NAMES IN THE NEWS : Sting Lobbies for Brazil Indians
British pop star Sting met Brazilian President Jose Sarney on Wednesday for the second time in less than a year to lobby for the nation’s Indians.
Accompanied by Kaiapo Indian chief Raoni, with whom he toured the globe to raise funds last year, Sting asked that lands be demarcated for the Kaiapo tribe in the Amazon state of Para.
Before the meeting at the presidential palace, Sting told Reuters that he would tell Sarney that he was also concerned about the fate of the Yanomami Indian tribe in the state of Roraima.
The Yanomami are the biggest forest tribe left in the Americas, but the 7,000 who live in Roraima are dying from malaria and other diseases brought there by some 40,000 gold prospectors.
“I’ll tell him (the president) the killing of the Yanomami must stop,” Sting said.
On Tuesday Brazil announced that the government had negotiated a peaceful departure of the prospectors.
Sting last year founded the Foundation Mata Virgem (Virgin Forest) with a view to preserving the Amazon rain forest and its native people. His spokesmen said the singer had raised more than $1 million for the cause during his travels.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
