Brasília, October 22, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Leaders of the Black Movement want to take an active part in the Zero Hunger program. This proposal was discussed in the seminar "Promotion of Racial Equality," a joint initiative sponsored by the Secretariat for the Promotion of Racial Equality and the Council of Food Security (Consea). The seminar ended yesterday (21), in Brasília.

The coordinator of the Work Group for the Promotion of Racial Equality, Maria Aparecida Bento, who is also the only black female member of the Consea, called for the active participation of black specialists in Zero Hunger. "We want to exchange ideas with the government and work together in writing the Zero Hunger program, since it mainly affects the black population," Bento said.

The Minister of Food Security and Hunger Alleviation, José Graziano, announced for this coming Saturday the inauguration of "a program aimed at basic documentation for citizenship," to be commanded by the Special Secretariat for Human Rights. He explained that the lack of a civil register is one of the major obstacles to the application of the Zero Hunger program, principally in "quilombos" (communities of descendents of runaway slaves) and Indian villages. The Minister recalled that approximately six million Brazilians are undocumented.

In the beginning of the afternoon, an "Open Letter from Brazilian Black Men and Women to Lula's Administration" was delivered to the National Congress. The document sums up the issues discussed at the seminar.

The Minister of the Secretariat for the Promotion of Racial Equality, Matilde Ribeiro, emphasized the five items covered in the letter: health, education, work, "quilombos," and respect for religious expressions of African origin, but she insisted on pointing out that "the agenda of the black movement is much more than that." The Minister believes, however, that "if we stand firm on these five items, we shall go far, since they generate many others."

Besides delivering the Letter, the black organizations demanded speedy approval by Congress of Senator Paulo Paim's Racial Equality Statute. According to Minister Ribeiro, the Statute "is a legislative piece that reinforces the policy in the Executive sphere." It is hoped that the project will be approved close to November 20, National Black Consciousness Day, when Zumbi dos Palmares is celebrated as a national hero. (DAS)