London – Four days later British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian native writer Bruno Araújo Pereira Lost in the Amazon, international pressure is mounting for Jair Bolsonaro’s government to find them.
The Guardian, in which Phillips reports on environmental issues, published an editorial Thursday (9), urging countries and organizations to encourage the Brazilian government to take effective action to search the Amazon.
“Brazil is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for environmental advocates and others associated with indigenous communities,” the publication says. “Unfortunately, President Jair Bolsonaro showed little interest in an adequate response.”
British publication editorializes about missing journalist on Amazon
Dom Phillips and Bruno Araújo Pereira, a former Funai employee, were last seen on Sunday morning in the Vale do Javari area of Amazonas (5). The disappearance was reported the next day by the Indigenous Peoples League of Vale do Javari (Univaja).
He accompanied the Brazilian journalist as he flocked to the Amazon so that he could interview indigenous people as part of a book research. After two days in the field, the men were supposed to return to the town of Atalaia do Norte on Sunday morning, but were never seen again.
In an editorial, The Guardian questioned the actions of the country’s authorities since the journalist was reported missing on the Amazon.
“The response from the Brazilian authorities has been slow and overwhelming at best. A helicopter necessary to search such a large area was not used until Tuesday morning.
To date, no criminal investigation has been opened. Only a handful of soldiers join the search in an area with abundant military resources.
This minimal response is completely inadequate.”
The British car also criticized Bolsonaro’s speech about the losses.
“After two days of talking about the disappearance, [Bolsonaro] seemed to accuse men:
‘Honestly, two people on one boat is an absolutely wild, not recommended adventure in this kind of area. Anything can happen. It could have been an accident. They could be executed,” he said.
Recalling the notorious crimes against environmentalists, such as the murders of labor leader and activist Chico Mendes and the American nun Dorothy Stang, the Guardian underlined that Brazil is also a country where journalists are vulnerable.
The publication also directly associated this fact with the Bolsonaro government, noting that environmental policies in the country have deteriorated in recent years.
“Deforestation in the Amazon reached record levels under Bolsonaro, who has weakened environmental protections and indigenous land rights since he took office in 2019.
It also violated human rights and disregarded the rule of law.
Criminal gangs are increasingly encouraged to break the law, damage the rainforest, and use violence with a sense of impunity.”
Finally, the British newspaper sought support from the international community to pressure Brazil to intensify the search for the two men, and without it “the government is unlikely to change course” according to the Guardian.
“A lot of time has already been lost. Nothing else should be wasted.”
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Editors also blamed Bolsonaro for missing Amazon journalist
In addition to the editorial, the Guardian organized an open letter with the Washington Post, another collaborative tool by Dom Phillips, accusing President Jair Bolsonaro of his efforts to find the missing journalist and native on the Amazon.
More than 20 publications, news agencies and international journalism organizations have signed the document, including Reporters Without Borders (RSF), The New York Times, Bloomberg, Associated Press, Pulitzer Center, Agência Pública, Article 19 and AFP.
In the letter, the signatories claim that Dom is “a globally respected journalist with a deep love for Brazil and its people.”
“As editors and colleagues working with Dom, we are very concerned at this time by reports that search and rescue efforts from Brazil have so far been inadequate and national authorities have been slow to provide very limited assistance.
We urge you to take immediate action and take full advantage of the efforts to locate Dom and Bruno, and give all possible support to their families and friends.”
#Brazil this @RSF_inter Joined media outlets around the world to demand that the Brazilian government intensify its efforts to find British journalist Dom Phillips and native Bruno Pereira (1/3)https://t.co/kKFcYPBsSU
— Portuguese RSF (@RSF_pt) 9 June 2022
Brazilian government not responding to talks with organizations
(7) On Tuesday, National Press Freedom Day, journalistic organizations sent a letter to Brazilian ministers requesting a meeting with government representatives to talk about the missing journalist and native in the Amazon.
The document was signed by 11 organizations, including the RSF, the Brazilian Investigative Journalism Association (Abraji), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and the National Federation of Journalists (Fenaj).
“Until the night of 6 June 2022, media reports concerned a limited operation to search for Bruno Araújo Pereira and Dom Phillips on the spot,” the organizations said in the request.
“We request that the search duties be given priority and urgency for Bruno Araújo Pereira and Dom Phillips, and we also request that the Brazilian government take the organizations for an emergency hearing where information on the progress of the searches can be shared and updated”.
RSF Latin America director Emmanuel Colombié confirmed to MediaTalks that so far organizations have not received a response from the Brazilian government upon request.
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Risks of environmental coverage
Emmanuel Colombié has already warned of the risks of environmental reporting for media professionals in the United States, as noted in the Guardian’s editorial on the journalist who went missing on the Amazon. Dedicated MediaTalks for COP26,
Due to the escalating danger, the RSF, together with 60 journalists, signed a document calling for this year’s COP27 for concrete implementation of international law on the protection of journalists and access to environmental news.
“Almost 30 years after the proclamation of the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, the right to report on environmental problems that it proclaimed must finally be realized, implemented and respected without exception,” says Colombié.
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source: Noticias
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