Brazilian protesters hold demonstration in Rio over boy's death
Brazilian protesters have taken to the world-famous Copacabana beach in the city of Rio de Janeiro to show their anger at the death of a 10-year-old boy allegedly killed by security forces in a city slum.
Members of the activist group Rio de Paz staged a rally along the beach, symbolically burying a white coffin in the sand to show their solidarity with the victim, Eduardo de Jesus Ferreira.
Rio police say Ferreira was killed during a shootout between security personnel and drug traffickers on Thursday. His family insists he was shot dead by the police.
Police officers involved in the operation against drug traffickers have been suspended while an investigation is underway.
Some protesters held papers with the names of 18 children killed during scuffles between police and drug gang members in Rio’s slums or favelas from 2007 to 2015.
The demonstration aimed to “wake up” Rio’s residents to the main reason behind these violent deaths, which is the gap between the rich and the poor, Antonio Carlos Costa, the founder of the activist group, told AFP.
“How will the city of Rio de Janeiro respond? It will host the 2016 [Summer] Olympics, yet here is the death of a poor child, the victim of stray bullets. How can we expect peace in such an unequal city?” Costa said.
Following the incident, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff expressed solidarity with the boy’s parents, calling for justice.
“The circumstances of this death must be clarified and those responsible tried and punished,” Rousseff said in a statement issued on Friday.
The once-calm slums have witnessed a growing number of shootings in the past few months.
Last Wednesday, a woman was killed and her daughter injured during a shootout between police and drug traffickers in the area. Two other people also lost their lives in the slums.
Brazilian police have been conducting operations in Rio’s favelas, which are notorious for crime and poverty, since authorities launched a pacification program in 2008. The program was initiated to drive out armed gangs ahead of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in the city.
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