Brazil accused of ‘genocide’ policy

PIARACU, Brazil: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro´s pledge to open up the Amazon to mining companies was tantamount to "genocide", indigenous leaders said Friday at a meeting to oppose the government´s environmental policies.

Hundreds of elders gathered this week at Pairacu, deep in the rainforest, to form a united front against Bolsonaro´s environmental policies, which have seen deforestation in the jungle nearly double since the Brazilian leader came to power.

"Our aim was to join forces and denounce the fact that the Brazilian government´s political policy of genocide, ethnocide and ecocide is under way," the group said in a draft manifesto drawn up at the end of the summit.