anarchist activity in Brazil FREEDOM INTERNATIONAL SECTION 84B, WHITECHAPEL HIGH ST. LONDON E1 Antimilitarists from eight countries in Latin America came together for the Latin American Conference of Conscientious Objectors from the 8th to 14th May in Paraguay. Brazil was represented by SERPAJ. The meeting allowed participants to exchange information and share experiences of the realities in each country. It also allowed for the planning of joint activities and concrete actions relating to the two major themes of antimilitarism and conscientious objection. During the five days various themes related to that of conscientious objection were also discussed including freedom, civil disobedience, social justice and solidarity. Since June 94 the Brazilian Anarchist Movement has organised a national campaign for the liberation and against the execution of the anarchist Katsuhisa Omori who has been condemned to death by the Japanese state. Omori has been in jail for 18 years now for a crime he did not commit. During the first week of August letters, telegrams and a petition with more than 4,000 signatures calling for Omori's liberation were sent to the Japanese embassy in Brazil. In addition some cities saw public demonstrations against Japanese state terrorism. As the Brazilian elections came up various parts of the country saw activities against politicians and the elections in general. In Campinas (central Sao Paulo) some anarchists burnt their ballot forms on the public square protesting against the electoral farce and the system of compulsory voting. From the 8th to the 17th July the Festival of Art and Culture without Frontiers and Libertarian Education was held in Florianopolis. Lectures, exhibitions, performances, films and a workshop on computer networking were some of the attractions at this important event which brought together comrades from Portugal, Spain and Brazil. In addition to this the second southern conference of anarchist groups and individuals was held. The comrades who attended this conference decided to come together for propaganda purposes relating to common struggles and with the future objective of forming an anarchist federation. To mark the 49th anniversary of the American bombing of Hiroshima anarchist groups in Sao Paulo, Curitiba, Londrina and Salvador came out onto the streets to protest against military expenditure, war and the militarization of society. The historian, film director and anarchist Valencio Xavier recently produced his latest short film: Pao Negro - Um Episodio da Colonia Cecilia. It was 40 minutes of emotion, passion and anarchy. The film deals with the testimony of descendants of the colony and the story of Rossi and two colonies that were bought as pieces of land in Palmeira. A book will soon also be published about Valencio and the history of this anarchist experiment in Brazil. The University of Ceara saw anacho-punks from the north and north-east come together for a conference (15th/17th July) The meeting brought together individuals and groups from five separate states to discuss various themes. The anarcha-feminist group in Sao Paulo (CAF) organised an anti homophobia event in Espaco Vadiagem on 30th July. 10 anarcho-punk groups performed to young audiences. The event was marred by the infiltration of Nazi Skinheads who were exposed and removed by some young libertarians. Since that time some members of CAF have been the target of intimidation by these troublemakers. At the university of Campinas - UNICAMP organised from 24th to 26th August a seminar: 20 years of the Archives of Edgar Leuenroth - one of the best libertarian archives in Latin America. Workshops were organised on the history of the left, the workers movement, industrialisation, human rights, culture and politics. There was also an international workshop discussing archives and social history. This was accompanied by a photographic exhibition. The conference closed with a talk by Professor Rudolf de Jong of the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam with the title: The Spanish Civil War and the Anarchist Revolution. Professor Martha Ackelsberg also gave a talk on the women's liberation movement and the anarchist movement in Spain.