New York, Sep 25: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on media for lying about Amazon Fires and condemned international grave concerns for the wildfires as fuelled by an interest in the Amazon Rainforests‘ mineral wealth and biodiversity.
Bolsonaro accused media of “lying” about the Amazon Fires during delivering a speech in New York on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), according to Reuters news reports.
A day after ignoring a high-profile meeting of the United Nations on Climate Change, he used his to the UNGA to re-enforce Brazilian sovereign right on its 60 percent share of the Amazon.
“It’s wrong to say the Amazon is part of a global heritage and wrong to say, as scientists affirm, that our rainforest are the lungs of the world,” Bolsonaro said.
International condemnation of Bolsonaro’s regime, which has been blamed for not doing enough to tackle wildfires in the Amazon Rainforest, has heightened over the past two months.
The Brazilian president stated the dry-weather time of this year favoured fires, both illegal and spontaneous, saying the rainforest was not being ruined by the fires “as the lying media says.”
“The Amazon is not being devastated or consumed by fire. The media is lying,” said Bolsonaro, while delivering a 32-minute speech.
“It is a fallacy to say that the Amazon is the heritage of humankind, and a misconception confirmed by scientists to say that our Amazon forests are the lungs of the world,” he said.
He added the “sensationalist attacks” from the foreign media, from which his government has suffered over the Amazon fires, have sparked Brazil’s patriotism.
He also insisted Brazil is the one nation among others that protects its environment the most and uses some 8 per cent of its region for agriculture to generate food that the globe needs.
Bolsonaro also thanked United States President Donald Trump – ” who summed up the spirit that should prevail among United Nation member countries”, for his respect towards the freedom and sovereignty of each of the member nations.
Also read:
- Amazon Rainforest fire enters third week; Continues to pose major risk to climate, nearby cities
- Planes dumping water on Rainforests as Brazil president Bolsonaro orders military intervention to fight Amazon Fire
- Amazon Fires : Brazil government open to foreign aids with conditions over usage of funds
- Leticia Amazon pact : Amazon nations agree to protect world’s largest tropical rainforest