The workers of the occupied factory CIPLA were surprised this morning by 150 men, heavily armed, from the Federal Police, who invaded the factory in order to arrest the members of the factory committee.

After almost five years of struggle to save their jobs and protect their rights, and for the federal government to nationalise the factories as proposed by the BNDES (National Social and Economic Development Bank) the workers now find themselves threatened by the federal police and with losing their jobs.

At this moment the workers are organising and mobilising in order to hold assembly meetings in Flaskô, in Sumaré, and in Cipla.

At the same time the workers of Flaskô, in Sumaré (São Paulo) are mobilising in support of the comrades at Cipla and to organise resistance against any threat in Sumaré.

The workers ask that letters and resolutions are immediately sent, that phone calls are made, and that everyone head down to the headquarters of the companies in support of the struggle of the workers against any threat of the federal government, the justice system or of the old bosses.

To all workers, trade unions, popular and democratic organisations, to all citizens:

Please read the notice below and send urgent messages and resolutions to the Ministry of Justice (suggested text below).

Mr. Minister Tarso Genro,
Dr. Oziel Francisco de Sousa,
President of the Republic,

We demand that you stop immediately the persecution of the workers and the management of the CIPLA factory. We demand that you order the Federal Police to withdraw from the factory and allow management to enter the factory without threat of arrest, and that the workers be allowed to meet in an assembly and freely determine their own fate.

The Federal Police must be directed against the corrupt and the narco-traffickers and not against the workers.

Greetings,

Minister Tarso Genro
Fax : (61) 3322-6817 E-mail: gabinetemj@mj .gov.br

Presidente da República
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva - Presidente da República
Palácio do Planalto - Praça dos Três Poderes
Brasilia/ DF- CEP 70250-900
Fax: 00- 55 61 411 1073
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Juiz Federal Titular: Dr. LEONARDO CASTANHO MENDES
Juiz Federal Substituto: Dr. OZIEL FRANCISCO DE SOUSA
Diretor de Secretaria: Bel. ROSAN LUIS DA SILVEIRA PERES
Address: Rua do Principe, 123 - Centro,
Brasilia CEP: 89201-001
FAX: 00- 55 47 433-9079
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Also to your Embassy/Consulate. To find your local address please click on this link: http://www.mre.gov.br/ingles/endereco/embaixadas.asp

Please send copies to: \n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and \n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Contacts:

Serge Goulart, Coordenador dos Conselhos das Fábricas Ocupadas, 48 - 9963 02 95

Pedro Santinho, Coordenador do Conselho da Flaskô, 19-9233-1391

Fernando Gomes Martins, Coordenador Suplente do Conselho da Flaskô, 19 - 8164 19 71

Evandro, Coordenador do Conselho da Interfibra, 47- 9923 86 68

Fábrica Ocupada Flaskô, 19 - 3864 11 06, 19 - 3864 13 29, 19 - 3864 02 00

Fábrica Ocupada Cipla, 47 - 3026 90 00

Fábrica Ocupada Interfibra, 47 - 3473 70 77