Topic: repression

PHILIPPINES: Farm leader wounded in shooting in front of his family
Urgent Appeals Programme: Asian Human Rights Commission
December 18, 2006 - Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that a leader of a group of farmers seeking land reform was wounded in a shooting at 6pm on 30 October 2006. The attack on Ronald Ocson (41), president of the Asao Farmers and Residents Association (AFRA), took place almost three weeks after he and his fellow villagers were also violently allegedly attacked by armed goons of an influential landlord in Barangay (village) Lawis, Balasan, Iloilo.

Colombia - S.O.S. On behalf of the Indigenous Peoples: Nukak Makú, Guayabero, Sikuani, and Tucano
ONIC
June 29, 2006 - The National Indigenous Organization of Colombia, ONIC, is sending an S.O.S. because of the grave and repeated human rights violations against the Nukak Makú, Guayabero, Sikuani, and Tucano indigenous peoples. In a visit made to the state of Guaviare we witnessed first hand the critical human rights situation in which these indigenous people are living.

Colombia: Casualties in Battle Against Free Trade Pact with US
Constanza Vieira, IPS
June 29, 2006 - BOGOTÁ, May 22 (IPS) - Indigenous and campesino protests against the free trade deal that Colombia is negotiating with the United States drew a harsh military response from the government of rightwing President Álvaro Uribe, leaving an as yet unknown number of people dead, injured or missing.

UNORKA's General Secretary, Enrico “Eric” Cabanit Assassinated
Evangeline Mendoza, UNORKA
April 28, 2006 - It is with deep and most profound sorrow and anger that we condemn in the strongest terms possible the senseless assassination of peasant leader Enrico “Eric” Cabanit, current Secretary General of Pambansang Ugnayan ng mga Nagsasariling Lokal na Organisasyon sa Kanayunan (UNORKA, National Coordination of Autonomous Local Rural People's Organizations), the biggest organization of landless and poor peasants in the Philippines fighting for social justice and land reform at around 6:10 last night (24 April 2006). Ka Eric was at the public market of the municipality of Panabo (his hometown), when he was assassinated by two masked men. His daughter was also seriously wounded due to gunshot wounds and is in critical condition at the Tagum General Hospital.

Colombia: Peasants in Cimitarra violated in their rights
EMERGENCY NETWORK: Via Campesina, FIAN
April 19, 2006 - Strong fighting between the Colombian army and the guerrilla threatens the peasant population in the region of the River Cimitarra Valley, Central Magdalena. Furthermore, peasants from different localities have been tortured and arrested by army members and alleged paramilitaries. About 25 peasant families were forced to leave the place after the army occupied San Francisco village, on the bank of the Cimitarra river. After meetings with 15 active communal councils, a fact finding commission composed of representatives of the Peasant Association of the River Cimitarra Valley (ACVC), NGOs and the Integrated Peace Observatory denounced severe violations of human rights and demanded that the State should fulfil its obligations to protect the men and women peasants which are being used as human shields by the combatant parties.

Another Activist Killed in Central Luzon - February 13, 2006
February 14, 2006 - The militant Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KPD) and its youth arm, the Youth for Nationalism and Democracy (YND), today grieves over the death of one of its youth organizers in Bataan Province. Audie Lucero, 19 years old and a resident of Brgy. Daang Bago in Samal town in Bataan, was found dead at a ricefield in Brgy. Capitangan, Abucay town in Bataan at 6:40am this morning, February 13. Lucero, a youth organizer for YND and member of KPD, suffered from 3 bullet wounds that struck his left hand, a knee and back while his body also bore signs of being beaten prior to his death.

THE STATE OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN CENTRAL LUZON: A MICROCOSM OF HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN THE COUNTRY
Aurora Broquil, Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KPD)
February 14, 2006 - The Arroyo regime is no ‘strong republic’ but rather a desperate and illegitimate one. Despite its claims to the contrary, the present regime is being fueled not by people’s support but by foreign and local big business and the might of the police and military. It continues to implement neo-liberal policies that wreck lives and livelihood and those foolish enough to counter this bitter reality is gagged with executive orders and directives designed to demonize dissent and penalize the pursuit of civil and political liberties.

Colombia: “Liberty for Mother Earth". Indigenous people and peasants fighting for Agrarian Reform
La Vía Campesina; FIAN
November 11, 2005 - Since October 12th, indigenous and peasant groups have peacefully occupied more than 12 farms in the Cauca Department in demand for agrarian reform measures. Armed forces tried to evict them from the different places, injuring more than 57 persons. The government of Cauca accepted to initiate negotiations with some of the occupants, but not with all of them. At the same time, the Governor made statements to the effect of discrediting the groups and communities by associating them with drug trafficking, guerrilla and terrorism. Since the beginning of October the arrival of uniformed persons to the region has been reported who might possibly be paramilitary groups. The risk of a massacre cannot be ruled out.

COLOMBIA: CAUCA INDIGENOUS PEOPLE SEIZE ESTATES
October 18, 2005 - As part of nationwide mobilizations on Oct. 12 in Colombia, indigenous people in the southern department of Cauca began a coordinated series of land occupations on Oct. 11 and 12. On Oct. 11 some 2,500 Guambiano indigenous people began occupying the Ambalo estate owned by the Estela family in Silvia municipality in an effort to recover their ancestral lands. On Oct. 14 police attacked the community, injuring at least three people: one was hit in the eyes with tear gas and might lose his sight; one suffered a fractured knee, and one woman's ribs were fractured.

REPORT: Police Open Fire on Peasants in Lombok, Indonesia
Land Research Action Network (LRAN)
September 21, 2005 - On the morning of September 18, 2005, at approximately 9:00AM, Indonesian police forces violently dispersed a peaceful gathering of about 1000 peasants in Tanah Awuk village in central Lombok, Indonesia. The peasants had gathered together to launch a week-long series of activities to commemorate Indonesia’s National Peasants’ Day on September 24th. More than 300 invited guests, including students, members of Serikat Tani NTB (the local peasants’ union) and peasant farmers from 12 other provinces were expected at the meeting. Also invited to this meeting was an international delegation composed of peasant leaders from La Via Campesina, human rights specialists, and researchers from the Land Research Action Network (LRAN), who were in Lombok to attend a National Symposium on Agrarian Reform organized by the Indonesian Federation of Peasant Unions (FSPI).

Police Disrupt Peasant Gathering in Lombok: 37 Peasants Shot and Wounded. Indonesia, 18 September, 2005
Via Campesina
September 20, 2005 - On the morning of the 18th at 08.00 the local police intervened, attempting to dismiss a meeting of 700-1000 peasants waiting for the arrival of the La Via Campesina delegation. Peasant representatives wanted to read a public declaration. The police did not allow this, and suddenly without warning began shooting into the gathering. As of 18th 16.00, 37 peasants were shot and wounded, some of them critically.

LPM 4 TO TESTIFY IN TRIAL OF ACCUSED TORTURE COP - 23 August, 2005
The Landless People's Movement Gauteng
August 23, 2005 - The trial of the SA Police Crime Intelligence Unit head accused of spearheading the midnight interrogation, assault, torture and attempted abduction of four LPM Gauteng activists detained on election day last year is expected to begin in earnest tomorrow in the Protea Magistrate's Court, Soweto.

Court Orders Protection for Colombian Indigenous Group
Constanza Vieira, Inter Press Service (IPS)
July 23, 2004 - The Colombian government is called to outline the steps it has taken to protect the Kankuamo indigenous people from mass killings by paramilitaries. A ruling came form the courts last week in repsonse to the cry for help coming from the remote Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain chain in northern Colombia. The Colombian government has been ordered ''to protect the life and personal integrity'' of all members of the Kankuamo indigenous communities who have been facing increasin violence in the shadow of a dam project which has been encroaching on Kankuamo land for the last several years.

Colombia: Decades of War Over Land
Constanza Vieira, Inter Press Service (IPS)
July 07, 2004 - In many rural areas of Colombia, life is measured from war to war, the first of which broke out in 1948, the second in 1954, the third in 1962 and the fourth, which is still raging, in 1964. The war that began in May 1964 produced an army of peasant origin to defend themselves against the attacks of armed gangs created by the land-hungry elites with backing from the State. . . . Read More

Brazil : Agrarian Reform for Informal Lands
Mario Osava, Inter Press Service (IPS)
June 03, 2004 - Nearly a quarter of Brazilian territory (200 million hectares, equivalent to the area of Mexico) does not have known landowners because there is no legal register of titles. During the previous administration, of Fernando Henrique Cardoso, the annual average number of families settled reached 80,000, while last year, under Lula's watch the total was 37,000. In addition to these formal efforts by the Brazilian government, peasant organizations have continued to push for more immediate land access in ways that have proven to be as successful. . . . . Read More

Army Evict Hebron Hills Palestinians
Anna Weekes
May 07, 2004 - Against Supreme Court Ruling, large army forces accompanied by bulldozers arrived and destroyed Palestinian dwellings in the Hebron Hills and evicted by force hundreds of Palestinians who lived in caves and pits near their fields. . . . Read More

Stop the Torture and End Detainment of LPM Activists
Sofia Monsalve Suárez, FIAN Internacional
May 07, 2004 - 62 members of the South African LPM have been arrested, harassed and even tortured on the past election day of 14 April. With the LPM's approval we have started a campaign letter to the President of South Africa demanding the immediate stop of repression and the implementation of a land and agrarian reform programme. . . .Take Action Now

LPM Activists Tortured and Detained
Anti-Privitisation Forum
April 29, 2004 - Anti-Privitisation Forum (APF) is Outraged at Reports of Physical and Psychological Abuse of Imprisoned LPM Members by the Police Crime Intelligence Unit. We demand the release, and drop of all charge against, the 62 Landless People's Movement (LPM) members arrested on election day. Millions of poor and landless South Africans continue to be denied real democracy, which can only be enjoyed on the basis of socio-economic equality and justice! . . . . . Take Action

Peoples' Caravan Delegates Arrested in Nepal
Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific (PANAP)
April 29, 2004 - Around 100 delegates who had attended the Public Launch of the Peoples Caravan for Food Sovereignty gathered in a peaceful demonstration near Ratna Park in downtown Kathmandu. The protestors, both foreign and local, were then pushed unto the back of the trucks and taken to Police Headquarters where many were questioned about the action. They were released later in the evening. Protest actions have become a daily occurrence on the streets of Kathmandu. And just as pro-democracy movements have intensified, so have incidences of police suppression of these actions.

LPM Members Arrested on Election Day
Landless People's Movement (LPM)
April 17, 2004 - Fifty-seven members of the Gauteng Landless People's Movement (LPM) have been arrested in Thembelihle, south of Johannesburg, for wanting to hold a peaceful protest as part of the national LPM's No Land, No Vote campaign. The LPM condemns the arrest of its core leadership and its other members under spurious charges and a violation of their fundamental civil and political rights.

LPM Condemns the Detention of APF Activists
Landless People's Movement
March 30, 2004 - The Landless People's Movement (LPM) is a grassroots organization that seeks access to land and resources for landless South Africans. The LPM also works to actively resist World Bank land privatization schemes. This press release condemns the violent arrest and apartheid-like detention of 52 Anti-Privatization Forum (APF) activists.

TAKE ACTION- Colombian Peasant Organization Members Detained
Colombia Solidarity Campaign
March 02, 2004 - Luz Perly Cordoba*, President of the Arauca Campesino Association (ACA), who had accompanied members of the Colombia Solidarity Campaign on a human rights mission to Arauca in February 2003, has been detained by state forces. The organization’s office has been raided by police, which led to further detentions. We call on all individuals and organizations to express their deep dismay and disgust at the continued persecution of the social movement in Arauca, and call on the Colombian state to release Luz Perly Cordoba from detention immediately.

TAKE ACTION-Landless Youth Activists face Life Sentences Without Proper Defense
Landless People's Movement
January 31, 2004 - The Landless People's Movement (LPM)-An independent national movement of poor and landless people struggling for land reform - requests all social movement and civil society activists with regular incomes to assist us to ensure that seven of our strongest youth comrades will be able to pay for a decent legal defence in the upcoming Johannesburg High Court murder case against the LPM "Protea 7".

Violence Against Colombian Peasant Organizations
Via Campesina & FIAN
January 13, 2004 - Colombian peasants’ movements and organisations are suffering an escalation of violence inflicted by the state and paramilitary forces that has resulted in killings, detentions and displacement of peasants, blacks and indigenous people. This wave of violence is a result of the call for a “secure and democratic policy” by the Álvaro Uribe Vélez government. The government has promoted massive detentions of peasants. In this process of punishing and condemning, the state is violating the rights of the leaders of peasants, blacks and indigenous people. The Colombian authorities carry out campaigns to discredit and criminalise peasant organisations by associating them with subversion, in order to legitimise their brutal repression.