Bolsonaro says missing journalist 'disliked' in Amazon

[Judi Lynn]

Thursday, 16 Jun 2022 7:04 AM MYT

ATALAIA DO NORTE, June 16 — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro drew fresh criticism Wednesday for saying a British journalist missing in the Amazon was “disliked” for his reporting on the region and should have been more careful.

Bolsonaro has come under international pressure over the case of veteran correspondent Dom Phillips and Brazilian Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, who disappeared June 5 in the remote Javari Valley after receiving threats during a reporting trip to the region, a hotbed of drug trafficking and environmental crimes.

The far-right president, whose government has been accused of dragging its feet in the investigation, stirred new controversy with his latest comments on the case.

“That Englishman was disliked in the region, because he wrote a lot of articles against illegal gold miners (and) environmental issues,” Bolsonaro said.

“A lot of people didn’t like him. He should have more than redoubled the precautions he was taking. And he decided to go on an excursion instead,” he told journalist Leda Nagle in an interview for her YouTube channel.

. . .

“How disgusting,” journalist Ana Luiza Basilio wrote on Twitter.

More:
https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2022/06/16/bolsonaro-says-missing-journalist-disliked-in-amazon/12578

[DBoon]

1. Bolsonaro is "disliked" in many parts of the world

for his own protection, he should immediately resign.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Bolsonaro Says Dom Was Frowned Upon in the Amazon and Should Have Paid more Attention

President is criticized for disrespecting the journalist, who had his work supported and defended by the indigenous people

Jun.15.2022 11:55PM

President Jair Bolsonaro said this Wednesday (15) that British journalist Dom Phillips, 57, "was frowned upon in the Amazon region" because he reported against miners and that he should have paid more attention "to himself".

The chief executive said that Phillips and Brazilian indigenous activist Bruno Pereira, 41, "decided to enter a completely inhospitable area alone, without security."

Bolsonaro's statements were criticized by entities, who pointed out the president's disrespect for the journalist.

Amnesty International said Bolsonaro's "cruel and insensitive comments" "characterized the insensitivity of the authorities' management in the search for the two men".

A member of the Brazilian Forum for Public Security, researcher Aiala Couto said that Bolsonaro's stance further encourages violence related to mining, deforestation, and illegal logging in the Amazon.

https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/brazil/2022/06/bolsonaro-says-dom-was-frowned-upon-in-the-amazon-and-should-have-paid-more-attention.shtml

[Judi Lynn]

3. Bolsonaro Puts His Foot in His Mouth with Statements about Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips

President blames victims and admits to a lack of control in the Amazon

Jun.15.2022 11:59PM

Uirá Machado
SÃO PAULO

Jair Bolsonaro declared the other day that he was not cut out to be president. He must know what he's talking about. He is averse to work, ignores republican principles, disrespects the separation of powers, does not know the liturgy of office, and has no idea what empathy is.

His inability to identify himself with anyone else had already drawn attention, something illustrated in the comments about Covid. He called people's suffering a weakness.

There could be a hint of political farce in this behavior. Clinging to theories that minimized the coronavirus seriousness, and branded as an anti-vaccine president, he preferred to maintain his façade so as not to have to admit the truth.

In the case involving British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian indigenous activist Bruno Pereira, by comparison, it is difficult to find an underlying rationale for cruelty.

More:
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/opinion/2022/06/bolsonaro-puts-his-foot-in-his-mouth-with-statements-about-bruno-pereira-and-dom-phillips.shtml