Bishop Vows To Die If Brazilian President Diverts River

WATERWORLD

"I will do whatever it takes to negotiate with" Cappio, Lula said late Monday.

Brasilia (AFP) Oct 04, 2005
A bishop on day nine of a hunger strike vowed Tuesday to die, if necessary, to stop President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from diverting river waters to drought-ridden northeast Brazil.

"I will be on a hunger strike until I die, unless there is a change in the project" to divert the waters of the Sao Francisco River, Bishop Luiz Flavio Cappio said.

"Mr. President, all my life I have carried your banner and now I want you to carry mine," he told Lula in a message read outside the presidential palace in Brasilia.

Cappio, who turned 59 Tuesday, held a mass in Cabrobo, in Pernambuco state, where the river is to be diverted, for two thousand persons in solidarity with his opposition to the two billion dollar project.

"I will do whatever it takes to negotiate with" Cappio, Lula said late Monday.

Cappio also has the support of Brazil's conference of bishops, who, alongside environmentalists, say the river is drying up and that diverting its waters would cause harm to families who count on it for their livelihoods.

However, Egidio Serpa, spokesman for the Integration Ministry, said that the river is not drying up and that the project would divert only 1.4 percent of the water the Sao Francisco River carries to the sea.

"That would give 12 million persons drinking water," he told AFP.

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WATERWORLD

Neutral Swiss Expert To Inspect Controversial Dam In Indian Kashmir

Jammu, India (AFP) Oct 02, 2005
A World Bank-appointed expert said he would begin inspecting Sunday a controversial dam being built by India in the disputed region of Kashmir.

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