Via-info-en November 2016

via-info-en@viacampesina.org

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6 discussions

Message of Solidarity with Cuba, in their time of national mourning
by La Via Campesina 30 Nov '16

30 Nov '16

MESSAGE OF SOLIDARITY WITH CUBA, IN THEIR TIME OF NATIONAL MOURNING [1] We the men, women, and youth of La Vía Campesina, salute the people of Cuba during their time of national mourning over the death of Comandante Fidel Castro Ruz, historic leader of the Cuban Revolution and an inspiration for struggles of emancipation of poor people of the world, from imperialism and capital. We would like to express our most heartfelt condolences and solidarity with our brothers and sisters of the Asociación Nacional de Agricultores Pequeños (ANAP) who, inspired by Comandante Fidel, have led the fight for food sovereignty and in this way feeding the people and protecting the natural resources. Just a few months ago, during their national congress, the members of ANAP celebrated the anniversary of the Agrarian Reform promulgated by Comandante Fidel 57 years ago. To our brothers and sisters who work on the land: we are united with you in this time of national mourning paying posthumous homage to Comandante Fidel and with ANAP's untiring struggle to achieve food sovereignty through the use of a sustainable agroeconomy, because it is through this work that ANAP continue to keep alive the revolutionary spirit of Comandante Fidel. To the people of Cuba, we restate our commitment to friendship, our appreciation for their example of solidarity with the people of the world as well as our admiration of the irrefutable accomplishments in the construction of a socialist society. ¡Comandante Fidel Castro Ruz! ¡PRESENTE! INTERNATIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE OF LA VÍA CAMPESINA Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/our-conferences-mainmenu-28/5-maputo-…

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Brutal Attack on Peasants in Mekar Jaya Village, Indonesia
by La Via Campesina 22 Nov '16

22 Nov '16

OVER 1500 POLICE PERSONNEL UNLEASH BRUTAL ATTACK ON PEASANTS IN MEKAR JAYA VILLAGE, INDONESIA [1] _LANGKAT NUSANTARA KEPONG, A MALAYSIAN PLANTATION COMPANY, ASSISTED BY LOCAL POLICE OFFICIALS, UNLEASHES BRUTAL ATTACK ON PEASANTS IN MEKAR JAYA VILLAGE IN INDONESIA TO APPROPRIATE NEARLY 554 HECATRES OF LAND!_ Over 1500 police personnel launched a despicable attack on peasant members of SPI (Indonesian Peasants' Union), in Langkat District of North Sumatra Province of Indonesia and exterminated hundreds of acres of peasant land, so as to favour a foreign plantation companies. Several protesting peasants were severly injured in this brutal attack that took place on the 18th of November in Mekar Jaya village. Suriono, from SPI Langkat explained, "Before the eviction and extermination, we asked the police to sit together and discuss this issue in the National Land Agency of Langkat District. But they refused it". Suriono requested the large battalion of cops to leave the land as it would only frighten the peasants and local residents. "But instead of going away and regardless of our the explanation, they continued bulldozing and leveling agricultural land and peasant's housing," he said. "This brutality notwithstanding, police officers chased the peasants inside the village and Sadikun, a peasant member of SPI Mekar Jaya village was arrested by the police," added Suriono. According to the information last received several memebrs of SPI were kicked and punched. Sadikun, a peasant suffered arrest and bruises on the face, ZULKIFLI (IN THE PIC) had ruptured his head and had bruises on the face. He is now hospitalized. Boimen another peasant member suffered beatings, Legiman suffered beatings, Sari was beaten, Boiran suffered beatings, Adi suffered beatings, Grandpa Saleh suffered beatings, Grandma Siti Hawa suffered beatings, Rohani was beaten, Midi suffered beatings, Siti (kid) suffered beatings, Udin beaten. The eviction, carried with the help of large equipments contunued till the afternoon of 21st December. We were surrounded, unable to get out of the village, outsiders were not allowed to enter," Suriono added. Zubaidah (Chairman of SPI in North Sumatera Province) condemned the violent actions of the police. "There was no reason for the police, whatsoever, to resort to violence. There are several peaceful means to encourage the settlement of land conflicts, instead of violent land eviction and extermination. With this kind of situation, peasants are always the victims and perpetrators are often police officers, "said Zubaidah. Zubaidah explained, land conflicts that arise in langkat is triggered by intensified expansion of plantation companies abroad. "This conflict was going on since 1998 against PTPN II (National Plantation Company). Ever since Langkat Nusantara Kepong (company from Malaysia)* took over the operational of PTPN II Kebun Lama Gohor, efforts by the company to evict peasants from the land has intensified," Zubaidah added. "This conflict involves a land of 554 hectares, that were appropriated by PTPN II Kebun Gohor Lama," she said again. "What make us sad and hopeless, police and military force tend to support foreign companies, not the people themselves. This is clearly wrong. Just imagine, a village of 1,500 was surrounded by the police and army," she said. For that, Zubaidah stressed that the Acting Governor of North Sumatra T. Erry Nuradi and North Sumatera Regional Police Chief immediately intervene to resolve the agrarian conflict. "The governor should be speeding up, doing something real to end this land conflict so there will be no more casualties. It can be started by revoking the license of the Langkat Nusantara Kepong Company. Furthermore, SPI members demanded that the North Sumatera Regional Police Chief take action against police officials who unleashed brutal attack on peasants in Mekar Jaya village, "No need to wait for the implementation of agrarian reform. It's a must to so we can avoid another conflicts, that are always devastating to peasants," concludes Zubaidah. Watch the video of the attack here [2]. Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/human-rights-… [2] https://youtu.be/W27NFI53IXs?t=1m16s

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“Not one less, we want us alive”, Via Campesina calls for an end to violence against women
by La Via Campesina 17 Nov '16

17 Nov '16

LA VIA CAMPESINA SAYS _'NOT ONE LESS'_: NO MORE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN! [1] (Harare, 17 November 2016) On the 25th November, the International Day of Struggle against violence against women; The Via Campesina will reaffirm its commitment to the struggles for equal rights and human dignity. We as women carry enormous responsibilities in this world, and feed entire nations using agroecological practices, without our economic, social, legal and political rights being recognised, and without public programmes to guarantee equal social and economic participation.For this reason we are making a global call to our organisations, allies and friends to join forces to support actions, mobilisations and activities to denounce the different types of violence faced by women and to criticise the capitalist patriarchal model and the encroachment of agribusiness in our territories. On this day of struggle we join the voices of millions of women who came together in Latin America on 19th October to shout "Not one less, we want us alive" to denounce the alarming growth in femicide[1] [2] and male-chauvinist and misogynist violence against women.Femicide stems from the structural inequality between women and men, and the domination of men over women; gender violence is a mechanism for these factors to reproduce oppression and discrimination against women. There is an urgent need for both women and men to organise in a common front to fight against all types of violence and oppression.To this end, on 25th November we are using our international campaign "No more violence against women", started in 2008, as a tool to denounce and highlight this systematic violence faced by women around the world. Now more than ever, we are pushing forward in the struggle for a new relationship between women and men and between human beings and mother earth.We must engage in our struggles, transform society and build a better world through training, organisation and mobilisation, taking into account the specific situations that we face as women in a world where we do not have equality with men. Food sovereignty is the political project on which we can build social relations based on substantive equality. We need to eradicate all types of discrimination based on ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, age, disability or any other factor. The feminist approach of food sovereignty helps transform reality, building on emancipation and social justice, and it allows us to show women as the protagonists who are improving the situation; this helps transform unequal power relations. The capitalist system that has generated poverty and exclusion throughout history affects women in a more perverse and violent way, particularly the poorest, who live in rural areas and on the outskirts of cities.The climate crisis and abusive exploitation of natural resources are taking us towards an ecological disaster and oppression of the peoples of the world. We believe that all of us, women and men, must come together in a joint struggle to save the planet and change the system. There is now evidence that states do not take the political approach of reducing and eradicating violence against women. This violence is manifested in sexual abuse, harassment in organisations and on the street, rape, and institutional, psychological and structural violence. We call on states to ensure that legal frameworks for the safety, protection and freedom of women are respected. We will continue the struggle to occupy decision-making spaces in all national structures with the same capacity and legitimacy as men. We also demand that churches, the media and states should not seek to control our bodies using religious fundamentalism and trying to limit us to the home. We raise a shout of resistance against all forms of exploitation of our bodies and our territories! We pledge that we will struggle together as women and men for social and gender justice until each woman can move freely and without fear, in the home, in the community and around the world. During this day of action we want to demonstrate unity and our capacity to mobilise in different territories. Please send us messages, photos, videos and audio recordings to share on our website www.viacampesina.org [3] NO MORE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN! NOT A MINUTE OF SILENCE FOR OUR DEAD - A LIFETIME OF STRUGGLE! GLOBALISE THE STRUGGLE - GLOBALISE HOPE! ------------------------- MORE INFORMATION: Photos and audio: See our new collection of "No more violence against women!" postcards (Spanish) [4] "No more violence against women" manual (Spanish), here. [5] Video: Basta de Violencia contra las Mujeres! [6] Follow us on social networks: Facebook [7], Twitter [8] ------------------------- [1] [9] "Femicide is one of the most extreme forms of gender violence, which in its various forms includes all misogynist violence against women, that violates their human rights, attacks their security and puts their lives at risk. It culminates in the murder of some girls and women. Femicide happens because the authorities fail to act, they are negligent or they collude with aggressors, and in this way carry out institutional violence against women by blocking their access to justice and contributing to impunity". Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/women-mainmen… [2] cid:part3.33AD8F0E.9E1CD19E@viacampesina.org [3] http://www.viacampesina.org/ [4] http://tv.viacampesina.org/Cunas-Radiales-Basta-de-Violencia?lang=es [5] http://www.viacampesina.org/downloads/pdf/sp/Cartilla_Basta_de_Violencia_co… [6] http://tv.viacampesina.org/Basta-de-violencia-contra-las-72?lang=es [7] https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL [8] https://twitter.com/via_campesina [9] cid:part10.EEB9DCA9.3B64F713@viacampesina.org

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La Via Campesina | e-Newsletter | October, 2016
by La Via Campesina 10 Nov '16

10 Nov '16

La Via Campesina | e-Newsletter | October, 2016 Donate [1] This edition of the newsletter is the result of a collective effort of organisations, which are part of_ La Via Campesina_ movement worldwide. To subscribe click here [2] PAN-EUROPEAN FORUM IN ROMANIA WRAPS UP: FOOD SOVEREIGNTY TAKES ROOT IN EASTERN EUROPE ------------------------- Cluj-Napoca, October 31st - The fight back against industrial agriculture and for a just and sustainable future for farming and peasant farmers took a leap forward this week as the largest-ever European Forum on food sovereignty concluded. After five days of discussions, the groundwork has been laid to take back n, relocalise our food systems and multiply food sovereignty platforms across the continent by the participants from more than 40 countries who gathered at the second Nyéléni Forum on Food Sovereignty. A huge diversity of people involved in the food system were present, including farmers, food and agricultural workers, trade unionists, researchers, activists, fisherfolk, pastoralists, indigenous peoples, consumers, and human rights defenders. A major accomplishment of this forum was the convergence of Eastern European and Central Asian organisations with their Western European counterparts. Read More [3] NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD REPRESSION IN BRAZIL - POLICE INVADES MST SCHOOL ------------------------- These acts are the latest in a series of authoritarian and repressive measures that have targeted the MST in recent months, like the murders of two of its members by police seven months ago in the state of Paraná. Read More [4] BINDING TREATY NEGOTIATIONS IN GENEVA ------------------------- Conclusions of the Global Campaign on the UNHRC 2nd Session of the "Open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights" (OEIGWG) held in the last week of October 2016. Read More [5] ROGERIO HÖHN INTERVENES AT #BINDINGTREATY NEGOTIATIONS ------------------------- The time has come to unite our struggles in Southern Africa - the campaigns, networks, movements and organizations that are combating transnational corporations - the way they are exploiting our destinies, natural heritage and human rights, dismantling public services, destroying the commons, fomenting violence and endangering food sovereignty in every corner of the continent. Read More [6] #CFS43: SUMMARY OF INTERVENTIONS MADE BY LVC DELEGATION AT CFS PLENARY IN ROME ------------------------- A delegation of peasants, representing La Via Campesina, took part in the CSM Forum, the Civil Society Mechanism for relations to the UN Committee on World Food Security, in Rome this October.. Read More [7] KARNATAKA WOMEN MAKING INROADS INTO THE FARMERS' MOVEMENT ------------------------- Women members of Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha (KRRS) are increasingly coming to the forefront of the farmers' movement in the State. Read More [8] SRI LANKA: FIRST PEOPLE'S TRIBUNAL ON AGROCHEMICAL COMPANIES ------------------------- A number of representatives from Sri Lanka's agricultural hubs, including Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Kurunegala and Moneragala, gave evidence before the tribunal; highlighting the issues faced by the people due to the activities of the multinational agrochemical companies. Read More [9] EUROPEAN PLAN FOR SHEEP MEAT: RECOGNIZE AND DEFEND THE ROLE AND EXPERTISE OF EUROPEAN SHEEP FARMERS ------------------------- Essential to a serene future for sheep farming is the preservation of a network of local abattoirs and the development of innovative slaughter, mobile and at the farm. The relocation of activities is a major economical, environmental and societal issue. Read More [10] IN SOLIDARITY WITH COLOMBIAN FARMERS ------------------------- Veronique Léon, European farmer and former national secretary of the Confédération Paysanne in France, participated in the international solidarity mission to Colombia from the 19th to the 24th of September. Read More [11] MST ASKS FOR MORE LAND REFORM AND FOR A STOP IN THE CRIMINALIZATION OF THE MOVEMENT ------------------------- On Friday, November 4th, MST was on the criminalization spotlight. A violent action by the police, codename "Castra", spanned three States, Paraná, São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul. Read More [12] HONDURAS MISSION IN GENEVA REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT OF LETTER SEEKING JUSTICE FOR THE MURDER OF COMMUNITY DEFENDERS ------------------------- On Thursday, 27th October 2016, organizations and social movements of the Global Campaign to Dismantle Corporate Power and End Impunity, delivered a letter to the Permanent Mission of Honduras in Geneva seeking justice in the murders of community defenders in the Central American country. Read More [13] LINKS TO THE FULL TEXT OF INTERVENTIONS AT #BINDINGTREATY NEGOTIATIONS ------------------------- At the Binding Treaty Negotiation in Geneva, JULIA FERNANDES on behalf of International Association of Democratic Lawyers and MAB intervened to highlight human rights violations by TNCs [14] in Brazil. FEDERICO PACHECO of the Union of Land Workers of Andalusia intervened to denounce the actions of transnationals [15] pushing a model of industrial agriculture. CETA IS A BAD DEAL FOR ROMANIAN PEASANTS AND AGROECOLOGICAL FOOD PRODUCERS! ------------------------- Free trade agreements such as the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) are designed to benefit big corporates while eliminating millions of family and smallholder farmers Read More [16] HAITI - NEITHER HYBRIDS, NOR GMO'S, BUT FARM SAVED SEEDS ------------------------- Interview with Jean-Baptise Chavannes, spokesperson of Mouvement Paysan de Papaye, Haïti (Farmer Papaya Movement), by Frédéric Guérin and Claire Chauvet, Inf'OGM administrators, about Haiti's situation in general after the devastating hurricane Matthew, and about agriculture, farmers and international aid. Read More [17] 16TH OCTOBER: FOR PEOPLES' FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND AGAINST TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS ------------------------- On October 16th, La Via Campesina's _International Day of Action for Peoples' Food Sovereignty and against transnational corporations (TNCs)_, we continue the struggle to end corporate control of our food and reject free trade agreements. Watch the Slideshow [18] THE HAGUE – MONSANTO TRIBUNAL: PEASANTS OF THE WORLD STANDING TOGETHER FOR JUSTICE ------------------------- An International Monsanto Tribunal [19]was held in The Hague, Netherlands, alongside a People's Assembly, to hear cases against Monsanto and other agribusiness corporations and put forward real solutions to societal and environmental challenges. Read More [20] CONNECTING SMALLHOLDERS TO MARKETS: AN ANALYTICAL GUIDE Year: 2016 Summary: This publication is the fruit of two years of collective efforts by the Civil Society Mechanism (CSM) working group coordinated by LVC together with ROPPA that has been specifically dedicated to following the discussions and negotiations on 'Connecting Smallholders to Markets' in the Committee on World Food Security (CFS). The working group includes over 50 participants from different regions and constituencies. This publication presents interesting case studies and public policy recommendations. Edition: Civil Society Mechanism Download publication here [21] [22] At the tribunal against Monsanto and the popular assembly which took place from 12 to 16 October 2016 in The Hague. Several social movements and civil society organizations, explain why a binding treaty to end the impunity of multinationals is now needed. Watch Now [23] Video Credit: ZIN TV [24] MY FATHER BAEK NAM-GI In the memory of #BrotherBaek [25] - peasant friends and Baek Namgi's family in South Korea have put together a short video, to inform the larger public of the state oppression on protesting peasants and demanding that those responsible be held to account. Please watch and share. Watch Now [26] Video Credit: ZIN TV YOU ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE AUTONOMY OF OUR MOVEMENT ------------------------- As a supporter who has contributed financial resources to La Via Campesina, and as an activist who joins us on the streets and in the fields, your support is always welcome and put to good use. You can renew your contribution to La Via Campesina by clicking [1]here. [1] [27] Follow us on twitter [27] [28] Find us on Facebook [28] [29] Subsribe our Vimeo Channel [29] To unsubscribe from the distribution list, questions or comments, write to VIACAMPESINA(a)VIACAMPESINA.ORG WEBSITE: www.viacampesina.org TV: www.tv.viacampesina.org To subscribe to this newsletter - Click Here [30] Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/donations/ [2] http://ttps://mail.viacampesina.org/lists/listinfo/Via-info-en [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/2176-p… [4] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/human-rights-… [5] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/stop-t… [6] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/stop-t… [7] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/sustainable-p… [8] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/women-mainmen… [9] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/stop-t… [10] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/sustainable-p… [11] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/human-rights-… [12] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/human-rights-… [13] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/stop-t… [14] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/stop-t… [15] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/stop-t… [16] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/10-yea… [17] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/biodiversity-… [18] https://tv.viacampesina.org/October-16-Actions-around-the?lang=en [19] http://www.monsanto-tribunal.org/main.php?obj_id=281601562 [20] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/stop-t… [21] http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/cfs/Docs1516/cfs43/CSM_Connecting_Sm… [22] https://vimeo.com/188736942 [23] https://tv.viacampesina.org/Campagne-pour-un-traite?lang=en [24] https://www.youtube.com/watch?sns=fb&v=KV-NrJBNlEs [25] https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/brotherbaek?source=feed_text&story_id=… [26] https://tv.viacampesina.org/My-father-Baek-Nam-gi?lang=en [27] http://www.twitter.com/via_campesina [28] https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL/ [29] https://vimeo.com/viacampesina [30] https://mail.viacampesina.org/lists/listinfo/Via-info-en

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Brazil: MST asks for more Land Reform and for a stop in the criminalization of the Movement
by La Via Campesina 07 Nov '16

07 Nov '16

HUMAN RIGHTS BRAZIL: MST ASKS FOR MORE LAND REFORM AND FOR A STOP IN THE CRIMINALIZATION OF THE MOVEMENT [1] Published on Monday, 07 November 2016 23:06 [2](NOVEMBER 7, 2016) MST DENOUNCES AN "ESCALATION IN THE REPRESSION OF THE STRUGGLE FOR LAND, DOMINATED BY THE INTERESTS OF AGRIBUSSINES ALLIED TO THE VIOLENCE OF A STATE OF EXCEPTION". On this Friday, November 4th, MST was on the criminalization spotlight. A violent action by the police, codename "Castra", spanned three States, Paraná, São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul. The main target of the operation was to arrest and criminalize leaders from two camps held by militants in Central Paraná State. The camps are named "Dom Tomás Balduíno" and "Herdeiros da Luta pela Terra" (Land Struggle Heirs). On a note, MST denounces a "surge in the repression of the struggle for land, dominated by the interests of agribussines allied to the violence of a State of Exception". "We remind the public that we have always acted in an organized and peaceful manner for the advancement of Land Reform. We reclaim the land for it's social function and that it be destined to settling the 10.000 families that are currently camped in Paraná State." In São Paulo, 10 vehicles from the Civil Police broke into the National School Florestan Fernandes (ENFF), in the town of Guararema. Two militants were arrested. According to the reports, police officers arrived at around 9:25 am, closed the school gate and jumped over the reception window, taking shots aiming at sky. The shards of collected bullets prove that none of them were rubber, but lethal. In Mato Grosso do Sul, three police vehicles with Paraná plates broke into CEPEGE, "Geral Garcia" Research Center and Professional School, in Sidrolândia. The police operation was searching for MST militants from Paraná that allegedly were there. The police remained there until approximately 9AM, when they left with no arrests. During the operation, police prohibited the use of mobile phones. Militants that were in CEPEGE at the moment were performing cleaning and maintenance tasks. HERE IS THE FULL NOTE: MORE LAND REFORM AND A STOP TO MST CRIMINALIZATION Once more the Landless Rural Workers' Movement is a victim of criminalization constructed by the repressive apparatus of the State of Paraná. The violent operation, codename "Castra", took place this Friday, November 4th 2016, in Paraná - municipalities of Quedas do Iguaçu, Francisco Beltrão and Laranjeiras do Sul; and also in the States of São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul. The aim of the operation is to capture and criminalize leaders from 'Dom Tomás Balduíno' and 'Herdeiros da Luta pela Terra' encampments, located in the central region of Paraná state. Until now 6 leaders were arrested and they are still looking for other workers, under several accusations, including criminal organization. Since May 2014, approximately 3,000 encamped families are occupying areas that were before occuppied by Araupel Company. Those areas were illegally occupied by the company and because of that the Federal Court of Public Land declared that they belong to the Union, so they must be devoted for Agrarian Reform. Araupel Company became a powerful economical and political empire by illegally occupying public land and constantly using violence against rural workers and peasants that occupy land, many times acting in collusion with the civilian and military police apparatus, they have even fund political campaigns of public authorities, like the one of the Chief of Staff of the Beto Richa's government, Valdir Rossoni. We highlight that this action is part of a continuous process of persecution and violence that MST has been facing in several states and in Parana. On April 7th, 2016, in the land illegally occupied by Araupel Company the families organized in the Dom Tomas Balduíno encampment were victims of an ambush made by the Military Police and security personnel hired by the company. In the attack, were there more than 120 gunshots, Vilmar Bordim and Leomar Orback were executed, there were also countless people bullet wounded. In the same large state in 1997, gunmen hired by Araupel killed in another ambush two Landless Movement workers. Both cases remain unpunished. We denounce the escalation on violence and repression against the struggle for land, where agribusiness interests associated with the violence of the State of Exception predominate. We remember that we always act in an organized and pacific way so the Agrarian Reform advances. We demand that the land fulfills its social function and that it is destined for the settlement of the 10,000 families encamped in Paraná. We keep fighting for our rights and we join those who fight for education, health, housing, more rights and more democracy. STRUGGLE AND BUILD POPULAR AGRARIAN REFORM. CURITIBA, NOVEMBER 4TH, 2016. MORE INFORMATION: HTTP://MST.ORG.BR/ Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/human-rights-… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/images/MST%20Nov%202016.jpg

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Via Campesina at COP 22: false solutions to the climate crisis may constitute crimes against humanity
by La Via Campesina 07 Nov '16

07 Nov '16

Via Campesina at COP 22: false solutions to the climate crisis may constitute crimes against humanity [1] Published on Monday, 07 November 2016 17:22 [2]PRESS RELEASE >From November 7th to November 18th, 2016, the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP 22) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will take place in Marrakech, Morocco. It is there that the 196 signatories to the Paris Agreement will decide upon steps to implement the Agreement that they adopted in December 2015. Peasants and small-scale farmers from Via Campesina will be in Marrakech for the duration of the Conference; they will draw attention to the disastrous effects that application of the Agreement could have, both on peasant agriculture and on the climate. Approximately 40 people, from Morocco and all over the world, the majority of which are youth, will make up the Via Campesina delegation in Marrakech. The international peasant movement has decided to hold a training course on climate justice for its membership, with a focus on young people, from November 8th to November 12th. Some close allies from NGOs and social movements have also been invited to participate. It will serve as a great opportunity for Via Campesina to strengthen its links with small-scale farmers organizations from North African and Middle Eastern countries and to better understand the reality of peasant agriculture in that region. This decision is a clear way of stating that forward-looking solutions to the climate crisis are in the hands of young peasants and small-scale food providers whose farming practices reflect their interest in agroecology and peasant agriculture. Many multinational corporations see COP 22 as an opportunity to further introduce carbon sequestration initiatives to the North African and Middle Eastern countries that have been particularly affected by climate change--with increased greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the current intensive model of production. For this reason, the Via Campesina delegation will be available throughout the COP to present an alternative vision. The delegates will explain that the failure to attack the climate crisis at its roots--especially regarding the use of pesticides, chemical fertilisers and other inputs in agriculture--constitutes a serious threat to food sovereignty and to the survival of countless farming families. They will give testimonies about peasant practices that help to preserve and regenerate forests and are an important counter to the destruction done by multinational corporations who plant monoculture for biofuels and other purposes. The delegates will also explain the risk of increasing land grabbing, a phenomenon that is expanding widely. There is tacit support for land grabbing in the text of last December's agreement, which reduces agriculture to a 'land use sector' in order to highlight its potential for capturing carbon. Payment for Ecosystem Services, REDD, REDD+, and their spin-off programs such as climate-smart agriculture , together with the Paris Agreement, are underpinned with an approach that places the commercial and financial interests of multinational corporations and the world economy ahead of respect for human rights. It is encouraging that the International Criminal Court in The Hague has recently recognised that human rights violations involving environmental destruction and, in particular, illegal dispossession of land fall within the domain of crimes against humanity. In Marrakech, the Via Campesina will again task itself with denouncing the false solutions and initiatives which can more properly be considered crimes against Humanity than commitments to finding a solution to the climate crisis. The Via Campesina will ensure that the voice of its youth delegation is heard, and that the solutions that it proposes are evaluated in a way that is commensurate with their importance and effectiveness, rather than being treated as marginal. _Agenda of the Via Campesina delegation:_ - On November 6th, La Via Campesina will take part to a press conference organized by the members of the Democratic Network to Accompany COP 22 (Réseau démocratique pour l'accompagnement de la COP22). - From November 8th to November 12th, there will be a seminar on climate justice and the struggles for climate justice in North Africa and the Middle East. - On November 12th, there will be a Field Visit in the nearby of Agadir on water and land access issues. - On November 13th, La Via Campesina, together with the FNSA (Fédération Nationale du Secteur Agricole du Maroc), will take part in the large international march for Climate Justice organised by the members of the Democratic Network to Accompany COP 22 (Réseau démocratique pour l'accompagnement de la COP22). CONTACT FOR PRESS: Hakech Mohamed: 00 212.691.008.705 Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/-clima… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/images/2016-01-27-NFU%20pic.jpg

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Via-info-en November 2016