Hi to you all comrades in La Via Campesina. As you meet in Harare, Bunge La Mwanachi in conjunction with the World March of Women,(WMW-Kenya), Coalition for Grassroot Human Rights Defenders Kenya(CGHRDK), Kenyan Peasants League(KPL), and the Social Movement Working Group Against WTO (SMWGAW) wish to grasp this early opportunity to send our solidarity message with La Via Campesina’s struggle for food sovereignty, farmers’ rights, and calling for an end to WTO which is a serpent in Less Developed countries.
Many social movements in the world continue to face challenges and struggles which are interrelated especially on the front of fighting for Social Justice and Human Rights. In the goals and objectives of La Vai Campesina, we understand that we share common focus especially in fighting austerity, Privatization and systems that work for Corporates Interests and particulaly for profits gains at the expense of the local populations.
During the last parallel conference against WTO in Nairobi , we realized that La Via Campesina has a long history in the fight against the WTO and therefore we believe that our partnership with LVC is crucial and instrumental in fighting for world that is based on Social Justice and human Rights, farmers rights as well as food sovereignty. This gave birth to Kenyan Pesants League(KPL) which has already taken root in the rural counties of Migori, Machakosi and Trans-Nzoia which is home to many peasant farmers. We should maintain and hold our strong principles in opposition to Agreement on Agriculture(AoA), Trade Related Investments Measures(TRIMS), Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights(TRIPS), and General Agreements of Trade and Services(GATS) which are the tools of neo-Colonialization and are propelled by the so called super power to strengthen the control of Multinational Corporation on local economies at the expense of local farmers and consumers.
There a number of socio-economical challenges as well as political that continue to face the African countries and which derail the development of our nations. In relation to this we also call for your solidarity in our fight against the killings of innocent women, children and people of Burundi by the evil regime of Piere Nkurunziza who is still holding onto his uncostittutional third term rule. He is targeting those who are opposed to his government by killing them. W e also call for your solidarity in putting pressure on the Ethiopian Government which is running a mafia campaign of killing the innocent members of Oromo Peasant framers under the influence of the multinational corporation who have grabbed a bigger percentage of their fertile land.
On 18th February this year, the Ugandans will be having the general election. We therefore ask you to stand with us in solidarity as we campaign for peace during and after the election. We condemn the Ugandan government which is using the Gulu Mafia Front Tomilitia to scare voters in the opposition’s backyard from participating in the exercise.
We shall work together with La Via Campesina in amplifying our voices and struggles both locally and Internationally. Long live La Via Campesina. #ENDWTO.
NB: Comrade Cidi Otieno and Sophie Dowllar will deliver the solidarity statement on our behalf.
GLOBALIZE THE STRUGGLE! GLOBALIZE HOPE!
In Solidarity:
- Chekai Musa – Deputy Speaker BLM and Secretary KPL +254714123258
- Rachael Mwikali- Convener CGHRDK +254723764748
- Florence Keya – Nairobi Cordinator WMW +254726304569
- Antony Kirika – BLM kangemi +254723363632
- Wifred Olal – Convener DMC and former cordinator BLM +254722746164
- Rachael Irungu – Wamama Sasa Na Uongozi +25472064939