Protests rally of Bangladesh Agricultural Farm
Labour Federation and National Women Farmers and Workers Association demanding
reject free trade and ensure food sovereignty.
UN Declaration on Rights of Peasants and Other
People Working in Rural Areas
Must be Implemented
Gazipur, September 10, 2019. Bangladesh Agricultural Farm
Labour Federation and National Women Farmers’ and Workers Association have
organized a rally in Gazipur today demanding ending of free trade and upholding
the food sovereignty. These two national organizations of farmers, workers and
women farmers organized a rally at Bangladesh Rice Research Institute in
Gazipur.
Speakers
at the rally point out that Lee Kyung Hae, a South Korean farmer and farmer
leader, committed suicide during the Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade
Organization in Cancun, Mexico. On
September 10 when he did this, he had a banner on his neck that that read 'WTO
Kills Farmers'. By his sacrifice he echoed the demands of farmers worldwide and
people who are dependent on agriculture, and that demand is 'agriculture should
be kept out of the WTO's free trade negotiations'. Lee was a self-reliant rice
farmer in the Korean countryside, but he lost all because of the import of
cheap rice and meat dumped by the WTO through a free trade agreement. Since
then, the International Movement of the Farmers La Via Campesina observed
September 10 as the International Struggle Day against the WTO and the Free
Trade Agreement, paying tribute to Lee Kyung's sacrifice.
Speakers
at the rally demanded the government to implement the UN Declaration on Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural
Areas. They said that, since the Bangladesh government has signed this
declaration on principle, it is their responsibility to implement this UN
declaration.
The
organizers pointed out that, farmers, small scale food producers, who live in
the villages, ensure food security and the sovereignty of public food. They
feed 70% of the world's people. They produce quality food, create mostly rural
employment, address the problems related to sustainable use of natural
resources and climate change.
Speakers
said that until the sixties, a farmer would not have to buy anything from the
market except salt and kerosene to light the house. But with the use of
excessive pesticides and chemical fertilizers in the name of green beetles, our
agriculture, natural fisheries and biodiversity have all reached the gates of
destruction. Therefore, we must reject the WTO and the Free Trade Agreement and
unite for a farmer-led alternative.
Among
others, Md. Mamun Hossain, Nurjahan Begum, Golam Sorowor were among the
speakers.
