Sting Continues Fight Against Brazil Dam
By WENNThursday, May 6, 2010
STING is continuing his protest against a controversial dam in Brazil with renewed fervour - insisting the project will be the first of several megastructures, if authorities get their way.
The former Police star staged a news conference in Brazil on Tuesday (04May10), where he argued that the Belo Monte hydro-electric dam will ruin the lives of the rainforest’s indigenous people, according to the Associated Press.
Sting helped halt the plans in 1989, but he claims the Brazilian government, now boosted by a stronger economy, will forge ahead with plans to build the dam - and several others - if they aren’t stopped.
He said, “I stand in solidarity with the indigenous people who are trying to stop it.
“All of the reasons I fought against it 20 years ago are still there. It will destroy an entire river system and destroy the lives and culture of the people who live there and have lived there for thousands of years.
“The dam is too far away from Sao Paulo to be any use to ordinary Brazilians. The plan is for it to be the first of six or seven dams, with even more destruction.”
Sting used his star power to dissuade international lenders from financing the dam in 1989, but now Brazilian officials are planning to construct it using their own money.
Last month (Apr10), Avatar director James Cameron and actress Sigourney Weaver flew to the South American country to join the fight against the dam.
