Accompanying President Jair Bolsonaro on his visit to the United States to attend the Summit of the Americas, Justice and Public Safety Minister Anderson Torres and Environment Minister Joaquim Leite held meetings this Thursday (6/9) to make a statement to the United States and the British. Authorities, for the efforts of the federal government to search for British journalist Dom Phillips and local writer Bruno Pereira, who disappeared in the Amazon since last Sunday (5/6).
Phillips and Pereira traveled through one of Brazil’s largest indigenous lands, the Vale do Javari, to document the illegal activities of fishermen, land hunters, loggers, and prospectors in the area, and disappeared after being threatened. The case, which is still unsolved, sparked international repercussions and raised questions about the government’s actions to investigate and find Phillips and Pereira.
In recent days, congressmen from Biden’s base in the House of Representatives have issued public messages urging the Brazilian government to intensify the search for journalists and locals, expressing concern over the fire situation in both the region. In addition, the Biden Administration’s Climate Ambassador John Kerry was briefed on the case by Sonia Guajajara, Brazilian Indigenous Peoples Articulation (APIB) coordinator, and committed to following the case closely. An LED truck disappeared on the streets of Los Angeles, reflecting the faces of the two of them.
Image: Mariana Sanches/BBC
Given the pressure, it was up to Torres in particular to explain to Kerry the extent of the search operations and why neither had ever been found days after their disappearance.
“We have already spent more than half a million reals on the searches. The Brazilian government is working hard to find them. But I showed him (Kerry) the difficulties of this operation in that area,” Torres said. difficult to reach and the work is done with the help of planes, helicopters and boats.
Commenting on the matter this Thursday, President Bolsonaro said about 300 men are currently working on the searches.
“There is no news of their whereabouts, we pray to God that they will be found alive, but we know that these possibilities are decreasing day by day. From the first day of the warning signal, the navy came to the field and said, “The next day, the Armed Forces and Federal Police,” said the Brazilian representative.
According to Funai president Marcelo Xavier, neither Phillips nor Pereira had authority from the agency to enter their native Vale do Javari country. Bolsonaro also commented on the matter in Los Angeles: “They entered an area, Funai did not participate, there is a protocol to be followed and you usually enter that area as an escort. They went on an adventure. We regret the worst.”
Image: EPA/Federal Police
Also this Thursday, Torres met with Vick Ford, deputy secretary for Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean at the British Foreign and Development Office to discuss the matter.
“The British wanted us to exhaust all salvage possibilities before ending the operation. That’s what we’re going to do,” Torres said.
So far, no trace has been found of Phillips and Pereira’s whereabouts, not even the ship they used or their belongings.
Strict environmental legislation
In an interview with Kerry, also attended by Joaquim Leite from the Ministry of the Environment, Torres had the opportunity to demonstrate what measures are being taken to curb illegal deforestation in the Amazon.
While publicly praising the goal of zeroing illegal deforestation by 2028 at COP-26 last year, Americans say they’ve seen little practical action to get results. Deforestation rates in the Amazon have not decreased so far.
In response to the Americans, Brazilian diplomacy reported that two weeks ago, President Bolsonaro signed a decree increasing the amount of fines for forged documents for covering up illegal logging, increasing the penalty for repeated violations of the environment. “Our environmental legislation is very strict and we are doing our best to comply with it for the sake of our country,” Bolsonaro said during a bilateral meeting with President Biden.
Image: EPA
However, a poll by the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo showed that 2021 had the lowest number of penalties in 20 years.
The improvement in the country’s environmental indices is seen as fundamental to boosting Americans’ confidence and moving forward in negotiations to create an Amazon hedge fund. In a bilateral meeting with Bolsonaro on Thursday, Biden reiterated the idea:
“As a country, you’ve made huge sacrifices trying to protect the Amazon, the world’s largest carbon sink. I think the rest of the world should help you fund it so you can protect as much as possible. We all benefit. Biden,” he said.
However, the meeting ended without any announcement that the US had reached an agreement on environmental financing to Brazil.
source: Noticias
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