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Brazil's president accuses predecessor of Yanomami 'genocide'

Lula blames Bolsonaro for allowing thousands of illegal miners to exploit the Amazon; bringing violence, pollution and disease.

In a series of tweets, President Lula has been talking about the treatment of the Yanomami people. The Yanomami are the largest native group in Brazil, with a population of around 30,000 in the northern area of the Amazon rainforest, close to the border with Venezuela.

Lula said that what he had seen when he travelled to the region with the first ever minister for indigenous people, was more than a health crisis, and that there would be "no more genocide".

Under the former President, Jair Bolsonaro, thousands of illegal gold miners poured into the enclave of the Amazon, bringing violence, pollution and serious health care problems.

Newshour's Razia Iqbal has been speaking to Leonardo Sakamoto. He is a Brazilian journalist, the head of a human rights organisation, Reporter Brasil, and also a UN adviser.

She asked first what evidence there is to suggest a genocide is taking place.

(Photo shows: Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visits the Yanomami Indigenous Health House, 23 Jan 2023. Credit: Reuters)

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3 minutes