Brazilian President met by protest campaigners
Brazilian President, Michel Temer, was met by protestors when he attended a breakfast meeting with Prime Minister Erna Solberg in Oslo on Friday morning.
Many protesters carried banners bearing slogans such as ‘Stop the destruction of the rainforest,’ and ‘Respect indigenous peoples’ rights,’ and ‘Protect human rights and democracy.’
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Officially, Solberg and Temer were set to talk mostly about Norwegian investments in Brazil, but it was expected that the rainforest, and its continued destruction decades after this was already a top issue among ecological scientists and campaigners, would also be a theme for the two to discuss on Friday morning.
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Norway has contributed more than 1 billion kroner to protect the Amazon rainforest, but deforestation increases.
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Earlier this spring, climate minister Vidar Helgesen wrote a letter to the Brazilian authorities announcing that Norwegian payments could be suspended if Brazil does not show better results in the future.
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One wonders whether such threats are merely idle chit-chat, as clearly very powerful financial interests are involved fully in the continued destruction, and such threats are more likely to amuse them than fill them with any sense of anxiety. One also wonders whether Vidar Helgesen knows that, and if so, why he doesn’t say it, and if not, why not?
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One wonders whether such threats are merely idle chit-chat, as clearly very powerful financial interests are involved fully in the continued destruction, and such threats are more likely to amuse them than fill them with any sense of anxiety. One also wonders whether Vidar Helgesen knows that, and if so, why he doesn’t say it, and if not, why not?
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
