Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil – 5/28/05 – 10 PM
1. Ademar Kyotoshi Sato, chief monk at the Brasilia Buddhist Temple, visited ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva today at the Federal Police headquarters in Curitiba and spent nearly an hour talking to him. After the visit, the religious leader spoke with the activists who have been keeping vigil for over 50 days in front of the Federal Police building. He said that Lula is calm but angry at the arbitrary act that led to his imprisonment and hopes that justice will be made through his freedom so that he can defend “a better Brazil for Brazilians.” Lula told the monk that every day he yells back from his cell after the activists yell good morning, good afternoon and good night to him. Read Sato’s description of his visit here:http://www.pt.org.br/
2. The #LulaLivre Democratic Vigil is more alive than ever. This afternoon, residents from the neighborhood around the Federal Police building, who have been interacting with the Vigil for nearly two months, visited the Democracy House, which is also located near the police headquarters, and publicly expressed their support for the rule of law. They are the concrete proof that it is possible to move beyond personal interests in the name of a cause that is good for all Brazilians: to have a country free of political prisoners that holds just and democratic elections.
3. A group of Congressmen who are part of an External Congressional Commission will visit the Federal Police headquarters in Curitiba at 10 AM on this Tuesday (May 29th) in order to inspect the facilities where ex-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been held as a political prisoner since April 7th. The group is coordinated by PT’s Congressional leader Paulo Pimenta (Rio Grande do Sul). The visit to Curitiba is taking place after Supreme Court Minister Edson Fachin overturned the ruling by Judge Carolina Lebbos, from the 12th Federal Court in Curitiba, who made an arbitrary decision to bar the visit last month. The Commission is made up of members of the PT, PC do B, PDT, PSB and PSOL parties.
4. Professor Márcia Zupelari Nyilas and Engineer João Gilfredo de Alemar Junior have left for Oslo, Norway on a mission: to deliver a petition and a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Prize Committee explaining the reasons for which Lula should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. “Lula, who is 72, has dedicated his whole life to the search for dignity for those who need it most, the poor. As a union leader, politician, president and now, political prisoner, he never abandoned his fight against social and economic inequality,” the letter says.
5. The Vox Populi Institute published the results of a poll today which shows that Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva continues as the clear leader in the presidential race. If the election were held today, he would win in the first round, with 56.1% of the valid votes. The data shows that all of the attempts by the coup mongerers to keep ex-President Lula away from the ballot box in October have failed against a strong adversary – the will of the people. More on the poll here:http://www.pt.org.br/cut-
Bulletin 99 – People’s Committee in Defense of Lula and Democracy
Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil – 5/28/05 – 10 PM
