Smoke billows from forest fires in the municipality of Candeias do
Jamari, close to Porto Velho in Rondonia State, in the Amazon basin in
northwestern Brazil, on August 24, 2019. The latest official figures
show 79,513 forest fires have been recorded in the country this year,
the highest number of any year since 2013. More than half of those are
in the massive Amazon basin. AFP PHOTO | GREENPEACE | VICTOR MORIYAMA
Brazil on Monday rejected aid from G7 countries to fight
wildfires in the Amazon, with a top official telling French President
Emmanuel Macron to take care of "his home and his colonies."
"We
appreciate (the offer), but maybe those resources are more relevant to
reforest Europe," Onyx Lorenzoni, chief of staff to President Jair
Bolsonaro, told the G1 news website.
Lorenzoni was referring to a $20 million (Sh2 billion) pledge made at the G7 summit in France to fight the rainforest blaze.
"Macron
cannot even avoid a foreseeable fire in a church that is a world
heritage site. What does he intend to teach our country?" He continued,
referring to the fire in April that devastated the Notre-Dame cathedral.
The presidency later confirmed the comments to AFP.
Brazilian
environment Minister Ricardo Salles had earlier told reporters they had
welcomed the G7 funding to fight the fires that have swept across
950,000 hectares (2.3 million acres) and prompted the deployment of the
army.
But after a meeting between Bolsonaro and his ministers, the Brazilian government changed course.
"Brazil
is a democratic, free nation that never had colonialist and imperialist
practices, as perhaps is the objective of the Frenchman Macron,"
Lorenzoni said.
Tensions have risen between France and
Brazil after Macron tweeted that the fires burning in the Amazon basin
amounted to an international crisis and should be discussed as a top
priority at the G7 summit.
Bolsonaro reacted by blasting Macron for having a "colonialist mentality."
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