President urges bishop to end hunger strike
-03/10/05
The President of Brazil has urged a bishop to end his hunger strike over a controversial environmental project, which opponents say will benefit big business.
The bishop has been refusing food since last Monday, but in a letter, President Ignacio Lula da Silva has called on Bishop Luiz Flavio Cappio to begin eating again.
The bishop says however he will only end his hunger strike if plans are scrapped to divert water from the Sao Francisco river to four arid states in Brazil’s north-east.
The government says 12 million people will benefit from the water project. But opponents argue that the scheme is designed only to help big agricultural businesses, and that diverting water will reduce the capacity of dams to generate electricity.
Friends of the bishop say he is relaxed but determined to see through his protest, even at the cost of his own life.
Over the weekend, a presidential envoy was sent to the remote town of Cabrobo to deliver the letter.
In it, President Lula explained that the project had not yet received final approval from Brazil’s environment agency, and that dialogue was still possible.
But on Sunday, a spokesman for the bishop told the BBC that the letter had offered nothing concrete and that the hunger strike would continue.
Bishop Cappio insists he will only eat again when he sees a presidential decree formally abandoning the river project.
President urges bishop to end hunger strike
-03/10/05
The President of Brazil has urged a bishop to end his hunger strike over a controversial environmental project, which opponents say will benefit big business.
The bishop has been refusing food since last Monday, but in a letter, President Ignacio Lula da Silva has called on Bishop Luiz Flavio Cappio to begin eating again.
The bishop says however he will only end his hunger strike if plans are scrapped to divert water from the Sao Francisco river to four arid states in Brazil’s north-east.
The government says 12 million people will benefit from the water project. But opponents argue that the scheme is designed only to help big agricultural businesses, and that diverting water will reduce the capacity of dams to generate electricity.
Friends of the bishop say he is relaxed but determined to see through his protest, even at the cost of his own life.
Over the weekend, a presidential envoy was sent to the remote town of Cabrobo to deliver the letter.
In it, President Lula explained that the project had not yet received final approval from Brazil’s environment agency, and that dialogue was still possible.
But on Sunday, a spokesman for the bishop told the BBC that the letter had offered nothing concrete and that the hunger strike would continue.
Bishop Cappio insists he will only eat again when he sees a presidential decree formally abandoning the river project.