Brazil environmentalists breach Blair security
Copyright 2001 Reuters
August 1, 2001
SAO PAULO - Environmental protesters breached the security of British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Brazil yesterday to protest the destruction of the Amazon forest and Britain's purchase of illegally logged wood.
Protesters from the environmental group Greenpeace tried to unfurl a banner as Blair went to greet Sao Paulo Gov. Geraldo Alckmin coming within a yard (metre) of the prime minister before they were tackled by security men in the city's botanical gardens.
Blair, who is on a three-day state visit to Brazil as part of a Latin American tour, remained composed and showed no apparent concern for the security breach.
Greenpeace tried to deliver a letter to Blair asking him to honor his commitments to stop the purchase of illegal wood by the United Kingdom, a major buyer of Amazon tropical timber and the world's second largest consumer of plywood from the region.
"If Tony Blair is serious about saving one of the most important and fragile regions of ancient forest wilderness left on Earth, he's got to deliver more than a lot of elegant rhetoric," said Greenpeace Amazon coordinator Paulo Adario.
Earlier this year, Blair pledged to take the lead in protecting the global environment and said Britain would take up the issue of illegal logging with Brazil and press for greater enforcement of logging rules in east Asia.
Adario lashed out at Blair yesterday for focusing much more on trade issues during his first visit to Brazil than the environmental issues he championed in March.
Blair plans to enlist South American leaders on Wednesday to promote globalization after violent protests hijacked this month's G8 summit.
Adario said the United Kingdom imported 5,000 cubic meters of uncertified timber from Brazil's northeastern state just in the first four months of the year. Wood is "certified" when it is logged in a way that does as little damage as possible to the environment.