here.

Open letter: The Guarani-Kaiowá need Urgent Demarcation and Delivery of their Land, Justice and a Life in Dignity

Madame President,
Amnesty International is concerned about violations of the human rights of the Guarani-Kaiowá Indigenous People. For decades, the communities have not been able to access their ancestral lands and culminate the process of land demarcation, as established by the constitution (1). Consequently, the communities have been further marginalized and have had no access to essential services. Furthermore, attacks against human rights defenders and community leaders have been constantly documented, all of which remain in impunity.
Land demarcation and delivery
The Constitution of 1988 stated that all Indigenous Peoples’ land must be demarcated and titled within a time period of five years. This provision, and the resulting mechanisms for demarcation and titling, were praised by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in a report in 2009, who said that “Brazil has developed an exemplary model for securing indigenous land rights from which other countries have much to learn.” (2) This provision provides the basis for Brazil to comply with its obligations to recognise the land rights of Indigenous Peoples under ILO Convention 169 (3), ratified by Brazil in 2002, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) (4), and the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. (5)
However, the hope that this constitutional provision represented, opening up the prospect that Indigenous Peoples could regain their dignity, fully exercise their human rights, live in peace and prosperity on their ancestral lands, and practice their spiritual beliefs, has not been realised.
In Mato Grosso do Sul there are at least 41 Tekohas (traditional territories) of the Guarani-Kaiowá and Guarani-Ñandeva, each at different stages of completion of the administrative procedure of demarcation. However, 22 years after the expiration of the deadline set by the Constitution, not a single community has been able to reclaim their traditional territory. When non-Indigenous farmers obtained court orders paralyzing the demarcation procedures, these were successively overturned in higher courts, allowing the executive to move forward with the constitutional demarcation process.
In some cases, courts have issued eviction orders, despite the lands being identified by the government agency FUNAI (National Indian Foundation) as belonging to the community, allowing farmers to move on to the land and farm it. As Amnesty International stated in its 2010 report We know our rights and we will fight for them, “The damage caused to traditional Indigenous lands in Mato Grosso do Sul by agro-industrial development is a serious concern. Reducing the future productivity of the land undermines its ability to sustain the way of life of Indigenous Peoples when they are able to return” (6). Indigenous Peoples, on the other hand, who, in impatience at the slow judicial process for the delivery of their land, have re-occupied them (a process known as retomadas), are subject to violence, including murder.
Amnesty International is also very concerned about PEC 215, a proposal for a constitutional amendment, which would transfer decision-making powers regarding the demarcation and titling of Indigenous Peoples’ land from the Executive Branch (FUNAI) to the Legislative (Congress). Land ownership is a question of legal entitlement and rights under national and international law. Amnesty International is concerned that politically motivated considerations that ignore Brazil’s obligations under international law will lead to negative outcomes for Indigenous Peoples in violation of their rights.
Attacks against human rights defenders and community leaders
There have been many violent attacks on Guarani-Kaiowá and Guarani-Ñandeva communities, particularly those that have engaged in peaceful reoccupations of their lands. The following are three examples of Guarani Kaiowá human rights defenders who have been attacked and murdered in recent times.
Marcos Verón, a Cacique (leader) of the Takuára community, led a small group in a retomada of their land in Juti municipality of Mato Grosso do Sul in 2003. He was shot at and beaten to death reportedly by a group of farm labourers and hired gunmen. To this day, no one has been found guilty for his killing.
Nizio Gomes, a Guarani-Kaiowá Cacique (leader), was killed in November 2011 in the retomada camp of the Guaiviry Tekoha, located in the municipalities of Aral Moreira and Ponta Pora, in Mato Grosso do Sul state. The 19 defendants accused by Mato Grosso do Sul federal prosecutors include farmers, lawyers, a municipal secretary, and the owner and employees of a private security company. Nizio’s body has never been found; the trial is expected to drag on for another five years.
Semião Vilhalva, murdered on 29 August 2015, was a leader of the Ñanderu Marangatú community, whose land was demarcated and ratified in 2005. However, in the same year, the courts suspended the implementation of the land titling process and issued an eviction order in favour of non-Indigenous claimants. In August, the Indigenous Peoples of Ñanderu Marangatú decided to reoccupy their land. Vilhalva was shot in the face and killed, allegedly by a gunman hired by the farmers. Amnesty International issued a denunciation of the attacks (7). No one has been arrested in this case.
A Life in Dignity
The Guarani Kaiowá have a suicide rate 34 times higher than Brazil´s national average, and one of the highest rates in the world. ( The Missionary Council for Indigenous Peoples (CIMI – Portuguese acronym) documented 41 murders of Indigenous Peoples in Mato Grosso do Sul in 2014. (9)
Communities who have been evicted from their ancestral lands are unable to carry out the cultural and spiritual practices which are inextricably linked to those lands. In most cases they are living on very small portions of land which are insufficient to provide opportunities for livelihoods – some of which are located in the margins of highways. The consumption of alcohol has increased due to the situation of desperation of many community members. Members of the community are often forced to travel long distances to work on farms, where in some cases they work in conditions which have been found by the Brazilian authorities to be analogous to slavery. (10)
In order to face these threats to their lives, the Guarani Kaiowá have been strengthening their non-violent resistance both locally and at the national level along with several Indigenous Peoples from other Brazilian regions. Indigenous Peoples’ national mobilizations and advocacy initiatives aim at defeating PEC 215 and other legislative proposals which could weaken Indigenous Peoples’ rights. In Mato Grosso do Sul, the Guarani Kaiowá are resisting moves to evict them on a case by case basis. Brazil has an obligation to respect and protect the right of Indigenous Peoples to engage in non-violent protest to advance their rights.
In order to ensure that Brazil complies with its obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Protocol of San Salvador), to guarantee to all people without discrimination the rights enshrined in it, including the rights to health and education (11), it is essential that the Indigenous Guarani-Kaiowá peoples have their land demarcated and delivered to them, so that they can engage in their livelihoods and spiritual and cultural practices in dignity.
Madame President,
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, in his 2009 report after visiting Brazil, stated that “Tensions between indigenous peoples and non-indigenous occupants have been especially acute in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, where indigenous peoples suffer from a severe lack of access to their traditional lands, extreme poverty and related social ills, giving rise to a pattern of violence that is marked by numerous murders of indigenous individuals as well as by criminal prosecution of indigenous individuals for acts of protest.”
Unfortunately, the situation in the past six years has not improved; if anything, Indigenous communities in this area have become more desperate, as they continue to live in extremely cramped conditions, often in dangerous locations where they are at great risk to their lives, and in constant danger of attacks and aggression by non-state actors. Amnesty International urges you to do all that is necessary to ensure that Brazil complies with its human rights obligations, in particular to:

• Ensure that the Guarani-Kaiowá communities are protected from further attacks;
  
• Ensure that the deaths of Marcos Verón, Nizio Gomes and Semião Vilhalva are promptly and thoroughly investigated, and that those found to be responsible are prosecuted in accordance with international standards of due process;
  
• Guarantee the effective protection of the rights of all Guarani-Kaiowá community leaders and human rights defenders;
  
• Expedite the demarcation and delivery of the ancestral lands of the Guarani-Kaiowá communities; in the meantime, guarantee that the Guarani-Kaiowá are not evicted from the lands which they traditionally own;
  
• Uphold the Brazilian Constitution and laws, as well as international norms on Indigenous Peoples’ rights.
  

 
Sincerely,
Atila Roque
Amnesty International Brazil
Copied to:
Justice Ministry José Eduardo Cardozo
Mato Grosso do Sul Reinaldo Azambuja

Original Quill wrote:

Richard The Lionheart wrote:


I suggest you read again, which shows the worst double standards being applied here and makes me wonder how much gulf money plays part in such announcements in South America where we fund some of the worst human rights abuses against the real indegeneous people




Sadly, the legacy of settler violence persists. Just last month, Amnesty International sent a letter to Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff — she’s the one said who she doesn’t want to “show support for the [Israeli] settlement enterprise” — charging her with mistreating the Guarani-Kaiowá indigenous people.

Let's hope the get that straightened out and we can all be pro-civil rights.

Everyone should have the same equality under the law
I just think it was the worst hypocrisy from Brazil, as fundementally countless nations have been built from colonisation, as we all at one point migrated out of Africa. We either respect the right of people to,.move freely or people are against this. Hence the colonial argument is poor and weak when the demographics have changed so much over years. What is important is to respect other groups rights

Looks like two peas in a pod to me then.

I think it's good to publicize all transgressions. Hypocracy, while interesting, is not a world crime. Violation of civil rights is.