português

Brasília, 6 Oct 2000

GDF becomes jointly responsible for Gildo’s death

SINDSER, the union of civil servants and employees of the GDF (Federal District Government), declares the following in response to the absurd official note released by the Federal District Governor last night concerning the death of Gildo da Silva Rocha:

1) SINDSER demands an unfettered investigation of the events concerning the brutal assassination of comrade Gildo da Silva Rocha. It demands equally that the police be punished for abuse of power and deviation from aims, that is, for carrying out an illegal act, a crime against life. Finally it demands that insofar as the GDF, through its Home Secretary (Secretaria de Segurança) accepts the action of its police as legitimate, that it be judicially co-responsible, including with regard to compensation, and politically co-responsible before the population of the Federal District, for the death of a worker during the Federal District employees strike.

2) the Official Note by the GDF, rather than criticising the disproportional police action or characterising it as a deviation from the aims of police activity and consequently an abuse of power by the authorities, tries to discredit the trade unionists detained and pursued by the police vehicle.

3) Gildo’s injury, revealed by the autopsy performed without the presence of the Commission of Human Rights or any trade union representative, refutes any claim that the police had fired defensively.

4) The Note presents as certain fact the seizure from within the vehicle of arms and “a portion of a joint”, thereby trying to soften up the public to the “justice” of murdering Gildo, letting it be known that the police involved will remain unpunished. It can be seen that the Note does not present any evidence of this accusation other than the statement of its own police, as during the era of the dictatorship, in which the victim, generally dead, had no means to defend himself from any accusation. The Official Note does not claim that Gildo was undergoing any judicial process or police inquiry in which he had been accused of trafficking or using any drugs or illegally carrying arms.

5) On the other hand, the GDF’s Official Note seeks to discredit Gildo through an accusation against one of his two colleagues, stating that “Geraldo Rufino was the subject of a police inquiry for theft.” Well, anyone can be the subject of a police inquiry. It’s enough for someone to accuse them. The Note omits, however, that there has been no judicial decision against Geraldo Rufino and that the judicial process corresponding to the police inquiry is suspended, without judgement. That is to say, he has not been found guilty.

6) Gildo’s “crime” was to have not wished to remain at the mercy of the police. It is even possible to understand that he would have tried to leave the area to inform the Strike Committee of the two comrades’ detention. His “crime” was to try to escape detention for something he was doing which was not a reason for arrest. The selfsame Note says that he was stationary in the car, that is, not constituting any flagrant crime.

7) The SALUB strike was known to all and it is unacceptable that the police should claim ignorance of its progress so as to pursue demonstators in the way they did. Was there any order to do so?

translation: Greg Dropkin