Asian Peasant Coalition (APC)

ASEAN People's Center Launching

2009-01-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

Thursday, 15 January 2009

Southeast Asian’s civil society step up the engagement with ASEAN by establishing the ASEAN People’s Center in Jakarta (Jakarta, 15 January 2009), A coalition of civil society organizations in the Southeast Asian region today calls on the ASEAN to give its full cooperation to the civil society center in Jakarta as a show of its commitment to enhance the participation of the peoples in its decision making and make ASEAN a truly “People-oriented ASEAN”.

A physical office to step up the engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and to assert people’s participation in its policy was launched by the broad coalition of civil society organizations in the region, the Solidarity for Asian People’s Advocacy (SAPA) Working Group on ASEAN.

The launch of this first ever civil society office in the history to tighten the engagement with the ten member states in the ASEAN, was officiated by the co-convenor of the SAPA Task Force on ASEAN and Human Rights, Rafendi Djamin together with the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Soeung Rachavy.

The establishment of a physical office in Jakarta for civil society organizations in the Southeast Asian region to engage with ASEAN is the latest substantive initiative of the civil society coalition to push for the realization of a people-oriented ASEAN, Solidarity for Asian People’s Advocacy (SAPA) Working Group on ASEAN said today.

SAPA Working Group on ASEAN is a loose network of about 80 civil society organizations in Southeast Asia who have been actively engaging ASEAN to influence its public policy and make the regional bloc accountable to the peoples in the region by putting the interest of the people first. It also strives to enhance the participation of the peoples in the decision making process of the ASEAN.

The office which is called the ASEAN Peoples’ Center is located in Jiwasraya Building, Lobby Floor, Jl. RP. Soeroso No. 41, Gondangdia, Central Jakarta, aims to be an information center for both civil society in the region and ASEAN secretariat on the three ASEAN pillars, to monitor the drafting of the ASEAN multi-lateral instruments such as the ASEANDeclaration on the Rights of Migrants and the term of reference of the ASEAN human rights body.

“It is timely to have the office now, especially in view of the rapid development of the drafting process of the term of reference of the ASEAN human rights body and the possibilities of utilizing the ASEAN human rights body for civil society’s work in the long run”, said Yap Swee Seng, the co-convenor of SAPA Working group on ASEAN.

With the entry into force of the ASEAN Charter on 15 December 2008, ASEAN will hereafter operate under a new legal framework and establish a number of new organs to enhance its community-building process. The Article 1.13 of ASEAN Charter mentions “To promote a people-oriented ASEAN in which all sectors of society are encouraged to participate in, and benefit from, the process of ASEAN integration and community building”.

“Civil society organizations have a very important role to contribute to the promotion of new brand of people-oriented ASEAN, especially in its process of community building”, said Consuelo Katrina Lopa, Co-convenor of SAPA Working Group on ASEAN.

The ASEAN Charter has been fully ratified in all the ten ASEAN Member States, which Singapore was the first to submit its instrument of ratification to the Secretary-General of ASEAN on 7 January 2008 and Thailand was the last, on 15 November 2008. The ASEAN Charter has become a legally binding agreement among the ten member states and has been registered to the Secretariat of the United Nations.

For more information, please contact:
Rafendi Djamin, Convenor of Solidarity for Asian People’s Advocacy TaskForce on ASEAN and Human Rights, at rafendi@hrwg. org, or +62 81311442159

LINKS http://www.tenaganita.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=267&Itemid=1

APC Commemorates Mendiola Massacre in the Philippines; Condemns Human Rights Violations in Asia

2009-01-26T05:18:00.001-08:00

The Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) supports its member-organizations in the Philippines such as the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), PAMALAKAYA-Pilipinas, AMIHAN (National Federation of Peasant Women), Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) and the entire Filipino peasantry in commemorating the 22nd anniversary of Mendiola Massacre.

On January 22, 1987, twenty thousand farmers and other progressive forces marched to Malacañang Palace to demand for genuine land reform. However, police forces opened fire which resulted in the death of 13 farmers and injured 39 people. At present, the families and relatives of the victims are still clamoring for justice against those who initiated the shooting.

A year after the massacre, the Aquino administration sought to quell the peasants’ demand with a Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), which actually worsened land monopoly in the countryside. The CARP supposedly ended last year after several extensions, but Congress passed Joint Resolution 19 on December 17, 2008, which extended CARP but without the Compulsory Land Acquisition section.

Danilo Ramos, APC Secretary-General and concurrent Secretary-General of KMP said in a statement, “Twenty-two years after the Mendiola Massacre and three Presidents later, the condition of the agricultural sector remains the same. It is still backward, feudal and export-oriented. Most of all, seven out of ten farmers still do not own the land they have been tilling for decades. Instead of giving support to us peasants, the Arroyo regime has continually been persecuting us. Of the 933 victims of extra-judicial killings, 109 of them are provincial leaders of KMP, while 129 of the 198 victims of enforced disappearance came from the peasant sector.”

As of late, false charges have also been filed against peasant leader’s, among them is Randall “Ka Randy” Echanis, KMP Deputy-Secretary General for External Affairs who was linked with the alleged mass graves in Central Philippines .

Unfortunately, these forms of oppression are also experienced by neighboring Asian countries. Last December 18, 2008, around 500 policemen under the Riau regional police commander Alex Mandalika, together with 1000 thugs sent by PT Arara Abadi ruthlessly attacked, destroyed and burned houses with the use of napalm bombs in Suluk Bongkal village, Riau Province , Indonesia .

Erpan Faryadi, APC Vice-Chairperson for Internal Affairs and Secretary-General of Alliansi Reforma Agraria (AGRA), once again expresses his outrage over the incident. “The Arara Abadi Corporation and the Indonesian government must be made accountable for the destruction of homes and livelihood in Suluk Bongkal village and for the gross human rights violation committed. The villagers have been living peacefully in the area since it was legally acknowledged in the state map made after the Dutch cooperated with the Siak kingdom and in 1959; the area was designated as customary rights forest.”

However, in 1996, the Arara Abadi Corporation, which supplies raw materials to Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper, Sinar Mass Group, was given rights to control the land. Ever since then, the company has tried to evict the villagers by use of force, terror, thuggery and armed violence.

Ramos further reiterates his point, saying “The parallelisms between the experiences of Asian peasants with their struggle for land and agrarian reform against the backdrop of feudal exploitation and state violence show the inherent problem of our society. The government, which is supposed to defend the rights of its citizens, is the one killing the peasants who feed the nation. As Filipino peasants commemorated the anniversary of the Mendiola Massacre in the Philippines , we also commemorated the sacrifices and lives lost by other peasant-martyrs in other countries in their fight for land, livelihood and genuine agrarian reform.###

Prospects for peace in Palestine

2009-01-24T19:39:00.000-08:00

Streetwise
By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo

The trickiest part in solving a problem is acknowledging, identifying and formulating it correctly. The Palestine-Israel conflict is complex and deeply rooted, complicated by big power rivalry and stakes in the Middle East, and the conflicts spawned and fanned by the Bush-bannered war of terror in the region and world-wide.

Now that a ceasefire has taken place in Gaza with the last of Israel forces reported to have withdrawn from the Strip, the logical question is: how long will this truce last and will a just and lasting peace ensue?

The ceasefire is a welcome development if only because it has stopped, even temporarily, the massive death and destruction inflicted on the civilian population in Gaza. It will allow in unimpeded humanitarian aid without risk of aid workers themselves being attacked by Israeli fire. The ceasefire will make possible a full assessment and disclosure of the conduct of the war by Israel, particularly with regard to the protection or targeting of the civilian population and civilian infrastructures of Gaza given the media restrictions imposed by Israel during the invasion.

It will also allow the start of rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts. The Hamas government can focus its efforts on aiding Gazans rebuild their homes and lives rather than be tied down to defending territory and preserving its fighting force and leadership from deadly incursions of Israeli hit squads.

But a ceasefire by itself does not necessarily lead to peace especially if it absolves Israel of egregious violations of international standards of human rights and international humanitarian law that the United Nations itself has pointed out. The condemnation by the world's peoples of the use by US backed-Israel of vastly superior, brute and excessive military force in Gaza must not be sidetracked by the ceasefire. We must all take cognizance of the final death toll -- 1,284 — with 894 of those civilians including 280 children or teenagers.

Historically, ceasefires have served to preserve, legitimize and consolidate Israel's military and political gains from its wars of aggression in the Middle East. These have also tended to reinforce and perpetuate the impunity with which Israel has committed unspeakable atrocities in Palestine using the pretext of "right to exist" and "right to security".

The 1947 UN Resolution partitioning Palestine into a Jewish state (56.5% of Palestine) and a Palestinian state (43%) was eventually rejected by the Palestinians and Arab states and led to a series of Arab-Israeli Wars including the first in 1949, the 1956 Suez Campaign, the 1967 Six-Day War, the 1973 Yom Kippur War and the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Each and every time, Israel expanded its territory from the 1947 UN partition and imposed greater and more severe military control over the Palestinians.

The 1993 Oslo Accords granted Palestinians the right to self-governance and set up the Palestinian National Authority headed by Yasser Arafat. But it failed to resolve crucial issues: the return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland; the Israeli settlements in Gaza and West Bank; the status of Jerusalem; and the final Palestine-Israel borders.

Israel undermined the Palestinian Authority by its frequent sealing off of what remained as cut-up Palestinian enclaves and, recently, their building of the Separation Barrier, dubbed the "Apartheid Wall" by the Palestinians.

Israel Prime Minister Olmert justifies the Gaza invasion by insisting that their main objective was to stop Hamas from firing Qassam rockets into Southern Israel, including what used to be Ashkelon, a once-thriving Palestinian city grabbed by Israel in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Israel also aimed to destroy the tunnels allegedly used by Hamas to bring in weapons from its allies, Iran and Syria, passing through Egypt.

While Israel claims to have destroyed 60 per cent of the tunnels, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni went to Europe immediately after the ceasefire to rally international support for a plan to halt weapons smuggling into Gaza. Livni hoped to clinch a deal in Brussels committing the European Union to contribute forces, ships and technology to anti-smuggling operations. The United States has promised to supply detection and surveillance equipment, as well as logistical help and training to Israel, Egypt and others in the region to closely monitor Gaza's land and sea borders.

After 7 years of firing thousands of Qassam rockets on Israel, only 15 Israelis have actually died and physical damage has been minimal. Why so? These Qassam rockets are around 2 to 7 feet long, with an explosive payload of half to a maximum of 10 kg, utilizing scavenged TNT and urea nitrate, a common fertilizer. In 2006, the Israeli Ministry of Defense viewed the Qassams as "more a psychological than physical threat." Contrast this with the number of Palestinians dead and injured, the number of homes and buildings, including hospitals and schools, demolished in the 22-day invasion.

Moreover, the Hamas government and Gazans resisting Israeli occupation and armed incursions into the sliver of land that they have been able to hang on to, have little military defense capability compared to the billion-dollar military aid and weaponry provided by the US to Israel. The supposed smuggling of arms through the tunnels pales in comparison to the generous military aid the Israel government receives annually from its prime backer, the sole Superpower in the world.

Buried underneath the loud protestations about the "terrorist" Hamas smuggling in weapons to Gaza is the fact that the tunnels are an economic lifeline to the desperately poor Gazans whose lives are made extremely more difficult by an almost two-year-old Israeli and Egyptian border closure aimed at bringing the Hamas government to heel.

Any serious effort to bring an end to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and pave the way for a sustainable peace must also confront the question of political attitude towards Hamas. Despite its being treated as pariah by the US, EU and parts of the Arab world with its designation as a "terrorist organization" and despite the economic blockade that has starved the Hamas government and the Palestinian people of international aid and assistance, Hamas enjoys full support from the Palestinians in Gaza and significant sympathy, if not backing, from Palestinians in the West Bank and refugees in neighboring Arab countries.

Even Israel is forced to grudgingly admit that it remains "the dominant organization in Gaza." As a top military official said in a briefing that was given on condition of anonymity, "They are the regime and feel very connected to the people." (New York Times, 18 Jan 09). Clearly, the Hamas is not the "terrorist" organization it is portrayed to be by Israel, the US and EU to justify barefaced aggression, war crimes and wanton human rights violations and even genocide in their desire to strangle it and deprive the Gazans and Palestinians of leadership.

Hamas official Salah al-Bardawil stated that they were working toward achieving the following short-term goals: an end to Israeli aggression in Gaza; the lifting of the siege on Gaza; the reopening of Gaza's border crossings; the rehabilitation of the Strip; and compensation for Gaza residents. Surely, the Palestinians' immediate, urgent demands must be met even as their long-running struggle to return to their homeland and establish their sovereign state there should not be subverted.

What better way to ensure that the Palestinians stop firing rockets into Israel, than for the Gazans and other Palestinians to be allowed to return to Ashkelon and their Palestinian homeland.

2009-01-14T04:44:00.000-08:00

Still Fighting for the Land They Till

By Bulatlat and KMP

They came from different places. One farmers’ group tries to eke out a living farming the land they have been tilling in Bukidnon in Mindanao, and the other farmers’ group is in Nueva Ecija in Central Luzon. They may be miles apart, but their stories are the same. A land that was almost theirs

Florentino Macote, Jr. is president of the Buffalo Tamaraw Limus Farmers’ Association (BTL) in Bgy. Musuan Dulogon, Maramag, Bukidnon. He is among the 378 farmers tilling the 400 hectares of land inside the Central Mindanao University (CMU).

During the Aquino administration, in 1987, the BTL applied for coverage under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). In 1991, the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB) issued certificates of land ownership award (CLOA) to the farmers.

A year later, however, the Supreme Court issued a decision declaring the land inside the CMU as exempted from CARP coverage.

In 1993, DARAB issued a demolition order against the farmers.

Macote said, “Gusto na nila kaming paalisin noon kahit walang relocation. Naghugas-kamay agad ang DAR, wala na raw iyon sa jurisdiction nila.” (They wanted us to leave the place even if there was no relocation site ready for us to transfer to. The DAR said it could not do anything for us, saying it is already outside their jurisdiction.)

Macote said they asserted their right to stay. “Pinagtibay namin ang aming samahan. Natutunan namin na sa pagkakaisa naming magsasaka, di agad nila kami mapapaalis.” (We consolidated our organization. We learned that when we are united, they could not easily remove us from the land we till.)

In 2001, the BTL, through the help of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP or Peasant Movement of the Philippines), held a dialogue with the CMU administration. As a result, a memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed by the two parties. The farmers agreed to pay P4,000 ($78.446 at the 2001 exchange rate of $1=P50.99) per hectare per year as rent to CMU. The MOA’s effectivity was from 2002 to March 2007. During the period of five years, Macote said, the government agreed to find a suitable relocation site for the farmers.

When the MOA expired, there was still no relocation site for the farmers, Macote said. The CMU security guards, goons and elements from the Citizens Armed Force Geographical Unit (Cafgu) have since guarded the land heavily. Since January this year, Macote said, they could not go to the farms and till the land.

Macote said that by September, the CMU administration agreed to negotiate again with the BTL. A new MOA is in the offing. Macote, however, heard that the CMU administration plans to lease the land to them for P10,000 ($208.246 at the current exchange rate of $1=P48.02) per hectare for one year, and that the next MOA’s effectivity will only be for a year.

A military reservation?
Pascual Guerrero, 77, is an officer of Alyansa ng Magbubukid na Nagkakaisa 3,100 (ALMANA 3,100 Alliance of United Farmers 3,100). The 3,100 refers to the hectares of land in Bgy. San Isidro, Laur, Nueva Ecija.

Presidential Proclamation No. 237 issued on December 19, 1955 declared the area, then Sitio Matatalahib ng Bgy. Masagana, as part of the Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation.

By 1991, the said area was declared outside the military reservation by virtue of Executive Orders 407 and 448. The said issuances ordered the distribution of land to the farmers for free. These executive orders also paved the way for a deed of transfer in favor of the Department of Agrarian Reform issued by the Department of National Defense (DND).

In 2005, however, then Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Mike Defensor questioned the disposition of ‘patrimonial lots’ inside the Fort Magsaysay. The DENR filed for the cancellation of the CLOA before DARAB. The DARAB ruled in favor of the farmers. Guerrero said that subsequently the 7th Infantry Division stationed at the Fort Magsaysay also filed for the cancellation of their CLOA.

Joseph Canlas, chairperson of Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luson (AMGL or Alliance of Farmers in Central Luzon) said the military does not recognize the deed of transfer and is pushing for the deferment of the continuing implementation of CARP.

In September 2007, an inter-agency dialogue was held. The DAR, DENR and Department of Justice talked with the farmers. The DND, though invited, did not attend, said Canlas. The dialogue, said Canlas, upheld the rights of the farmers to till the land.

Military harassment
Both Macote and Guerrero complained of military harassment.

Since Sept. 24 this year, Macote said that elements of 103rd Infantry Battalion have been staying in their community inside the CMU. The soldiers, he said, conducted ‘census’ and have been patrolling every night.

Whenever the BTL would hold a meeting, Macote said, the soldiers would be around listening and taking down notes.

On October 13, Macote said that while he was away from home, soldiers went inside their house and took video footages. “Ginawa nila iyon sa halos lahat ng miyembro,” (They did this to almost all of our members) he said.

Macote said the soldiers are there to frighten them. The soldiers, said Macote, showed them the powerpoint presentation “Knowing the Enemy,” which brands legitimate organizations as ‘front organizations’ of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). Included in the list is the KMP, ofwhich the BTL is an affiliate.

In Nueva Ecija, Guerrero said, soldiers destroyed and burned some of the farmers’ nipa huts. He also said that soldiers transformed the barangay (village) hall into a military outpost.

“Wala namang order na binabawi na ang aming CLOA, bakit nila kami hina-harass?” (There has been no order canceling our CLOA, why are they harassing us?) asked Guerrero.

Development projects?
The farmers said they are driven away from their land to make way for so-called development projects.

Macote said that he learned from the Sangguniang Bayan ng Maramag (Municipal Council of Maramag) that Lapanday and Dole Philippines, two giant agri-corporations, are interested in the CMU land.

“Gusto nilang i-convert ang lupa bilang taniman ng saging at pinya. May krisis sa bigas pero gusto nilang bawasan pa ang mga palayan,” (They want to convert the land into a banana and pineapple plantation. There is already a rice crisis and yet they want to decrease the land devoted to palay.) said Macote.

Macote said the CMU has 3,080 hectares of land. Agricultural corporations have been renting a part ofit.

Guerrero’s group, meanwhile, suspects that the Ft. Magsaysay and the land they occupy would be part of the Metro-Luzon Urban Beltway. The so-called development project will include a jathropa plantation and the construction of highways.

Demands
Macote said, “Malaki naman ang lupa [ng CMU], bakit di pa ibigay sa magsasaka ang maliit na bahagi?” (CMU owns a large tract of land, why can’t they just give a small part of the land to the farmers?)

Macote also demanded the immediate pullout of soldiers from CMU. “Bakit may sundalo sa unibersidad?” (Why are there soldiers inside the university?)

Macote said CMU Acting President Rodrigo Malunjao told them that the order to deploy soldiers inside the university came from Malacañang.

Guererro and the Fort Magsaysay farmers are also demanding for the distribution of the land to them and for a stop to the military harassment targeting their members.

CMU and Fort Magsaysay farmers ended by saying that they will seek the help of legislators to pass House Bill No. 3059 or Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB). ###

BKF Starts New Year with a Protest

2009-01-11T04:47:00.000-08:00

After two years of its implementation, the ban on all political activities has finally been lifted in Bangladesh on January 1, 2009. And the grassroots movement, led by Bangladesh Krishok Federation (BKF) started off the New Year with an organized procession and protest rally against the Israeli attack on Gaza. They further hope to build-up more successful advancement concerning fundamental and peasant rights in the coming months.

Militant Greetings from APC

2008-12-23T22:36:00.000-08:00

Season's Greetings from SRED

2008-12-23T22:35:00.000-08:00

BKF Commemorates Martyred Intellectuals Day

2008-12-19T16:22:00.000-08:00

Last December 14, the Bangladesh Krishok Federation (BKF) and its national coalition commemorated Shaheed Buddhijibi Dibosh (Martyred Intellectuals Day) by placing floral wreaths at the Intellectuals’ graveyard.

On that day in 1971, renowned academics, doctors, engineers, journalists, teachers and other eminent personalities were dragged blindfolded out of their homes in Dhaka and killed in cold blood by the Pakistani army with the intention of intellectually crippling the newly-born nation. This happened two days before the Pakistani army surrendered to the Indian military and Mukhti Bahini forces during the Bangladesh Liberation War, as the former already sensed their imminent defeat.

For reference:
Pathal Lal Golder (Phone: 0088-02-9559980; Mobile: 0088-01716056847E-mail: pathaklal@yahoo.com, Pathaklal@gmail.com)

“Junk CARP!” farmer-solon insists

2008-12-11T07:30:00.000-08:00

NEWS RELEASE
December 11, 2008

“Junk CARP!” farmer-solon insists
CBCP asked to resist evils of CARP

A militant peasant leader cum lawmaker today has drawn the lines against groups calling for the extension of a “pro-landlord and anti-peasant Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.”

Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas chairperson and Anakpawis party-list Representative Rafael Mariano today reiterated calls on Congress to “junk the government’s pro-landlord Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.”

“The Filipino peasantry’s 20-year experience under the sham CARP only led to the further strengthening of landlord, local and foreign agribusiness corporations’ monopoly and control of vast tracts of agricultural lands in the country,” says Mariano.

Mariano said that “the CARP provided non-land transfer schemes, like the Stock Distribution Option (SDO) scheme in Hacienda Luisita, Tarlac, Corporative Scheme in the Cojuangco lands in Negros Occidental, Leasehold Operations and other schemes of corporate venture arrangements, which exempted vast tracts of landholdings of big landlords and agro-corporations from actual and physical distribution to farmer-beneficiarie s. In addition, the establishment of Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) laid the ground for corporate intervention and control of agribusinesses over vast tracts of lands.”

The Anakpawis lawmaker said that “for more than two decades of the CARP’s implementation, land-grabbing intensified in the form of land-use conversions. Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) records showed that from 1979 to December 31, 2003, there were 2,885 approved applications for conversion involving 40,485.9124 hectares of agricultural lands, while the National Statistics Office (NSO), in 2002, cited that 827,892 hectares of agricultural land have been converted to other uses.”

Mariano stressed that “to protect, preserve and maintain ownership and control over the land, big landlords have resorted to the filing of cancellation of Certificates of Land Transfer (CLTs), Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs), and Emancipation Patents (EPs) distributed to farmer-beneficiarie s under CARP.”

“According to IBON Foundation, more than 2,000 EPs and CLOAs, covering 380,000 hectares of land, were cancelled by the middle of 2004,” peasant leader stressed.

“The most controversial land-grabbing cases and threats of farmers displacement in the country,” says Mariano includes “the 8,650 hectares of land in Hacienda Looc, Nasugbu, Batangas, the more than 28,000 hectares of land in Hacienda San Antonio and Santa Isabel in the province of Isabela, 35,000 hectares of lands in South Cotabato remains under the control of Dole Philippines, the whole island of Mindanao has become the heart of contract growing and leaseback arrangements depriving millions of farmers of their right to own the lands.”

Mariano also challenged the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines not to allow themselves to be used in the continuing deceptions and machinations by landlords and other groups in calling for the extension of the bogus and anti-peasant CARP.

“We call on the CBCP to resist the evils of CARP and instead support the peasant majority who did not benefit from the bogus CARP. It is not ‘CARP or nothing’ for the Filipino peasantry and we are not left without any option. We are more than willing to intensify our struggle in the countryside to own the land we till,” the peasant lawmaker said.

Mariano also chided the so-called reforms being introduced to the CARP as “mere icings on a rotten cake.’

“No amount of cosmetics can make the CARP appear to be pro-farmer. Extending CARP will not end the farmers’ struggle and their continuing long marches from their farms to the cities,” the militant solon said.

He called on fellow lawmakers to “enact a new and truly distributive land reform program embodied in House Bill 3059 filed by the progressive party-list bloc in the House.” #

Peasant Group Decry Human Rights Violation

2008-12-10T12:53:00.000-08:00

PRESS RELEASE
December 11, 2008
References:
Danilo Ramos, Phone: +632-9284184
Erpan Faryadi , E-mail: agra_pusat@yahoo.com

Asian Peasant Group Decry Human Rights Violation

On the occasion of the 60th International Human Rights Day on December 10, the Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) is calling on all its member organizations to be more vigilant in defending their human rights especially their rights to land, seeds, resources and livelihood.

Danilo Ramos, APC Secretary-General and concurrent Secretary-General of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Peasant Movement of the Philippines) said in a statement made yesterday, “At this point, governments in Asia cannot be trusted nor expected to uphold the human rights of its citizens. More often, fascist states are the number one violators of human rights. Unfortunately, the Philippines had probably had the bloodiest human rights record among so-called democracies in Southeast Asia.”

“The human rights group Karapatan in its Human Rights Report for 2008, said that human rights defenders have been tagged as “enemies of the state” by the Arroyo government and harshly dealt with as such. Karapatan has documented 977 extrajudicial killings of civilians of which 528 where KMP members since Arroyo assumed office in 2001,” Ramos added.

Erpan Faryadi, APC Vice-Chairperson for Internal Affairs and also Secretary-General of Aliansi Gerakan Reforma Agraria (Alliance of Agrarian Reform Movements) adds, “The peasant sector is one of the highly victimized and is constantly oppressed by state forces who are involved in land conflicts. Last August 2008 in Indonesia, three peasant activists were forcibly taken by the police after attending a peaceful demonstration to defend their land.”

“In India , indigenous people and farmers alike are constantly being displaced due to government initiated special economic zones project. The peasants have no place to live, no means of livelihood, and the environment is polluted due to processing plants,” added Faryadi.

Ramos further points out that “what we are experiencing today clearly states that our human rights that are supposed to be celebrated today were continuously violated. We are joining the people worldwide in commemorating the International Human Rights Day, and call for a stop in political repression and persecution. Specifically in the Philippines, we call to halt extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances and arrest and detention. We are also urging the peasants in Asia to strengthen our ranks and intensify our struggle for land and genuine freedom." ###

Condolence to SRED activist

2008-12-10T07:57:00.000-08:00

On November 5, 2008, the Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) has extended its deepest condolence to the family, relatives, friends and colleagues of Mr. Murugesan – a dedicated activist of the Society for Rural Education and Development (SRED). Together with SRED, he helped fight for the rights of the Irula and Dalit communities.

He spent more than 23 years of his dear life serving SRED by coordinating programs and working for the liberation of the Irullars and aiding the victims of the 2004 Asian Tsunami. Even his last breath was spent defending the rights of the masses. He passed away in the morning of November 1 while participating in a public meeting in Arakonam, pressuring the Indian government to protect the lives of the Srilankan Tamils.

An activist like Mr. Murugesan will surely be missed by his colleagues but his legacy shall continue to live in our hearts and serve as an inspiration for the cause we are all fighting for.

20 years of CARP never gave farmers lands

2008-12-10T07:31:00.001-08:00

“Hope is at your struggle not at CARP”, KMP told farmers calling for CARP extension

The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP, Peasant Movement of the Philippines) reminded the members, not the leaders of farmer organizations calling for the extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). The group also shared the lesson that resolute struggle would keep them on their farms not CARP which is peppered with holes and exemptions that serve the interest of the landlords.

“CARP is already 20 years old, if it is human, he is already an adult that could marry and have children, but still the landless remain landless and the landlords, foreign and local corporations are reconcentrating and gaining control over vast agricultural lands through CARP, do we still need to argue about ending or extending it?” Danilo Ramos, KMP Secretary-General opened in a press statement.

“We have our rich experiences with CARP that taught us it essentially anti-peasant and pro-landlord,” he added. “During the late 90s and early part of the millenium, we mobilized and struggled for issues such as Hacienda Looc, which the Fil-Estate landgrabbed, but CARP ruled against the farmer-beneficiaries, exempted it though it is agriculturally-productive. But because of the peasant movement at the area, fighting for their rights, being harassed and terrorized by the AFP, they remain at the area able to cultivate their lands,” Ramos recalled. “Even those from other groups have recent experiences of land occupation that concretely keep them on the lands, it is not the doing of the CARP but of their united efforts and struggles,” he added.

“Of course, we could never overlook the Hacienda Luisita experience, the Stock-Distribution Option is itself a CARP provision, but it only caused the P9 per day economic state of the legitimate farmer-beneficiaries. The very first time they reaped the fruits of their labor were when they waged the strike and gained control over the lands, they are now cultivating rice and vegetables that they could eat, unlike before that they were all sugarcane,” added Ramos.

“Our chapters in Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation (FMMR) in Nueva Ecija are also being ejected and terrorized by the AFP, that is even if they are CLOA (Certificate of Land Ownership Awards)-holders and belong to an ARC (Agrarian Reform Community). The military and Arroyo’s program of ‘super-regions’ are planning to displace them,” Ramos mentioned of the situation of the FMMR farmers.

“Our farmer members in Bukidnon, who were CLOA-holders were also victimized by CARP, it exempted Central Mindanao University lands from distribution though it is idle and farmers have been there for decades. Their crops are always destroyed by CMU security guards causing their livelihood, a baby even died because her mother’s milk were already drawn out. But because they are ceaselessly fighting for their rights to land, they are still at their farms,” he added.

“CARP also never touched the feudal set-up in Hacienda Roxas, Yulo, Fule, Revillas and more in Southern Tagalog region, it is like a time-space warp when you go to those areas. It is also the same with the lands of Danding Cojuangco, Arroyo, Enrile, Araneta, Ayala, Lopez and other big landlords in the country,” reiterated Ramos. “The landlords and landlord congressmen love CARP because it kept and protected their control over vast lands, peasants should call for its junking, and propose a more pro-peasant agrarian reform program such as the House Bill 3059 or Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill,” he added.

KMP reminded farmer members of other groups to affirm their rights to land and be cautious of their leaders who collude with landlords and corrupt DAR officials. “Be vigilant and analyze their historical record of struggle, weed out those who raked CARP funds in conspiracy with landlords and DAR officials. They are selling out farmer-beneficiaries as CARP is like a livelihood showcase for them, they would not survive without it,” Ramos reminded.

“Instead of reviving of a dead CARP, join us in our call for genuine agrarian reform and make your effort and sacrifices meaningful so that your children could enjoy the fruits of your harvest on your lands,” Ramos affirmed.#

FOR REFERENCE:
DANILO RAMOS, KMP Secretary-General
ROY MORILLA, KMP Public Information Officer (+63-905-421-73-05)

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Hunger Strike for Khas Land

2008-12-07T03:25:00.000-08:00

Last November 30, the Barisal district committee of Bangladesh Krishok Federation (BFK) and Bangladesh Kishani Sabha (BKS), both members of the Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) successfully organized a hunger strike calling for the distribution of Khas land to the landless peasants. The people protested in front of the Barisal district Commissioner’s Office. Hundreds of landless farmers participated in the event.

Their demands were:

Distribution of Khas land of Rasulpur Char to the landless peasants who have been residing in the area permanently
Eviction of big landlords who take advantage of public lands
Withdrawal of all fake cases filed by big landowners against the landless leaders including BFK Barisal district convenor, Harun Bhandari

APC applauds the acquittal of Irene Fernandez

2008-11-25T07:34:00.000-08:00

Media Release: November 25, 2008

The Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) today proudly congratulates its Vice-Chairperson for External Affairs, Irene Fernandez for finally being acquitted of the charges against her. The scheduled court appeals hearing which resumed on November 24 and scheduled until November 28 was surprisingly cut short when Judge Mohamad Apandi Ali announced his decision which disregarded Irene’s 2003 conviction.

When the defense lawyer, Mr. Puravalen asked that the motion for appeal to remain, the prosecution did not oppose the appeal. The Public Prosecutor, Shamsul Sulaiman, even said “Having been served the type-written notes, and having thoughtfully studied the notes, I have decided in the interest of justice, that justice itself would not be served by opposing this appeal.”

The Defense then asked that Irene’s earlier conviction and sentence should be dismissed. From there, the judge gave his momentous decision: “In the light of the respondent and Public Prosecutor is not opposing the appeal, I set aside and reverse the conviction and sentencing.”

APC Secretary-General, Danilo Ramos in a statement today expressed his sentiments, “The final decision regarding Irene’s case clearly shows that in the end, truth and justice do prevail. Irene was maliciously charged for exposing the real conditions of migrant workers in Malaysia . And even if her case lasted for thirteen long years, she still did not lose hope and still continues to fight for human rights.”

Ramos further adds, “All activists and human rights defenders like Irene and myself, who face various charges filed by fascist governments should not lose hope. We must always remember that we are fighting for the people and for a better society.”

Indonesian peasants rally against G20 Summit

2008-11-18T05:50:00.000-08:00

The Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) proudly commends the members of Front Perjuangan Rakyat (FPR) - an Indonesian organization composed of militant groups from the peasant, worker and youth sector for leading a protest action themed “Junk G20” ("Bubarkan G-20!") in front of the US embassy in Jakarta , showing their strong opposition against the G20 summit held in Washington on November 15. Rallies were also held at the front offices of the US General Consulates in the cities of Medan , Surabaya , Makassar , and Denpasar. The Alliansi Gerakan Reforma Agrairia (AGRA), a member of Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) in Indonesia is one of the sponsoring organizations of the rally. Other progressive Indonesian NGOs were also present in the demonstrations.

According to Erpan Faryadi, AGRA Secretary-General and APC Vice-Chairperson for Internal Affairs, “the Indonesian people, together with the rest of the people from nine (9) member countries of APC, are against the G20 summit since it is an evil conspiracy between the US and its allied imperialist countries. They merely want to ‘solve’ the ongoing financial crisis through plans that would in the long term result in further exploitation, oppression and enslavement of the people from Third World countries.”

Furthermore, in the statement made by FPR regarding their stand on the G20 summit, they believe that “There is no plan in the G20 meeting to address wage increase for workers and to increase the purchasing power of people globally. There is also no plan to stop monopoly of land and productive resources for billions of people in rural areas across the world.”

The Indonesian government is perceived to be a puppet regime of US imperialist. Therefore, its policies are geared towards the interest of the US . “No matter how much they convince the people that the financial crisis will only affect us minimally, the present situation in our country shows the opposite”, adds Faryadi.

Meanwhile, the Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) calls for the following:

Denounce the G20 summit as a manifestation of the conspiracies of the imperialist countries.
To end financial crisis, the government should take pro-people program and policies such as: (1) increase in wages, (2) implement genuine agrarian reform, and (3) providing employment for all workers.
Abolition of foreign debt from imperialist countries
End all forms of human rights violations, especially labor and agrarian conflicts.

2008-11-18T05:41:00.000-08:00

Published on The Jakarta Post ( http://www.thejakar tapost.com)
A CAUSE TO AN END
The Jakarta Post | Sat, 11/15/2008 3:34 PM | National

Activists rallying in front of the U.S. embassy on Saturday, shouting for the disbandment of the G-20 as they deem the group of the world economies inept to solve poverty in developing countries. The U.S. is currently hosting a G-20 meeting, which will discuss measures to rescue the world economy from the global liquidity crisis. (JP/Jerry Adiguna)

APC Congratulates DLA for Protest Action

2008-11-08T05:36:00.000-08:00

Media Release: November 8, 2008

The Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) would like to commend the protest action organized by the Democratic Left Alliance (DLA) last November 5. DLA is an affiliate of Bangladesh Krishok Federation (BFK) and BFK is a member organization of APC.

Protesters rallied against the presence of Myanmar warships in Bangladeshi territory, due mainly to gas exploration activities. Coincidentally, movements of Indian warships were monitored in the Bay of Bengal . Unfortunately, the Bangladeshi government is unable to see the threat posed by the warships on the nation's sovereignty in maritime boundaries. Thus, the whole country is placed at a precarious and vulnerable state.

Mass actions against foreign dominance and control must therefore be carried out in order to raise awareness among the public. More importantly, to force the government to act on issues concerning national security.#

Asian Farmers Group slams Global Forum on Migration

2008-11-03T18:33:00.000-08:00

The recently concluded Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) held in Manila, Philippines last October 27-30, 2008 aims to link migration policies with development policies which would result to gains in both the host and sending countries. These include: (1) maximum utilization of remittances by the governments; (2) utilizing the skills and resources of the immigrants in their host countries; (3) protecting the rights of legal immigrants so they could be more productive in the host county; and (4) encouraging bilateral agreements between hosts and sending countries.

However, the Asian Peasant Coalition (APC), with 15 million members in nine (9) countries in Asia , says otherwise and believes that migration actually exploits the immigrants and forums such as these only pave the way for capitalist countries to profit from developing countries.

“Take our country, for example”, began APC Secretary-General Danilo Ramos in his statement made today. “10% of the Philippine population works abroad and distributed in 182 countries. This is due to the worsening conditions of unemployment and underemployment, and the inability of the government to provide secure jobs for the millions of workers.”

Ramos also concurrent secretary general of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), added that the issue of migration affects different sectors of our society as well, not just the immigrants. “In rural areas, poverty and hunger pushes peasant families to encourage their children to work in other countries, in the hope that they will earn bigger wages that they can send back here. What usually happens is that parents are forced to sell their carabao or mortgage their land in order to have money to help finance their children’s immigration overseas. In the long run, this practice greatly contributes to the food insecurity of the country.”

Clearly, the question of development in the context of migration only entails further advancement of the globalization in most capitalist countries. They are the only ones profiting from the continued perpetration of maldevelopment in Third World countries as the migrants become their source of cheap labor.

Erpan Faryadi, APC vice-chairperson for internal affairs and secretary general of AGRA (Alliansi Gerakan Reformia Agraria) from Indonesia , added that “In 2004, the number of registered Indonesian migrant workers was 380,688 persons. Of this number, 83% are women. More than 90% of female migrant workers work in the informal sector as housemaids. The rest works in the agricultural and industrial sectors as daily labours, as caregivers to the elderly, shop assistants, and as waitresses. The major destination countries for migrant workers are: Saudi Arabia , Malaysia , Kuwait , Singapore , Hong Kong, and Taiwan . In most cases where they borrow money from sponsor or local moneylenders, payment may be 3 times higher than the loan.”

“Moreover, immigrants are not the only ones exploited but their defenders as well. A renowned advocate for migrants also APC Vice-Chairperson for External Affairs, Irene Fernandez (and concurrent Executive Director of Tenaganita or Women Force) was sued by the Malaysian government for “maliciously publishing false news” in her expose on the maltreatment of undocumented migrant workers in detention centers. Defenders of migrants must likewise be protected by laws in order for them to be able to further promote the rights of immigrants,” APC said in the statement.

Meanwhile, APC commends at least 5,000 migrant workers from different parts of the globe under the banner of the International Migrants Alliance (IMA) that held a rally in Manila on October 29 to protest the opening of the GFMD. Filipino peasants, peasant women, fisherfolks and agricultural workers joined the rally in protesting against the imperialistic agenda of the forum - among them is KMP, PAMALAKAYA (National Federation of Small Fisherfolks in the Philippines ), AMIHAN (National Federation of Peasant Women), UMA (National Union of Agricultural Workers) - all are member organizations of APC in the Philippines . #

ASIAN FARMERS DENOUNCE G-20 SUMMIT

2008-10-30T04:56:00.000-07:00

Media Release: October 30, 2008

The Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) strongly criticizes the White House’s invitation to host the Group of Twenty (G20) economic summit on November 15, 2008 supposedly to “discuss the current global economic and financial problems that are affecting the world.” The G20 members are Argentina , Australia , Brazil , Canada , China , France , Germany , India , Indonesia , Italy , Japan , Mexico , Russia , Saudi Arabia , South Africa , South Korea , Turkey , the United Kingdom , the United States and the European Union.

Some are saying that the November 15 G20 meeting will be a “Bretton Woods II”—a replay of the 1944 gathering where leaders agreed to rebuild the global monetary system in the chaotic aftermath World War II (WWII) and the Great Depression। However, the degree to which this is possible has come into question. Beyond the G20 leaders, the IMF, the World Bank and the United Nations have all been invited to participate in the ‘special’ summit.

According to a statement by US Press Secretary Dana Perino, “the leaders will review progress being made to address the current financial crisis, advance a common understanding of its causes, and in order to avoid a repetition, agree on a common set of principles for reform of the regulatory and institutional regimes for the world’s financial sectors."

But militant peasants of APC from 9 countries in Asia are pessimistic as to whether such forums can truly alleviate the severe consequences of the current financial crisis. “The G-20 was primarily created to prevent the kind of crisis we are experiencing now. How can mere discussions possibly help the international economy at present?” stated APC Secretary-General Danilo Ramos in a statement he made today.

“They want to strengthen the foundations of capitalism by discussing how they can further liberalize their economies and make them ‘competitive’ to global market. But we all know that the neo-liberal policies that the US and other imperialist countries have espoused before and continue to espouse today have contributed to the ruin of the financial markets.” added Ramos.

In the 1980s, capitalist forces open the markets of developing countries as a source of cheap labor and raw materials, and at the same time, the former’s dumping ground for its excess products in order to alleviate its worsening crisis of overproduction. The unholy trinity of trade liberalization, privatization of public assets and deregulation of markets are the backbone of the so-called “free-market globalization” .

According to the data of “World Distribution of Household Wealth”, in the year 2000 “the richest 1% in the world own 40% of global assets, the richest 2% own 51%, while the poorest half of the world population own barely 1% of global wealth." Furthermore, overproduction makes investments in new productive facilities unprofitable, since a rapidly rising share of surplus capital seeks profit not in the real economy, but in financial speculation. Thus, a slight movement in the stock markets leads to drastic effects in businesses. This perfectly illustrates the fact that only imperialist countries and their monopoly capitalist elite benefit from neo-liberal policies while the conditions in third world nations continue to deteriorate.

Ramos ended by saying that “the financial crisis clearly exposes the weakness of capitalism and the truth that it is not a viable economic system. It is bound to fail due to its inherent contradictions – the crisis of overproduction and overaccumulation of capital in the hands of a few. Third world countries must therefore take a stand against the US and other imperialist nations for letting them dictate their economic policies with us. We must join hands and onward the struggle to assert for our national sovereignty and resist imperialist globalization!” #

IRENE FERNANDEZ'S HIGH COURT APPEAL HAS BEGUN

2008-10-29T05:07:00.000-07:00

Media Release: October 29, 2008

The Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) supports its Vice-Chairperson for External Affairs, Irene Fernandez, who is also the Executive Director of Tenaganita - an NGO which promotes the rights of migrant workers in Malaysia , in the hearing of her appeal in court which started yesterday. It will last up to October 30 and will resume on November 24 to 28.

In 1996, Irene was arrested and charged with “maliciously publishing false news” after Tenagenita released a report exposing the maltreatment of undocumented migrant workers in detention centers. That trial spanned seven years and Irene was found guilty on October 16, 2003 and sentenced to 12 months imprisonment. She was later released on bail pending an appeal. But her civil rights were nonetheless limited. The courts have her passport and since she was convicted, Irene was disqualified from standing as parliamentary candidate in the 2004 and 2008 Malaysian elections.

In a statement made by APC Secretary-General Danilo Ramos, he said that “Irene’s case represents the kind of harassment experienced by activists today; not only in Malaysia nor in Asia , but all over the world. We are the ones fighting for basic rights and liberties, against corruption and state violence. But at the same time, we become the primary victims of oppression.”

The initial date set for Irene’s appeal was last June 11, but was moved to August 5 because allegedly, “papers with statements of important prosecution witnesses went missing”. However, appeal records were still incomplete by August, as notes of evidence were yet to be fully encoded. Moreover, the courts were informed that a computer virus corrupted the notes of one volume of typed notes of evidence. Thus, the registrar requested for an extension of one more month.

Ramos had this to say: “The series of technicalities, such as incomprehensible or incomplete documents and un-typed notes are the Malaysian government’s delaying tactics. They hope that Irene will be discouraged in her fight for truth and justice. But she knows better than to be disheartened by these events. Instead, the APC and other progressive organizations fully support her battle against the state’s restrictive laws on freedom of expression.”

Malaysia’s Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (PPPA) was amended in 1987 to allow the Minister of Home Affairs to have complete control, whether to ban or restrict, those publications he deems as “undesirable”. It is also an offence to “maliciously” publish “false news”. However, the term “malice” is loosely defined by whether or not the accused took “reasonable measures” to verify the truth.

Ramos adds that “the PPPA’s weak definition on certain terms make it subjective and easily allows the government to file charges against anyone who opposes them. This then gravely violates the rights of human rights defenders, such as the “right to seek, obtain, receive and hold information relating to human rights” and the “right to make complaints about official policies and acts relating to human rights.”

The APC therefore calls on all its member organizations and other progressive movements all over the world to show their support and solidarity for Irene Fernandez and her appeal in court. Human rights activists must continue to scrutinize issues wherein fundamental people’s rights are violated and to courageously fight for truth and justice.

DEFEND PEOPLE’S RIGHTS!
LONG LIVE INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY!

Millions of peasants and supporters protest the World `Foodless' Day

2008-10-16T05:23:00.000-07:00

Media Release: October 16, 2008

The Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) is observing October 16 as the World `Foodless' Day as food crisis remain an enormous predicament of countries whose governments act in contrast of the interests of the people and in favor of U.S. imperialism, local big landlords and traders. APC believes as long as government does not centralize on the primary issue of landlessness or the abolition of feudalism, food security would remain an illusion. The observance is the "Global Day of Action" against food crisis, coordinated with countries such as the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Korea, Japan, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Mongolia, Hongkong, Uganda and Kenya. This involve about 22 peasant and support organizations in Asia and Africa.

"We at the Philippines, an initial 10,000 peasants nationwide are actively participating with the international activity. Our activities range from holding dialogues with agriculture and agrarian reform offices, to camp-outs and farm strikes, educational discussions and forums, agit-prop (agitate-propaganda ) teams and more," Danilo Ramos APC Secretary-General and Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Peasant Movement of the Philippines) Secretary-General.

"It is always U.S. imperialism that compels puppet governments to implement anti-peasant and anti-people programs," Ramos added. "Imperialism, through WTO, bilateral or multilateral talks or agreements always keep in mind on how they are going to rake up huge profits, sacrificing local people of subject countries. Its realization in the Philippines, Arroyo's liberalization, deregulation and privatization policies all add up to the exploitation of the people and towards the interests for huge profits of foreign monopoly corporations, " Ramos hinted.

Moreover in India, Chennaiah Poguri of Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Vruthidarula Union (APVVU), "Our strength is made visible in the number of people who are joining us in the struggle against the crises. We are expecting 25,000 individuals from Andhra Pradesh alone and we are estimating about 574,000 people observing World Foodless Day around the country as we are able to organise with other groups."

Erpan Faryadi of Aliansi Gerakan Reforma Agraria (AGRA) of Indonesia said, We are mobilising 4,000 people in protest rallies where we will highlight the problems and agricultural conflicts that are affecting the peasants in Indonesia as well as call for implementation of a genuine agrarian reform. We resist International Financial Institutions for creating global issues that trickle down and make us suffer."

"With the millions of peasants and members of support groups from joining countries, the `Global Day of Action' is surely a big start to annually observe WFD, puppet governments to U.S. imperialism would surely reconsider if with our numbers, we are able to raise our actions to higher forms of struggle," Ramos declared.#

"First" International Day of Rural Women Celebrated

2008-10-15T05:16:00.000-07:00

Media Release: October 15, 2008

The Asian Peasant Coalition today commemorates the first ever International Day of Rural Women, as established by the UN General Assembly declared in its resolution 62/136 last December 18, 2007. The observance of this day started in 1995 by various international non-government organizations at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing . Since then, this day honors the integral role of women in the agricultural sector, food production and food security.

Rural women are engaged in all aspects of agriculture – from sowing to nurturing, harvesting, selecting and preserving seeds for the next cropping season. However, given the largely feudal society in which they live in, their vital roles are largely downplayed and their contributions are undervalued. They are being discriminated against having access to resources and opportunities, in the same way that men do.

“We are thankful of the recognition by the world body but more importantly the first was when the peasant-women organized themselves and realized that they should be recognized,” opened Danilo Ramos, APC Secretary-General and Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Peasant Movement of the Philippines ) Secretary-General. “Statistically, women are half of the population and they deserve all the rights and opportunities, that is why it is just and logical that they should be recognized,” he added.

“We all know that women and children are systematically neglected in particular forms at the countrysides, such as the existence of unpaid family labor. Being family members is abused by the government as they treat them as employed to bloat their statistics,” Ramos shared.

Discrimination based on gender is one of the worst things that women experience in the countrysides, “There are cases that farmworker-women and children receive lower wages than men, also they are sexually-exploited by landlords and their administrators,” Ramos narrated.

Moreover, the present food crisis experienced all over the globe has severely hit peasant and indigenous women. Through the neoliberal policy of trade liberalization, corporatization of agriculture has been practiced in developing countries. Vast lands and productive resources are controlled by landlords, transnational corporations, and are turned into big businesses. Women then become more exploited in corporate farms that continually spring up in the countryside. They are subjected to low wages, toxic chemicals and hazardous technologies. Massive displacement of rural and farming communities are also occurring, resulting to hunger, food insecurity and harassment.

In the Philippines, the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), joined the AMIHAN (National Federation of Peasant Women Network), and GABRIELA in rally at Malacanang palace today. Imleda Lacandazo, KMP national vice-chairperson said, "on the occasion of the first International Day of Rural Women, our struggles must be brought to the forefront and our roles be highlighted. Let us advance the peoples struggle for genuine freedom and democracy!"

The Asian Peasant Coalition, together with other progressive organizations all over the world are in solidarity with dalits, indigenous and peasant women in their resistance against imperialist globalization and exploitation. Their rights to land, livelihood, productive resources, safe working conditions, health and reproductive rights must be recognized. Thus, to pursue the basic interests of the rural women is to integrate it with the general people’s struggle against feudalism and U.S. imperialism!

Rural Women Unite!
Resist WTO and Imperialist Globalization!
Assert Women’s Rights!
Struggle for Genuine Agrarian Reform and Peoples’ Food Sovereignty!

APC calls for the Immediate Release of Detained Indonesian Peasants

2008-09-02T05:27:00.000-07:00

Media Release: September 2, 2008

The 15-million strong Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) calls for the immediate release of peasants who were arbitrarily arrested in separate occasions in Indonesia.

Three members of the Alliance of Agrarian Reform Movements (Aliansi Gerakan Reforma Agraria – AGRA ) in Karangsari village were taken by plain-clothed police officers on August 28 and are now being held at the Garut district police compound. The AGRA is an active member of APC in Indonesia . The three peasants were Mulyana, Dede and Dayat, while the whereabouts of another person, Asep, are still unknown.

In a press conference on August 27, Erpan Faryadi, AGRA general secretary and concurrent APC vice-chairperson for internal affairs, stated that “Mulyana, Asep and Dayat were arrested by unknown group of persons, while they were trying to hold a peaceful demonstration in front of the Garut district police compound. The detentions of the peasant activists were done separately. Mulyana and Dayat were forcibly taken earlier, near the Cikajang petrol station, at approxaimately15. 30 local time. A truck carrying the two, along with a group of other farmers, was stopped by a dark blue Kijang jeep with police license plate, with 10 plain-clothed officers.”

“According to witnesses, two of the police officers were armed with shotguns. The second incident took place in front of the Cikajang police station, which the farmers passed on their way back home to Karangsari when suddenly a truck carrying participants from another demonstration were stopped by three vehicles with 20 police officers, four of whom were visibly armed and all were in plain-clothes then forcibly taken Dede, an AGRA leader from Karangsari village.

The third arrest was made against Asep, also a leader of AGRA , in Sodong Siu. When the bus, where Asep is riding, took a stopped for a break at a local restaurant. Asep was forcibly taken by six plain-clothed police officers, two of which were seen carrying pistols and shotguns. At this time, Asep’s whereabouts are still not known,” Faryadi stressed.

State Terror

In a joint statement, AGRA and APC demands for the unconditional and immediate release of the three peasants been detained, and to surface the other one whose whereabouts are still unknown. Both peasant organizations also demand to end these form of terror that are directed against the farmers who are fighting for its land against PTPN VIII Condong.

“The arrest of the farmer leaders from Karangsari village is a form of state terror aimed to harass them. They are just protecting the land that rightfully belongs to them and have been fighting for. We demand to end the involvement of the police and military, in land conflicts making it difficult in resolving the problems. These had been voiced before,” said Ramos.

Despite these calls, the current government has legitimized the involvement of the military and police in land conflicts. Through the National Land Agency (Badan Pertanahan Nasional or BPN), the involvement of the police in resolving land conflicts has actually been given legality, through Joint Decree (SKB) No.3 of 2007, which was signed by BPN head Joyo Winoto, and the Decree of the National Police No. B/576/III/2007 that was signed by police chief Sutanto. This joint decree has given legitimacy to series of acts of violence, intimidation, physical abuse and destruction of farmers’ land.

According to Faryadi, “clearly, this SKB is not based in the root causes of the land conflicts in Indonesia . Land conflicts in Indonesia are actually caused by the existence of a vast monopolization of land by large-scale plantations, forest concession holders and mining companies which has taken and decreasing the productive land available for farmers.”
Call for Solidarity

AGRA and APC is requesting solidarity and support for the farmers in Karangsari village. They are calling on other organizations at national and international level to join them in their demand for the immediate release of the detained peasants and surfaced the other one. They are requesting other colleagues to call or send letter at the Garut district police office (+62-262-540770) and West Java provincial police department (+62-22-7805123) .

“The arrest of Indonesian farmers demonstrates that the farmers struggle for land is still a long journey yet, we will continue the fight for genuine agrarian reform and democracy in Indonesia ” ended Faryadi. ###

ASIAN RICE CRISIS, DUE TO IMPERIALIST GLOBALIZATION

2008-07-23T02:00:00.000-07:00

“The worsening food crisis is the fault of the neo-liberal policies of imperialist globalization which incessantly oppress the peasants who till the land to feed the world. Asian farmers have long been victims of the liberalization of agriculture, but the current crisis manifested by the escalating price of staples and other commodities and the decrease of food production across Asia and other parts of the world attests to these crimes,” stated Biplab Halim, Chairperson of the Asian Peasant Coalition (APC).

“Since the start of 2006, the average world price for rice has risen by 217 percent, wheat by 136 percent, maize by 125 percent and soybeans by 107 percent. In the Philippines , food prices, particularly rice have dramatically increased. Regular rice is sold between Php 41.00 to Php 60.00 per kilo. The government has earlier resorted to selling cheaper imported rice due to its skyrocketing price in the market. Long hours of queuing at rolling stores and National Food Authority (NFA) offices under scorching heat just to provide the family a scanty kilo of cheap rice has been a common scenario. An old man has in fact lost his life due to heatstroke days after he collapsed while lining up,” said Danilo Ramos, secretary general of APC and Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP).

Hoarding
At least 29 countries have sharply curbed food exports in recent months, to ensure that their own people have enough to eat, at affordable prices. When it comes to rice, India , Vietnam , China and 11 other countries have limited or banned exports. Fifteen countries, including Pakistan and Bolivia , have capped or halted wheat exports. More than a dozen have limited corn exports. Kazakhstan has restricted exports of sunflower seeds. The restrictions are making it harder for impoverished importing countries to afford the food they need. The export limits are forcing some of the most vulnerable people, those who rely on relief agencies, to go hungry.

Food riots
Latin American country Haiti has toppled its Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis through protests when it experienced food riots due to extreme hunger caused by high food costs. Intense protests were also held in Egypt as the global anxiety over the upsurge of rice and other staple food prices continue.

In Bangladesh , 10,000 workers rioted close to the Dhaka city smashing cars and buses and vandalizing factories in anger at high food prices and low wages. Dozens of people, including at least 20 police officials, were injured in the violence. Ironically, the country achieved food self-sufficiency in 2002, but food prices increased drastically due to the reliance of agriculture on oil and fossil fuels. Economists estimate 30 million of the country's 150 million people could go hungry.

In West Bengal, India food riots were reported in 2007 over shortage of food. India has banned the export of rice except for Basmati types of rice which attract a premium price. In Indonesia , street protests over the price of food took place when food staples and gasoline have nearly doubled in price since January 2008.

To avert the people from food riots the Arroyo regime in the Philippines resorted to the sale of cheap rice by rice stubs to be given to the “poorest of the poor” per barangay (smallest unit in community) which the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will identify. This government measure will furthermore use rice as a political tool.

Actions by governments
IFAD is making up to US$200 million available to support poor farmers boost food production in face of the global food crisis. On 2 May 2008, U.S. President George W. Bush announced an extra $770 million funding for international food aid. The release of Japan 's rice reserves onto the market may bring the rice price down significantly. As of 16 May, anticipation of the move had already lowered prices by 14% in a single week. On 30 April 2008, Thailand announced the creation of the Organization of Rice Exporting Countries (OREC) with the potential to develop a price-fixing cartel for rice. But this action would worsen the crisis and is capitalizing it. In June 2008 the FAO hosted a High-Level Conference on World Food Security in which $1.2 billion in food aid was committed for the 75 million people in 60 countries hardest hit by rising food prices. In June 2008, G-8 has been required a sustained commitment by some humanitarian organizations.

To make matters worse, the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) frequently pressured poor countries in the 1980s and 1990s to lower tariffs and to cut farm support programs, mostly to reduce budget deficits. Indeed, the WB concluded in 2006 that not enough attention had been paid to the negative effects of its policy prescriptions on farmers in developing countries.

Landlessness and Neo-liberal policies
“Landlessness coupled with neo-liberal policy changes like reduction in subsidies in food, agriculture and social sectors as part of SAPs; TRIPS and IPR policies in favor of TNCs; increasing integration of agriculture under the World Trade Organization’ s (WTO)/Agreement on Agriculture (AOA); large-scale corporatization of agriculture; and other neo-liberal conditions have worsened the sufferings of the poor peasants in Asia. The agrarian reform agenda has taken a back seat. Worst, land grabbing and land conversions were rampant in the name of ‘development’ and ‘industrialization’ . Special Economic Zones (SEZs), due to their high demand for land, has emerged as the single largest threat to the livelihoods of peasants in Asia .

The institutions of imperialist globalization like the IMF, the World Bank, regional banks like the ADB, are openly conniving as they share the same interests. The imperialist camp headed by the United States also utilizes regional trade formations like APEC, NAFTA and CAFTA to ensure and continue their dominance over the world's economy for super profits at the expense of exploited peasants, farm workers, peasant women, fisher folk and other rural producers across the globe. The failure of the Doha Round and the stalled 6th WTO Ministerial Meeting in Hong Kong in 2005 prompted US and other centers of world capitalism to pursue bilateral talks in the form of free trade agreements (FTAs) as well as the ‘Aid for Trade’ which was meant to be a complement to the Doha Agenda. WTO’s Pascal Lamy even claims that the Doha is a “solution” to the food and financial crisis, when in fact it will exacerbate these crises,” added Ramos.

Genuine agrarian reform and peoples’ food sovereignty
“Development policies in Asia should be based on democratic principles aimed at reducing inequality and ensuring peoples’ access to productive resources and employment opportunities so as to enable them to enjoy an adequate standard of living. However, these aims can only be achieved if a qualitative change can occur in the existing socio-political and economic structure at the national, regional and global levels. Policies of the World Bank, the WTO, IMF and Northern countries for the promotion of neo-liberal programs should be critically analyzed, understood and eventually rejected,” ended Halim.

“Moreover, the struggle of the peasants for genuine agrarian reform should be strongly related to the struggle for genuine freedom and peoples’ food sovereignty. It is necessary and important for peasants to actively participate in the vibrant, expanding and surging local mass struggles and relate it to the struggle of the world against imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism. These are the only solutions to the problem of the peasantry worldwide. Further, the alliance of the working class and the peasantry need to strengthen as the foundation of a broader alliance to unite and mobilize the people of the world,” Ramos ended. ###

Assert our Right to Land and Livelihood!
Struggle for Genuine Agrarian Reform and Peoples’ Food Sovereignty!
Resist WTO and Imperialist Globalization!

APC STATEMENT IN THE CONCLUSION OF INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE OF PEOPLE’S STRUGGLES’ (ILPS) THIRD INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY

2008-06-20T02:07:00.000-07:00

The people united will never be defeated!

June 20, 2008 - Farmers belonging to the militant Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) warmly greet each member-organization of the International League of People’s Struggle with clenched fists as they conclude the Third International Assembly (TIA) in Hongkong today.

As ILSPS concludes its two-day assembly, APC congratulates ILPS for successfully gathering its 300 international member organizations in its unwavering commitment to strengthen the democratic united front against imperialism and all forms of reaction. At this crucial point when the outcomes of the exploitation of the inherently bankrupt structure of globalization is manifested by the worsening food, oil and energy crisis around the world; we must not waste a single second. We must further consolidate our ranks to intensify our democratic and militant struggle to defeat the imperialist powers.

Exploitation, repression, poverty and hunger imperil people over the world because of the attacks of imperialism. Neo-liberal globalization has stolen the lands of the farmers in Asia . The relentless creation of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in countries such as India and China has left many farmers and indigenous people homeless and without livelihood, incessant land use conversions have put the Philippines ’ food security in shambles and its people hungry and outraged. International financial institutions created by such imperialist powers particularly US have raked super profits by squeezing agricultural countries’ resources and rural people’s labor until the last drop. Farmers fighting for genuine land reform keep the fire of resistance burning, but are attacked with state terrorism and brutality.

Now more than ever, the peasants must broaden and consolidate the basic alliance with the proletariat and all oppressed people of the world. The impasse between imperialism and emancipation must be ended, and we, the people impelled by social justice will emerge victorious.

Onward the struggle for genuine land reform!
Assert our right to land and livelihood!
Resist imperialist globalization!
LONG LIVE INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY!

KA BEL: INTERNATIONAL MARTYR OF THE TOILING MASSES

2008-05-26T02:10:00.000-07:00

The militant Asian farmers group Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) expressed its utmost grief in the passing away of Crispin "Ka Bel" Beltran – a proletarian leader, a peasant advocacy supporter, democracy defender and international martyr of the toiling masses.

Asian peasants mourned with the Filipino peasantry, workers and the rest of the toiling masses in the Philippines when the daughter of Crispin Beltran announced the legislator's demise on public television, on the hot midday of May 20, 2008.

Ka Bel, or Kasamang Bel (Comrade Bel) suffered from severe head injuries after falling from the 14ft roof of his home in Muzon, Bulacan. The partylist representative was fixing their roof to prepare for the heavy rains in the coming months. "Ka Bel was always hands-on even in the daily house chores", his daughter Ofelia Beltran – Balleta told reporters. Beltran accidentally fell from the roof, his face first causing severe brain injuries, leaving the representative in comatose until the bereaved family decided to end the doctor's efforts of reviving him for several times.

Champion of the Filipino Masses
75-year old Beltran was a champion of the Filipino masses. He was a prominent labor leader before he became partylist representative of Bayan Muna (Nation First) in 2001 and Anakpawis (toiling masses) in 2004 until this year. Ka Bel was an epitome of the struggle of the basic alliance of the workers and peasants in his four years of service as Anakpawis representative.

According to Danilo Ramos, secretary general of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and Asian Peasant Coalition (APC), "Ka Bel was always with his fellow workers in the fight for wage increase and humane working conditions, he never left the urbanpoor when they were pushed away by the elite system; destroying their homes and lives, and he fought with the peasantry in their struggle against rampant militarization and oppression in the countryside, and most importantly – in our pursuit for genuine land reform.

"In fact, he is the principal author of the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB) or HB 3059 which we are pushing the Congress to pass to permanently end our suffering of landlessness, exploitation and rural poverty."

He excelled in his work in Congress, legislating patriotic bills which advance the interest of the working class, the peasantry and other oppressed and exploited people in Philippine society. Thus, he earned his many recognitions as a premier statesman; among these the Filipino of the Year, Most Outstanding Congressman (2002-2005) and part of the Congressional Hall of Fame (2006).

Internationalist leader
But Ka Bel's valiancy doesn't end in fighting for democracy and the Filipino's liberation. He was at the forefront of the international struggle against imperialism to liberate the people from oppression all over the world.

Ka Bel was the first chairperson of the International Coordinating Committee (ICC) of the International League of People's Struggle (ILPS) in its founding in 2001. He led the people throughout the world in their democratic struggle towards achieving socio-economic development, social justice, national and social liberation.

Until his death, he served as the honorary chairperson of the ILPS, championing the cause of all oppressed people. He was supposed to deliver a speech on neoliberal globalization and labor on the ILPS' Third International Assembly (TIA) this coming June 18, 2008.

APC, as an active member organization shares this pursuit of Ka Bel and the ILPS.

Warrior, Comrade and Hero
"Ka Bel is in every way a warrior, a comrade and a hero. Despite incessant persecution efforts of the Philippine government to thwart his heroic deeds, Ka Bel surpassed it all and emerged victorious in fighting for freedom. He is an exceptional kasama (comrade) loved not only by the Filipinos but the numerous freedom-loving people around the world as well."

"He died working and not being served, unlike the numerous corrupt Filipino politicians who live for greed for power and wealth. Until his last breath Ka Bel lived in poverty, like the millions of people being oppressed around the world by an unjust social system," Ramos added.

He also said that APC will join the millions of people in their last homage to Ka Bel on May 28 (interment day) which has been declared as national day of mourning and protest by his fellow workers. Furthermore, APC supports the workers' call for work stoppage on the said day, and encouraged peasants in the Philippines, as well as elsewhere in Asia to go on a farm holiday as the rural counterpart of work stoppage in factories.

"We in Asian Peasant Coalition will definitely miss Ka Bel, but his contributions to the peasantry of Asia and the world will always be remembered and will further impel us and all the exploited people across the world to continue his legacy of steadfast struggle for freedom and liberation," ended Ramos. ###

FREE TIBET MOVEMENT: US-IMPERIALIST PLOT

2008-05-20T02:12:00.000-07:00

Media Release: May 20, 2008

What people across the globe perceive to be a just and peaceful movement for Tibet's independence from China turns out to be part of an imperialist plot to regain political hegemony.

The Dalai Lama of Tibet proves to be a vital instrument in the United States' ploy to regain its political (and economic) hegemony which is obviously in shambles at the present time. Because the world is now aware of the perilous effect of its "war on terror" propaganda which has severely worsened the political and economic condition of the countries where the said war has been waged; US now resorts to its infamous imperialist designs similar to that of benevolent assimilation which it has used in the Philippines, as well as its intervention in Cuba's struggle for independence during the colonial era.

Under the guise of supporting the Tibetan efforts to gain independence from the People's Democratic Republic of China, the US maneuvers its different apologists and mercenaries, as well as Tibetan opposition to project discrimination by China and assert Tibet's right to self-determination.

In a statement by Prof. Jose Maria Sison, chairperson of the International League of People's Struggle of which Asian Peasant Coalition is a member of, he asserted that for almost 50 years, US' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) other monopoly-capitalist funding agencies have been funding the Dalai Lama to "demonize" China; alleging the state of committing human rights violations and ethnic genocide. With this "demonization" campaign, the Dalai Lama would secure support in their separatist efforts, and allow US to intervene along the way.

Danilo Ramos, secretary general of APC meanwhile expressed support to the ILPS viewpoint that the reactionary movement of the Dalai Lama and its campaign against China will only paradoxically bring back despotic and oppressive theocracy rule instead of bringing justice and freedom for the Tibetan people; where majority of the Tibetan people will only be enslaved by such rotten system. ###

A Background Paper on the Role of Social Movements for Genuine Land Reform In South Asia

2008-03-25T09:42:00.000-07:00

As all of you are aware agricultural lands has become the main target for corporate sector in South Asia. The state has become the broker to grab the land from peasants at the cost of denying their basic right to livelihood. The worst victims of this process are the communities depending on agriculture as farmers, as farm workers, tenant farmers / sharecroppers. These are the groups who have been consistently engaged in struggles for land while the state (political state) has not been in favour of the implementation of genuine land reforms. Therefore a common myth has been built up by the state that there is no land for distribution. The economic reforms to free flow of global capital has suddenly opened the states’ eyes to allot large chunks of lands to the corporate sector with all the concessions denying the long time demands of the communities for land. There is a great need to respond to this context, consolidating the struggles of People for Land. Therefore, a two days workshop is planned on “The Role of Social Movements for Genuine Land reforms” in South Asia on March 15-16, 2008 at Indian Social Institute, Bangalore, India. This workshop is jointly facilitated by Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Vrudhidarula Union (APVVU), Ekta Parishad and IBON South Asia.

Issue:
South Asia is the home for the largest number of poor in the world and majority of them live in rural areas deprived of access to livelihood resources. The fundamental problem for the rural deprived communities in South Asian countries is how to maintain or improve their meager livelihoods. In many South Asian Countries a large proportion of rural poor are victims of the massive livelihood crisis that has accompanied the commercialization of agriculture and associated pro-globalization economic activities. The globalization of agriculture has geared up the plunder the profits for MNCs / TNCs at the cost of mercilessly displacing the farming communities from their means of livelihood. For instance, India has witnessed 125,000 farmers’ suicidal deaths in the last one decade and much more number of unaccounted hunger deaths among the rural poor.

South Asia is still facing the problems of feudalism where the large tracks of land in the hands of few rich absentee landlords and their hands became much more strong when the state (political state) has opened the economy for global market. Processes of land alienation, commercialization and modernization of agriculture have been accompanied by the displacement of large sections of rural poor by big dams and other so called developmental programmes in most of the South Asian countries. Drawing the experiences from India, the introduction of Special Economic Zones is inviting new form of re-colonization of rural India grabbing the large chunks of agricultural lands without properly developing alternative source of livelihoods and employment opportunities for the displaced. As the result, today India has two realities - while large number of rural people by over night become impoverished, few sections of rich community are becoming richest even standing in the list as richest persons of the world. Similar such contexts are prevailing in other developing countries in South Asia.

Further, the state (means political state) has become a tool for corporate sector to capture the land related natural resources from the dependent community by using all forceful coercive methods. Neither elected leaders nor political parties are seriously concerned over these issues. This indicates that the state do not have any political will for addressing the problems of rural poverty in perpetual manner.

The role of welfare state has been withering away replacing as the state to maintain the law and order to strengthen the infrastructures for the corporate sector and exploitative forces.

The context is quite relevant to demand for the genuine land reforms with every developing country in sub continent as the states have failed to provide alternative economic systems to accommodate the newly displaced people swelling the ranks of poverty with the economic reforms. On the other hand, every developing country in South Asia has signed several international covenants to address the problems of poverty. One such example is: Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 10, 1948, established that "everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself [herself] and of his [her] family, including food, clothing, housing….." This has been legally codified in the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, and can be interpreted as meaning that all people have the inalienable human right to be able to feed themselves, through work with dignity and a living wage, or through access to the land.

When faced with unequal and unjust distribution of agriculture land, the call for redistribution through genuine agrarian reform is a call for the human right to feed oneself. It is not a call for charity or for benevolence from people in power, but rather a demand that all governments respect and uphold their obligations as spelt-out in international treaties and the universal rights of humankind. This call challenges the arbitrary and artificial division between economic/social and political/civil rights, because almost every absentee landlord has been keeping the lands vacant while the landless go to bed hungry everyday as they don’t get adequate resource either as cultivator or as wage earner.

The Need Of The Hour:
Despite of enormous growth of urbanization, even today 60% of people live in rural areas depending on agriculture. The only available source to meet the basic needs of large sections of hungry people in the society is to depend on land related resources. Therefore the need of the hour is to see that how the land can be made available for those dependants to produce their food. Though the several South Asian countries has floated with land reform legislations, no one developing country has distributed the land to the genuine poor.

In the context of shrinking democratic spaces for the majority population in South Asian countries, the best viable option before the people is to build collective mass movements to restore their denied socio-economic and political rights. This is not so easy task to carry forward without the collaboration of the concerned CSOs and peoples’ movements within the country and across the borders.

There are sporadic events of resistance against the land grabbing by the state for vested interests. There is a great need to bundle such struggles and campaigns to restore the land rights. In the given situation, the hope before the people is to come together within the country and also across the borders to voice collectively against the all the undemocratic processes, so that the voices can be heard both locally and globally which will pave the way to address the problems.
To actualise this aspiration into concrete action, there is a great need to call the progressive social movements, concerned intellectuals together to discuss. This will create an opportunity for exchange the views and ideas and experiences to make further plan of action in the region – South Asia.

Contact person:
P. Chennaiah
Secretary National Coordination, APVVU

Terror Won't Silence Us

2008-03-25T09:21:00.000-07:00

By Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP)

At first this woman couldn’t believe that she will be part of the chosen one who had decided to live and fight for the peasants, her family origin. Like many activists she can not ignore the harsh reality that the rich are getting richer while the poor are sinking deeper into poverty-- and this condition has pushed her to do her part and join others do a historic mission that only a few have chosen.

Imelda Lacandazo, 41, came from a peasant family. She was a student activist in mid ‘80s at Baguio College Foundation (now the University of Cordillera). As a student activist they have regular discussions, political education and most of all, they practiced what most activists looked for “living with the masses”. She fell in love with a fellow activist, got pregnant in 1986 and married in 1987. As both fulltime activists having a child and a family is such a difficult situation. They have measly income and saw her daughter missed a meal due to lack of money. As a mother, it was very painful to see your child crying due to hunger. And even if it’s against her will she decided to work abroad in 1989 hoping that she can save for the future of her daughter and family. She left her three-year old daughter to her in-laws. Her husband continued his work as fulltime peasant organizer in Southern Tagalog.

Remolded leader
Life as an overseas Filipino worker (OWF) is quite hard. For 6 years it tortured her situation of living away from your loving family while working in a foreign land for an income that she thinks would save her family from poverty. She was able to build a house and had saved from her earnings until in 1995 she decided to quit her job. In 1996 she gave birth to a son. And live as fulltime mother – staying at home and taking care of her beloved children. Having a husband who is a fulltime peasant organizer makes her proud even if they seldom see each other.

Then one day, she got organized again under the Kababaihang Naglilingkod sa Nayon-Mindoro Occidental (KANAYON-MO). In 1999, she joined the peasant campaign that leads to the successful struggle of farmers in Golden Country Farms Inc. (GCFI) against former Mindoro Occidental Congressman Ricardo Quintos. From then on the military began harassing her and her children.

She decided to continue what she had started when she was a student activist. Little by little she started to educate even her children. During vacation, she let her children joined the rallies with her. Her children grew up with a strong foundation of becoming an activist like their parents. Her daughter became a youth leader of Anakbayan and her son, became a member of ‘children’s cultural group’ called Bagsik in Southern Tagalog. We call that a ‘militant’ family where the father, mother and children are all activists.

She fully developed as a very good peasant women leader. She continue remolding herself with the guidance of her group. She was elected as the General Secretary of the SUMAMAKA-TK. In 2003, as a regional peasant women leader, she took a great responsibility in peasant women organizing. “Most of the time I am in the peasant community doing my work – attending meetings, educating and organizing the peasants, links with friendly local government officials, lobbying with legislators, represent KMP in regional activities and even in selected international conferences – I am always away from my children. But I am sure that they understood me. That I am doing these not for their own future alone but for the welfare of the oppressed Filipino peasants”, said Ka Imelda. This year also, they were forced to vacate their house because the military is harassing her children and threatening them.

In 2004, she was chosen as the coordinator of the Pagkakaisa’t Lakas ng Magsasaka sa Palayan ng Timog Katagalugan (PALAY TK) that led the campaign to increase the palay price amounting to P15.00 per kilo in Southern Tagalog. And this was adopted as a national campaign of KMP. The surveillance and death threats against her heightened unsurprisingly. There was also an incident when a group of Philippine Army threw a grenade where her children stayed. Luckily, it didn’t blow up. She decided to stop her children from schooling and leave the province. She also survived a murder attempt during the orchestrated hold-up in Mindoro Occidental led by 16th and 18th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army.

Finally in 1999, she became a member of the KMP National Council in its 5th National Congress and was elected as National Vice-chairperson. In 2004, she was reelected in the same position during the KMPs 6th National Congress and presently continued the post. The KMP is a democratic and militant movement of landless peasants founded in July 1985. It has effective leadership of more than 2 million rural people with 65 provincial and 15 regional chapters nationwide. The KMP stands against worsening feudal and semi-feudal exploitation by big landlords and foreign monopoly capitalists in the country. It aims to uplift the plight of millions of Filipino farmers that are currently slaves to high land rent, usury, high production costs, low prices for their produce, and starvation wages for agricultural workers It fights for genuine agrarian reform and is now campaigning for the passage of the ‘Genuine Agrarian Reform Act’ or House Bill 3059 at the House of Representatives.

‘All-out War’
The state terror began in 2002 when the President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo started Oplan Bantay Laya II (OBL II) or ‘Operation Freedom Watch’, a five-year counter insurgency plan to annihilate the Communist Party of the Philippines- New People’s Army (CPP-NPA). The CPP-NPA has been waging a Maoist-inspired protracted people’s war in the country for more than three decades. The NPA claims to be active in more than 128 guerilla fronts nationwide.

Just like other counterinsurgency programs of the past regimes the OBL II resulted in numerous human rights violations (HRVs) by essentially not distinguishing between combatants and civilians or between legal and underground organizations. General Jovito Palparan’s stint in Southern Tagalog brought rampant political killings, abductions and harassment against progressive organizations. Again, Ka Imelda moved her children in much safer place to avoid the military’s harassment. And even if it’s against her will, she can’t visit them regularly because she received continuing death threats from the military that are desperate to silence her.

In June 16, 2006, President Arroyo allotted an additional Php1 billion ($18.78) million, based on an exchange rate of P53.26 per US dollar) to augment the AFP’s counter-insurgency drive. The Arroyo regime declared a virtual “all-out war” against the communist movement that she ordered annihilated within two years. Yet, the first casualty of the government’s all-out war was not an armed rebel. Gunned down by motorcycle-riding men the next day, June 17, was Tito Marata, public information officer of KMP in the province of Misamis Oriental. And the political killings, persecution and harassments against the peasants who feed the nation continue.

“The harassment and ‘death threats’ I am experiencing is a result of the OBL II and nothing else. Being a peasant leader, I am being targeted by the military as they did so to other leaders or members of progressive organizations, especially peasant organizations that are fighting for genuine agrarian reform, democracy and social justice. Hence, the military are trying to cover up their crimes by linking the peasant leaders and organizers to the CPP and NPA.” added Ka Imelda.

Unwavering commitment
Unfortunately, the Philippines can be considered as Asia’s killing fields in the light of 891 extra-judicial killings and 171 enforced disappearances (as of February 2008) under the 7-year old Macapagal-Arroyo regime as documented by the human rights group Karapatan or Alliance for the Advancement of Human Rights. Peasant leaders and organizers who have led struggles against land-grabbing, high rent, low wages, usury, high production costs, agrochemical use, and destructive mining and dam projects, have been the victims of assassinations, massacres, torture, arbitrary arrest and illegal detention, and other forms of harassment by military-death squad perpetrators.

Despite this very difficult situation, she continued to organize the peasants in Southern Tagalog and KMP did so nationwide. She was assigned from one province to another province to avoid the military’s ‘death squad’. And through painstaking work they were able to develop new peasant leaders and organizers. But there are ups and downs in doing her work. In 2002, she separated from her husband for reasons she did not want to talk about. She said the separation hurt her so much yet she persistently did her work with her children as her inspiration and she get strengths from the peasant masses she is serving for. Life still goes on with her unwavering commitment.

“The social conflicts in the countryside are rooted in landlessness, joblessness, poverty and hunger. This repression and human right violations by the military are only aggravating the poor situation of the peasants and delaying the resolution of their problems. If extra-judicial killings had meant to silence the Filipino peasantry’s persistent clamor for change, it has achieved just the opposite.” Ka Imelda stressed.

Farmers led by KMP come together in their localities or in Metro Manila for mass actions that demand an end to political killings, together with other persecuted sectors of society. KMP and relatives of peasant victims of extra-judicial killings filed an impeachment complaint against President Arroyo (although the said complaint has been recently junked in Congress). KMP also filed a complaint at the United Nations Human Rights Commission against Arroyo regimes human rights violations in 2006 and 2007. In many ways, the peasant movement is very active in all efforts to make the Arroyo government answerable for all its crimes against the people.

“We also take time to grieve for our fallen leaders—now martyrs-- with great sorrow, love, and respect. The loss of our leaders has a huge effect in our work. Our leaders arose from commitment and experience. We cannot bring back a life that has been taken away. And yet Filipino farmers were trained as cause-oriented and are not leader-oriented. Even if their leader has been killed they will onward with the struggle. Terror won’t silence us.” ended Ka Imelda.

References
1. Interview with Imelda Lacandazo (2008), hand notes.
2. KMP Press releases (2006, 2007, and 2008).
3. Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (2006) “Primer on Political killings.” http://www.bayan.ph/downloads/primer%20on%20political%20killings.pdf
4. Bordadora, Norman (2006) “Govt must answer for all killings—CHR.” INQ7.net, May 23, http://news.inq7net/nation/index.php?index=1&story_id=76670.
5. Eastman-Abaya, R. and Petra, J. (2006) “Philippines: The Killing Fields of Asia.” Counterpunch, March 17, http://www.counterpunch.org/petras03172006.html.
6. Guda, Kenneth Roland A. (2006) “Oplan Bantay Laya: Programa Kontra-Insurhensiya, Aktibista ang Puntirya.” Pinoy Weekly, March 25, http://www.pinoyweekly.org/pw5-20/feats/sb_1.htm.
7. Karapatan National (2007). “Human Rights Report.”.
8. Quijano, Ilang-ilang (2006) “Terrorizing the Struggle for Food Sovereignty”

IFFM LOOKS AT RIGHT TO FOOD IN AP

2008-03-25T08:08:00.000-07:00

Press Release, 23 February 2008
International Fact Finding Mission investigated displacement and destruction of livelihoods in Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh (India)due to SEZ and expansion of port

Tirupati, India - An International fact-finding mission, comprising eminent civil society representatives from Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines and India, visited Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh (India) and expressed great concern over the displacement and loss of livelihoods of poor and landless tribal communities in those districts due to construction of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and expansion of a Port in Krishnapatnam.

The mission observed and verified violations of the right to food and livelihood in Midderevu, Ramalingapuram and N. M. Kandiga ST Colony in Nellore (in Tada) and concluded with a set of observations and recommendations to the Andhra Pradesh government.

The mission observed that due to expansion of the port, four villages were facing threats of imminent eviction and altogether 14 villages were exposed to the threats of livelihood losses.

These villages were mainly inhabited by poor landless tribal and traditional fisher folks who had poor assets and no land title. They depended largely on Common Property Resources (CPR) and fishing in back water and sea for survival. The eviction would result into complete destruction of their livelihoods and would expose them to extreme vulnerable conditions.

The state government had proposed a relocation site for four villages far away from the back water and sea which would jeopardise their livelihoods as fisher folks. Moreover, the landless fisher families, who would be victims of marine and back water pollution would not receive any compensation and/or rehabilitation.

The FFM team observed that these poor villagers were largely uninformed about the expansion of the port during the planning and initial phase of allotment of land and no consultation took place at grassroots to enable them to voice their opinions.

It was further observed by the FFM team that despite several petitions of the villagers, the state authorities did not pay any attention to their pleas of restricting further expansion of the port. Villagers also demanded for land and financial assistance from the state to pursue their livelihoods in a better way; but these demands failed to generate any response.

The FFM team concluded that the new port would create very little employment opportunities for the local people as this would be highly mechanized and the activities in the port would result into large-scale pollution of surrounding environments. The dredging done by the authorities for expansion of the port had already destroyed the breeding ground of the fishes in the backwater and the fisher folks were suffering from poor catches.

In brief the FFM team concluded that expansion of port in Krishnapatnam violated the Right to Food (RTF) of hundreds of households in 14 villages by restricting their access to food and food producing resources and by polluting these resources.

On the basis of these observations, the preliminary recommendations of the FFM in Krishnapatnam, Nellore include the following:

* The violation of RTF should be immediately stopped in and around Krishnapatnam port by restricting further expansion of the port

* The rights of these landless tribal and traditional families over CPR should be duly acknowledged and reinstated.

* The victims of violations of rights in the above villages should be adequately compensated and rehabilitated. Rehabilitation should be adequate in economic, social and cultural terms.

* The government should immediately take steps to provide these fisher folks with a separate fishing harbour so as to ensure their food security.

* All development planning in this region should ensure effective participation of the villagers with a focus on participation of marginalized communities like the tribal and Dalit groups.

In Tada the FFM team visited N. M. Kandriga ST Colony village and met the representatives of other affected villages and observed how the rights of the tribal people of 12 villages were undermined and violated due to the construction of SEZ in their locality. The FFM team came to know that the Apache Company, which manufactured shoes for national and international markets, set-up a production unit in this SEZ. The Government provided 450 acres of land to this company in this SEZ and another 2000 acres of land would be gradually handed over to other companies for developing production units in this SEZ.

The team observed that due to the construction of this SEZ and fencing of nearby lands the tribal people from 12 villages had no access to nearby grazing grounds, fields and water bodies, which resulted into chronic hunger and malnutrition. These tribal families were landless and had very poor assets for pursuing a safe and sustainable livelihood. They repeatedly urged the government to provide them with two acres of land per family for cultivation but the government never responded to their demands.

On the contrary vast tracts of lands, surrounding the villages, were given to SEZ by the government, making it impossible for these tribal families to derive their livelihoods from CPR. The tribal families also lost employment as agricultural labourers when the government turned over the agricultural lands to the SEZ. The FFM team further observed that there were very limited employment opportunities for these unskilled tribal people in the newly constructed SEZ.

The FFM team concluded that expansion of SEZ restricted the access of these tribal people to CPR like common land, grazing grounds and nearby water bodies and limited their income opportunities to a great extent. These restrictions resulted into hunger and starvations leading to violations of right to food and livelihood. No tribal family received any compensation/rehabilitation from the state for their sufferings. Furthermore the whole expansion of SEZ was done without any consultation with the local people. In brief these landless tribal families remained invisible in the ‘development’ planning of the state government in this area but they became helpless victims of such development process.

On the basis of these observations, the preliminary recommendations of the fact-finding mission in Tada, Nellore include the following:

1. The violation of right to food of these tribal people should be immediately stopped and the government should allot two acres of land to each tribal family for cultivation with an immediate effect.
2. The rights of these landless families to receive adequate compensation/rehabilitation for the loss of livelihoods should be duly acknowledged and enforced by the state without further delay.
3. The land should be given to landless families on a priority basis and the state should refrain from playing the role of intermediary in the land market between the big companies and the land owners for developing SEZ.

The FFM team is urging the government to rethink the SEZ policy and to incorporate a participatory mechanism of social, economic, cultural and environmental impact assessment process, the outcome of which should be made available in public domain.

Moreover, the FFM team is of opinion that the state should give due emphasis on strengthening the capacity of the poor to pursue livelihoods by providing them with resources, assistance and by facilitating their access to productive resources/environment. The macro economic policy of the state should not jeopardise the livelihoods of millions at micro level.

The FFM is jointly organised by Andhra Pradesh VV Union, Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP) and the People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS).

The members of the team include Mr. Ajay Kumar (APVVU, India), Mr. Vince Cinches (PAMALAKAYA, Philippines), Mr. Subramanyam (Human Rights Forum, India), Ms. Ravadee Prasertcharoensuk (SDF, Thailand), Ms. Ujjaini Halim (IMSE, West Bengal India), Mr. P. Chennaiah (NAMP, India) and Mr. Gilbert Sape (PAN AP, Malaysia).

References:

APVVU
P. Chennaiah
Secretary- National Coordination
Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Vruthidarula Union -APVVU
No: 6, S.B.I.Colony
CHITTOOR- 517001 A.P. INDIA
Phone:0091 8572 228592
Fax 0091 8572 230804
email:apvvu98@sancharnet.in
chennaiah_p@hotmail.com

PANAP
Gilbert M. Sape
Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific
P.O. Box 1170, 10850
Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +604-6570271 or +604-6560381
Fax: +604-6583960
E-mail: gsape@pan-international.org

PCFS Secretariat
Ms. Norly Grace Mercado
Secretariat
People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS)
P.O. Box 1170, Penang 10850, Malaysia
Tel: 604-6570271 or 604-6560381
Fax: 604-6583960
Website: www.foodsov.org
E-mail: secretariat@foodsov.org

Links

2008-03-25T07:47:00.000-07:00

1. Tamil Nadu Women ‘s Forum
Web-site : http://in.geocities.com/tnwforum

2. Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Vruthidarula Union (APVVU)
Website : http://www.apvvu.org

3. All Nepal Peasants Federation (ANPFa)
Website: http://www.anpfa.org.np

4. Tenaganita (Women’s Force)
Website: www.tenaganita.net

5. Foundation of Agricultural Development (FAD)
Website : www.fad.org.mn

6. Movement for National Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR)
Website : www.monlar.org

Contact APC Secretariat

2008-03-25T07:44:00.000-07:00

Room 23, 2nd Floor, 3J Heights Building
35 Visayas Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines 1100
E-mail: apc_secretariat@yahoo.com and secretariat.apc@gmail.com
E-groups: apc@yahoogroups.com
Web: http://apcasianpeasantcoalition.blogspot.com/

Directory of APC Members

2008-03-25T07:24:00.000-07:00

A. Philippines

1. Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP)
161-B Chico Street, Project 2, Quezon City
Philippines
Email: kmp@pldtdsl.net (cc to: roda_g04@yahoo.com)
Tel: +63-2-9284184

2. PAMALAKAYA
8-A Mabuhay Street, Barangay Central
Quezon City, Philippines
Tel: +632-4368915
Email: pampil@skyinet.net

3. AMIHAN
80-A Mapang-akit Street
Barangay Pinyahan, Quezon City
Philippines
Tel: +632-9223982
E-mail: amihan_psntwn@yahoo.com

4. Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA)
161-B Chico Street, Project 2, Quezon City
Philippines
Tel: +63-2-9284184
E-mail: uma_pilipinas@yahoo.com.ph

5. National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW)

B. Bangladesh

6. Bangladesh Krishok Federation
Ismail Mansion , 9/H
Motijheel C/A, 4th Floor
Dhaka – 1000 Bangladesh
Tel/Fax : + 880- 2 9559356
E-mail : gip@dhaka.net

7. Bangladesh Kishani Sabha
Ismail Mansion , 9/H
Motijheel C/A, 4th Floor
Dhaka – 1000 Bangladesh
Tel/Fax : + 880- 2 9559356
E-mail : gip@dhaka.net

8. Bangladesh Agricultural Farm Labour Federation (BAFLF)
2/11, Block-F, Lalmatia
Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh
Phone: 880-2-8119112
Fax: 880-2-9142032
E-mail: baflf@bdcom.com

9. Bangladesh Agricultural Labour Union (BALU)
47/10 Indira Road (2nd Floor), West Rajabazar
Dhaka – 1215, Bangladesh
Tel : +88-02-8121659
Fax :+ 88-02-9122940
E-mail : shikhahuq111@yahoo.com
Mobile : +88-0171-182059

10. Bangladesh Landless Association or Bangladesh Bremiheen Samily (BBS)
535, Senpaja Perbota
Minpur, Dhaka – 1216 Bangladesh
E-mail: fayezaam@yahoo.com

C. India

11. Tamil Nadu Women ‘s Forum
76/37, G-1, 9th Street, 'Z' Block, Anna Nagar West, Chennai, 600 040
TamilNadu, INDIA
Tel: (91)044-52170702/ 52170703 Fax; (91)044-52170702
E-mail : burnad@md3.vxnl.net.in
Web-site : http://in.geocities.com/tnwforum

12. Indian Federation of Toiling Peasants (IFTOP)
c/o IMSE
195 Jodhpur Park, Kolkatta – 700 068, India
Tel : + 9133-24732740
Fax : + 9233-24725571
E-mail : bimpse@cal.vsnl.net.in

13. Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Vruthidarula Union (APVVU)
No: 6, S.B.I.Colony, Chitoor- 517001 A.P. India
Phone:0091 8572 228592
Fax 0091 8572 230804
E-mail: chenyya@sancharnet.in or chennaiah_p@hotmail.com

14. Alliance of Peoples’ Movement
76/37, G1, ‘Z’ Block, 9th St.
Anna Nagar, West Chennaiah, Tamil Nadu, India
Tel/Fax : +91- 4442170702
E-mail : burnad@md3.vxnl.net.in

D. Nepal

15. All Nepal Peasants Federation (ANPFa)
PO Box: 273, Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Nepal
Telephone: +977-1-4288404
Fax: +977-1-4288403
E-mail: anpfa@anpfa.org.np and balram@anpfa.org.np
Website: http://www.anpfa.org.np

16. All Nepal Women Association (ANWA)
Min Bhawan, Kathmandu, Nepal
Post Box No.8337
Tel : 0977-1-2072030
Fax - 0977-1-4499952
Email: anwa@anwa.org.np or anwa@hons.com.np

17. South Asian Peasant Coalition (SAPC)
Secretariat office
c/o ANPFa
Madan Nagar Balkhu, Kathmandu, Nepal
Tel/Fax : +977-14288403
E-mail : anpfa@anpfa.org.np

E. Malaysia

18. Tenaganita (Women’s Force)
Penthouse, Wisma MLS
No. 31 Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, 50100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: +603 2691 3691 / 2697 3671
Fax: +603 2691 3681
Email: tenaganita@yahoo.co.uk / ramvita70@yahoo.com
Website: www.tenaganita.net

F. Indonesia

19. Alliance of Agrarian Reform Movement (AGRA)
Kompleks Budi Asri C-10, Cimahi
Bandung, Indonesia
Tel : +6222-6612087
E-mail : agra_pusat@yahoo.com

G. Mongolia

20. Foundation of Agricultural Development (FAD)
c/o Center for Human Rights and Development (CHRD)
P.O. BOX 551
Central Post Office, Ulaanbaatar – 13, Mongolia
Tel/Fax : +976 11 323190 (cc :+976- 11- 325721)
Mobile : 99192857 (c/o Urantsooj Gombosuren)
E-mail : fad@magicnet.mn; margad_12@yahoo.com. (cc:.chrd@mongolnet.mn or
urantsooj@mongol.net.mn)
Website : www.fad.org.mn

H. Sri Lanka

21. Movement for National Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR)
1151/58 A, 4th Lane, Kotte Road, Rajagiriya, Sri lanka
Telephone:: +94 11 2865534
Fax:: +94 11 4407663
E-mail:: monlar@sltnet.lk or sarafdo@sltnet.lk
Website : www.monlar.org

Ka Lita: A Symbol of Filipino Peasant Women

2008-03-25T07:17:00.000-07:00

“I have chosen the road less traveled and hopefully the younger generation can learn from my story. I could have chosen to live an ordinary and simple life of a farmer. Instead I chose a different route – serving the Filipino masses, especially peasants, and lead them to struggle for genuine agrarian reform and freedom”, stated Estrelita “Ka Lita” Mariano, a prominent peasant women leader in the Philippines.

Estrelita “ Ka Lita” Mariano, 48, came from a poor peasant family in Nueva Ecija. Like a normal peasant family, she grew up taking care of her younger brothers and sisters, washing and ironing clothes, cleaning the house, washing the dishes, going to market, weeding and planting in the farm. Name it and she had done it, she lives up to her sector’s way of life.

Poor and landless
“We were not ashamed of being poor”, Ka Lita told us. Like the majority of farmers in the Philippines, our family is landless. Out of every 100 farmers, 21 are agricultural workers, 28 are unpaid family workers, 26 are under some form of tenancy relation and only 25 own land. In short, more than 7 out of 10 farmers do not own the land they till. On the other hand, only a few families are controlling vast tracts of lands. Sixty percent of the agricultural lands are owned by 13 % of the landowners. The biggest landlords, only 9,500 people, own more than 20 % of all agricultural land.

We are bound by feudal and semi-feudal relations of exploitation as tenants of Rafael Rueda, a landlord in our province. We still till the land like our forefathers did. We use simple tools like plow, sickle, harrow, cutlass, and carabaos. Mechanization is limited in our province and in many places in the country almost non-existent. Most farms in the country are very small, only 0.5 – 1.5 hectares on the average.

The eldest of 6 children of a poor farmer, Ka Lita started helping out the two-hectare land tilled by her father during her grade school years. Her father would usually left with only a very small portion of the harvest, the majority ending up with the landlord. Their family incurred a lot of debts making her finished high school even if she wanted to study in college. And as an eldest child in the family, she was destined to help their parents work for their livelihood.

Symbolizes peasant women
Ka Lita was organized and became a founding member of AMIHAN (National Federation of Peasant Women) and was elected as its deputy secretary general in October 1986. Before AMIHAN was formed, there was already an existing militant peasant movement led by KMP (Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas - Peasant Movement in the Philippines). AMIHAN saw that a separate peasant women's organization will make peasant women and their particular situation more visible in the broader peasants' movement, national liberation movement, and the women's movement. AMIHAN's overall goal is to work toward the empowerment of peasant women through organization and by collectively advocating for alternative development policies and strategies that will respond to their particular situation as peasants and as women.

Currently, AMIHAN has 32 provincial chapters spread across the 3 major islands of the country, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. It was named AMIHAN, after the gentle southeastern wind that comes during harvest season, symbolizing the character of peasant women, gentle yet tough, tender yet tenacious.

Ka Lita can be described as AMIHAN, who can also be the powerful wind that comes with a storm, like any other peasant women: strong and capable of destroying societal structures that breeds oppression. The AMIHAN also fights for genuine agrarian reform and is now campaigning for the passage of the ‘Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill’ or House Bill 3059 at the House of Representatives.

Simple leader
When Ka Lita stays in the office of AMGL or Alliance of Farmers in Central Luzon (an affiliate of KMP), it never gets messy. Even if she has just arrived from a schedule outside their office and sees dirty plates in the kitchen she would wash them though she was not the one who used it. You can see her sweeping the floor and cleaning the comfort rooms whenever she is in their office.

Moreover, she makes sure all leaders and staff living in the office will eat cheap yet healthy food because she will always volunteer to cook. One of her favorite dish is ‘pinakbet’ (an Ilocano dish of mixed vegetables cooked in a fish sauce).

Their simple way of life has been instilled to their three children – Aljin, Mendiola and Danjun -- as well. Her husband is the famous Rafael “Ka Paeng” Mariano (KMP National Chairperson and former Representative of the Anakpawis partylist during the 13th Philippine Congress). Very few had known that Ka Lita and Ka Paeng were childhood sweetheart and got married in May 17, 1981.

Ka Lita admitted that Ka Paeng contributed a lot in her ‘political development’. When she was not yet organized, she is irritated of what Ka Paeng is doing especially when he became a fulltime peasant leader of KMP in 1985. Once Ka Paeng arrived from a meeting or any event related to his work, he will always start to share where he came from, what he do, what he learned from and keep on telling her why he is doing this historic mission. She will encourage Ka Lita to join KMP activities from discussion groups to rallies. These experiences opened her eyes to the plight of the “exploited and oppressed” peasantry and she became deeply involved in the peasant struggle. And eventually, led her to what she is now.

From 1992 to 1997 she was designated as the secretary general of AMIHAN. She helped in the formation of the AMIHAN chapter in Central Luzon and was elected as its Chairperson while she was assigned to organized peasant women in Pampanga. As a peasant women leader in Central Luzon, she led the peasant women in its struggle for land and livelihoods. Concretely, they were successful to get 2 hectares (out of the 12 hectares won by AMGL against a landlord) and make it as a communal farm directly managed by the local peasant organization called Samahan ng Magsasakang Nagkakaisa.

As a leader of the AMGL, they led to victory the strike of agricultural workers in December 2004 at Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac, a more than 6,000 hectare sugar plantation owned by the family of Former President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino. The AMGL and AMIHAN led struggles against land-grabbing, high rent, low wages, usury, high production costs, agrochemical use, and destructive mining and dam projects in Central Luzon. From 2006 to present, she is the secretary general of AMGL and at the same time sit as a member of KMP and AMIHAN National Council.

Ka Lita is a cheerful person yet very committed with her work. She can even joke about the military’s harassment she’s been experiencing with. She said that she never imagines the military will be ‘interested’ to her. She only realized this in 2006, when the Macapagal-Arroyo government launched the Oplan Bantay Laya II (OBL II) or ‘Operation Freedom Watch, and declared a virtual “all-out war” against the communist movement and ordered annihilated within two years. From then on political killings and persecution against progressive organizations, especially peasants, in Central Luzon heightened—she was not despair. She can no longer visit her own province because the military-death squad perpetrators’ is chasing her especially during General Jovito Palparan’s stint in Central Luzon. But despite this, she is still doing her work as a peasant women leader.

As a new grandmother to Chezka, a 10-month old granddaughter to her only daughter, Mendiola (named after the infamous Mendiola Massacre in 1987), she never missed any schedule even if she had to bring her granddaughter. She had to do this to support her daughter who is finishing her last semester in college while doing a job at an NGO, serving the peasants.

Ka Lita ended by saying that, “I have chosen the road less traveled and hopefully the younger generation can learn from my story. I could have chosen to live an ordinary and simple life of a farmer. Instead I chose a different route – serving the Filipino masses, especially peasants, and lead them to struggle for genuine agrarian reform and freedom.” ###

References
1. Interview with Estrelita Mariano (February 2008), hand notes.
2. KMP Press releases (2006, 2007, and 2008).
3. AMIHAN brochure (2005)
4. AMGL brochure (2005)
5. KMP, “Peasant Situation” (October 2007)

BKF Leader Released

2008-03-25T06:36:00.000-07:00

The Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) welcomes the release of HARUN BHANDARI, a leader of the Bangladesh Krishok Federation (BKF) freed from Jail today (March 17, 2008). Mr. Harun Bhandari is a very efficient leader of BKF and also President of Barisal District Committee.

Three months ago, Harun Bhandari led landless peasants and occupied Rasulpur Char close to Barisal City. The area was later affected by the recent cyclone which prompted Harun Bhandari to get relief from the local government. Bhandari led a procession in Barisal City to seek help from the local government. They also submitted a memorandum to district commissioner. But the local big land-owners harassed him and other leaders of BKF and Bangladesh Kishani Sabha (BKS). The land-owners urged the local government that Harun Bhandari broke emergency rule by leading a procession. The big land-owners (supported by the local government) filed some fake criminal cases against Harun Bhandari that lead to their arrest. Earlier, 6 leaders were released on bail. After 3 months of work done by BKF, Harun Bhandari was released on bail today.

We condemned the Bangladeshi local government who fabricated cases against Bhandari and other BKF leaders. The BKF leaders were merely seeking government help to landless peasants who were also victims of cyclone.

We congratulate the BKF and BKS for their persistent effort to release their colleagues even if they will have to face the false charges against them in court. The peasant struggle for land and genuine freedom endures lots of sacrifices. Long live the genuine peasant movement in Asia! Long live international solidarity!

APC Executive Committee

2008-03-25T06:17:00.000-07:00

Biplab Halim

Chairperson (India)

Erpan Faryadi

Vice-chairperson for Internal Affairs (Indonesia)

Irene Fernandez

Vice-chairperson for External Affairs (Malaysia)

Danilo Ramos

Secretary General (Philippines)

P. Chennaiah

Deputy Secretary General (India)

Fatima Burnad

Treasurer (India)

Shagdar Ganbuyag

Internal Auditor (Mongolia)