Posted on 07/25/2005 2:10:28 PM PDT by TheOtherOne
Relatives, Friends Mount Protest Over Killing of Brazilian in Britain
Published: Jul 25, 2005 GONZAGA, Brazil (AP) - Weeping relatives and friends of a Brazilian shot and killed in London after being mistaken for a terrorist protested Monday in this small farming town, saying an apology by British Prime Minister Tony Blair didn't go far enough.
Hundreds marched slowly along cobblestone streets, holding up banners denouncing British police as the real terrorists and demanding the arrest of the officers who fired the shots. Other placards were adorned with snapshots of Jean Charles de Menezes, urging Blair to send his body home so it can be buried.
"Apologies don't help, we want justice," they chanted, stopping briefly to offer a prayer for the 27-year-old electrician who left Brazil to work in Britain so he could return home with enough savings to start a cattle ranch.
Gonzaga's mayor, outraged over news Menezes was shot seven times in the head and once in the shoulder, called the killing an "assassination."
"It's easy for Blair to apologize, but it doesn't mean very much," said Mayor Julio de Souza. "What happened to English justice and England, a place where police patrol unarmed?"
Many were angry that there is still no word on when the body might be shipped back to Gonzaga, a central Brazilian town of 6,000 where young men often head to the United States and Europe to finance a better life back home. Menezes was killed last Friday, and Brazilians traditionally bury their dead no later than 24 hours after a person dies.
"If they didn't want him alive, why can't' they send him back?" asked Leide Menezes, a cousin of the electrician, said from a sound system broadcast from the bed of a pickup truck to the crowd.
"We don't want apologies, he's ours and he should be here," added Maria Jose Carvalho, who has two sons working abroad in the United States.
Other cousins were upset that Blair's apology included a defense of British police, who he said were working under intense pressure to prevent more terrorist attacks.
"His apologies aren't easing our pain," said Arialva Pereira, one of Menezes' cousins. "He's not saying anything about punishing the police who did this, it's more like he's supporting them."
The march ended in front of the town hall, where the Brazilian flag hung at half staff in front of town hall and townspeople hung a large black sheet from the second floor as a sign of mourning for Menezes, killed in a London subway station as police investigated a wave of botched bombings the day before and the deadly transit bombings of July 7.
Witnesses said Menezes was wearing a heavy, padded coat when plainclothes police chased him into a subway car, pinned him to the ground and shot him dead.
While Menezes' relatives said he was working legally in Britain and had no reason to fear police, the British Broadcasting Corp. said Menezes' visa had expired, suggesting a reason for why he ran.
Souza said the root cause of Menezes' death was Blair's decision to back the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. That prompted the wave of terrorist attacks, the mayor said.
"Gonzaga has nothing to do with terrorism and now it's been hit," Souza said. "Jean could have come back here and become a father, but now we'll never have a chance to have him with us again."
Menezes, called "Jim" by English friends, was believed to have been on his way to repair an alarm when he was shot, according to a cousin in London, Alex Pereira.
The killing probably won't stop Gonzaga natives from going abroad, said Regiani Castro, a 25-year-old who started a farm supplies store after working in Massachusetts for five years.
"They'll be scared, but they'll keep on going because that's the only way to guarantee your future here," he said.
AP-ES-07-25-05 1642EDT
"Souza said the root cause of Menezes' death was Blair's decision to back the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. That prompted the wave of terrorist attacks, the mayor said."
A terrorist sympathizer in Brazil.
Has anyone actually protested the killing of 50+ innocent people on July 7?
It's "Bush's fault", yada, yada, yada.
I think that British cop did the right thing under those circumstances.
Great point.
You got to love the irony of this gem. The only way to surrive here (in Brazil) is to go (abroad)! LOL. In other words, Mayor Souza's town is so bad that he acknowldges people must LEAVE to guarantee a future in BRAZIL?
You can't justify it and probably shouldn't, it is a horrible twist of fate, plain and simple. No good guys, no bad guys just a horrible situation with a tragic result. They did not do the right thing (cops) they did not do the wrong thing they did a rash thing in the midst of a war, and shit happens. V's wife.
Apologies won't ease their pain, but a big lawsuit might help.
Sure, all the world's problems can be traced to the U.S./Britain-led coalition ousting Hussein's dictatorship and replacing it with a democracy.
Nearly the entire world still seems to be in denial about Islam.
"I think that British cop did the right thing under those circumstances."
Agreed.
It's a shame that a person had to pay with his life when his only crime was fleeing the police and not obeying their orders.
However, the police made the right decision to protect the public based on the information they had available at the time.
The Brazilian who fled gave them no choice by his actions.
It's a shame, but it's not the fault of the police, and Blair should not have appologized.
The mistake was made by the guy who fled, and he paid for that mistake with his life.
I feel more sorry for the officer who was forced to shoot him, the people who were forced to witness his death, and the family and friends he left behind.
Expired visa, didn't stop when instructed to by armed police and looking very suspicious with an overcoat on a mild day. Did I leave anything out? Oh yeah, was seen leaving a house under surveillance. These add up to unfortunate circumstances that led to an unfortunate end. If the Brazillian followed the law he would still be alive.
I take it work visas in Brazil never expire.
These protests are really just thinly veiled anti-anglo racism.
This guy was in the country illegally...which is why he ran no doubt-never run from the polic (especially after bombs are going off).
If the man had been wearing a bomb vest and the cops had held their shots, he could have murdered hundreds. At which point the howls of outrage would be enormous. The chief of police would be fired, etc.. The cops did what they had to do.
It's very sad that he was shot, but I'm afraid the incident has all the signs of a Darwin Award winner.
What part of "Halt! Armed police!" did he not understand? In the aftermath of an act of war, you can't expect the world to see past your poor judgment and bizarre unwillingness to cooperate with legitimate authority.
The bobbies did the right thing.
Uh? How about getting rid of the corrupt, leftist government so that you no longer live in a third-world cesspool? Then you wouldn't have to ILLEGALLY invade other countries to have a future.....
Wow and that's coming from a nation whose police spend the night hunting and killing homeless kids.
More proof that the world has truly gone insane.
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