Peasant Forum: Peoples response resistance against WTO Roots
for Equity/Asian Peasant Coalition
April 18, 2007
Caritas Hall, Lahore, Pakistan

ROOTS for Equity had organized a Peasant Forum on 18th April 2007 at Caritas Auditorium, Lahore. Approximately 80-90 peasants and activist from NWFP, Punjab and Sindh had attended the forum. Ms Tabassum, Roots for Equity in her welcoming speech spoke on the anti-peoples agenda of the WTO. To make matters worse Pakistan has now joined the Cairns Group, which goes totally against the interests of the small and landless peasants of Pakistan. Tabassum pointed out that in a country like Pakistan where people suffer from hunger the idea of exporting crops is to mock the miseries of its people.

The forum had been the culmination of a three day resistance against the Cairns Group Miniministerial meeting of WTO in Lahore 16-18, April. The activists and peasant groups from all over Pakistan had taken out a rally on the 17th raising the world wide call "WTO out of Agriculture."

Mr. David Rahmat, a representative of the Okara landless movement gave a comprehensive overview of the Movement of Anjuman-e-Mazareen, Punjab (AMP). According to him that "when we had started the movement we had not known that our struggle would get such support from other landless communities in Punjab. Our struggle is for the ownership of the land which our ancestors have been cultivating for more than a 100 year. The movement which had been started with the slogan of "MALKI YA MOT" Ownership or Death still continues. Our struggle had not concluded and it will continue till we win.

The call for supporting peoples movement was emphasized by Mr. Ali Akber Khan, a labor leader and activist from Charsada, NWFP. Akbar Khan stressed on the need of solidarity among marginalized communities so that a strong force could be built that could resist the national elite and global imperialist forces.

Wali Haider, Roots for Equity highlighted the significance of the food sovereignty concept as the clarion call of the people's movement and answer against corporate agriculture. According to Mr Haider, Food Sovereignty is the only viable option for achieving prosperity for the exploited farming communities not only nationally but internationally.

Ms. Farah Jabeen, Lok Sanjh, discussed the impacts of mechanized farming on women peasants. A major repercussion has been the loss of control that women had over seed. Women are no more the caretakers of seed but also have to fight the highly injurious repercussions of toxic pesticides. Farah also highlighted the importance of Food Sovereignty as an answer to corporate agriculture.

Sony Bheel, a landless peasant woman spoke on the acute hardship faced by sharecroppers and landless peasants in Sindh. Her life and that of her family and community is totally dictated by the feudal lord they serve. Sony said "we already face such acute oppression from the landlord, and the coming force of transnational corporations would further aggravate the exploitation: we will no longer even have right to save our seeds, water will be privatized and even our meager access at present will be taken away from us." She wanted to know that "do we also have to go the way of the Korean farmer who had taken his life at the Cancun Ministerial in 2003?" She ended saying "WTO na khape" "We do not want WTO."

Women theatre group from Sindh presented a play on the debt cycle faced by peasants due to use of green revolution farming methods, and the immensely harmful impacts on peoples health.

The forum passed a resolution to support people's movements against the onslaught of imperialist globalization

The forum ended with peasants from all over Pakistan gathering around and holding a huge quilt (ralli) which had been stitched by women peasants for the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial meeting in 2005. The quilt was a symbolic representation of the collective strength of people, and their ability to garner resistance against imperialist forces.