Antigua, Suriname express support for Brazilian President
The leaders of Antigua and Barbuda and Suriname have called on supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to respect the rule of law and accept the results of last year’s election, which resulted in his removal from power.
The call from Prime Minister Gaston Browne and President Chandrikapersad Santokhi follows Sunday’s raid of the Presidential Palace and Congress building by Bolsonaro’s supporters.
In a Facebook post, Browne said: “These attacks on institutions of government by groups, seeking to overturn the results are assaults on democracy, will not be tolerated by the governments and peoples of the Hemisphere.”
Browne rubbished the belief of Bolsonaro’s right-wing supporters that the election was rigged in favour of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva saying that international bodies such as the Organisation of American States (OAS) have deemed that the results reflected the will of Brazilian voters.
Browne said Antigua and Barbuda stands by Lula’s democratically elected government and will make their position known at both the OAS and United Nations.
Santokhi said he supports moves by Lula to quell the violence and prosecute those responsible for Sunday’s assault on the country’s democracy.
Santokhi, currently in India, said he “is pleased that order has now been restored and wishes his Brazilian colleague a lot of strength during this challenging time”.
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