Brasília,5/12/2004(Agência Brasil) - President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ordered the Ministry of Justice to take action against the newspaper, The New York Times, because of an article of May 9 by Larry Rohter. "Don't ask the president to respond. The author, someone I do not know, and who does not know me, is probably much more worried about this today than I am," declared Lula, adding that what was needed was not a response but action.

So, the Ministry of Justice, based on a law (#6.815) dating from the military dictatorship (1980), which deals with foreigners in the country and says that a foreigner in Brazil can be expelled if his presence is considered "inconvenient," has revoked Larry Rohter's visa.

Translator: Allen Bennett