Via-info-en January 2021

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This 26th of January, light a 'candle of solidarity' for India’s farmers
by La Via Campesina 21 Jan '21

21 Jan '21

PEASANTS OF THE WORLD UNITE! THIS 26TH OF JANUARY, LIGHT A CANDLE OF SOLIDARITY FOR INDIA'S FARMERS For over 50 days now, India's peasants and workers have been holding massive protests at the country's national capital, New Delhi. They continue to agitate at several inter-state borders and district centres, urging their national government to recall three controversial legislation that are deemed to corporatise India's agricultural landscape. THESE THREE LEGISLATIONS IF READ TOGETHER [1], the peasants' allege, will dismantle the country's public procurement system, will push down prices of farm produce, will encourage large scale monoculture cultivation through contract farming, and will also allow private businesses to stock up and speculate on essential pulses and cereals, thus driving up food prices. In a country, where nearly 700 million people have their livelihoods tied to agriculture and allied activities, these "reforms" are nothing but devastating news. The protests that are taking place in New Delhi, and other state capitals and inter-state borders prove that people are angry at this move, which may only benefit a handful of private agribusiness corporations in the country. La Via Campesina, as a global movement of peasants and small-scale food producers in 81 countries, is inspired by the struggle led by the peasant movements in India. On behalf of our members worldwide, La Via Campesina extends its solidarity to Bhartiya Kisan Union, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, Tamilaga Vivasayigal Sangham and several other organisations and movements who are spearheading this protest at different parts of the country. In December several members of our movement HAD SENT MESSAGES OF SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT [2] to their Indian counterparts, resonating their demands and citing adverse examples in their own countries where privatisation led to dispossession and displacement of the peasantry. This act of global solidarity must continue. It will be necessary for peasant movements everywhere to echo our sisters and brothers' struggles in India, who have kept their spirits high and refuse to budge despite adverse weather and an indifferent government. ACCORDING TO BHARTIYA KISAN UNION, MORE THAN 70 PROTESTING FARMERS HAVE SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES SO FAR IN THE BITING COLD AND RAINS OF NEW DELHI. LA VIA CAMPESINA RECOGNISES AND HONOURS THESE MARTYRS, WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THE PEASANT STRUGGLE. EVERY PEASANT, WORKER AND INDIGENOUS PERSON ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD WILL RECOGNISE AND RELATE TO THIS BRAVE FIGHT THAT INDIA'S FOOD PRODUCERS ARE PUTTING UP. India will celebrate its Republic Day on the 26th of January. The protesting peasants and workers want to step up the pressure, and as a way to make themselves heard, they will be holding a massive "tractor parade" in New Delhi that day. ALL LVC MEMBERS AND ALLIES EVERYWHERE CAN SUPPORT INDIA'S MOVEMENTS AND GIVE VISIBILITY TO OUR GLOBAL SOLIDARITY BY LIGHTING A CANDLE ON THE 26TH OF JANUARY 2021. WHEREVER YOU ARE, WHICHEVER CORNER OF THE WORLD YOU ARE IN, WHEN YOU JOIN THIS SIMPLE ACT OF SOLIDARITY, THE LIGHT OF FRATERNITY WILL REACH OUR PEOPLE IN INDIA AND GIVE THEM THE STRENGTH AND COURAGE TO CONTINUE UNTIL THEIR VICTORY. The struggles of all peasants everywhere are the same. We seek dignity, autonomy, and control over food production, respecting our territories' food sovereignty and remaining in harmony with nature. May this be another moment to globalise our struggles and globalise our hope for our secure collective futures! POST YOUR IMAGES AND MESSAGES WITH THE HASHTAG #SHINEONINDIAFARMERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA. LET THE WHOLE WORLD HEAR THE ROAR OF PEASANTS AND WORKERS. -------------------------- LA VIA CAMPESINA Download the posters here [3] Read this appeal in Spanish [4] and French [5]. ---------------------------- Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/india-social-movements-upset-that-the-governmen… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/indian-farmers-protests-farmers-around-the-worl… [3] https://cloud.viacampesina.org/s/DJrBZ96sFcMoKcX [4] https://viacampesina.org/es/campesinxs-del-mundo-unios-este-26-de-enero-enc… [5] https://viacampesina.org/fr/les-paysan%e2%8b%85ne%e2%8b%85s-du-monde-entier…

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La Via Campesina opposes the inclusion of Cuba in the U.S. list of State Sponsors of Terrorism
by La Via Campesina 18 Jan '21

18 Jan '21

LA VIA CAMPESINA OPPOSES THE INCLUSION OF CUBA IN THE U.S. LIST OF STATE SPONSORS OF TERRORISM STATEMENT: CUBA IS NOT A TERRORIST STATE! _(HARARE, 15 JANUARY 2021)_ We, La Via Campesina - an international peasant movement made up of 182 organizations in 81 countries with some 200 million members - firmly manifest our rejection of the new aggressions by the U.S. government against the sovereignty of the Cuban people and we denounce its renewed inclusion on the unilateral U.S. list of 'States Sponsors of Terrorism'. After almost 6 years off the list, this January 11th, 2021, outgoing U.S. Secretary of State (Mike Pompeo) announced the reinstatement of Cuba to their list of countries they call terrorists, a unilateral measure aimed at continuing the historic and criminal economic, commercial and financial blockade to which the Cuban people have been subjected for six decades. WHILE THE WORLD HAS BEEN SHAKEN BY THE CRISIS PROVOKED BY COVID-19, CUBA MAINTAINS ITS ACTS OF INTERNATIONALISM, SOLIDARITY AND COOPERATION WITH, TO GIVE ONE EXAMPLE AMONG MANY, ITS 1,500+ HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, DOCTORS, SPECIALISTS AND NURSES OF THE 'HENRY REEVE BRIGADE' WHO CURRENTLY SERVE THOSE MOST VULNERABLE TO THE PANDEMIC IN EUROPE, AFRICA, ARAB EMIRATES, LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN. While the majority of the world faces the hunger and exclusion imposed by those in power to confront the crisis, Cuba and our beloved National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP) respond with more sovereignty, solidarity and social justice. The neoliberal model doesn't resolve the crisis facing humanity; the Cuban model defends life, dignity and unity of the peoples. As an international peasant movement, we stand in solidarity with the Cuban people in the face of the attacks against them and we call on all allied organizations - those that struggle for food sovereignty, agroecological peasant agriculture, and the integral health of the peoples - to join their voice in recognizing Cuba for its efforts in solidarity and cooperation with humanity. CUBA IS NOT A TERRORIST STATE! Globalize the struggle! Globalize hope!

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Young people are the present and the future of small-scale farming. Launch of a new film: "The feast"
by La Via Campesina 11 Jan '21

11 Jan '21

LA VIA CAMPESINA AND ZINTV PRESENT "THE FEAST :TONG-TONG" [1], a film created during a Youth meeting of la Via Campesina in Senegal. What is it like to be a young peasant farmer in Senegal at a time when the authorities and the transnationals are grabbing farmland, parceling it out among them, and turning peasants into farm labourers? SYNOPSIS : This film focuses on the lives of Senegalese farmers who are fighting against powerful legislative and economic forces. From fishing to herding, and from north to south, the pattern is all too familiar. "They ask the young people to stay and work here, but those are just empty words. Where's the resource base for these people? If you want youth to stay, you have to give them something to work with," said one young Senegalese fisherman in Dakar. Internationally, despite the diversity of rural communities, the peasant members of La Via Campesina are proving that these issues are widespread and are offering tools for achieving food sovereignty and peoples' self-determination. Free to Watch on viacampesina.org [1] and ZINTV.org [2] Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/event/new-film-the-feast-tong-tong/ [2] https://zintv.org/video/le-festin-tong-tong/

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Via-info-en January 2021