Merry Christmas

Dear friends of the rural world,

Warm greetings.
“Don’t be afraid! I’m here with good news for you, which bring great joy to all the people. This very day in David’s town, your saviour was born…Christ The lord!!…

In our celebration of Christmas I invite you to  raise prayers of thank giving and praise, united together with Jesus the child to the Father, who revealed his will and actions to people, farmers, shepherds and workers, whom he did his redemption, and through you all who continue his salvation work through serving the farmers. So we need to reflect moments to contemplate in the mystery of great incarnation focusing on Jesus who come to offer him self for us, for every one seeking for him.

The infinity beauty of heaven appeared on the earth, The ward became a human being, and The infinity beauty of heaven dwelled and lived among us. This is not a dream, wake up, this is real; The son of God  came to meet the human, He is the shiny sun from heaven, the eternal light, Jesus Christ is the ward of God, the source of our life, the true light,  the eternity wisdom, Jesus is the mirror that God sees him self in, the divine light that open our eyes to the true light, to know God the father, and to love him.

Jesus Christ, The son of God, who came to meet the human, he came to inform us, that we ‘re the issue of God’s love, we ‘re his mission, “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only son, so that every one who believes in him may not die but have eternal life (john 3\16),  He came to reveal love of God to us, who misunderstand him through the times of darkness, God cares of us, farmers, employers, He selected to share us his life, to live like us, poor from his birth to hid death, He was born without clothes, and died crucified without clothes too. He came to help human in his struggle in keeping his rights, to live, to chose how to live his life, and how to be responsible for others.

Human is a wolf to his human’s brother, said Thomas Hobz (social philosopher), This is his own experience in the world then, and Today wherever Man wants to use the other for his benefits, but Jesus said another wards; “I am the bread of life who came from heaven, he who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never be thirsty, I’m sending you like lambs among wolves.. so that the human isn’t a wolf to kill his brother in humanity, but he’s a eaten bread for his brother, this is the incarnation meaning, we become another Christ’s working with Jesus Christ, who live in us, who gives us his body and blood in the Eucharist. We borrow him our bodies to do works of life, we borrow Jesus our organs to make it his own organs, so we become other Christ’s. He lives in our bodies, our organs, our wards, our struggle for human rights, farmer rights; food sovereignty, Economy solidarity, Democracy….etc.
This is Jesus Christ, who incarnates in us as he incarnated in wombs of Mary the virgin; He still works with us, in us, through us. And we borrow him our life at the same time he gave it to us… we ‘re his external life, and He ’s our internal life…..the source of life.

At the same time, at the end of the year, we must to confess our weakness, our limited, our sin, and the necessary to focus on Jesus Christ The lord, to trust in his presence among us, sharing our hands with his hands, depending on his prayers to the heaven Father and his helping us as a members of family of FIMARC in all parts of the world, looking forward to our Mother, Mary the lady of the apostles, who carry the graces, and distributed with her self, her wards, her actions.

Merry Christmas

 

Happy New year 2008

 

Father Abraam Maher

International Chaplain

PALA DECLARATION

For the past one decade organizations like FIMARC (International Federation of Rural Adult Catholic Movements), INAG (Indian Network of Action Groups) and INFACT (Information for Action), along with grass root level farmers movements and organizations have been continuing the soul searching efforts in issues related to Food Sovereignty and Solidarity Economy.

 In our journey we came across the pathetic state of the Farming Communities due to speculation in the prices of farm produce and unfair trade practices with criminal financial capital. One of the crops, which were subject to a high fluctuation is vanilla, which leads us to study the vanilla-growing scenario in detail. This paved the way to organize the International Vanilla Exposure held in Pala, Kottayam, Kerala, India from 8^th to 13^th October 2007, with participation of farmers, farmer movements and organizations, networks and NGO’s from Madagascar, Indonesia, Uganda and India.

 We, the participants of this International Vanilla Exposure have formed the “International Alliance of Bio Spice Growers” and we declare and call for:

 Farmers of all countries should unite together to fight against the forces challenging the livelihood of the Farming Families and Communities.

 Area specific Package of Practices (POP) must be developed for each crop and cost of production must be ascertained on basis of this Package of Practices, which should be prepared by the farmers themselves. This is an inalienable right of the farmers.

 Farmers must get a fair price for their produce. Fair price is the combination of cost of production of the product and the livelihood expenses of the farmer families and farming communities.

 We believe that it is the duty of the National governments and International bodies to ensure the fair price and the physical security of the farming communities.

 The farmer families and farming communities around the world should work together in bringing out the standardized quality management systems, taking into consideration and respecting the environment, consumers, and the future generation.

 
It is our duty and responsibility to join our hands and strengthen our Alliance of the farmers and likeminded stakeholders from various corners of the world to attain the greater goal of FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND SOLIDARITY ECONOMY.

 
We commit ourselves to lobby the decision makers at different levels from local to international, and thereby to ensure the dignified life of the farming communities across the world.

 

 

The right to food: time to act

This year, the FIMARC has the pleasure to join all the groups, associations, countries and international organizations
that will celebrate the World Food Day next 16th October. This year, the theme selected is particularly
important to us, since it is one of our first demands, i.e. the right to food.
The right to food is a universal right. Every person – man, woman and child – must have access at all time to
the food they need, diversified and of good quality, to meet their dietary needs, food with no harmful substances
and culturally acceptable, or must have the means to buy it.
Even if we do not deny the progress made in the fight against poverty and hunger in the world, we cannot
accept the fact that today, 59 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed, 854 million
people are still suffering from hunger.
How could things be different considering the policies developed by international organizations such as the
WTO and the IMF? All the negotiations carried out all around the world in the framework of the Economic
Partnership Agreements, Free Trade Agreements… go against people’s right to food, which cannot be isolated
from the other rights. Since the Uruguay Round in 1994, many countries have seen their local markets
totally destabilized and the possibility to feed the local populations almost disappeared. The example of
South Korea is significant with its food self-sufficiency rate that went from 80.5% in 1970 to 25% today and,
should the free trade agreements be signed between the European Union and this country, this rate would
go down to 2.7% in a close future.
It is difficult to resist the globalization steamroller. Global warming, the increase in the oil price and the desire
to develop agrofuels from foodstuffs could make the little sovereignty that countries have disappear.
It is time we acted, it is time we claimed clear and loud the right to food and its realization in the framework of
people’s food sovereignty. It is time we claimed this right, we insisted on it and understood that we will not
limit ourselves to the access to food and forget about the things that are missing. Our dignity as people, our
culture and health depend on it.
The realization of the right to food is mainly the responsibility of States. They must take measures to ensure
a total implementation of the right to food adapted to all. States must respect the existing right that people
have to have access to the food they need and not take measures that could prevent some people from having
this access. They must protect the right to food from those people who could hinder it, making sure that
companies or individuals do not prevent people from having access to adequate food. The might of law must
face the might of the strongest. The answer must come from the legal and political worlds.
Since we are convinced of the eminent dignity of all human beings and since we have always been concerned
about the total realization, all around the world, of rural people’s fundamental rights, the FIMARC and
its movements are committed to this struggle, since the history of mankind teaches us that we have to fight
for getting rights but that we have to fight for their implementation as well.
Assesse, October 2007

Immediately Stop the Korea-EU FTA Negotiations!

From: Korea Farmers Alliance against Korea-EU FTA

 

Immediately Stop the Korea-EU FTA Negotiations!

This FTA Kills Korea’s Agriculture and Livestock Industry!

 
Korea’s agriculture and the rural community are in a serious state of crisis. Since the 1994 Uruguay Rounds, 1321 agricultural items, except rice, have become completely opened. In the past 13 years, Korea’s food self-sufficiency rate has fallen from 80.5% in 1970 to 25% today, making Korea 139^th out of 147 members of WTO. When you remove rice, the rate is 2.7%. Furthermore, farmers’ debt has increased 4 times during the past 10 years, and the farming population has been reduced by half.

We cannot have true independence unless we protect agriculture. Due to conditions such as climate change, the world’s food crisis is accelerating. A small number of multinational agrobusinesses increasingly control the production and distribution of food. As a billion people suffer from food shortage, the safe production and distribution of food is a matter of security, independence, and life. Even article 20 of WTO agreement on agriculture states that the related functions of agriculture such as food security and environmental protection must be taken into account in the negotiations for liberalization.

 Our reality is that the multiple functions of agriculture such as food security, environmental protection, sociocultural maintenance are being ignored by economic interests. Trade liberalization is not the only way for a country to become wealthy, especially for agriculture.

 Last April, Korea’s agriculture experienced another death sentence in the form of Korea-U.S. FTA. Due to the signing of Korea-U.S. FTA, and its unilateral demand on agriculture, Korea faces losing what is left of its agriculture. Furthermore, the U.S. is demanding the importation of U.S. on the condition of saving Korea-U.S. FTA. As such, FTA is disregards not only the survival of an industry but also the safety of food.

 We have no place to go. We have been hit from all sides with the Korea-EU FTA negotiations, and Korea’s farmers are in a serious and detrimental state. EU is targeting Korea’s livestock industry, and therefore Korea’s dairy and pork industries face a great crisis. Almost all livestock items were liberalized at the 1994 WTO Uruguay Rounds: 40,000 dairy farms have been reduced to 8,000, and the massive influx of imported items is causing more suffering. Also, if tariff for frozen pork meat is eliminated due to Korea-EU FTA, Korea’s pork industry cannot help but to collapse.

 By implementing Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), EU is world’s number one exporter of agricultural goods: EU produces 23.4% of all milk production and 21.3% of all pork meat production. Therefore, if the FTA is passed, Korea’s agriculture and especially livestock industry may not exist.

 Korea’s agriculture has already sacrificed all it has. We have nothing more to give. We have come to Belgium with a determination to protect all farmers of the world and defend our food sovereignty.

 To the farmers and citizens of EU, we ask for your strong support in our struggle to protect food sovereignty and livelihood of all farmers.

-Korea Farmers Alliance against Korea-EU FTA

Korean Alliance against Korea-EU FTA

September 17, 2007

To Mr. Ignacio Ignacio-Bercero, EU Chief Negotiator for Korea-EU FTA

Greetings from the Korean Alliance against Korea-EU FTA.

We are a coalition made up of over 300 organizations, including trade unions, farmers’ groups, and NGOs. As a representative of Korean people’s civil society, we feel that it is our duty to inform you of several concerns related to Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement, which are shared by a large section of the Korean population. We sincerely hope that you, as Chief Negotiator, will consider these views seriously.

First, we wish to note the undemocratic nature in which all FTA negotiations are carried out, in particular the lack of effort on the part of the South Korean Administration to solicit the opinions of interested parties and the Korean public. (The South Korean Administration is currently negotiating six FTAs.) As it was the case with the Korea-U.S. FTA, the negotiations for the Korea-EU FTA are taking place without proper and necessary discussion, hearings, or public debates with concerned groups.

In addition, the South Korean Administration has moved forward with the Korea-EU FTA negotiations process in a closed and secretive manner; information related to important points of contention and matters requiring the consent of the Korean people have not been made public. Moreover, the secretive process of FTA negotiations is undermining the National Assembly to question and monitor the proceedings. It is understandably not possible to make public all information related to the FTA. However, it can surely be said that information concerning FTA issues are of great public interest and require the understanding at all levels of society. The negotiation process must be made transparent, and concerned citizens and lawmakers must be sufficiently consulted. The South Korean government has not upheld these principles.

Second, the Korea-US FTA seriously endangers the Korean people’s access to healthcare and pharmaceuticals. We believe that trade between the two countries can and must processed fairly. However, we are very concerned about the way in which public systems and policies of one country have come under discussion at the current negotiations. For example, by demanding the expansion of intellectual property rights, the health care system is being severely limited. Guaranteeing people’s access to necessary pharmaceuticals at an affordable price is a constitutional responsibility of the state and Administration. However, the Korea-EU FTA negotiations stand to undermine this ability and people’s right to access, through clauses on ‘patent extension,’ and ‘data exclusivity.’ We would like to emphasize that this is not consistent with the FTA principle of ‘promoting the mutual benefit of the people of both countries.’

Third, we are concerned that the Korea-EU FTA will make the lives of Korean farmers and the sustainable development of South Korea’s farming communities much more difficult.

When South Korea’s agriculture was first opened as a result of the WTO Uruguay Rounds, Korea’s farmers suffered greatly. The situation has now reached the point that the future of Korea’s agriculture as whole is in question. Given the current conditions, we face the prospects of the disappearance of South Korean agriculture if our market is further opened through the Korea-EU FTA. Domestic agriculture is necessary for sustainable development and food security. For this reason, countries around the world have agricultural subsidy policies. In fact, EU has world’s strongest subsidy policies. We would like to also point out that in South Korea, farming communities play the part of preserving our history, culture and the rural environment and ecosystems. If these communities are destroyed, the resultant influx from the countryside to the cities will seriously exacerbate already increasing urban poverty, and underemployment. We must emphasize that the Korea-EU FTA is inviting the destruction of agriculture and agricultural life and with it, numerous social problems.

Fourth, the Korea-EU FTA is predicted to violate the government’s constitutional duty to protect public services and, therefore, public interest. The governments of both countries have stated that public services such as water will not be directly included in the negotiations. However, by limiting government procurement domains, this FTA exposes essential public services such as water, electricity, railroad, gas, and postal service to precarious market forces.

We are concerned that the FTA will seriously restrict the right of common people to access high-quality public services.

Finally, we are compelled to point out that Korea’s FTA negotiations are taking place amidst severe suppression of trade unions and civil society groups who voice concerns about free trade agreements. The South Korean Administration has declared all activities of the Korean Alliance as illegal. Numerous people have been arrested. The people’s rights to organize and oppose state policies have been taken away. In order to hastily conclude FTA negotiations, the Korean Administration has forsaken its responsibility to protect constitutional rights.

We hope you and EU DG Trade will consider, with all seriousness, the concerns of the Korean people which are laid out above. We hope that this will make you reconsider whether the Korea-EU FTA does in fact present a desirable direction for the promotion of fair trade and economic relations between Korea and EU.

Sincerely,

Lee, Seung-Ho

Co-Chair of KoA Delegation and President, Korean Dairy and Beef Farmers Association

Heo, Young-Koo

Co-Chair of KoA Delegation and Vice President, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions

European coordinators meeting in Croatia 22-27. 8. 2007.

FINAL STATEMENT ISSUED BY THE MIJARC-FIMARC SEMINAR

1. We, 34 young and adult leaders of rural Christian movements affiliated to MIJARC (International Movement for Catholic Agricultural and Rural Youth) or FIMARC (International Federation of Rural Adult Catholic Movements) have shared together our experiences in solidarity economy. Coming from 16 different countries spread over 4 continents, we explored in detail some alternatives to the dominating neo liberal and capitalist system.
2. In spite of the major problems we cope with in our continents (difficulties in getting access to the land, to water, agricultural policies detrimental to farmers, young people lacking interest in agriculture, increasing discrepancies among the rich and the poor…), we highlighted the multifaceted mobilization of young and adult activists in solidarity economy initiatives : fighting for land access, training, setting up of local development groups, direct sales/exchanges amongst producers and consumers. The narrow scope and isolated nature of such initiatives, rich in experimentations, mean that they have no weight compared to the prevailing neo liberal economy.
3. Through micro-credits, fair trade or inclusive companies, we managed to measure some benefits: credit accessibility for the poorest, minimum price secured for selling agricultural products, job creation for people marginalized by mainstream companies. However, there are many traps: micro-credits can be the beginning of a capitalist approach aiming at bleeding the poorest. The major distribution groups try to turn fair trade into an additional component of their product range. Inclusive companies export part of their production which leads to the collapse of local markets.
4. The neo liberal system does only consider human beings as economic agents. States become non-existent when faced with multinational companies. The economy is driven by financial benefits and is fed with financial speculations that have nothing to do with a genuine production in line with human needs. It puts up with formal democracy, but controls policies, the media, on top of the market. It prides itself with a scientific approach that makes it possible to state that there is no other alternative.
5. We are often sad to see that our hierarchy is untouched by the suffering of rural people and we consider unacceptable the lack of official commitment to condemn GMOs : first of all because of the destruction of the biodiversity and secondly because of the privatisation of life. We are also the Church. All the rural people are our brothers and sisters. We must express ourselves freely, without fear, convinced by the fruitfulness of Christianity, we must remain vigilant and maintain our focus on the human being when faced with a neo liberal economy ‘as a structure of sin’ (cf. Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, n’36 and 37).
6. In view of all that, we state that social economy/solidarity economy is not meant to fill in political gaps; it is a political proposal which has to give an overall consistency to the many initiatives emerging in the field and offer an alternative to the neo liberal system.
7. Solidarity economy meets the needs of people and communities. Producers have to keep the situation under control, thanks to ongoing education and participative democracy. The emphasis is to be on people and their work, not on capital. Solidarity economy gives a greater importance to local and sustainable development, secures gender equality without damaging the resources of future generations. It secures fundamental rights for all (food, housing, education) while the neo liberal system guarantees their accessibility… to those who can afford it.
8. Our movements, actors of social transformations, want to give to their constituencies an inclination for initiative and common work for the common good. It is up to us to promote our methodology ‘See, Judge, Act, Evaluate’ with a view to make a rigorous analysis of the realities experienced by the rural people, to stick to our beliefs until the very end and to act in solidarity with the poorest. We also measured what was at stake: our individual and collective behaviours should be consistent with the challenges of a genuine solidarity.
9. Rural people are the victims of neo liberal policies, in particular young people, who are forced to migrate to get a job, a situation which speeds up poverty in many rural regions deprived of their living strength for the future. It is urgent to make engaged choices in terms of solidarity economy so that young people will stay and work in their country.
10. We are convinced of the need for a holistic approach, taking on board political, cultural, social and environmental dimensions as well as the reality of our multicultural world. It is therefore vital to invest in education, to act legally in favour of the respect of rights – mainly of the most underprivileged- to get mobilized to convince and to lobby at the local and international level.
11. We are mobilized to promote our objective of solidarity economy and, through it, a genuine food sovereignty. That is why we call on our elected representatives to state in a tangible way their political will towards solidarity economy:

• • offering sustainable prospects to the initiatives currently under way in the field;
  • reversing the trend in favour of the neo liberal system which contaminates everything
  • 12. We emphasized the fruitfulness of the exchange between the young rural people and the adults who cope with the same realities. We are aware of the fact that there is still a long way to go, riddled with difficulties. But we are also convinced that “another world is possible”. It is already emerging and we are critical actors, by establishing, amongst others, alliances with consumers and our fellow citizens. We are committed to:

• • identify local experiences and initiatives and network them;
  • organize capacity-building training sessions for our members and organisations;
  • develop exchanges of good practice amongst the movements in our continent with a view to build on our experiences, expand our projects and act upon public policies.

Brussels, 09/05/2007

Coordination européenne, European kooridinierung, Eurpoean cooridination

My Friends, this is our first post from European coordination, so we wish to all of you good time and we hope that you will comment this post

 

 

Mes amis, ceci est notre première distribution de la coordination européenne, ainsi nous souhaitons à tout le toi bon temps et nous espérons que vous commenterez ce poteau.Meine Freunde, dieser ist unser erster Pfosten von der europäischen Korrdination, also wünschen wir den ganzen dich gute Zeit und wir hoffen, daß du dieser Pfosten kommentierst.Mis amigos, éste son nuestro primer poste de la coordinación europea, así que te deseamos buen tiempo y nosotros esperamos que comentarás este poste.

Action plan of the European Coordination FIMARC 2007-2010

(Germany, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Switzerlan

The delegates of 8 rural European movements, members or associated members in the FIMARC, has been meeting to built up their action plan for the 4 next coming years: from 2007 to 2010.

General objective: to implement a new economic system based on food sovereignty and solidarity economy: the sovereigneconomy.

1. To develop our relationships with the agricultural and rural organisations, especially with the European Central organisations

Based on a common socle of values centred on food sovereignty and solidarity economy, we want to develop our relations with several countries of Oriental and central Europe, in priority with Bulgaria, Hungaria, Rumania and Ukrainia, where food sovereignty is far to be achieved. Nowadays, some militants of our movements have developed contacts with different networks in those countries. We want to capitalize the diverse experiences to accompany the emergence of strong rural movements, in capacity to define themselves their needs and to support them in the realisation of their projects, in conformity with the values mentioned above.

The French CMR movement has accepted to be the head of the network for the relations with Romania. The Polish PACRO movement ensures the relations with Ukraine. The KLB German movement has developed relations since several years in different Central European countries. We have planned a visit this year to our new partner NAUK of Croatia. With Bulgaria and Hungaria, we’ll restart the contacts during the next seminar and during the visits we have planned along the next 3 years.

1. To organise a seminar on food sovereignty and solidarity economy issues

We have planned a continental seminar in 2008, if possible in one country of Central Europe. The objectives of this seminar are double:

• to share the initiatives that show that food sovereignty and solidarity economy are already actives even if it’s on a small scale
• to deepen those alternatives to the actual agricultural policy, in the sense of food sovereignty and solidarity economy, identifying what are the brakes and the incentives in order to lobby to reach global policies working in this perspective.

A previous experience in Poland in 2004 shows the efficiency of those strong moments of exchanges in between European rural people for a better mutual knowledge, the dynamic of our movements and the concrete implementation of the general objective.

1. To regularly exchange information between the European movements

We have decided to organise a trimestrial diffusion of information, issued from all our movements, telling about our experiences, progress and new challenges in the fields of food sovereignty and solidarity economy. The CMR France accepts to coordinate the first newsletter. The followings will be managed by the different movements of the coordination following a pre-established order. The objective of those regular exchanges is to capitalize our experiences and create new initiatives based on study cases.

From now onwards, our Croatian colleague has settle an internet blog that he propose to the European coordination.

All the present movements wish to have more frequent meetings, every 2 years. We have already fixed an appointment in 2009 to evaluate the work realised in 2007 and 2008 (the seminar and the dynamic previous to the event).

1. To collaborate and manage the synergies in between the diverse networks that are mobilised on the same objectives

All this work will be more efficient if we can give value to the support of our several partners which whom we have developed concertation networks and common actions ( international solidarity networks based on development, trade unions, rural organisations).

5- Implementation proposal
The coordinators that will meet during the next Executive Committee meeting in April will propose you a concrete frame work to implement the action plan. Please feel free to already send your comments.

So, sorry this is on English but we will like that you make some comments!

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The People of Pak Mun Dam and Landless Peasants in Thailand Oppose the WB/IMF meeting

Every three years, the World Bank and IMF hold their annual meeting outside of Washington, DC (United States of America). In 2006, the annual meeting of the World Bank and IMF is being held in Singapore on 19-20 September. Approximately ten thousand people from 184 countries will attend this meeting, including global-level politicians, ministers of finance, heads of central banks, and journalists from around the world. At this meeting, members of the World Bank and IMF will be coming together to hold discussions on developing global economic strategy.

Construction began on the Pak Mun Dam in 1991 and was completed in 1994, with money borrowed from the World Bank. In spite of protests from villagers, academics, and both domestic and international environmentalists, construction of the dam at the mouth of the Mun River proceeded, bringing with it devastating effects on nature and at least 70 communities that live along the river. For more than several thousand years, these communities along the Mun River have been living with and relying on nature and the Khong-Mun ecological system for their existence.

As a result, an abundance of aquatic animals and plant species have flourished, nourishing the lives of the people living along the river. When the mouth of the Mun River was blocked by the Pak Mun Dam, the river’s water level and flow were altered. The water current was forced into the production of electricity. A basin was created in the area above the dam, resulting in the flooding of areas along both sides of the river that were originally used for cultivation.

The natural state of the rapids changed too, being submerged under water and stopped up with mud. The blocking of the water has made it impossible for fish to migrate in accordance with their lifecycle. All of these changes have destroyed the environment, the ecological system, the wealth of natural resources, food security, and have also resulted in the dissolution of families, society, culture, way of life, and villagers’ local wisdom. All that has been lost in exchange for a mere 40 megawatts of electricity In 1991, villagers who would be affected by the Pak Mun Dam campaigned in opposition to the approval of the World Bank loan. However, the World Bank did not listen to the information about the effects on nature and the communities, and went ahead with its loan to the Thai government, thereby facilitating completion of the dam in 1994. In 1985, the World Bank provided a loan for a program to issue land title deeds in Thailand in accordance with the land market policy approach to land reform.

The basic idea of the World Bank is to let the free market serve as the mechanism for allocating land, with the belief that land will be allocated and transferred into the hands of those who have the highest efficiency in production. According to this idea, the state’s role is merely to establish the market in which the private sector and farmers sell land, assess land values, and provide support in the form of loans to farmers through land funds so that they can pay for land in the market. In addition to not being successful, this program also had wide negative impacts, resulting in large amounts of land slipping out of the hands of small-scale farmers, and rural land prices being highly inflated very quickly. Especially in the period after 1987, there was massive speculation and buying up of land. As a result, the illegitimate issuing of fraudulent land deeds for public land, community land and private land became common.

In addition, land ownership titles were transferred from farmers into the hands of speculators and land investors. These land investors and companies doing business in land then used this land with inflated valuation due to speculation, as collateral to get money to invest in real estate. When the economic crisis hit and the bubble burst, they were unable to repay their loans. Consequently, rural land in Thailand was left unoccupied, uncultivated, and unused, while the land documents remained stuck with the banks. The World Bank has never accepted responsibility for its loan programs or financial assistance programs that adversely affect communities, the way of life of people in localities, natural resources, and the ecological system. The security of land and river resources that are important factors of production, and food security have been destroyed under the lofty sounding pretext of “economic development of Thai society and global society.” The Assembly of the Poor, and villagers who have lost their land due to land reform programs of the World Bank, and farmers from both sides of the Mun River who have lost their land and source of income due to the Pak Mun Dam condemn the policies and actions of the World Bank. The World Bank has lost its legitimacy to determine policy for developing a global economic strategy.

The annual meeting of the World Bank on 19-20 September 2006 in Singapore is therefore nothing more than a staged show at which dishonest financiers, bankers, and politicians put their heads together to seize natural resources and factors of production from small-scale farmers, the poor, and local communities around the world.

Stop the fake assistance!

Stop interference in the development policies of Thailand!

Thai farmers need genuine land reform! We must take back our rights to land, rivers, seeds and food!

World Meeting Taejon, May 06

FINAL RESOLUTION

1. The FIMARC (International Federation of the Movements of Catholic Rural Adults) held its XIIth World Meeting in South Korea from 24th April to 13th May and made an in-depth analysis of democracy and good governance concepts, often diverted from their true meaning by the leading international organizations, which causes much suffering in the rural and peasant world.

2. In the last World Meeting of the FIMARC, we already insisted on the need to build a new era, to give strength and vigour to the concept of food sovereignty. The access to resources for all, to land, water and seeds are the claims that all our movements have been promoting.

3. Today, four years later, it is no longer a necessity but an emergency, a true cry of alarm of peasants and rural people that are suffering from a true social tsunami caused by more and more aggressive policies of the neo-liberal economy and its agents, e.g. the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization… According to the UNDP (United Nations Development Program), the upper 20% of the world population absorb 82,7 % of the world revenue, while the lower 20% can just share 1,4 %.

4. Consequently, suicides, phenomena of migration, trafficking of children and women… are more and more part of the daily life of a multitude of people since, in this structure determined by the economy, a devastating social system is developing and concentrating the economic, political and military powers in the world.

5. Little by little, the peasant world, which had been more or less spared so far, is rising up to proclaim its rebellion and to suggest alternatives to the violation of the most basic human rights. The mass protests organized at the last Ministerial Conferences in Cancun and Hong Kong, the failure of the CPE (First Employment Contract) in France, which draws on the same ultra liberal logic, clearly shows that changes are possible.

6. Nevertheless, we, the people, movements and organizations, members of the FIMARC are peaceful people. We know that we have rights and our legitimate demand is to have them applied in the respect for the existing legal norms, which are so necessary in the creation of new tools that could lead to condemn and sanction the States that would not fulfil their obligations.

7. The theme of the seminar of this XIIth World Meeting gave us the opportunity to have an in-depth discussion about the concepts of sovereignty, the legitimacy of power, democracy and good governance. For us, all these terms guarantee our participation to the decision-making process for the sake of common good.

8. Democracy and good governance are very interdependent and we consider that they are a process, a constant goal that has to be achieved, always in action, and that we can experience in the different fields of community life and at the different levels of the local, national and international political organization. Democracy can take different forms and is not only an end in itself but is also a means: the forms of struggle must be democratic, decisions must be made in a collegial way, evaluated and checked on a regular basis in order to respect this mandate aiming at representing the interests of as many people as possible. We actually believe that its representation and power are necessary… Nevertheless, the latter must always be legitimate and serve the interests of the groups it represents. Thus, the realization of democracy in the political sphere is still a fundamental task that we cannot neglect.

9. Good governance results from this process in the mechanism its represents for its implementation and regulation. It takes all parameters into account, is defined in a holistic vision, i.e. taking into account not only the human dimension but also the respect for cultures and the environment of all people and communities.

10. The basis of good governance is the ethical and moral values that we advocate: solidarity, justice, social peace, in our preferential option for the poorest. Nevertheless, we must recognize that these concepts are distorted by the system in place. Some countries, forced by the neo-liberal logic that deregulates the legitimacy process of countries, and their sovereignty, would like to impose democracy on others through war; others advocate a development that would eliminate entire population layers to build industrial or tourist mega structures. Thus, how can we talk of good governance when thousands of people lose their lives or are thrown out of their living space, when the natural environment is destroyed and biodiversity seriously threatened?

11. In this situation of domination of the economic power, peasants and rural people, workers who live similar situations, artists, all the population layers that are marginalized are getting organized little by little. In the last world or regional social forums, in forums to demand sustainable agricultural reforms, forums on water and in so many initiatives aiming at giving power back to people, we have noticed that initiatives related to some forms of good governance are appearing in different countries, that structures of fair trade are being developed, and that a new actor, that represents cultural diversity is getting organized and progressively becomes aware of its rights, is emerging.

12. We are part of this group, we totally support its claims and we want to take up our individual and collective responsibility for the change that is required for a better world to be possible. These words will only carry weight if they are accompanied by a greater awareness of our own responsibility and by an effective action. Consequently, we strongly recommend

To all people in particular,

• To operate a true conversion in their thinking, living and consuming habits in order to be able to take part in collective change

To our movements,

• To do everything possible to strengthen the networks at all levels, from the local to the international level, to strengthen this new social actor that is struggling for its rights. It will necessarily imply the access to information for all.

• To elaborate viable proposals in the alternatives that will counter the neo-liberal economic logic for the sake of a solidarity economy and fair trade

• To demand true agricultural reforms in order to allow the access to resources and production means in order to develop agriculture of quality, for consumers as well as for the respect of land and to achieve food sovereignty in these countries.

To political and economic leaders to take into account these legitimate demands and

• Put an end to their trade liberalization policies with the tools they are trying to impose, e.g. free trade agreements or bilateral treaties

• End aggression and war policies against the peoples of the world

• Stop promoting the production and consumption systems that have such a serious impact on our environment and health

• Set up and conclude the “Convention on Diversity of Food and Agriculture” in order to guarantee the coexistence of each country’s own traditional ways of agriculture.

To the people who accompany us in Church and to the Hierarchy to ask them

• To denounce in a prophetic way the situations of injustice that millions of peasant families go through

• To clearly express themselves in favour of peasant and family agriculture, of biodiversity, symbol of life, and against GMO’s, symbol of death.

13. Fortified by the values that give us life and by our desire to create active sovereignties in all countries that would serve the common good, we commit ourselves to playing fully our part of international federation of the movements of catholic rural adults in order to strengthen this new historic actor that will give power back to people, the power that was confiscated by the neo-liberal system, and to doing everything possible by being involved in the organizations and networks that are acting with the same convictions.