{"id":21457,"date":"2015-04-14T13:59:51","date_gmt":"2015-04-14T16:59:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=21457"},"modified":"2016-04-11T02:22:08","modified_gmt":"2016-04-11T05:22:08","slug":"forum-opens-tense-crucial-dialogue-for-upp-reform-in-complexo-do-alemao","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=21457","title":{"rendered":"Forum Opens Tense, Crucial Dialogue for UPP Reform in Complexo do Alem\u00e3o"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas\"\"<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Residents of Complexo do Alem\u00e3o<\/a>, community leaders, researchers, government officials, members of civil society and journalists came together last Thursday<\/a>, April 9 to\u00a0discuss recent conflicts<\/a> in Complexo do Alem\u00e3o and debate solutions for the extreme violence that has become routine\u00a0in the community<\/a>. The forum\u00a0was organized by\u00a0the newspaper\u00a0O Dia<\/a><\/em>, in partnership\u00a0with the Center for Studies of Citizen Security (CESec)<\/a> and the Institute for Religious Studies (ISER)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Around 200 people attended the meeting in Gl\u00f3ria, in the South Zone<\/a> of Rio. The event lasted\u00a0four\u00a0hours and welcomed around 30 residents of Complexo do Alem\u00e3o. The meeting was live-streamed on the Viva ONG Rio YouTube channel and can be watched in its entirety here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While the success of the Pacifying Police Unit (UPP)<\/a> program varies from community to community<\/a>, the situation of urban violence and police brutality in Complexo do Alem\u00e3o is particularly worrying after three months of constant conflict since the beginning of the year<\/a>. The forum took place a week after the killing of 10-year-old Eduardo de Jesus Ferreira, who was shot in the head by a UPP policeman<\/a>\u00a0at his own doorstep, and a period of 24 hours in which at least five people were killed by police<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The forum was mediated by O Dia<\/em> journalist\u00a0Andr\u00e9 Balocco and began with a moment of silence for Eduardo and other residents recently killed. The subject of debate quickly turned towards the lack of social programs and support from the government in Complexo do Alem\u00e3o.\u00a0L\u00facia Cabral from the Center of Defense of Human Rights and founder of the NGO Educap<\/a> discussed how social and cultural programs continue to struggle as\u00a0the government spends money dispatching more police to the community, leaving social work to be handled by\u00a0NGOs already lacking funding. L\u00facia emphasized how social programs for youth are vital\u00a0in inspiring younger generations and keeping them away from drug trafficking, emphasizing that they are \u201ca path for building\u00a0a healthier\u00a0young population.\u201d Many community members also agreed that social programs serve as a preventative measure against violence in the community.<\/p>\n

Alan Brum Pinheiro, community leader and director of the Instituto\u00a0Ra\u00edzes em Movimento<\/a>,\u00a0also addressed the severe scarcity\u00a0of social programs and presented proposals that had been agreed on by the community during months of consultation for public investments that never arrived\u00a0under the PAC<\/a> (federal Growth Acceleration Program). The proposals called\u00a0for sanitation<\/a> projects, the construction of the IFRJ university campus<\/a> in Complexo do Alem\u00e3o,\u00a0and the improvement of Parque Serra da Miserc\u00f3rdia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The atmosphere in the room became tense when\u00a0a resident of\u00a0Complexo do Alem\u00e3o recounted her daily\u00a0difficulties with the UPP and her worries as a mother<\/a> living in a militarized community. Residents then reported that a curfew has been established by UPP policemen<\/a> and that some public spaces have been occupied by\u00a0the police, making it impossible for residents to make use of what is theirs by right. According to the residents who spoke, businesses must be closed by 10pm and people are not free to circulate in the community after that time<\/a>.\u00a0This has posed a huge problem for workers and students who cannot go about their daily lives with this restriction. Alan Brum emphasized this as a breach in human rights as\u00a0\u201cthe young are being deprived\u00a0of their right to come and go.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to this curfew, residents criticized the UPP’s occupation of cultural and educational spaces. Raull Santiago of Coletivo\u00a0Papo Reto<\/a>\u00a0described how soccer games, cultural events, and even school-related events have been restricted by the UPP commander. Junior Perim of Circo Crescer and Viver<\/a>\u00a0added that the UPP often forbids events that have already been allowed by state and federal government. Eduardo Alves from\u00a0Observat\u00f3rio de\u00a0Favelas<\/a> added that it is the job of the police to keep people on the streets safe, not to take people off the streets to ensure safety.<\/p>\n

\"Daiene<\/a><\/p>\n

Frustration\u00a0with the Military Police\u00a0was expressed by several residents, including\u00a0Daiene Mendes from the internationally acclaimed<\/a> Alem\u00e3o community newspaper\u00a0Voz das Comunidades<\/a>\u00a0who expressed her\u00a0feelings\u00a0of fear every time a policeman\u00a0is near. Alves declared\u00a0that the presence of so many police units and firearms indicates a society of insecurity and fear. Raull Santiago raised another complicated issue, suggesting that the UPPs have been abandoned by the State and that they too must re-evaluate their role in the favela. Instead of enforcing more rules on residents, the UPP should rethink who and what\u00a0are the real problems in Complexo do Alem\u00e3o. The UPP\u00a0must also realize\u00a0that one of the largest issues today\u00a0is the lack of support from the State in favela pacification programs.<\/p>\n

The tension reached its peak when\u00a0activist and resident Leonardo Silva from the Ocupa Alem\u00e3o<\/a> collective interrupted a UPP officer<\/a>, who was making a speech about how residents should call out\u00a0drug traffickers, to express his anger<\/a> at the hypocrisy of the police: “Our group’s conclusion is that the UPP must leave Alem\u00e3o. Until you\u00a0arrest\u00a0criminals on Presidente Vargas (the main thoroughfare through the downtown\u00a0and City Hall)… traffickers are on Presidents Vargas! Traffickers are in the Military Police! Traffickers are in\u00a0the State government! I want the police out of the favela! There are no traffickers in the favela, there are (only) distributors!… And unless you are going to arrest people there, I want the police out! Because I am the one paying the price, my friends are paying the price! Eduardo paid the price, his family paid the price! I am not going to wait for the police to demilitarize. I’m not going to wait for this police that was created over a century ago to end popular revolt<\/a>, and which continues doing this\u00a0and what it does today in the favela… You fix up your\u00a0mess and once you do we can talk again! But until then, yes, I want you out of the favela!”<\/p>\n

\"Colonel<\/p>\n

Throughout the meeting, speakers continued to question the absence of state regulation and involvement in the UPP program. President of Amnesty International Brazil<\/a>\u00a0Atila Roque\u00a0accused\u00a0the state and federal governments of\u00a0sustaining a shameful silence throughout recent events in Complexo do Alem\u00e3o and expressed disappointment in the lack of apologies to the families of people killed.<\/p>\n

Alan Brum spoke of the contradicting UPP police discourses, in which officers say\u00a0they represent\u00a0the State and are there\u00a0to\u00a0enforce the law in communities, but then allege they lack the\u00a0power to offer\u00a0solutions to\u00a0residents’ demands for improvements in their community. Many residents suggested\u00a0the\u00a0UPP officers have very little guidance from a\u00a0state that has given them roles they are unable to fill.<\/p>\n

\"Secretary<\/a><\/p>\n

Overall, the\u00a0forum proved successful in revealing\u00a0specific issues Complexo do Alem\u00e3o residents would like to see addressed, as well as identifying key areas in which communication between the UPP and residents can be fixed. Colonel Robson Rodrigues, chief of the Military Police was present and apologized for the recent killings. Adilson Pires proposed a meeting in Complexo do Alem\u00e3o within the next two weeks and Teresa Cosentino, Secretary of Social Assistance, promised two forums for both Complexo do Alem\u00e3o and Mar\u00e9 with all secretaries of state present.\u00a0Pedro Strozenberg, of ISER, suggested\u00a0a series of workshops to develop proposals for the state government. He emphasized that both residents and the UPP officers\u00a0are victims in the current situation and that it is important to work together collaboratively.<\/p>\n

At the end of the event, Santiago illustrated the complexities\u00a0in\u00a0the current relationship\u00a0between the UPP officers\u00a0and residents of Complexo do Alem\u00e3o: “When people arrive at a protest and say \u201cOut with the UPP!\u201d, you can be sure they aren\u2019t looking at any one of you in particular and wanting one of you to die. They want\u00a0other things, that more services arrive in the Complexo do Alem\u00e3o. And there is no need for weapons in the middle of ideas and dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ways to Take Action On Topics Raised Above<\/h3>\n

Watch the full 4-hour debate<\/a>\u00a0in Portuguese to learn more<\/p>\n

Petition to formalize and protect the State Park Serra da Miseric\u00f3rdia<\/a> [by Alem\u00e3o community ecology group Verdejar<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Vote for Coletivo Papo Reto<\/a> for this year’s The BOBS (Best of Online Activism) award, to grow\u00a0visibility and public recognition of\u00a0their struggle<\/p>\n

Like\u00a0and Follow Instituto Ra\u00edzes em Movimento<\/a>, Coletivo Papo Reto<\/a>, Verdejar<\/a>,\u00a0Ocupa Alem\u00e3o<\/a>,\u00a0Observat\u00f3rio de Favelas<\/a>, Voz das Comunidades<\/a>, Amnesty International Brasil<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas Residents of Complexo do Alem\u00e3o, community leaders, researchers, government officials, members of civil society and journalists came together last Thursday, April 9 to\u00a0discuss recent conflicts in Complexo do Alem\u00e3o and debate […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":21466,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1277,1288,1290,1333,329,1329],"tags":[32,221,1538,918,37,15,17,171,1011,243,1385,259],"writer":[1556],"translator":[],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-21457","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uppwatch","8":"category-highlight","9":"category-civilsociety","10":"category-event-reports","11":"category-solutions","12":"category-by-international-observers","13":"tag-complexo-do-alemao","14":"tag-favela-culture","15":"tag-ifrj","16":"tag-military-police","17":"tag-north-zone","18":"tag-pacifying-police-unit","19":"tag-police-brutality","20":"tag-public-space","21":"tag-right-to-come-and-go","22":"tag-serra-da-misericordia","23":"tag-violence","24":"tag-youth","25":"writer-asha-nidumolu"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21457\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21457"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=21457"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=21457"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=21457"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=21457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}