Across the country, the US Friends of the MST demonstrated outside of Brazilian consulates, calling for justice for peasant leaders who have been killed in Brazil, opposing the coup in Brazil, and lifting up the fight for food sovereignty.
In NYC, Gabriela NY and US Friends of the MST activists also memorialized the MST members killed in the Eldorado dos Carajás massacre and the peasants in The Phillipines killed in the Kidapawan Massacre:
Contacts:
Saulo Araujo, WhyHunger – (617) 735-5899
Stephen Bartlett, Agricultural Missions – (502) 415-1080
Lisa Griffith, National Family Farm Coalition – (773) 319-5838
Carol Schachet, Grassroots International – (617) 524-1400 or (617) 628-3455
She was a courageous voice in defense of Lenca communities and the struggle for the rights of people and of Mother Earth. During her 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize Award ceremony, Berta shared these words:
“In our worldview, we are beings who come from the Earth, from the water, and from corn. The Lenca people are ancestral guardians of the rivers, in turn protected by the spirits of young girls, who teach us that giving our lives in various ways for the protection of the rivers is giving our lives for the well-being of humanity and of this planet… Let us wake up! We’re out of time. WE must shake our conscience free of the rapacious capitalism, racism and patriarchy that will only assure our own self-destruction.
“Our Mother Earth – militarized, fenced-in, poisoned, a place where basic rights are systematically violated – demands that we take action.”
The murder of Berta Cáceres is a direct result of the ill-advised US policies for Latin America. It is past time for the US government to recognize that the financial and political support it has provided to the 2009 military coup and to the current Honduran government only fuels abuses by military personnel and the role of death squads against journalists, students and organizers, especially those at the forefront of defending land, territory, and natural resources. Berta had warned that DESA was once again invading Lenca territories, this time accompanied by private and public armed forces, including the military police called “Tigres” – trained and financed by the United States. Furthermore, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is directly supporting the Agua Zarca project through the USAID MERCADO program.
Besides Berta, other leaders from trade unions and peasant, Indigenous and Afro-descendent organizations are frequent targets of death threats.Currently, the Honduran authorities are holding one member of COPINH and an international ally Gustavo Castro as part of the criminal investigation in a clear attempt to criminalize the victims of Berta’s assassination. We ask friends and allies to participate in local actions to demand a prompt and full independent investigation into the killing of Berta Cáceres, by the Inter American Human Rights Commission. We call on everyone determined to uphold human rights to immediately contact their congressional representatives, advise them that the US support to Honduras and to the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam project is destroying democratic rule in Honduras and killing innocent people, and demand an immediate end to such support.
Finally, we support the rightful demands of COPINH and of all Indigenous communities to protect and defend their lands and to prevent unwanted megaprojects in their territory, starting with the Agua Zarca dam project on the sacred Gualcarque River.
Next Monday, March 14 is International Day of Action Against Dams and for Rivers, Water, and Life. Around the country and around the world, organizations will be taking action in tribute to the powerful work Berta Cáceres led to protect the Gualcarque River, and in solidarity with the ongoing work of COPINH and of other movements in defense of water rights around the world. We dedicate ourselves to these struggles.
In solidarity,
US Food Sovereignty Alliance, United States
American Federation of Government Employees (AFL-CIO), Local 3354, United States
Climate Justice Alliance, United States
Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, United States
Food Chain Workers Alliance, United States
National Family Farm Coalition, United States
Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance, United States
Rural Coalition, United States
World Forum of Fisher People, Global
Action Aid, United States
Agricultural Missions, United States
American Jewish World Service, United States
Campaign for Food Justice, United States
Centro de Estudios en Ecología Política, Colombia
CIP –Americas Program, United States
Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, United States
Committee on U.S.-Latin American Relations, United States
Community Alliance for Global Justice, United States
Community to Community, United States
Cooperation Operation, United States
Family Farm Defenders, United States
Farmworker Association of Florida, United States
Food First, United States
Global Greengrants Fund, United States
Grassroots International, United States
Groundswell International, United States
Growing Food and Justice Initiative, United States
Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy, United States
Indigenous Environmental Network, United States
Institute for Agricultural and Trade Policy, United States
Institute for Social Ecology, United States
International Development Exchange, United States
Kairos Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice at Union Theological Seminary, United States
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, United States
Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment, United States
Movement Generation Justice and Ecology Project, United States
National Family Farm Coalition, United States
Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala, United States
New Roots, United States
North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers Land Loss Prevention Project, United States
Oakland Institute, United States
Other Worlds, United States
Partners for the Land & Agricultural Needs of Traditional Peoples, United States
People’s Climate Movement-NY, United States
Pesticide Action Network – North America, United States
Rede Social de Justi ça e Direitos Humanos, Brazil
Rural Community Workers Alliance, United States
Small Planet Institute, United States
Soil Generation, United States
Soul Fire Farm, United States
Southwest Organizing Project, United States
Southwest Workers Union, United States
St. Louis Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America, United States
Surplus People’s Project, South Africa
Sustainable Agriculture of Louisville, United States
Urgent Action Fund, United States
WhyHunger, United States
Quotes :
“For decades, Berta Caceres gave everything she had to the causes of true democracy; indigenous power; protection of the earth, the forests, the rivers; rights of women and LGBT individuals; and an end of tyranny by the US government, transnational capital, and Honduran oligarchy. Berta advanced these agendas not only in Honduras, but globally – most recently even in an audience with the Pope. Now, the one thing she did not freely give has been taken from her: her very life. But she is not gone; she lives on in all of us who continue to believe in and work for a just, humane, and ecologically safe world.” – Beverly Bell, Other Worlds
“The assassination of Berta Caceres is a tremendous loss to us, and to all communities who seek justice and dignity. And her murder is an indictment on an insatiable and immoral system – supported by US policies since the 2009 coup – that grabs ancestral lands from indigenous communities, poisons and privatizes waterways and seeks profit above all else. She stood courageously in the face of mounting threats, knowing the dangers, and with love in her heart, organized to protect the lands and waters of the Lenca people. We mourn with and call on the international community to take action, to bring justice for Berta and to work to continue her legacy.” – Chung-Wha Hong, Grassroots International
¨A Honduran friend who recognizes his Lenca ancestry called me today and declared: They have killed Lempira again. They killed the person carrying the banner of Indigenous Dignity the Highest, Berta Caceres. Lempira was the Lenca leader killed by the Spanish at the time of conquest. I agree: On March 3, 2016 Lempira Was Killed Again. I mourn for our collective loss and the loss of a beautiful, inspirational sister of supreme struggle.¨ – Stephen Bartlett, Agricultural Missions
“Berta was a tenacious leader. She worked tirelessly to bring indigenous and peasant families into international alliances to contain the greed of international capital for local resources. Above all, Berta was a dear friend and a sister in the struggle for many people in Central America and beyond. The loss of Berta Caceres is now our mística, the energy that will unify us and will sustain our struggle for a more just society.” – Saulo Araujo, WhyHunger
”At Grassroots Global Justice Alliance we are saddened and enraged by the murder of our compañera Berta. She stood up fiercely against her government and trans-national corporations, but always grounded in her love for people and the land. We will continue to live up to the example that she set to fight for land, for life, for dignity, and for happiness! The US government is as much responsible for her death as the people who invaded her home. We will not forget the fights Berta has been engaged in, Let’s channel her strength and her courage to continue her legacy.” – Cindy Wiesner on behalf of Grassroots Global Justice Alliance
“We are deeply saddened by the death of this courageous leader. Her assassination is another horrific example of the violence against environmental activists and the criminalization of people, particularly women and indigenous peoples, around the world who are fighting to protect basic rights to water, land, forests, and life. May Berta’s blood bring strength and determination to her immediate family, comrades, and all of us.” – Terry Odendahl and Nnimmo Bassey, Global Greengrants Fund
“The terrible news of the assassination of Berta Cáceres, internationally recognized human rights defender and Lenca indigenous leader, leaves us shocked and saddened, but determined to continue the fight she so boldly led. She was an inspirational example of how the defense of land and territory, and indigenous and women’s rights, can and must be taken up together. We join the call for an independent investigation and immediate suspension of US security aid that has fomented the militarization and post-coup abandonment of human rights in Honduras.” – Laura Carlsen, CIP Americas Program
USFSA Member organizations and allies send urgent letter to US Secretary of State John Kerry to push the Pakistani government to release Mr. Baloch, who was unjustly arrested and detained.
On January 16, Mr. Saeed Baloch, the General Secretary of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) was arrested by elements of the Pakistan Army and has since been detained without charges. Mr. Baloch has been a Human Rights activist since the 1980s, and has been involved with PFF since its inception. PFF is a member of the World Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP), a global social movement for the food sovereignty and human rights of fisher peoples around the world.
In their fight to protect fisher people and mother earth, Mr. Baloch and the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum have often confronted the policies of the Pakistan government which are harmful to the people and the planet. These elements of the Pakistan Army have targeted social activists before, using a broad anti-terrorism law to crack down on human rights defenders.
On Twitter: URGENT: @johnkerry @statedept Demand Pakistan release #SaeedBaloch now from unlawful imprisonment! Read statement: http://bit.ly/205wme4.
On Facebook: Secretary of State John Kerry and the US State Department (www.facebook.com/usdos/), Demand that the government of Pakistan release Mr. Saeed Baloch, human rights defender for fisherfolks, from unalwful imprison immediately! Read the statement from the US Food Sovereignty Alliance here: http://bit.ly/205wme4.
January 27, 2016
Honorable John Kerry, Secretary of State U.S. State Department 2201 C Street, NW Washington, DC 20520
Dear Honorable Secretary Kerry,
The undersigned organizations and individuals condemn the unjust arrest of Saeed Baloch by paramilitary forces in Pakistan. We demand his immediate release. If the government of Pakistan refuses, we request an explanation as to the charges brought against him and a warrant for his arrest. In that case, Mr. Baloch must receive due process of law and be brought to a civilian court in the presence of a judge with witnesses. He must receive legal counsel of his choice and have regular contact with his lawyers and family.
Since the 1980’s, Mr. Saeed Baloch has been an ardent human rights activist, labor unionist and movement leader. He is the Secretary General of the Fishermen’s Cooperative Society (FCS) in Karachi and of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF), which protects the socioeconomic and political rights of indigenous fishing communities in Pakistan and maintains more than 70,000 members. Mr. Baloch is also a senior member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
On January 16, 2016, he was taken into custody for questioning by the Pakistan Rangers who work under the command of the Pakistan Army. Since then, he has been detained without clear charges or evidence of wrongdoing. Civil society organizations in Pakistan have launched a petition with the Sindh High Court and have requested a meeting with Director General of the Rangers.
To date, there is still no arrest warrant; he has not been to court; and, both the charges against him and the reason for detention have not been made public. Additionally, Mr. Baloch has not seen his family or legal advisors and is being held at an undisclosed location. This is a violation of his basic human rights.
We urgently request that the U.S. State Department investigate this situation and pressure the Pakistani government to immediately release Mr. Baloch. If the government of Pakistan wants to bring charges against him, they must follow due process of law and uphold human rights.
Sincerely Yours,
Community to Community; Bellingham, Washington Family Farm Defenders; Madison, Wisconsin Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy; Minneapolis, Minnesota Institute for Policy Studies; Washington, DC National Family Farm Coalition; Washington, DC Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance; Gloucester, Massachusetts Soil Generation; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States Food Sovereignty Alliance Voices for Earth Justice; Southfield, Michigan WhyHunger; New York, New York Andrianna Natsoulas, Food Voices; Las Cruces, New Mexico Philip McMichael, Professor, Cornell University; Ithaca, New York Wendy Wolford, Professor, Cornell University; Ithaca, New York
Cc:
Under Secretary Sarah Sewall, Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights
Ambassador, H.E. Mr. Jalil Abbas Jilani, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the United States of America
In this moment when it is vital to assert that Black lives matter, the U.S. Food Sovereignty Alliance honors Black and Afro-Indigenous farmers, fisherfolk, and stewards of ancestral lands and water. We especially commemorate them as a vital part of our food and agriculture system – growers and workers who are creating food sovereignty, meaning a world with healthy, ecologically produced food, and democratic control over food systems.
In 2015, the U.S. Food Sovereignty Alliance’s two prize winners are:
Federation of Southern Cooperatives
The Federation of Southern Cooperatives strengthens a vital piece of food sovereignty: helping keep lands in the hands of family farmers, in this case primarily African-American ones.. (read more)
&
The Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH)
The Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH) was created in 1979 to protect the economic, social, and cultural rights of 46 Garifuna communities along the Atlantic coast of Honduras. At once Afro-descendent and indigenous, the Garifuna people are connected to both the land and the sea, and sustain themselves through farming and fishing…(read more)
The Food Sovereignty Prize spotlights grassroots activists working for a more democratic food system. The honorees are being recognized for promoting food sovereignty by:
raising public awareness, organizing on-the-ground action, and/or developing and implementing programs and policies,
recognizing the importance of collective action in bringing about social change,
building global linkages into their work, and
prioritizing the leadership of women, indigenous peoples, people of color, migrant workers and other food providers marginalized by the global food system.
The Food Sovereignty Prize was first awarded in 2009 as an alternative to the World Food Prize founded by “the father of the Green Revolution,” the late Norman Borlaug. While the World Food Prize emphasizes increased production through technology, the Food Sovereignty Prize champions solutions coming from those most impacted by the injustices of the global food system. In honoring those who are taking back their food systems, the Food Sovereignty Prize affirms that nothing short of the true democratization of our food system will enable us to end hunger once and for all.
The Food Sovereignty Prize is awarded by the US Food Sovereignty Alliance.
