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Amazon Belongs To
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Amazon Belongs To
Brazilian People,
President Lula Says
RIO DE JANEIRO -Brazil's
President Luiz Inacio
Lula da Silva said on
Monday in a national
forum here that the
Amazon belongs to the
Brazilian people.
"The world must
understand that the
Brazilian Amazon has an
owner, and that the
owner is the Brazilian
people," the president
stressed, adding that
Brazilians are aware of
the need to reduce
deforestation, as well
as to develop the
rainforest region.
The remarks appeared to
be in response to
international sources
who questioned the
country's sovereignty
over the region last
week.
An article in The New
York Times on May 18
expressed concern that
the Brazilian government
may not have the ability
to take care of and
preserve the rain
forest. Several sectors
of Brazilian society,
including politicians
and the media, slammed
that viewpoint.
Also on Monday, Minister
Gilmar Mendes, president
of the country's Federal
Supreme Court, said that
Brazil has proven to be
able to "manage" the
Amazon region without
interference from other
countries.
"We have the world's
tenth largest economy,
which proves that we
know how to manage
Brazil. I think that
(the developed
countries) do not doubt
that," Mendes told the
press, following the
meeting with the
governor of Mato Grosso
state, located in the
Amazon region.
As to the rumors that
foreign investors could
acquire more land in the
area, Mendes stressed
that "the Brazilian
government has
mechanisms" which can
control the acquisition
of land by foreigners.
He also promised that
the government would
obverse the issue "in an
appropriate way."
Local newspaper O Globo
reported Monday that
Swedish entrepreneur
Johan Eliasch was under
investigation by the
Brazilian Intelligence
Agency for lobbying
other businessmen to buy
the entire territory of
the Amazon and proposing
the land could be
purchased for a total of
50 billion U.S. dollars.
The tycoon, who is also
a consultant to UK Prime
Minister Gordon Brown,
also stirred up
controversy in Brazil.
The Amazon rainforest,
which borders several
South American nations
and is home to 27
million people out of
Brazil's total
population of 185
million, is facing the
risk of excessive
deforestation. |
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