Haiti, Declaration of La Via Campesina and its allies for international day of environment

^{Hinche, June 5th 2012}

DECLARATION OF LA VÍA CAMPESINA HAITI AND ALLIES

For World Environment Day on June 5th 2012, we, the member organizations of LVC: MPP (Farmers’ Movement of Papaye), MPNKP (National Farmers’ Movement of the Congress of Papaye), TK (Heads Together of Haitian small farmers) and our allies from social movements, met at the National Training Center for Farmer Executives of the MPP in Papaye on June 4th 2012 to discuss the great crises that rock the planet, a few days before Rio + 20 and the Peoples’ Summit, where industrialized countries will promote a new form of capitalism under the name of GREEN ECONOMY.

This “green economy” consists in an ever more systematic pillage of natural resources under the direction of transnational corporations (TNCs), who tamed the Organization of the United Nations and use it against the majority of the populations of the planet.

20 years after the Rio de Janeiro conference in 1992, industrialized countries with their TNCs will return to Rio with the goal of transforming Life, the common goods of humanity and all natural resources into commercial goods. They bring with themselves a series of false solutions to the crises that they created and that are wrecking havoc on the planet: the food crisis, financial crisis, environmental crisis, and climatic crisis. It’s a systemic crisis – a crisis of a model of production and consumption that has already surpassed acceptable limits.

 

We, 12 000 women, men and youth farmers from MPP, MPNKP, TK, as well as allies such as: Kaba Grangou, PAPDA, RENASSA, FONDAMA, KONAFAP, JE NAN JE, got together on June 4th in Papaye to discuss current issues facing the environment and to march, today on June 5th, towards Hinche, the city of Charlemagne Péralte, the hero of the resistance against American occupation. We are marching to say No to GREEN CAPITALISM, no to DOMINATION by TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS, no to the DESTRUCTION of the PLANET.

We, 12 000 women, men and youth farmers of MPP, MPNKP, TK and allies, are marching to ask the Haitian state to stop the selling of the nation to agro-toxic transnational corporations, to the TNCs of Free Trade Zones, to mining TNCs. For this reason, during this march we symbolically buried: Monsanto, Coca Cola, Dupont, Bayer, Nestlé, World Bank, WTO, IMF etc as symbols of the pillage and destruction of natural resources and common goods of humanity such as land, water, seeds and the territories of indigenous peoples.

In Haiti, we, the farmers’ organizations and the socials movements, say NO:

– No to the concession of 1500 square kilometers of territory to 11 North American companies, to exploit our mining resources, destroy our lands, destroy our environment, destroy peoples’ lives. Resources that are very rare on this planet are being stolen from us.

– No to the pillage of the resources of our subsoil in the district of Cerca La Source (Ti Lori, Lamielle).

– No to the illegal decision to declare of public use lands of the lower North-East, so as to make them available for land-grabbing by transnational corporations to put in place Free Trade Zones and Jatropha plantations.

– No to land grabbing in the Artibonite where families have started to be expulsed in the district of Verrettes. Rumors have it that these lands are being appropriated for the Clinton family and the Coca Cola company to plant Francis mango trees.

– No to the production of agrofuels on our lands, which are already barely sufficient for the production of our food. There is talk of a project to take over 100 000 hectares for Jatropha plantations. This is unacceptable. We ask the TNCs to forget about producing agrofuels in Haiti. We need our lands to produce food. We are sending a warning to the Haitian state to not hand out our lands to TNCs or to members of the Haitian bourgeoisie, whose only goal is to profit off the creation of Jatropha and other plantations.

– No to the surveying of 570 hectares of land between Caracole and Terrier-Rouge by the Ministry of Finance. This could lead to a blood bath between peasant families who lived on these lands and those who were expulsed from Caracole and who are now in the process of being rehoused.

– No to transgenic seeds (GMOs). We do not want of Monsanto or other agro-toxic TNCs that are trying to eliminate peasant agriculture, the only type of agriculture that can cool the planet. We don’t want of Monsanto or others who promote industrial agriculture, the main cause of the destruction of the planet.

– No to green deserts (plantations of Jatropha, Eucalyptus, Oil Palms, etc)

– No to the green capitalism or green economy that will be presented at Rio. We ask the Haitian government to not get involved in this disastrous project for our country and for the planet.

– No to the recolonization of Haiti and of all other countries that are under foreign domination.

– No to REDD +, no to carbon trading, no to so-called intelligent agriculture, no to nanotechnologies.

– No to the military occupation of the country. MINUSTAH must leave for the country to recuperate its sovereignty.

– No to the publication of the amended constitution, which would roll back the democratic process in Haiti.

– No to all forms of fraudulent elections.

– No to the scandal of corruption that is like a cancer on Haitian society, especially the powers of the State.

– We ask President Martelly to continue to resist national and international pressures to publish the amended constitution, which would throw the country into a constitutional crisis.

 

We say YES :

– Yes to peasant agriculture, which furthers the health of the environment, respects the rights of future generations, and cools the planet.

– Yes to agroecology, yes to food sovereignty.

– Yes to local seeds, which form the basis of peasant agriculture and the basis of biodiversity. Seeds are part of the common goods of humanity. They must not be considered commercial goods. They should not be in the hands of TNCs. Farmers from the whole world must unite to defend local seeds.

– Yes to an integral agrarian reform.

– Yes to the protection of our natural resources – in our lands and our seas.

– Yes to a solidarity economy in Haiti and worldwide.

– Yes to the protection of real forests at the scale of the planet. Yes to the planting of 100 000 fruit and forest trees every year in every communal section. In this way we will plant more than 56 million trees in an agroecological system.

We, the 12 000 farmers who are marching today from Papaye to Hinche, call on farmers organizations of the whole world to unite our forces to defend our existence by defending peasant agriculture.

We are sending out this same appeal to workers’ organizations, women’s organizations, youth organizations, student organizations, intellectuals and progressive scientists to join us to block the conspiracy against Haiti and against the planet.

Down with green capitalism! Down with the plundering of natural resources! Down with transnational corporations!

Long live peasant agriculture! Long live agroecology! Long live food sovereignty!

LONG LIVE SOUVEREIGN HAITI!

ORGANISATION OR DEATH!

GLOBALIZE THE STRUGGLE, GLOBALIZE HOPE!

The signatory organizations of this declaration:

For  MPP : Chavannes Jean-Baptiste

For MPNKP : Rose Edith Raymonvil

For TK : Rosenel Jean-Baptiste

For Kaba Grangou : Gertha Louisama

For KONAFAP : Marie Lucie Adolphe

For PAPDA : Camille Charlmers

For FONDAMA : Juslène St-Fleur

For RENASSA : Gracia Bien-Aimé

For PLANOPA : Philefrant St-Naré