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Call to Action #Nov25: Peasants in the Struggle for our Rights, against the Virus of Capital and Patriarchy!
by La Via Campesina 29 Oct '20

29 Oct '20

#NOV25: PEASANTS IN THE STRUGGLE FOR OUR RIGHTS, AGAINST THE VIRUS OF CAPITAL AND PATRIARCHY! 28 OCTOBER 2020 CAMPAIGN TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN [1], PATRIACHY [2] ------------------------- _Call to Action - November 25th - International Day for the Elimination of all Forms of Violence against Women._ ------------------------- HARARE – OCTOBER 28TH, 2020: Today, November 25th - La Via Campesina calls to affirm Food Sovereignty as a concrete measure of the States to put an end to violence against women in the countryside and in the cities, just as it is stated in the Declaration on the Rights of Peasants in its Art. 4. LVC denounces the structural violence of extractive capitalism and patriarchy, especially during this crisis that hits women and LGBTQ communities the hardest, as well as the working class as a whole, increasing the levels of exploitation with double and even triple working days, worsening their living conditions and with severe setbacks in matter of rights, even in the midst of this pandemic. Not only has COVID 19 caused a horrifying number of deaths worldwide, it has also lead to a spike in the rates of femicide as a result of lock down measures that left millions of women and children with no escape from their aggressors. This is one of the worst aspects of this crisis. COVID 19 is also increasing the workload for women as a result of remote schooling and the needs associated with the care taking of family members, such as the elderly and ill. During the pandemic, the rates of sexual and physical violence against women and children have risen horrifically. Pregnant little girls forced [3] to give birth, assassinations [4] of leaders, advocates and defenders of territories. Millions of women in rural and urban areas have entered the escalating figures of poverty, sub employment, unemployment and hunger. In the meantime, the States who claim to represent them continue implementing extractive, conservative and neoliberal policies that only worsen the violence and result in serious regressions of rights. La Via Campesina has denounced that even during a health crisis of this magnitude, the States have taken advantage of the situation to hand over land to transnational companies and large landholders. This has lead to higher numbers of evictions in several countries and a worsening of the criminalisation of peasants. More than ever, this crisis has made us reflect on the importance of solidarity and organisation. This is why we salute all women and LGBTQ communities who stand in resistance in all the different territories: the Zapatistas, the Turkish, Kurdish and Palestinian women and LGBTQ populations. Be it in the seashores, the plains, the mountains, the jungles, the forests, the countryside and the cities, we all come together to act globally demanding an end to all forms of violence against women and children, for a just, egalitarian and peaceful society. We acknowledge all the actions of tangible solidarity that organised women have been sustaining worldwide, especially during the pandemic, such as the production of healthy food, food donations, people's and ancestral health brigades, community soup kitchens against hunger, collective community workdays focused on sanitation, peasant markets, establishment of barter systems and other forms of popular and solidarity economy. These are concrete examples of self organisation and collective work. #Time to Transform We demand that the States recognise and value the potential of peasant women to ensure Food Sovereignty. The peasantry continues to be the main source of food for the peoples of the world, whereas the industrial system of transnational corporations has proven incapable of meeting minimum sanitary, safety and sustainability conditions. Worldwide women produce half the food, yet own less than 15% of the land, of which barely 2% belong to developing countries, according to the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture. Peasant women are also the ones most affected when the common goods and peasant agriculture are threatened by extractive and agro-industrial projects that dramatically impact the lives of their communities. We peasant women resist the continuous violations of the capitalist and patriarchal system, by the States and agribusiness that destroy nature, take away our lands, poison the planet and appropriate the water! For these reasons, on this Day of Struggle #Nov25, we as La Via Campesina call on our member organisations and allies to join in our struggle full of hope and resistance to transform the realities that perpetuate violence and ensure that the rights of all women and LGBTQ people are respected; to ensure that they are able to participate in the construction of new societies. #TIMETOTRANSFORM #WOMENINTHESTRUGGLE #STOPVIOLENCEAGAINSTWOMEN Call for Life, against Violence! Solidarity, sorority and resilience are essential values to live and coexist as societies fighting against the violence and brutality of this system. THIS #NOV25 JOIN OUR CALL FOR LIFE AND AGAINST VIOLENCE: * Participate in any symbolic act or local action promoted by your local organisation, community or country to end violence against women. #TimeToTransform * Join our LVC online streaming "Actions for Life and against Violence" on the 25th, an event of collective struggle, reflection and mistica. Link: _[TO BE UPDATED SOON]_ * Stay Home but not Silent! Use the materials for social media of our Global Campaign Stop Violence against Women, AVAILABLE HERE [5] * Commit to your organisation, community, neighbourhood and/or friends to support women and LGBTQ people at risk. Produce healthy food, donate baskets, organise a community soup kitchen or buy products of peasant women! #WomenInTheStruggle * Print our booklet with basic safety tips against violence, the importance of collective care and don't forget to translate it to your local language! AVAILABLE HERE [5] During the entire month of November we want to receive letters from our women and LGBTQ comrades, sharing their experiences of struggle and how LVC has contributed to empower them against violence and patriarchy. The letters shouldn't be too long and you can add a picture if you'd like, but that's not essential. We want to build our collective memory and rescue our voices from oblivion! We would also like to receive pictures and videos of people of all ages and genders to share in our social media accounts. You can use these slogans: _NO ONE WILL SILENCE OUR VOICES! STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN! WOMEN IN THE STRUGGLE AGAINST THE VIRUS OF CAPITAL AND PATRIARCHY!_ Become a people's communicator and let's take social media by storm this #Nov25! Send all materials from October 28th to November 25th to LVCWEB(a)VIACAMPESINA.ORG so we can publish it online. Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-against/patriachy/campaign… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-against/patriachy/ [3] https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/embarazo-adolescente-ecuador-costos-s… [4] https://www.eltiempo.com/politica/proceso-de-paz/van-mas-de-80-lideresas-as… [5] https://cloud.viacampesina.org/s/zf5XPA5AoxNsNc4

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16 October: "Food Sovereignty is the flame that will show us the way" La Via Campesina
by La Via Campesina 16 Oct '20

16 Oct '20

"FOOD SOVEREIGNTY IS THE FLAME THAT WILL SHOW US THE WAY", INSISTS LA VIA CAMPESINA AS IT MARKS #16OCTOBER IN A PANDEMIC YEAR PRESS STATEMENT: 16 OCTOBER 2020, _INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION FOR PEOPLES' FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND AGAINST TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS_ ------------------------- HARARE: Thirty-five million confirmed cases--over a million dead people. All in just eight months. COVID 19 is now an existential crisis for humanity. Report after report has informed the world of the devastating impact this pandemic has had on the lives of people. No country or community is immune to this. Yet, it is essential to remind ourselves that people who were already poor and marginalised are facing a dilemma like no one else; either die of COVID or die of hunger. COVID-19 pandemic may add between 83 and 132 million people to the total number of undernourished in the world in 2020, according to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (SOFI 2020 [1]). A cruel irony here is that this increasingly hungry world also loses or wastes 1.3 billion tons [2] of food a year! FAO estimates that this wasted food would be enough to feed 2 billion people. Yet, the transnational agribusiness corporations that control much of the world's food supply are unable to do it, even as hunger is a lived reality of nearly a billion people! The pandemic will undermine [3] international efforts to bring down global poverty. Some 160 million people in Asia alone may be forced below the poverty line. In Latin America, that figure is around 45 million people. UNICEF, the U.N. Children's Fund, reported that 872 million students in 51 countries are unable to access education. Over 50% of these students live in circumstances where remote learning is impossible -- a scale that suggests a generational crisis in education, cites [3] news reports. In all this doom and gloom, for some, it is as if the pandemic does not exist. Swiss bank UBS reported that billionaires increased their wealth by more than a quarter at the height of the crisis from April to July. Not surprisingly, those in the healthcare their total wealth increased by over 50%. > WHAT DO WE MAKE OF A WORLD LIKE THIS? WHERE IS JUSTICE IN ALL THIS? IT IS IN THIS CONTEXT THAT LA VIA CAMPESINA IS MARKING THE _INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION FOR PEOPLES' FOOD SOVEREIGNTY._ La Via Campesina, the global peasant movement that represents millions of peasants, indigenous peoples, fishers, migrants and other small-scale food producers in 82 countries has called upon the world's governments to recognise the limitations and inherent injustices of the industrial food system. The aggressive expansion of industrial food production [4] in the last five decades has also increasingly put human health in harm's way. Apart from the overuse of chemicals and over-processing of foods, which makes them less nutritious and more harmful, it has also resulted in a significant increase in zoonotic diseases - those caused by pathogens which jump from animals to humans (just like COVID-19). Yet, at the first signs of a global pandemic, this industrial food complex cracked up and left countries and citizens in disarray. For decades, governments did little to protect small farms and food producers which were pushed out of business by these growing dysfunctional corporate giants. They stood idle as their countries grew increasingly dependent on a few major suppliers of food who forced local producers to sell their produce at unfairly low prices so corporate executives can keep growing their profit margins. Even now, amidst the pandemic, we see persistent efforts by the agribusiness lobby to capture all democratic spaces of governance. For instance, the partnership between the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the UN Secretary-General to organise a "Food Systems Summit" in 2021 openly reflects a corporate takeover of the United Nations at the highest level. If anything, this pandemic has given us enough reasons to resist such corporate capture and instead accelerate our demands for a Binding Treaty [5] that can hold corporations accountable for human rights and peasants rights violations. FOOD SOVEREIGNTY THROUGH PEASANT AGROECOLOGY The elected representatives of people must frame public policies in their states to promote local production and distribution of a diverse basket of food. It is essential that every government everywhere, prioritises the autonomy of their citizens in designing their food systems. When small-scale food producers are given the power to design and decide, we will have a food system that is not just culturally and climatically appropriate and diverse; but also produced through peasant agroecological methods, based on centuries of evidence and experience. A recent report [6] from United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) recommends an "agroecological transition" to face global food crisis and land degradation. FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND AN URGENT AGRARIAN REFORM Food Sovereignty guarantees the most basic needs of the human society at all times - food. Pandemic or any other disruptive shocks that the world may witness can be withstood and survived if food is guaranteed to all people. Our food systems must be built on this most fundamental understanding of our basic rights and needs. Eating healthy food is the right of every human being on this planet. Healthy nutritional food cannot be replaced by tasteless, nutrition-less, homogeneous frozen meat and dairy packs produced in faraway factories. For food sovereignty to be guaranteed, all countries must embark on an agrarian reform that protects farmlands, rivers, oceans and forests from real estate and extractivist industries. How can people produce food if the land is taken away from them? How can a country call itself free, if it cannot feed its citizens healthy nutritious food? Yet, what we are seeing, even amidst the pandemic is States and agribusiness lobbies violently evicting people from their territories [7], criminalising [8] peasant leaders and enabling [9] land grabs. FOOD SOVEREIGNTY CAN BEAT RECESSION AND REVIVE RURAL ECONOMIES AND LIVELIHOODS The pandemic has also exposed the everyday horror of migrant workers [10], living in unsafe conditions in a foreign land that is hostile, xenophobic and patriarchal. It took a global pandemic to make the lives of billions of rural and urban workers visible to the powerful elites of the world, who were quick to sympathise on social media, yet called to make labour laws more "corporate-friendly". This criminal hypocrisy of the world's elites must stop. Workers must have the right to find work in or near their native places. Food Sovereignty can guarantee such a system as it involves using local resources - human and capital - in the production, distribution and consumption of food. Why would a worker migrate into a city and lead an undignified pitiful life, if one can find work and food, in or near one's village? The hyper-industrialised society that turned cities into economic engines have, for long, denied the workers the right to work closer home and be food sufficient. If anything, this pandemic has exposed the fragility of this model that deserted the workers at the first sign of trouble, forcing them to walk hundreds if not thousands of miles, back home. Corporate food system has exposed many of its workers to infection. This has been the case with the big slaughterhouses in the US, Germany and other countries. Migrant workers continue to work without adequate protection in the big farms in EU and US and many have been infected. Why should workers trust this system anymore? FOOD SOVEREIGNTY IS THE FLAME THAT CAN LEAD THE WORLD OUT OF THIS DARKNESS This long dark tunnel that the world has found itself in, is desperately seeking light. A majority of the world's people, living in despair and disarray are looking for a hopeful sign that can guarantee them and their future generations, equity, equality and dignity. Even in these difficult times, the solidarity among the world's poorest and most dispossessed people give us that hope. The fraternity and courage displayed by millions of health workers, sanitation workers, domestic workers, farm workers, indigenous peoples, electricians, technicians, delivery agents, drivers, sailors and countless other front-line workers is offering us a lesson; That in times of existential crisis, it is the workers and peasants who can save the world, even while forsaking their own safety and health. If this solidarity must persist, the world's governments must listen to the working class people and the peasants who feed the world. As a movement that represents over 200 million peasants in 82 countries, La Via Campesina is echoing the repeated demands for food sovereignty and agrarian reform coming from our territories and is asking for the urgent implementation of the UN Declaration on Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas. LA VIA CAMPESINA, 16 OCTOBER 2020 ------------------------------------- For press enquiries: write to lvcweb(a)viacampesina.org To follow the solidarity actions around the world, check out the hashtags #FOODSOVEREIGNTYNOW #TIMETOTRANSFORM #16OCTOBER on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Links: ------ [1] http://www.fao.org/3/ca9692en/online/ca9692en.html#chapter-executive_summary [2] http://www.biodiversidadla.org/Noticias/Un-mundo-cada-vez-mas-hambriento-pi… [3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/09/25/pandemic-pushes-hundreds-mi… [4] https://www.etcgroup.org/content/breeding-next-pandemic [5] https://viacampesina.org/en/peoples-mobilisation-for-a-bindingtreaty-gather… [6] http://www.biodiversidadla.org/Documentos/Publicacion-de-ONU-recomienda-una… [7] https://viacampesina.org/en/mst-quilombo-campo-grande-camp-resists-eviction… [8] https://viacampesina.org/en/indonesia-spi-calls-for-urgent-solidarity-with-… [9] https://viacampesina.org/en/india-krrs-farmers-protest-in-different-distric… [10] https://viacampesina.org/en/covid-19-several-members-of-la-via-campesina-hi…

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La Via Campesina backs the UN Special Rapporteur’s observation on Trade Policies
by La Via Campesina 08 Oct '20

08 Oct '20

After 25 years, the World Trade Organization (WTO), one of the flag bearers of international free trade, is gradually losing its relevance. "Trade policy has primarily focused on economic frameworks and has either ignored or marginalised people's human rights concerns," said the Special Rapporteur on the right to food in its latest report: "The right to food in the context of international trade law and policy [1]. La Via Campesina that has been fighting against free trade imposed by WTO, welcomes this observation. The Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, started to carry out his tasks and presented the report to the UN General Assembly 75th session this September. It reflects on the longstanding critiques of the WTO's _Agreement on Agriculture_ and then proposes human rights as one of the overarching principles of better trade practices. The 23-page report is also rich in its references to the right to food, dignity, and solidarity while responding to the current Covid-19 crisis. La Via Campesina has long been at the forefront of the struggle against agriculture and food liberalisation pushed by the WTO. "As people working in the field to feed 70% of the world's population, we were the first to face the brunt of free trade agreements that were pushed forth by WTO and other multilateral institutions. The devastation caused by this top down model of global governance was first felt in our territories when it crashed the prices of our produce, destroyed local peasant markets, wiped away the rich biodiversity that existed in our fields, took away our autonomy over seeds and evicted millions of our sisters and brothers from their territories," said Kim Jeongyol, a peasant from South Korea. "The report is very crucial especially for public awareness - it shows that free trade is not working, especially in the current context of pandemic and also in from the eyes of human rights principles," said Zainal Arifin Fuat, from Serikat Petani Indonesia. "This is why from the beginning we put out our slogan 'WTO Out of Agriculture' which then expanded to 'End WTO'... And we have to stay vigilant as well as the danger is not only with the dying WTO - but also many free trade agreements that already take over in so many parts of the world," he continued. La Via Campesina commemorates the global fight against WTO and free trade in its "International Day of Struggle against WTO and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)", which is organised every 10 September. This year, the movement organised a web-dialogue "Globalise Solidarity, Localise Agriculture", which concluded that food sovereignty and the right to adequate food could only emerge from family farming and peasant-agriculture using agroecological means. "The UN Special Rapporteur reflects this sentiment in his report," Zainal mentioned. "We are happy that a UN report highlights this important issue, and that our voices and struggles are being heard. "We are pleased with the references to the UN Declaration on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas," "Now we continue defending and demanding our rights to land, to seeds, to water, to biodiversity, all of which have been hindered by the trade policies pushed by WTO and other FTAs," added Kim Jeongyol. One among the first and specific conclusions of the report is to wind down the WTO Agreement on Agriculture. The report is available here (in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Russian): https://undocs.org/A/75/219 Links: ------ [1] https://undocs.org/A/75/219

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Let’s strengthen Food Sovereignty: Produce, Buy and Eat local products
by La Via Campesina 07 Oct '20

07 Oct '20

LET'S STRENGTHEN FOOD SOVEREIGNTY: PRODUCE, BUY AND EAT LOCAL PRODUCTS CAMPAIGN FOR A BINDING TREATY [1], FOOD SOVEREIGNTY [2], TRANSNATIONAL COMPANIES AND AGRIBUSINESS [3] _"EATING HEALTHY IS OUR RIGHT; IT'S OUR STRUGGLE"_ _GLOBAL CALL FOR SOLIDARITY ACTION_ (Harare, October 6, 2020) This October 16th, the _INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION FOR PEOPLES' FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND AGAINST TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS, _ La Via Campesina insists that it is #TIMETOTRANSFORM our society with food sovereignty and peasant agroecology. We are what we eat. Having healthy food is a basic human right. It is important to insist today, that the peasant way of producing food, in harmony with nature, is not just an act to reclaim our autonomy and food sovereignty, but it is also an act of resistance against the aggressive corporatization of our food systems and habits. Around the world, peasants, indigenous peoples, farm workers, the landless, fisherfolk, consumers, women, and the youth face difficult challenges because of the influence on and control of food systems by transnational corporations (TNCs). Increasingly, the control of common goods essential to humanity and nature is concentrated in the hands of a few rich and elite people, with disastrous effects on most people and their rights. In agriculture, this has led to intensive farming methods based on monocultures with the high use of toxic agro-chemical inputs, threatening and destroying peasant agriculture and life on the planet. This destruction is happening through land grabbing, water and air pollution, destructive extractive mining of resources, poisoning of food with agro-toxics and destroying biodiversity, and even the murder of peasant and indigenous activists and leaders. The climate crisis has also worsened. IN THIS CONTEXT, PRODUCING HEALTHY FOOD, SUPPORTING LOCAL FOOD MARKETS, AND EATING HEALTHY ARE IMPORTANT ACTS OF RESISTANCE AND GUARANTEE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT WITH EQUITY AND DIGNITY. As Via Campesina, we believe in and defend food sovereignty as peoples' right to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced with ecologically sustainable methods. If we build local food sovereignty, we build strategies to resist and dismantle the current exploitative, destructive and repressive corporate food system and move towards food, agriculture, pastoral, and fishery systems determined by local producers and consumers. NOW IS THE TIME TO TRANSFORM AND BUILD A BETTER SOCIETY: The current COVID 19 pandemic has shown us the importance and the resilience of local food systems that keep many people from hunger and starvation. We, peasants, men and women, indigenous peoples, rural populations, agricultural workers, the youth in urban and rural areas, have the solution - FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND PEASANT AGROECOLOGY - to end hunger, to cool the planet, to preserve biodiversity, and respect the rights of peasants and workers. JOIN US TO MAKE THIS POSSIBLE! We can only guarantee a safe and better world not only for today but also for future generations if you join us to transform our society: * Adopt a seed(s) and start growing your food to strengthen local production. Experience the joy of eating homegrown food. Send us or share with the following hashtags _#TIMETOTRANSFORM #FOODSOVEREIGNTYNOW_ (complete it with your own message) a video or a photo(s) of you doing this act of resistance against corporate capture of our food system * Join us, starting October 6th, to stop corporate impunity and violations of our rights by posting this message on social media FOOD SOVEREIGNTY BECAUSE ... using blank posters to complete it with your own message (download blank posters here [4]) * Request your local authorities to support local food production and buy from local food markets. Let's strengthen our local food systems. * Put pressure on governments to prioritize food sovereignty in public policies and implement the UN Declaration of Rights of Peasants and other people working in Rural Areas (UNDROP). Please send us your actions and articles to our email: lvcweb(a)viacampesina.org, tag us on social media twitter (@via_campesina [5]) and FaceBook (@viacampesinaOFFICIAL [6]), and make visible globally our collective mobilization for a better society based on food sovereignty. #LAVIACAMPESINA #TIMETOTRANSFORM #FOODSOVEREIGNTYNOW LET US GLOBALIZE THE STRUGGLE; LET US GLOBALIZE HOPE. Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-against/transnational-comp… [2] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-for/food-sovereignty-and-t… [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/what-are-we-fighting-against/transnational-comp… [4] https://cloud.viacampesina.org/s/2Ws8ecGt98nbGT3 [5] https://twitter.com/via_campesina [6] https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL

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Manifesto for the Future #AntiImperialistWeek
by La Via Campesina 03 Oct '20

03 Oct '20

MANIFESTO FOR THE FUTURE 1 OCTOBER 2020 _When confronted by us hungry bellies, the imperialists reach for their guns. When confronted by imperialists, we hungry bellies lock arms and march forward._ Our humanity is threatened by an invisible virus that spreads rapidly; but we have long been challenged by other _viruses_, such as unemployment, hunger, racism, patriarchy, inequality, and war. These _viruses_ manifest themselves differently in different parts of the world, sharply attack the lives of the workers and the peasants, and those who experience the impact of social inequality; meanwhile, there are a minority of people that profit from the devastation. The capitalist system has no answers to these crises; its policies are hollow. Rather than find a way to house us and feed us, the capitalists build vast machinery of destruction - the police and military that suffocate the life out of the working-class inside the rich nations and of the working-class and the peasantry in the poorer nations. If a poor country tries to stand upright and seeks to exercise its sovereignty, a full arsenal of force is used against it: financial, diplomatic, and military power. They dominate us with weapons, but also with ideas; they try to convince us that their views are the correct views. The managers of the capitalist system are quick to unholster their guns and point them at distant adversaries, drive their tanks into our lands and occupy our homes, tear up nature and destroy our lifeworld; it is easier for them to provoke war than to fill the bellies of human beings with food. They would rather inflame people with racism and jingoism than to manage the fact that a broken system has come to rely more and more on the unacknowledged care labour of women, more and more on the harsh working-conditions imposed on miners and factory workers. The planet is on fire, the viruses are on the march, hunger stalks the land, and yet even in this mess, we - the vast majority of the people on the planet - have not given up on the possibility of a future. We hope for something better than this, a world beyond profit and privilege, a world beyond capitalism and imperialism, a world singing the song of humanity. Our hearts are bigger than their guns; our love and our struggle will overcome their greed and indifference. Many seeds are being planted by our movements. We need to water them, to tend to them, to make sure that they bloom. We will build a future that cherishes life rather than profit, a future of fellowship amongst peoples, rather than racist wars, a future where social hierarchies are abolished, and we enjoy mutual dignity. Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. It is now dark enough. SIGNATURES ORGANIZATIONS INTERNATIONAL NETWORKS * ALBA Movimientos * Federación Democrática Internacional de Mujeres (FDIM) * Partido Izquierda Europea (PIE) * Asamblea Internacional de los Pueblos (AIP) * Instituto Tricontinental * Marcha Mundial de las Mujeres * La Vía Campesina * Foro de São Paulo ARAB-MAGHREB * Democratic Way, Morocco * Tunisian Workers´ Party, Tunisia ASIA * Nepal Communist Party, Nepal * Workers Party of Bangladesh, Bangladesh EUROPE * Askapena, Euskal Herria * ATTAC Hungary, Hungary * Confederación Intersindical Galega (CIG), Spanish State * Fundación Europa de los Ciudadanos * Fundación Investigaciones Marxistas * Movimiento Democrático de Mujeres, Spanish State * Norwegian Committee in Solidarity with Latin America, Norway * Partido Comunista España (PCE), Spanish State * Partito della Rifondazione Comunista - Sinistra Europea, Italy * Potere al Popolo!, Italy * Russia Communist Workers' Party, Russian Federation * Sindicato de Comisiones de Base (COBAS), Spanish State LATÍN AMERICA * Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC), Cuba * Comité de Unidad Campesina (CUC), Guatemala * Frente Francisco de Miranda (FFM), Venezuela * Frente Pátria Grande, Argentina * Levante Popular da Juventude, Brazil * Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST), Brazil * Movimiento Popular La Dignidad, Argentina NORTH AMERICA * Popular Education Project (PEP), USA SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA * National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, South Africa * Socialist Forum of Ghana (SFG), Ghana * Socialist Party of Zambia, Zambia * Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party (SRWP), South Africa INDIVIDUALS * Attila Antal, Consciousness journal, Hungary * Attila Vajnai, Workers Party 2006 - European Left, Hungary * Bert De Belder, Partido del Trabajo. Belgium * Enrique Santiago, PIE - Partido Comunista de España (PCE), Spanish State * Eszmélet Folyóirat, Consciousness journal, Hungary * Fran Perez, Izquierda Unida, Spanish State * György Droppa, Organizers for the Left (SZAB), Hungary * Heinz Bierbaum, PIE - Die Linke, Germany * Iñigo Martínez, Izquierda Unida, Spanish State * Jose L. Centella, PIE - Partido Comunista de España (PCE), Spanish State * Judit Striker Ezredvég (Millennium Literary Journal) * Lydia Samarbakhsh, Partido Comunista de Francia (PCF), France * Maite Mola, PIE - Partido Comunista de España (PCE), Spanish State * Manuel Pineda, Eurodiputado, PIE - Partido Comunista de España (PCE), Spanish State * Marco Consolo, Partido de Refundación Comunista, Italy * Mátyás Benyik, Hungary * Natassa Theodorakopoulou, PIE - Siryza, Greece * Péter Farkas, Karl Marx Society, Hungary * Pierre Laurent, Partido Comunista de Francia (PCF), France * Sira Rego, Izquierda Unida, Spanish State * Tamás Hirschler, Hungarian Anti-fascist League (MAL), Hungary * Tamás Krausz, Consciousness journal, Hungary * Vera Zalka, Organizers for the Left (SZAB), Hungary

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La Via Campesina |"Ceasefire" Bulletin-2nd Edition| Colombia Peace Process
by La Via Campesina 02 Oct '20

02 Oct '20

La Vía Campesina | "Ceasefire" Bulletin | Sept-Oct. Edition 2020 Donate [1] This bulletin is the result of a collective effort by La Via Campesina to share information on the implementation of the Peace Agreement in Colombia. To subscribe click here [2] HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS PERSIST UNDER THE DUQUE GOVERNMENT | #URGENTACTIONCOLOMBIA "Feelings of helplessness and pain for what the communities are experiencing," is how one of the participants summed up the Humanitarian Missions conducted by social organizations and human rights groups in Colombia. Since the national government decreed its lockdown to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, the violence has strangely increased against the country's rural population at the hands of official and irregular armed groups. Read more ... [3] FEATURED ARTICLES COLOMBIA: DUQUE INSISTS ON ENDING THE COMPREHENSIVE NATIONAL PROGRAM FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF ILLICIT CROPS The implementation of the PNIS (Integrated National Program for the Substitution of Illicitly Used Crops), laid out in point 4 of the Final Agreement, is facing serious difficulties under the Iván Duque administration. Read more ... [4] STATEMENT: HUMANITARIAN MISSION FOR LIFE AND PEACE IN THE EASTERN PLAINS AND ORINOCO, COLOMBIA Social and human rights organizations and communities of faith carried out this Humanitarian Mission to respond to the urgent call of the communities in the south of Meta and the north of Guaviare. FOR TEN DAYS (JULY 18 TO 27, 2020), WE TRAVELED THROUGHOUT THE REGION. Read more ... [5] COLOMBIA: LITTLE PROGRESS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COMPREHENSIVE RURAL REFORM Even if the implementation of the Comprehensive Rural Reform is advancing at a snail's pace, the government's actions don't embrace the spirit of the agreement and are aimed at faking compliance with the Agreement. There are several reasons for this: Read more ... [6] COLOMBIA: HUMAN RIGHTS, PEACE IS BLEEDING DRY Thanks to the peace agreement, the FARC-EP left the territories, but the Duque Government's inability to fight the new forms of paramilitarism and criminal gangs has allowed illegal armed actors to take over the territories abandoned by the FARC. This has led to continued human rights violations such as forced disappearances, forced displacements, massacres, sexual assaults and the confinement of communities. Read more ... [7] THE COLOMBIAN ARMY IS ANOTHER THREAT TO COMMUNITIES | #FALSEPOSITIVES The murder of civilians by the military with the objective of presenting them as firefight casualties is a crime popularly known as "false positives" in Colombia. This common practice of the Army since 1994 peaked in the first decade of this century when 5,763 people were murdered. The post-agreement process has had to deal with the persistence of this practice which has apparently become a part of the public force's modus operandi. Read more ... [8] COLOMBIA: MARCHERS HIGHLIGHT HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS "As marchers for dignity, we're walking for life and in this way, we aren't drawing attention from the national government. We're sounding a warning call to the international community and human rights defenders, because its the State that is killing us." Read more... [9] 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 here [1]. [10] [11] Twitter [11] [12] Facebook [12] [13] Vimeo [13] To unsubscribe from the distribution list click here [2] For questions or comments, email LVCWEB(a)VIACAMPESINA.ORG WEBSITE: www.viacampesina.org [14] TV: www.tv.viacampesina.org [15] To subscribe to this newsletter - Click Here [2] Links: ------ [1] https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/viacampesina [2] https://mail.viacampesina.org/lists/listinfo/Via-info-en [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/human-rights-violations-persist-under-the-duque… [4] https://viacampesina.org/en/colombia-duque-insists-on-ending-the-comprehens… [5] https://viacampesina.org/en/statement-humanitarian-mission-for-life-and-pea… [6] https://viacampesina.org/en/colombia-little-progress-in-the-implementation-… [7] https://viacampesina.org/en/colombia-human-rights-peace-is-bleeding-dry/ [8] https://viacampesina.org/en/the-colombian-army-is-another-threat-to-communi… [9] https://viacampesina.org/en/colombia-marchers-highlight-human-rights-violat… [10] https://viacampesina.org/en/donations/ [11] http://www.twitter.com/via_campesina [12] https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL/ [13] https://vimeo.com/viacampesina [14] http://www.viacampesina.org [15] http://www.tv.viacampesina.org

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Nyeleni Newsletter #41: “Beyond Land – Territory and Food Sovereignty”
by La Via Campesina 17 Sep '20

17 Sep '20

Control over land and related resources reflect the power relations in a country/region, and are an indicator of existing social injustices. At the same time, these resources are central to the rights, livelihoods and identity of small scale food producers, and they have been at the heart of the food sovereignty movement from its beginning. This issue of the Nyéléni Newsletter is the second edition this year dedicated to the theme of land. In a historical review, we look at how land-related struggles have evolved over the past decades, starting with demands for agrarian reform to a more comprehensive framing, which asserts people's and communities' close and multi-faceted relationships to their territories. Despite persistent challenges to people's struggle for land, this issue celebrates important victories and features the ingeniousness of communities around the world to assert their rights and manage their territories. Social organizations are finding ways to include emerging issues such as the challenges of climate change and digital technologies into their struggles. In the light of aggressive digitalization, financialization and authoritarianism, as well as an increasing overlapping of agrarian and ecological questions, we point out the need for movements to revive and refocus their strategies. DOWNLOAD THE EDITION HERE [1] Links: ------ [1] http://www.nyeleni.org/ccount/click.php?id=149

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La Via Campesina Web-Dialogue | 10 September | 13h00 (Harare time)
by La Via Campesina 07 Sep '20

07 Sep '20

*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* "Globalize Solidarity, Localize Agriculture" _La Via Campesina Web-Dialogue_ 13h00 - 15h30 (Harare time) 10 September 2020 REGISTER [1] On 10 September 2020, La Via Campesina will once again mark the International Day of Action against WTO and FTAs. On this day, in memory of Lee Kyung Hae's sacrifice, we intend to hold a web-dialogue between peasant leaders and activists from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. They will elaborate and argue why agriculture must remain out of all Free Trade Negotiations that take place both inside and outside the WTO. The dialogue titled "GLOBALIZE SOLIDARITY, LOCALIZE AGRICULTURE" will focus on people's alternative that emerges from centuries of peasant experiences and evidence. Speakers: - Jeongyeol Kim, La Via Campesina Asia - Shalmali Guttal, Focus on the Global South - S Kannaiyyan, La Via Campesina Asia - Festil Pierre Doudou, La Via Campesina Americas - David Otieno, La Via Campesina Africa - Million Belay, Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa - Vincent Dauby, European Coordination Vía Campesina Moderated by: Peter Rosset, ECOSUR REGISTER [1] Links: ------ [1] https://bit.ly/LVC-Trade-Webinar-2020

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La Via Campesina e-newsletter June - July 2020
by La Via Campesina 24 Aug '20

24 Aug '20

La Via Campesina | e-newsletter | June - July 2020 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] LA VIA CAMPESINA #TIMETOTRANSFORM SOW THE SEEDS OF STRUGGLE AND RESISTANCE, AND CULTIVATE OUR RIGHTS! – #TIMETOTRANSFORM The world is currently living through a different and intense context and historical moment, with a much-accelerated change in the balance of forces and the political struggle. Taking into account the peculiarity of each country or territory, as the working-class and peasants in the countryside, we face two great enemies of the people; (i) A visible enemy like Covid-19 ... Read more ... [3] #THE WINDS OF CHANGE ARE BLOWING HARDER: COVID-19 UPDATE ON PEASANTS, RURAL WORKERS AND OTHER MARGINALIZED GROUPS! _Within the framework of our strategy of formation/training, information and political analysis in defense of Food Sovereignty and Peasant Agriculture, with the slogan "Sow the seeds of struggle and resistance, and cultivate our rights!", we share a second report on the COVID-19 and the situation of the peasantry._ It has been five months since most countries imposed lockdown measures, including travel restrictions both within and across borders, to control the spread of COVID-19 pushing millions of hungry people over the edge. During this period, tens of millions of people have contracted COVID-19, and over half a million people succumbed to death. ... Indeed, COVID-19 has shown that we can no longer return to business as usual, that we have to change how we live and interact as a society. It is time to transform. Read more ... [4] FEATURED ARTICLES LA VIA CAMPESINA CONDEMNS THE COLONIALIST ANNEXATION PLAN IN PALESTINE (Harare, July 2, 2020) Steadfast in our solidarity with all those who struggle for Food Sovereignty and the full realization of peasants' rights, La Via Campesina expresses our unwavering support for the Palestinian people and peasant movement united against U.S.-backed Israeli attempts to annex the vital lands, waters, and territories of occupied Palestine's Area C. Read more ... [5] SIGN THE CALL FOR GERMAN EU COUNCIL PRESIDENCY TO STOP THE EU-MERCOSUR AGREEMENT Negotiations between the EU and Mercosur countries (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay), underway for over 20 years, culminated in a political agreement in June last year. The European Commission has since been preparing the EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement for signature. But the agreement is highly controversial. Read more ... [6] MST'S INTERNATIONALIST BRIGADES AND THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19 AND FOR LIFE IN AFRICA AND LATIN AMERICA The world is currently undergoing a serious health crisis and is possibly facing the biggest social and economic crisis of the 21st century. While scientists strive to find ways to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, hypotheses about the origin are being made. The fact is that there is a high probability that the virus that caused this pandemic may have originated from the environmental crisis we are also facing and the actions of the capital, especially in agriculture. Read more ... [7] INDIA: KRRS FARMERS PROTEST IN DIFFERENT DISTRICTS ACROSS KARNATAKA AGAINST AMENDMENTS TO LAND LAW Since the time Karnataka government announced that it would bring amendments to the Karnataka Land Reforms Act-1961, thousands of farmers organized under the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, and Hasiru Sene (KRRS) are protesting [8] against the government's move throughout the state. Read more ... [9] SAY THEIR NAMES! ANTI-RACISM STATEMENT; HONORING OUR BLACK FARMWORKER SAY THEIR NAMES! George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and all the others, whose lives have been lost senselessly, needlessly and tragically because of an ever-pervasive and inherent racism that infects our country....like a pandemic. Read more ... [10] UNION LEADER PROTEST THE TREATMENT OF MIGRANT WORKERS On Tuesday, June 16, the USB unionist Aboubakar Soumahoro chained himself near Villa Pamphilj, in Rome, where the "General State of the Economy" are underway , a series of meetings organised by the government between the government itself, international institutions, trade unions and trade associations. Read more ... [11] NEPAL: NOW IS TIME FOR SOCIALIST ECONOMIC REFORMS The COVID-19 pandemic has given a few messages to the world. The countries with centralised public services, public healthcare system, planned economy, and better public policies such as China, Cuba, Vietnam, and Kerala state of India are dealing it more effectively than the capitalist countries like the USA, the UK, France, Spain and Italy. Read more ... [12] MILLIONS FORCED TO CHOOSE BETWEEN HUNGER OR COVID-19 The Quilombo Campo Grande camp is currently resisting an attempted eviction which began early on Wednesday August 12. The camp located in the municipality of Campo do Meio, in the state of Minas Gerais, is home to 450 landless families. Dozens of police officers and vehicles have been brought in from neighboring cities to carry out the action. Read more ... [13] INDONESIA: SPI CALLS FOR URGENT SOLIDARITY WITH IMPRISONED PEASANT LEADER Serikat Petani Indonesia, one of the country's prominent peasant unions and a member of La Via Campesina, has issued a letter seeking solidarity from social movements and civil society, in connection with the imprisonment of one of their leaders. Read more ... [14] LA VIA CAMPESINA MEXICO ISSUES LETTER IN DEFENSE OF SEEDS AND PEASANT AND INDIGENOUS AGRICULTURE _We, La Via Campesina Mexico, claim our right, as peasants and indigenous people, to conserve, use, exchange and selling seeds and other propagation preserved in the production units peasant and indigenous production units _ Read more ... [15] "PROTECT PEASANT AND AGROECOLOGICAL PRODUCTION." LA VIA CAMPESINA AT THE MEETING OF THE UN DECADE FOR FAMILY FARMING On 27 July, Elizabeth Mpofu, General Coordinator of La Via Campesina, reminded everyone who attended the global exchange meeting in the framework of the UN Decade for Family Farming that the COVID 19 Crisis reveals to us the limitations of the industrial food system. Read more ... [16] UAWC'S REPORT ON ISRAELI OCCUPATION VIOLATIONS AGAINST PALESTINIAN FARMERS IN THE WEST BANK DURING JUNE 2020 Palestinian LVC and agricultural committees documented more than 81 violations against farmers in various areas in the West Bank mostly classified as C. including, setting up fires where 55 dunums were burned, destroying and confiscating crops where 40 Stacks of wheat hay and 3 tons of fodder were stolen, Bulldozing More than 1080 dunums, cutting down more than 116 productive trees, and confiscating more than 50 dunums. Read more ... [17] COLOMBIA IS MILITARISING ITS TERRITORIES INSTEAD OF PROMOTING PEACE States must respect, promote and guarantee human rights; however, it seems necessary to remind Duque's government of the existence of these international obligations. Since 2016, when the Peace Agreement between the Colombian State and the extinct FARC-EP guerrillas was signed, violence against human rights defenders, land restitution leaders, social leaders, people in reincorporation process and, in general, rural communities, has gradually increased. Read more ... [18] THE GAZA BLOCKADE IS ENTERING ITS FOURTEENTH YEAR _In solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza and the rest of Palestine, La Via Campesina's Arab and North Africa region is calling for the immediate lifting of the brutal blockade._ As on June 14, 2020, thirteen years have gone by since the Israeli occupation first imposed this brutal blockade on our brave people in the Gaza Strip. In this period, 1.8 million Palestinians in Gaza have lived in a virtual prison, under the weight of a land, sea, and air blockade. Read more ... [19] WHAT KIND OF AFRICA AND WORLD SHOULD EMERGE FROM THIS CRISIS? The COVID-19 pandemic is perhaps the biggest global event in recent decades. The crisis is highlighting and exacerbating existing inequalities in the globalised neo-liberal and patriarchal socio-economic system. Read more ... [20] MILLIONS FORCED TO CHOOSE BETWEEN HUNGER OR COVID-19 GRAIN On the eve of May Day 2020, in full coronavirus pandemic, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) released some hair raising statistics. About 1.6 billion workers from the informal sector are in dire straits because of the lockdowns governments have imposed to stop the spread of the virus. Read more ... [21] FEATURED PUBLICATION DIGNITY FOR MIGRANT WORKERS AND THE MOVEMENT FOR FOOD SOVEREIGNTY ARE THE SAME STRUGGLE! Land is the basis for social life. It is a foundation not only for agricultural production, but also shapes and is shaped by societies' political, economic, and cultural dynamics: POWER AFFECTS LAND ACCESS, AND LAND ACCESS GRANTS POWER. Given land's central role to human society, it is unsurprising that it has also been CENTRAL TO PROFIT ACCUMULATION IN THE EXPANSION OF GLOBAL CAPITALISM. DOWNLOAD HERE [22]. [23] FEATURED VIDEO [24] GLOBALIZE HOPE (1H 13 MINS) New film on the history of La Via Campesina This film chronicles how La Via Campesina was born more than 28 years ago, as an alternative that brings together struggles, dreams and challenges to build solidarity and secure our collective human future. IMPORTANT NOTE: Select English, French or Spanish subtitles by clicking on the "CC" button on the Vimeo player. 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 here [25]. [26] [27] Twitter [28] [29] Facebook [30] [31] Vimeo [32] To unsubscribe from the distribution list click here [33] For questions or comments, email LVCWEB(a)VIACAMPESINA.ORG WEBSITE: www.viacampesina.org [34] TV: www.tv.viacampesina.org [35] To subscribe to this newsletter - Click Here [36] This email was sent to nyoni.ndabezinhle(a)viacampesina.org _why did I get this?_ [37] unsubscribe from this list [38] update subscription preferences [39] La Via Campesina · 197A Smuts Road · Prospect · Waterfalls · Zimbabwe [40] Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [2] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [3] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [4] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [5] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [6] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [7] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [8] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [9] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [10] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [11] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [12] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [13] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [14] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [15] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [16] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [17] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [18] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [19] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [20] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [21] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [22] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [23] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [24] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [25] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [26] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [27] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [28] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [29] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [30] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [31] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [32] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [33] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [34] http://www.viacampesina.org [35] http://www.tv.viacampesina.org [36] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89bbab017155e420448… [37] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/about?u=89bbab017155e4204481ee9c3… [38] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=89bbab017155e420448… [39] https://viacampesina.us13.list-manage.com/profile?u=89bbab017155e4204481ee9… [40] http://www.mailchimp.com/email-referral/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&amp…

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Indonesia: SPI calls for urgent solidarity with imprisoned peasant leader
by La Via Campesina 10 Jul '20

10 Jul '20

URGENTLY SEEKING SOLIDARITY FROM SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND CIVIL SOCIETY! 10 JULY 2020 RELEASE JUNAWAL BIN SUKINO, THE DEFENDER OF AGRARIAN REFORM! On May 26, 2020, police arrested Mr Junawal Bin Sukino, Chairperson of Serikat Petani Indonesia's (SPI) Tebo District division, who has been at the forefront of the struggle against eviction in Napal Putih Village, which falls in the Jambi province of Indonesia. Napal Putih is a village built through the collective efforts of peasant families, enabled by the Agrarian Reform program of the Indonesian government. Police have accused Junawal of setting fire to five units of heavy equipment owned by PT Lestari Asri Jaya (PT LAJ) - a subsidiary company of PT. Barito Pacific (Indonesia) and the Michelin Group (France) - on May 14, 2019. However, what these arrest discount are the countless violations carried out by PT LAJ in the region, in the name of sustainable rubber plantation. Since 2012, SPI Peasants in Tebo Regency, Jambi Province, have been protesting large scale land encroachment by PT LAJ. This company has a permit area of 61,495 hectares and has received funding from Tropical Landscapes Financial Facilities (TLFF), a partnership between the UN Environment, World Agroforestry Centre, ADM Capital and BNP Paribas. Under a US$ 95 million Sustainability Bond [1], this partnership finances a sustainable natural rubber plantation in two provinces in Indonesia, one of them in the Jambi province. Since May 2018, PT LAJ carries out forestry plantation at Bukit Tigabuluh National Park (TNBT). Peasants allege that in the name of "natural rubber plantations" and forestry what is indeed happening is large scale corporate land grabbing, with the backing of international institutions. In Tebo, Napal Putih is among the many villages built and maintained by peasant families organised under Serikat Petani Indonesia (SPI). Over the years, the peasant union (SPI) has made significant steps towards ensuring people's food sovereignty. Here, the peasant families have created a self-sustaining ecosystem where they grow crops through agroecological methods. The union has also built houses, schools, places of worship and developed a local peasant market and distribution system run by local people-led cooperatives. PT LAJ's acquisition in the region is derailing years of efforts of the peasant families in creating a self-sustaining livelihood mechanism. Instead of holding the Corporation accountable, the local authorities have arrested and criminalised a young leader of the union. Serikat Petani Indonesia, one among the prominent peasant unions in the country, has organised several mobilisations, demanding Junawal's release and dismissal of all charges against him. One such demonstration, held outside the Police headquarters in Tebo district, had nearly 4000 peasants participating in it. As a movement of peasant families across Indonesia, Serikat Petani Indonesia is firm on its demand and is seeking solidarity from social movements within and outside the country to stand with us, until Junawal is released and until PT LAJ withdraws from its operations in the region. We appeal to our sisters and brothers around the world to step up the pressure on local authorities and alert this violation to global institutions. THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS IN WHICH YOU COULD HELP EXPRESS YOUR SOLIDARITY; * Organisations/Individuals could prepare a letter of solidarity addressed to the Government of Indonesia as well as the French Embassy in Indonesia, and echo the demands of Serikat Petani Indonesia. * In your phone, you could record a video/audio message of solidarity and THE MESSAGES, AS ALREADY STATED, COULD ECHO OUR TWO MAIN DEMANDS; * Release Junawal immediately and dismiss all the charges against him * PT LAJ should be held accountable for large scale land grabbing and should immediately withdraw from the region. Please send these messages before July 12, 2020, by email to spi(a)spi.or.id .Let us truly globalise our struggles and globalise our hope for a better, and just world that respects people's food sovereignty. ------------------------- SERIKAT PETANI INDONESIA 09 JULY 2020 _Further information: Zainal Arifin Fuat - +62 812 8932 1398 / zainal(a)spi.or.id_ Links: ------ [1] https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/press-release/financing-natu…

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