BFF-12 Hundreds of new fires in Brazil as outrage over Amazon grows

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Hundreds of new fires in Brazil as outrage over Amazon grows

PORTO VELHO, Brazil, Aug 25, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Hundreds of new fires are
raging in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, official data showed Saturday, as
thousands of troops were made available to help fight the worst blazes in
years following a global outcry.

Multiple fires billowing huge plumes of smoke into the air were seen across
a vast area of the northwestern state of Rondonia on Friday when AFP
journalists flew over the area.

Several residents in the capital, Porto Velho, told AFP on Saturday that
what appeared to be light clouds hanging over the city of half a million
people, was actually smoke from the blazes that had scorched swaths of land
and left tree trunks smoldering on the ground.

“I’m very worried because of the environment and health,” Delmara Conceicao
Silva told AFP.

“I have a daughter with respiratory problems and she suffers more because
of the fires.”

The fires in the world’s largest rainforest have triggered a global uproar,
and are a major topic of concern at the G7 meeting in Biarritz in southern
France.

Official figures show 78,383 forest fires have been recorded in Brazil this
year, the highest number of any year since 2013. Experts say the clearing of
land during the monthslong dry season to make way for crops or grazing, has
aggravated the problem.

More than half of the fires are in the massive Amazon basin, where more
than 20 million people live. Some 1,663 new fires were ignited between
Thursday and Friday, according to Brazil’s National Institute for Space
Research (INPE).

The new data came a day after Bolsonaro authorized deployment of the
military to fight the fires and crack down on criminal activity.

Seven states, including Rondonia, have requested the army’s help in the
Amazon, where more than 43,000 troops are based and available to combat
fires, officials said. Firefighters and planes are also being deployed.

Six aircraft, including two Hercules C-130s equipped to carry 12,000 liters
(3,170 gallons) of water each, have been sent to Rondonia to fight the fires.
They are expected to be joined by 30 firefighters on Sunday.

– ‘Help is welcome’ –

US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, both
attending the G7 summit, have offered their countries’ assistance in fighting
the fires.

“Any help is welcome in respect to the fires,” Brazil’s Defense Minister
Fernando Azevedo e Silva told reporters on Saturday.

The blazes have stirred outrage globally, with thousands of people
protesting in Brazil and Europe on Friday. More demonstrations are planned in
Brazil on Sunday.

Earlier this week, Bolsonaro, whose anti-environment rhetoric since coming
to power in January has been blamed for harming the Amazon and indigenous
tribes, accused non-governmental organizations of deliberately starting the
fires after their funding was cut.

The growing crisis threatens to torpedo a blockbuster trade deal between
the European Union and South American countries, including Brazil, that took
20 years to negotiate.

EU Council president Donald Tusk told reporters at the G7 on Saturday that
it was hard to imagine European countries ratifying a trade pact with the
Mercosur bloc as long as Brazil fails to curb the fires ravaging the Amazon,
which is known as the “lungs of the planet” because of its crucial role in
mitigating climate change.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who has taken the lead in pressing his
Brazilian counterpart over the fires, had earlier accused Bolsonaro of lying
to him about Brazil’s stance on climate change.

In an escalating war of words between the two leaders, Bolsonaro denounced
what he calls Macron’s “colonialist mentality.”

Environmental specialists say the fires are coming amid increasing
deforestation in the Amazon region, which in July took place at a rate four
times that of the same month in 2018, according to data from INPE.

Bolsonaro has previously attacked the institute, describing its data as
lies and engineering the sacking of its head.

On Friday, he insisted that the fires should not be used as an excuse to
punish Brazil.

“There are forest fires all over the world, and this cannot be used as a
pretext for possible international sanctions,” Bolsonaro said.

Brazil’s powerful agriculture sector — which strongly supports Bolsonaro –
– has expressed concerns over the president’s rhetoric, fearing boycotts of
their products in key markets.

In an editorial Saturday, the respected Folha de S.Paulo newspaper warned
that Bolsonaro’s “bravado” had worsened the crisis caused by accelerating
deforestation.

“The damage to (Brazil’s) image is done, and it could have important trade
repercussions,” it said.

“Nationalistic bravado will not win the game this time.”

BSS/AFP/GMR/1205 hrs