Thursday, December 25, 2008
By By Jan Khaskheli
Karachi
The recent economic crunch has proved fatal for the marginalised sections of society, fisherfolk in particular, who have been deprived of all basic necessities of life, speakers said on Wednesday at a seminar titled ‘Pakistan Economy and the Poverty of Fishermen.’ The event was organised by the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) in collaboration with ActionAid Pakistan.
A large number of fisherfolk, women as well as men, belonging to various coastal localities of Karachi, Thatta and Badin attended the event. The PFF had invited all officials concerned, economists, intellectuals, and civil society representatives along with community people to share their views. Unfortunately, economists as well as government representatives ignored the voice of the victims.
The state departments add more problems to the lives of fisherfolk by awarding jetties to companies for real estate businesses, contracts of water bodies to influential people, allowing deep-sea industrial trawlers to poach fish stock from Pakistani waters and leaving land and timber mafia to chop off the mangrove forest, speakers said.
They demanded immediate measures to amend the Sindh Fisheries Ordinance 1980 from which the term ‘lease’ or ‘contract’ should be deleted. They also demand an announcement of a right-based sustainable fisheries policy by the government- a policy that must incorporate all indivisible human rights, including socioeconomic, cultural, political, civic and freedom of expression rights. Moreover, they were sceptical about the pledges that the current Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government has not honoured even after the 10 months of being in the power. The poor fishermen voted to elect the PPP candidates in their vicinities, the speakers claimed.
Ali Mohammed Mallah, hailing from Zero Point on the Badin coast, portrayed the real picture of fishermen residing there. He told The News that now people even catch juvenile fish and crabs – something they wouldn’t have dreamed of doing 10 to 15 years ago.
There is no fish along the seashore because several sugar mills flow their waste and chemicals through drains to the sea, poisoning the sea, their source of livelihood, he said.
The speakers also criticised parliamentarians elected from fisherfolk constituencies, and said that they breached promises made to the marginalised fisherfolk community.
Saeed Baloch
General Secretary
PAKISTAN FISHERFOLK FORUM [PFF]
Monday, December 29, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Fishermen threaten protest drive across Sindh
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
By our correspondent
HYDERABAD: The Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) on Monday announced to launch a protest campaign across Sindh from Dec 29 if the provincial government failed to resolve the problems and concerns of the fishermen.
Addressing a news conference at the Hyderabad press club, PFF office-bearers Ghulam Mustafa Mirani, Ayub Shah, Fiza Qureshi and others said despite the announcement of the Fisheries minister the Benazir cards have not been issued to the fishermen of the province for the last 10 months.
They said the Forest Department of Sindh has imposed a contract system on 30 lakes though the system was abolished due to the PFF struggle.They demanded that illegal occupation of lakes should be ended and arrested fishermen should be released forthwith otherwise a protest campaign would be launched from Dec 29 and protest demonstrations would be staged across the province and finally a long march up to the Sindh Assembly would be carried out.
Saeed Baloch
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Remembering Those Who Have Fallen
Following the afternoon discussion on the social movements' mandate proposal, the group took a moment to reflect on and remember those who could not be present at the conference, those who had fallen in the struggle. . .
CONTRIBUTED By Kattee Simon
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
A Letter of Solidarity from India
Dear ESCR Net,
First, I wish to apologise profoundly for our inability to join the strategy meeting. Yet we are very much part of the network and wish to convey that we believe in the collective civil society networking that ESCR has initiated. We are keen on continuing to be active members of ESCR net as we find the democratic spaces getting narrower and more stifling.
Our network within India with members fighting the big mining lobbies and the policy changes they are influencing, particularly on indigenous people's lands is finding the situation grim but we are also trying to find ways of fighting these forces. Our inability to participate is also due to these strong forces that are keeping us constantly fighting at different places where communities and local struggles need urgent actions and support. We are fighting the big multinational corporations that are threatening to take away indigenous people's lands for bauxite mining.
We were suddenly confronted with the threat to our Executive Council indigenous women's leader Munni Hansda who along with her comrades was arrested by local police on false cases for resisting the mining company. We are caught up in this urgent issue. But we agree with the discussions taking place there at Nairobi and will be happy to be signatories to the declaration and the nominations that this strategy meeting will come up with at the end of the day.
In solidarity,
Ravi Rebbapragada, Chairperson, National Network-mines, minerals & PEOPLE
Kalluri Bhanumathi, Coordinator, International Women and Mining Network
First, I wish to apologise profoundly for our inability to join the strategy meeting. Yet we are very much part of the network and wish to convey that we believe in the collective civil society networking that ESCR has initiated. We are keen on continuing to be active members of ESCR net as we find the democratic spaces getting narrower and more stifling.
Our network within India with members fighting the big mining lobbies and the policy changes they are influencing, particularly on indigenous people's lands is finding the situation grim but we are also trying to find ways of fighting these forces. Our inability to participate is also due to these strong forces that are keeping us constantly fighting at different places where communities and local struggles need urgent actions and support. We are fighting the big multinational corporations that are threatening to take away indigenous people's lands for bauxite mining.
We were suddenly confronted with the threat to our Executive Council indigenous women's leader Munni Hansda who along with her comrades was arrested by local police on false cases for resisting the mining company. We are caught up in this urgent issue. But we agree with the discussions taking place there at Nairobi and will be happy to be signatories to the declaration and the nominations that this strategy meeting will come up with at the end of the day.
In solidarity,
Ravi Rebbapragada, Chairperson, National Network-mines, minerals & PEOPLE
Kalluri Bhanumathi, Coordinator, International Women and Mining Network
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
General Assembly Plenary --Day 2 Session Notes
BUILDING A BOTTOM UP NETWORK OF MUTUAL SUPPORT AND COLLECTIVE ACTION
Contributed by Dan Mwihia, conference volunteer
Contributed by Dan Mwihia, conference volunteer
Joji Adresses the General Assembly
On the need for network solidarity toward the successful implementation of the UN Declaration of Human Rights
Monday, December 1, 2008
Letter From The World Organisation Against Torture
World Organisation Against Torture
P.O. Box 21 - 1211 Geneva 8
Switzerland
Tel.: 0041/22 809 49 39 / Fax: 0041/22 809 49 29
E-mail: omct@omct.org / Web: www.omct.org
Re: ESCR-Net International Strategy Meeting and General Assembly
Dear Colleagues of the ESCR-Net,
The International Strategy Meeting and ESCR-Net General Assembly are approaching fast and I am sure we are all thinking of the importance that these two meetings will have for our future work.
The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), which is a founding member of the network and attaches great importance to its work, will not be able to be with you in Nairobi. Unfortunately, the dates coincide with OMCT's Colloquium on "Torture : political, cultural and economic relativisms, the clash of convictions" and its General Assembly, both of which require all hands to be on deck.
Your discussions will deal with a number of important issues of concern to us all, and OMCT would like to call to your attention in particular to the need to fight torture, ill-treatment and other forms of violence by addressing their economic, social and cultural root causes, which is important for ending violence and promoting development.
In the two years that we have been implementing a project financed by the European Union to address the root causes of torture, OMCT has learned that dealing with those root causes can reduce violence and that this, in turn, can increase the space for economic, social and cultural development. We hope that you will be able to consider this issue, which cuts across a number of the items on your agenda.
OMCT bases its work in this area on the Interdisciplinary Study, "Attacking the Root Causes of Torture: Poverty, Inequality and Violence", published in 2006:
http://www.omct.org/pdf/ESCR/2006/omct_desc_study_2006_cd/read_me_first.html
As you are meeting in Kenya, we wish to draw your attention to two reports prepared by OMCT and its Kenyan partners (Cemiride, ICJ-Kenya and IMLU) which were recently considered by, respectively, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the UN Committee Against Torture. Both these reports detail the links between violations of economic, social and cultural rights and torture and violence in Kenya:
http://www.omct.org/pdf/ESCR/2008/CESCR_kenya_OMCT_alt_report.pdf
http://www.omct.org/pdf/ESCR/2008/CAT_kenya_alt_report.pdf
Finally, in May 2008, in Maputo, Mozambique, 17 African NGOs adopted the Maputo Declaration Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (attached in both English and French). In this Declaration they recognise that violations of economic, social and cultural rights are very often the root causes of the torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment their organisations fight against, and that such violations can be effectively reduced or eliminated by action on those root causes. They call on African Governments to take action to make the continent "free from such practices". To date, close to 50 NGOs and individuals from around the world have signed the Declaration. NGOs and individuals from all regions are invited to join the Declaration.
Again, we regret very much not being able to be with you and we wish you all great success in the meeting.
Eric Sottas
Secretary General
November 2008
P.O. Box 21 - 1211 Geneva 8
Switzerland
Tel.: 0041/22 809 49 39 / Fax: 0041/22 809 49 29
E-mail: omct@omct.org / Web: www.omct.org
Re: ESCR-Net International Strategy Meeting and General Assembly
Dear Colleagues of the ESCR-Net,
The International Strategy Meeting and ESCR-Net General Assembly are approaching fast and I am sure we are all thinking of the importance that these two meetings will have for our future work.
The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), which is a founding member of the network and attaches great importance to its work, will not be able to be with you in Nairobi. Unfortunately, the dates coincide with OMCT's Colloquium on "Torture : political, cultural and economic relativisms, the clash of convictions" and its General Assembly, both of which require all hands to be on deck.
Your discussions will deal with a number of important issues of concern to us all, and OMCT would like to call to your attention in particular to the need to fight torture, ill-treatment and other forms of violence by addressing their economic, social and cultural root causes, which is important for ending violence and promoting development.
In the two years that we have been implementing a project financed by the European Union to address the root causes of torture, OMCT has learned that dealing with those root causes can reduce violence and that this, in turn, can increase the space for economic, social and cultural development. We hope that you will be able to consider this issue, which cuts across a number of the items on your agenda.
OMCT bases its work in this area on the Interdisciplinary Study, "Attacking the Root Causes of Torture: Poverty, Inequality and Violence", published in 2006:
http://www.omct.org/pdf/ESCR/2006/omct_desc_study_2006_cd/read_me_first.html
As you are meeting in Kenya, we wish to draw your attention to two reports prepared by OMCT and its Kenyan partners (Cemiride, ICJ-Kenya and IMLU) which were recently considered by, respectively, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the UN Committee Against Torture. Both these reports detail the links between violations of economic, social and cultural rights and torture and violence in Kenya:
http://www.omct.org/pdf/ESCR/2008/CESCR_kenya_OMCT_alt_report.pdf
http://www.omct.org/pdf/ESCR/2008/CAT_kenya_alt_report.pdf
Finally, in May 2008, in Maputo, Mozambique, 17 African NGOs adopted the Maputo Declaration Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (attached in both English and French). In this Declaration they recognise that violations of economic, social and cultural rights are very often the root causes of the torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment their organisations fight against, and that such violations can be effectively reduced or eliminated by action on those root causes. They call on African Governments to take action to make the continent "free from such practices". To date, close to 50 NGOs and individuals from around the world have signed the Declaration. NGOs and individuals from all regions are invited to join the Declaration.
Again, we regret very much not being able to be with you and we wish you all great success in the meeting.
Eric Sottas
Secretary General
November 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
