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Home >> Articles >> Speech delivered by Mr. Paul
Nickel son |
ORGANIZED BY ALL NEPAL PEASANTS' ASSOCIATION ON DECEMBER 3rd 2005
Namaskar, Salaam
I'm honored Mr. chairperson, to be here. Thank you very much.
I'm honored too to be witness your mobilizations on the road to peace and republic.
I'm sorry I do not speak your language and I will speak slowly and I hope at least you can imagine what
I'm trying to say. I'm a peasant, I' am a dairy peasant from a Bask country, from Europe. I now work in a small cooperative where we produce vegetables and fruits. Fellow farmers you have probably been told that Europe is the model, that in Europe we do things well, that we are rich, that we have lots of subsidies and that we are selfish, that is not true.
every minute one family farm disappears in the European Union and this crisis is especially for the small farmer. I farm on ten acres of land ,no more just ten acres of land, so these policies are destroying peasant farming all over the
world. In Nepal and too in Europe. And just imagine if they tell you that an European model is a good one in Europe today only 5% of the population are peasants, only 5%.You are I heard before 81%.If that is the model what is going to happen to society in Nepal, in the whole
world. The European model of agriculture is crazy, is destructive on society, of rights and of culture. And this conflict, this crisis is not a conflict between peasants of different
countries. It's not a crisis ,it's not a conflict between countries it is a conflict against the neo liberal
policies. Those are the causes of the crisis of the rural economy. The main causes and its important to understand that the causes are the same in
Nepal, in Brazil ,in the Bask country or in Africa. One, is the concept of free
trade, free trade is the problem is not the solution, free trade generates import and
massive import of cheap food making us impossible to produce food for our own local
society. It generates cheap prices. The privatization of natural resources; of
water, of land ,of seas. The de-regularization of social and
labors rights and the imposition of model of
production, of model of consumption tied to the interest of the
multinational co operations. Farmers all over the world are in the front of the struggle against neo liberal
policies. It's the peasants, it's the farmers, it's the farm
workers, it's the indigenous peoples who are fighting in the forefront demanding food
sovereignty and attacking WTO.WTO is the main instrument of mass destruction of the rural
world. TO is the instrument of cope rations, of multinational
co operations who are using food as a commodity and as a
policy, as an instrument to control democracy and why is WTO so powerful? It is the only
institution internationally which is above the power of
parliaments. What WTO dictates hasn't got any appeal, it goes over and above any parliamentary
decision. It has no democratic control. It has the mandate to liberalize and privatize natural
resources, all economy and all services. It is not
democratic, you cannot reform WTO because it's very nature is to liberalize
economy. It is a tool for United States and European Union cooperation
control. In Hong Kong farmers all over the world, peasants,
fisher folks, farmers we are going to fight and try and stop the whole negotiation
procedure. We want to derail the the talks at Hong Kong and the struggle is not only going to be in
Hong Kong but here also in each country, in each
town. In Hong Kong they want to liberalize totally food trade and market access is a problem not a
solution. They want to make food a commodity when food is a right, right to produce
food, a right to eat food. They want to privatize services,
our water, our health, our education and finally they want to open a market for
industrial products. All in all it is the sale of the whole
economy. It is putting all the economy in the hands of few multinationals so
that's why to fight WTO today is the most important thing we have in our immediate future.WTO out of food ,out of
agriculture, out of services and in this struggle against neo liberalism we have developed peasants all over the world of
Africa, of America, of Brazil, of Mexico,of Asia,of Europe.Those farmer oganizations,those peasants organizations,those women organizations have developed strategy ,a unity to change these economic policies,to change and transform society.Each of our country ,each with our own style,each with our own mode of struggle. We have generated what is Via Campasina which means the peasant road.Today after eleven years we are movement of about 175 organizations representing above 200 million peasants, farm workers, indegeneous peoples, organizations of women farmers all over the world.A 175 organizations, and it is an important force. Today is the major international force which faces neo liberalization and united we are getting stronger,our voices are clearly being heard and you will see for example when the Korean brothers are fighting against WTO they are also members of Via Campasina.When the landless movement of Brazil amnesty are fighting against WTO they are also members of Via Campesina The more important movements and organizations are today fighting against neo liberalization are members of Via Campasina.A movement which is horizontal,which is a tonamos of the political parties where men and women equally imparity fight together shoulder to shoulder with the same objectives.Today and this is aside 70% of the world's farmers are women farmers so their participation is fundamental in the struggle to change,to transform society.The proposal of Via Campesina is food soviernity,the right of peoples to the determine and the policies of agriculture.The rights of the governments to protect local agriculture,to priortize the local food production, to priortize the right,the access of farmers, of men and women to the land,to the water to the seas.It's the rights of citizens to determine what we eat,who produces it and how it is produced.It is the right of making food of ours and not of the cooperations.So,today it is an strange when poeple say where are the peasants whenwe are the majority of the world populaton are peasants are farm workers,are landless farmers and we are leading the fight against neo liberalism.We have to have one voice and we have to have many struggles all over the country.I finish off saying, again, I repeat,it's been an honour for me here and it's an honour to be a witness of a process of social change in Nepal.I'am sure you are going to acheive a republic state and I will speak about it whereever I go in the world.
Dhanyabad
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All Nepal Peasants' Association 2006, Technical Support By {Options} | |
