Groups stage march and mass “die-ins” against MC6 in downtown Hong Kong

Hong Kong (Dec 15) — Mass deaths! Plunder and massive destruction of natural resources! Destruction of the agriculture of developing countries! Exacerbating landlessness! Causing dislocation, hunger, and poverty! Trampling on workers’ and women’s rights! Undermining social justice! Jeopardising health! Undermining food sovereignty!

These were among the numerous “crimes against humanity” the World Trade Organization (WTO) was found guilty of, at the 1st International Rural Peoples Tribunal held to protest the 6th Ministerial Conference (MC6), as part of the Peoples Camp on Food Sovereignty events in Hong Kong. Attorney Jobert Pahilga from the Center for Agrarian Reform in the Philippines read the indictment of the WTO.

One of the first to take the witness stand was P. Chennaiah, leader of the Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Vruthidarula Union (APVVU, Agricultural Workers Union)-also the spokesperson for the Coalition of Agricultural Workers International (CAWI), a unique coalition of Peoples Movements, Trade Unions, NGOs and other support networks representing agricultural workers, peasants, small farmers, dalits and fisherfolk.

Chennaiah recounted how landless agricultural laborers and maginalised farmers who make a living primarily by selling their labour, constitute the core of the Indian peasantry. The number of poor peasants has increased largely due to the implementation of the Indian government’s globalisation and trade liberalisation policies that are aligned with policies of the WTO, and the dictates of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. These he stated, were only catering to the needs of the multinational and transnational corporations. Discrimination is a common occurrence in India especially in terms of the lowest caste or Dalits, who make up a large number of poor peasants in the country. So called “high-yielding” variety crops, and genetically modified plants and organisms which carry with them high production costs, and pose dangers to health, are being introduced to the detriment of the whole population, especially the peasantry. He also elaborated how the peasants, landless labourers, women, and especially the Dalits who have continued to resist these policies are routinely subjected to harassment in various forms. Chenniah also testified that thousand of farmers in India have committed suicide because of the adverse effects on their agriculture and livelihoods brought about by the globalisation policies implemented in the country.

During proceedings, Danilo Ramos, secretary general of the Asian Peasant Coalition and Peasant Movement of the Philippines (KMP) took the witness stand and recounted the worsening landlessness, poverty, and militarisation in the Philippine countryside caused by the WTO-fueled policies of the government. The peasant leader also denounced private companies which are enabled by the WTO to “control seeds and land, control food, control agriculture, and control countries in general.”

Gazol Varga, a farmer leader in Hungary, testified how small and medium farmers in smaller industrialised countries in the European Union are also going bankrupt because of trade liberalisation. He said that since the EU joined the WTO, land, capital, and government subsidies have become concentrated in the hands of a few rich farmers and big agri-businesses.

Shanti, a member of the Dalit Women’s Forum in South India, told the tribunal how women farmers have been forced to shift from planting food crops to export crops such as flowers, because of WTO related policies. Flower cultivation exposes them to high amounts of chemical pesticides, placing them in danger from poisonings, ill health and even death. Being paid low wages as agricultural workers, many women also cannot feed or send their children to school, and are forced to migrate to the cities and work as prostitutes.

The panel of judges for the 1st International Rural People’s Tribunal were Azra Sayeed from Roots for Equity in Pakistan, ‘Right Livelihood’ recipient Dr. Irene Fernandez from Tenaganita in Malaysia, and Judge Romeo Capulong from Public Interest Law Center in the Philippines

The tribunal, organised by the Asian Peasant Coalition and the Peasant Movement of the Philippines, ended with a march in downtown Hong Kong leading to the HK Convention Center where the WTO MC6 was in its third day.

On the way to the Convention Center, the farmers and supporters conducted six “die-ins” to show opposition to the six WTO meetings thus far, and to declare that, “Ten Years of WTO is Enough!

The farmers then symbolically crushed the WTO and U.S. imperialist domination with the strength of their unity by kicking, pushing down, and poking at a mascot of U.S. President George Bush with flagsticks. PAN AP executive director Sarojeni Rengam, one of the tribunal’s prosecutors, led the program in the protest action held at Victoria Bay in front of the venue of WTO MC6, together with peasant, worker and women leaders from the Philippines, India, Malaysia and other countries. The event ended with the burning of the U.S. flag.

The People’s Camp for Food Sovereignty takes place from December 15-17 in Victoria Park, will have tribunals, seminars, workshops, protest actions, exhibits, a Rice Festival and other cultural events. It is being organized by Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific (PANAP) and the People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS) together with 40 People’s Organisations and support NGOs from all over Asia and other regions.