Letter by SICCFM secretary to the editor of The Hindu

The Hindu recently published an Opinion hailing the outcome of the WTO conference at Bali, echoing the words of other corporate sponsored mainstream media. The article can be found here.

We wonder what P. Sainath, their acclaimed rural affairs editor, would comment on this viewpoint, as it is glaringly evident that the WTO Bali Package is only going to benefit the rich trading corporations while snatching away the livelihoods of scores of poor farmers across the developing world. S. Kannaiyan, the dynamic secretary of the SICCFM has written a letter to The Hindu editor, in response to their editorial article. Here is Kannaiyan's letter. We hope The Hindu acknowledges its responsibility towards educating the classes and the masses by publishing Kannaiyan's letter.


Letter to the editor, The Hindu

To,
Editor in Chief,
The Hindu.

Dear Sir,

It was disappointing to see The Hindu editorial dated 13th,
December,2013 , “A good start in Bali” celebrating the results of the
anti people Bali Package adopted at the 9th ministerial of the WTO in
Bali recently.

The Hindu editorial is misleading because it tries to portray both the
signing of the Bali package and India's giving in to US demands to
accept the terrible interim Peace Clause as victories. This is not a
victory at all but a great loss for humanity, because the deal stops
any future affirmative action by governments to carry out food
security programs or farmers' subsidies. The US on the other hand, will
continue to legally pay massive farm and food stamp subsidies.

India had been opposing the Peace Clause until the very end, defending
not just Indian farmers and the hungry, but taking a firm stand for
the 4.2 billion poor peoples of the entire world. India's Food
Security Act and the PDS system are a good model for all other
developing countries to follow. It is unfortunate that India finally
gave in to US demands to accept a very restrictive Peace Clause
and one that applies only to current legislation, preventing any
future food security programmes for all developing countries. Now it is
completely dependent on further negotiations what type of a permanent
solution will be found and if current subsidies or food security
programmes can even exist at the present scale. Lastly, developing
countries will have to accept their guilt in violating WTO rules
before they can even apply the peace clause. No country's government
should have to beg the WTO or any other institution to support its
citizens right to food because that is the right thing to do.
Regards,
Kannaiyan
 --
*S.KANNAIYAN.*
*South Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers' Movements (SICCFM)*,
Panakahally ( Village and post ),
Thalavady (Via),
Sathyamangalam Taluk,
Erode District,
Tamil Nadu,
India.
Pin code: 638 461.
*Mobile: +91 9444989543*
Skype: S.Kannaiyan
http://kannaiyan.blogspot.com/
http://siccfm.blogspot.com/

The pictures say it all... sadly the WTO saw only the profit of a few MNCs

Here are some telling messages that small farmers from across the world wanted you to know. It is infinitely sad that our Ministers and the Corporate world traded away the livelihoods of our farmers.

All pictures courtesy Benny Kuruvilla.

Korean farmers denouncing the WTO

The Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha at Bali

Farmers plead with their Ministers to EndWTO

Food is our birthright!

Corporate power ruins poor farmers

USA seems to be the chief enemy of the poor and farmers

The WTO pushes through bad deal in the final hours; Developed countries and their TNCs are the big winners

Please find below the Press Release that has been endorsed by all the farmers, peasants and civil society organizations campaigning in Bali.

The 9th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) pushed through a Bali Package in the final hours, extending the Conference to December 7, but at the cost of the developing countries, the poor and the hungry.

Facilitating Trade for TNCs

Hailed as a victory by the WTO for unlocking the deadlocked negotiations, the Bali Package delivers a legally binding agreement on Trade Facilitation that is costly to developing countries and ensures easier access and profits for Transnational Corporations (TNCs). Trade Facilitation, or the easing of customs procedures and borders, clearly benefits only the big TNCs that already control exports and imports. As the 2013 World Trade Report data shows, “80% of US exports are handled by 1% of large exporters, 85% of European exports are in the hands of 10% of big exporters and 81% of exports are concentrated in the top 5 largest exporting firms in developing countries.”

Added to this, is the hypocrisy that this Trade Facilitation deal will open borders in all Member countries except Cuba, as it does not effectively cancel the 60-year long US blockade against the Cuba. The reference to the non-discrimination principle of Article V of the GATT 1994 remains pure rhetoric as it is stated in the Declaration and not in the text of the Trade Facilitation Agreement.

Peace Clause that jeopardizes the Right to Food

In exchange for the costly, legally binding agreement on Trade Facilitation, developing countries received nothing.

- There is a very bad peace clause that violates the right to food and jeopardizes the right to food sovereignty as it places numerous restrictions on the ability of developing countries to give support to their small farmers and poor constituents.
- The peace clause only applies to existing public stockholding for food security programs that exceed the Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS) or de minimis, as of the date of the decision, effectively meaning that only India can apply it and that no future food security programs of developing countries will be allowed.
- There is a promise of a permanent solution but subject to future negotiations during the next 4 years. What that permanent solution will be is an uncertainty.
- Most importantly, developing countries will have to accept their guilt in violating WTO rules before they can apply the peace clause

Finally, this peace clause is nonsense simply because no country should have to beg for the right to guarantee the right to food. Food and agriculture should never have been included in the WTO in the first place.

Old, Unfulfilled and Failed Promises

The issue of Export Subsidies remains a promise. It was already promised in the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration that all export subsidies will be eliminated by 2013. Today, in the Bali Package, there is again only a rhetorical promise that "export competition remains a priority issue for the post-Bali work programme."

In Cotton, a long-standing demand of African countries, also a promise in the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration that never got implemented. Today, in the Bali Package the promise is to have "dedicated discussions" post-Bali.

The Bali Package has a Least Developed Countries (LDC) Package but with nothing substantial or meaningful. The special and differential treatment and monitoring mechanism are old unfulfilled promises that remain a declaration today.

In summary, the Bali Package delivers a legally binding text on Trade Facilitation, a very bad peace clause on food security that jeopardizes our right to food sovereignty, empty declarations and promises on long-standing developing country demands on export subsidies, cotton and the LDC issues.     

We call for an End to the WTO; We demand Economic Justice

The WTO has once again shown that it is an organization for the developed countries and the TNCs, pushing free trade rules that only benefit the rich and concentrate even more wealth in the hands of a few. It has not and never will deliver development for the people.

The WTO is a failed and delegitimized institution that is desperately trying to revive itself with a Bali Package at the high cost of food sovereignty, livelihoods, jobs, and the future of the people.

We reiterate our call for an End to the WTO and the tyranny of the free trade regime. We redouble our efforts in fighting the system and pushing for the peoples’ alternatives. We will continue our struggle to achieve a world without the WTO and free trade agreements and in its place have an Economy for Life.

For more information contact:
Muhammed Ikhwan: m.ikhwan@gmail.com, +62 819 32099596 (English, Bahasa)

Members of Gerak Lawan: (Gerakan Rakyat Lawan Neokolonialisme-Imperialisme)
Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ) - Bina Desa - Serikat Petani Indonesia (SPI) - Solidaritas Perempuan (SP) - Aliansi Petani Indonesia (API) - Indonesian Human Right Committee for Social Justice (IHCS) - Komisi untuk Orang Hilang dan Korban Kekerasan (KONTRAS) - Climate Society Forum (CSF) - Koalisi Anti Utang (KAU) - Koalisi Rakyat untuk Keadilan Perikanan (KIARA) - Institut Hijau Indonesia (IHI) - Lingkar Madani untuk Indonesia (LIMA) - Jaringan Advokasi Tambang (JATAM) - Aliansi Jurnalis Independen (AJI Jakarta) - Front Perjuangan Pemuda Indonesia (FPPI) - Lingkar Studi-Aksi untuk Demokrasi Indonesia (LS-ADI) - Serikat Nelayan Indonesia (SNI) - Kesatuan Nelayan Tradisional Indonesia (KNTI) - Serikat Buruh Indonesia (SBI) - Asosiasi Pendamping Perempuan Usaha Kecil (ASPPUK) - Perhimpunan Bantuan Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia Indonesia (PBHI) - Universitas Al-Azhar Indonesia (Dosen Hubungan Internasional) - Asosiasi Ekonomi-Politik Indonesia (AEPI) - Koalisi Rakyat untuk Hak Atas Air (KRuHA) - Aliansi Pemuda Pekerja Indonesia (APPI) - Migrant Care

Convenors of Social Movements for an Alternative Asia:
Alliance of Progressive Labor, Philippines, All Nepal's Peasants' Federation, Assembly of the Poor, Thailand, ATTAC Japan, Bangladesh Krishok Federation, Bangladesh Kishani Sabha, Bhartiya Kisan Union, India, Coalition Against Trafficking of Women (CATW-AP), Focus on the Global South, FTA Watch Thailand, Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU), Indonesia for Global Justice, Indonesian Political Economy Association (AEPI), Koalisi Anti Utang (KAU), Indonesia, Jubilee South-Asia Pacific Movement on Debt and Development, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, Karnataka, India, Kerela Coconut Farmers Association, Kerela, India, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), La Via Campesina, Migrant Forum in Asia, MONLAR, Sri Lanka, Northern Peasants Federation, Thailand, NOUMINREN, Japan, Peoples Coalition for the Right to Water, Indonesia (KRuHA), Serikat Petani Indonesia (SPI), South Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers Movements (SICCFM), World March of Women-Philippines

EndWTO Allies
FairWatch Italy, ATTAC France, SENTRO-Philippines, Ecologistas en Accion, Spain, World Development Movement

Support our farmers or let them commit suicide. Remember martyr Lee Kyung-Hae

-Pannaga Prasad

Lee Kyung-Hae was a quiet kind boy born to wealthy parents in 1947 in united Korea. He graduated in agricultural science and decided to take up farming on the hilly slopes of South Korea where he now belonged, though his parents wanted him to take up a more glamorous job like the government service. Toiling day and night he built a 30 acre farm which boasted of colourful different varieties of fruits and vegetables, lush green paddy and many cows. His farm became a symbol of agricultural prosperity because the hilly slopes were no fertile river plain and it required great planning, knowledge and effort to grow diverse crops. So famous did his farm become, that agricultural students and scientists from across Korea regularly visited it to learn and understand the secrets behind his farming brilliance.

Farmers, students and civil society groups paying homage to Lee Kyung-Hae at the Bali WTO. (Photo: Benny Kuruvilla)

Lee Kyung-Hae travelled far and wide, educating farmers about traditional farming techniques which were also high yielding and preserved the environment. He was elected to a number of prominent agricultural societies and in 1989, Lee was awarded the “Farmer of the Year” by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization. This is where things get more interesting. South Korea by this time was a major export oriented economy, manufacturing hi tech electronic goods and sending them to the industrialized economies, USA, Australia and the European countries. To maintain balance of trade, these countries wanted South Korea to import some of their products, and what was the West manufacturing cheaply? Food. Rice, wheat, maize, corn and dairy products. The West already had big companies like ConAgra, Cargill and Monsanto who by their sheer scale of operation and with cushioned with generous subsidies from their governments, could sell food products at rock bottom prices on the international market. Well, the rich countries always have their way. So South Korea opened its borders to cheap food imports and the big companies made their way into the average Korean kitchen. The Pandora’s Box of Free Trade had just been opened.

Remembering farmers' martyr, South Korean Lee Kyung-Hae. (Photo: Benny Kuruvilla)

The executives who ran these corporations were taught in their business schools that they had to exponentially increase sales, seek new markets, reduce costs and of course make more than 100% profit. The opportunities presented by developing countries, with their large populations, cheap labour and weak environmental regulations were almost too good to be true. And so the World Trade Organziation, being funded by these very companies arm-twisted poor countries to undertake liberalization of their economies.

Lee Kyung-Hae was deeply disturbed by this development. More than 60% of his countrymen were small farmers who could not compete with the flood of cheap foreign food. Let alone make a profit, the poor farmers could not even recover their cost of production. Their government’s bias towards foreign investment saw more big companies entering their markets, pushing the local farmers further into debt. Fertile agricultural land was being sold to factories to build ever more consumer products that the rich wanted. 4 lane and 6 lane highways, luxury apartments were being built. His village which once had a vibrant happy population was now being deserted as more families, now landless and deep in debt, migrated to the cities to work as drivers, watchmen and construction workers. Lee saw all this devastation unfolding before his very eyes and the blood in him boiled.

Paying homage to martyr Lee Kyung-Hae. (Photo: Benny Kuruvilla)

Lee held a number of hunger strikes, even lasting 26 days. In 1993, when there was no internet, he organized more than 15,000 small farmers from across the world to protest in Geneva, Switzerland, where the WTO’s meeting was being held. But the big companies used police force and threw them out and instead promised the local governments of more jobs and more money. The local governments, fooled by the carrot of development, allowed further foreign imports, which effectively murdered many more farmers.

The WTO’s next high level meeting was held in Cancun in Mexico in 2003. Lee Kyung-Hae led another large army of small farmers and peasants who were still fighting for their right to grow food. But their protest was ignored in totality by mainstream media. On September 10^th 2003, when the protest reached the final barricade which separated the rich from the poor, he stood atop the barricade and plunged a knife into his heart and died. On the other side of the barricade, the big companies and governments continued to discuss new free trade deals.

WTO kills farmers. It really kills. Remember martyr Lee Kyung-Hae. (Photo: Benny Kuruvilla)

If it was Lee Kyung-Hae in Korea, it was Vittal Arabhavi in Karnataka who committed suicide over the low price of sugarcane, because we are now importing cheap sugar. India is a much bigger, poorer and hungrier country. We cannot trade away the lives of our farmers. Agriculture is not just their profession. It is their culture, their life. If a woman is raped every one hour in India, a farmer commits suicide every half an hour because of the cycle of debt caused by free trade. 

The WTO is all over the news now, except that the media talks only in favour of the big companies who sponsor them. Talk about the negative aspects. Share it on social media. If your company trades with other countries, make sure you are not sacrificing any livelihoods. We are Indians first and not corporate employees.

Farmers block Mangalore port in South India

Farmers from across South India gathered at the port city of Mangalore in Karnataka to protest against the WTO and Free Trade Agreements. More than 2000 farmers walked from Mangalore APMC till Mangalore Port, carrying placards and banners against the WTO's biased policies which favour only rich countries and big multinational companies, while robbing the livelihoods of small farmers and peasants.

Farmers from South India protest march from Mangalore APMC to Mangalore port

Their chief demand was to stop the import of duty-free Toor Dal (yellow lentils) and palm oil which are widely grown in South India. But due to the cheap imports, Indian farmers cannot sell their produce at even their cost of production, and thus starts the whole vicious cycle of debt and poverty. Since India, with its large population is a big market for any multinational company, they enter our shops and our local farmers are left standing outside with their produce.

The WTO's 9th Minesterial currently underway at Bali will further allow companies to dump cheap food in our markets. Hence members from a number of farmers' movements in South India, led by the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene marched from the main farmers' market in Mangalore to the port which is the entry point of cheap imports. The other groups that took part in the protest were Adivasi Gotra Maha Sabha Kerala, Shethkari Association Maharashtra, Kerala Coconut Growers Association, Tamil Nadu Farmers’ Association and the Andhra Pradesh Farmers’ Associations.

The farmers' leaders then presented a memorandum to the Prime Minister of India through AC Dr. Prashanth, making clear that their lives were at stake because of the free trade policies being pushed by the rich countries. 

Worldwide media coverage of the protest by farmers and civil society groups against the WTO

The World Trade Organization's 9th Minesterial currently underway at Bali, Indonesia has attracted enormous attention, not just because it is a WTO event but also because of the widespread opposition by farmers across the world.

The WTO, being controlled by the biggest multinational companies, is forcing developing and least developed countries to open their markets to allow dumping of cheap goods. They also want agricultural subsidies to be reduced in these countries. Cheap imports will eat into the local markets, ensuring farmers are forced to sell their produce at rock bottom prices; reduction in subsidies will make their cost of production sky-rocket, pushing them down the spiral of debt. These issues and more are being highlighted in the ongoing protest at Bali.

Below are some of the media coverage it has received across the world.

India:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/business/wtos-global-role-hangs-in-the-balance-at-bali-summit/articleshow/26776528.cms

http://climate-connections.org/2013/12/03/breaking-news-action-by-indian-movements-inside-wto-meeting-in-bali/

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/in-bali-sharma-to-pitch-for-food-security/article5411239.ece?ref=relatedNews

France: 

http://fr.news.yahoo.com/video/activists-protest-wto-conference-bali-134625080.html

http://fr.news.yahoo.com/video/bali-manifestation-en-marge-la-133309844.html

Egypt: 

http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2013/12/03/wtos-global-role-hangs-in-the-balance-at-bali-summit/

South Korea 

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20131203000516&mod=skb

USA: 

http://www.onenewspage.us/video/20131203/1520699/Activists-protest-at-WTO-conference-in-Bali.htm

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/world/article/Bali-summit-may-be-last-chance-for-WTO-trade-deal-5029428.php

http://www.wsbtv.com/ap/ap/business/bali-summit-may-be-last-chance-for-wto-trade-deal/nb9JP/

UK:

http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/activists-protest-against-the-wto-conference-in-denpasar-on-news-photo/453247751

Qatar:

http://www.gulf-times.com/Mobile/Business/191/details/373389/WTO-faces-fight-for-survival-at-make-or-break-summit

Canada: 

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/photos/top-news-photos-1370239005-slideshow/protester-youth-movement-indonesia-caravan-wearing-guy-fawkes-photo-041245729.html

Around the web 

http://www.popularresistance.org/seattle-wto-collapsed-14-years-ago-lessons-for-today/

http://www.salon.com/2013/12/03/bali_summit_may_be_last_chance_for_wto_trade_deal/

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/bali-summit-may-be-last-chance-wto-trade-deal

  

http://business.inquirer.net/154937/wtos-global-role-hangs-in-the-balance-at-bali-summit

The Indian group's letter to Commerce Minister Anand Sharma at the WTO 9th Minesterial at Bali

Date: 04 December 2013

To, Shri Anand Sharma

Honorable Minister for Commerce,

Government of India

Dear Sir,

We, the undersigned, represent several trade unions, farmers’ organizations, mass organisations and NGOs from India. All of us are fully in support of the Government of India’s stated position to not trade away national food security. We welcome the decision of the Indian Cabinet on 28^th November 2013 to reject any peace clause that does not guarantee a permanent solution.  The peace clause has also been widely opposed by the Chairs of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce and Agriculture, several political parties including the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left parties, and mass organisations. There is wide consensus in India about its harmfulness for the food security of our country.

We demand food sovereignty now. Governments must be able to take measures that ensure food sovereignty for their people and any subsidy under such policies must be exempted from AMS, especially for developing countries.

In terms of the current Peace Clause that has been superimposed on us, the Peace Clause in relation to the G-33 proposal is not acceptable, as it will put us into a situation that is worse than the present one.

We would strongly appeal to you to withstand any pressure to weaken India’s position on defending and upholding national food security as a sovereign right. The safeguarding and promotion of the country’s food security, rural employment and livelihoods are non-negotiable. Food security cannot be ensured without supporting agricultural production by small and marginal farmers.

Our country need not be defensive about protecting the right to food and fighting hunger. We would also assert that aggressively upholding the rights of our citizens is not tantamount to collapsing the ministerial talks. On the contrary, such pressure tactics must be exposed as a conspiracy to keep people hungry and poor. We underline that the Doha Round is not collapsing because of developing countries such as India but because the developed countries, especially the US and the EU, have not changed their positions and are continuing with agricultural policies, including subsidies that are harmful for other countries’ producers globally. This is the issue that governments around the world should be talking about.

We would like to reiterate that we are with you and would closely monitor the negotiations during the ministerial meeting to ensure that the interests of the poor and hungry are not compromised in any way.

Action Aid India

Bhartiya Kisan Union

Bharatiya Krishak Samaj

Bharatiya Majdoor Sangh

Focus on the Global South India

Great Mission Group Consultancy

Karnataka Rajya Ryots Sangh

Public Services International

Right to Food Campaign

Shram Seva Nyas

South Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers’ Movements

Swadeshi JagranManch

Third World Network, India

Breaking News from the WTO 9th Minesterial at Bali: Defending the Poor and Hungry is Non-Negotiable!

On the occasion of the Ninth Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Bali, Indonesia, several farmers’ organisations, trade unions, mass organisations and peoples’ campaigns resolved to support the Indian Government’s position to not trade away national food security.

Protest at the 9th WTO Minesterial, Bali, Indonesia

The group welcomes the decision of the Indian Cabinet on 28^th November to reject any peace clause that does not guarantee a permanent solution.  The peace clause has been widely opposed by the Chairs of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce and Agriculture, several political parties including the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left parties, and mass organisations.

Kannaiyan (wearing the green cap), secretary of the SICCFM, at the WTO conference venue

 However, the group cautioned the Indian negotiating team headed by Commerce Minister Mr. Anand Sharma, not to bow to any pressure to weaken India’s position on defending and upholding national food security as a sovereign right. The group declared that the safeguarding and promotion of the country’s food security, rural employment and livelihoods are non-negotiable, and that food security cannot be ensured without supporting agricultural production by small and marginal farmers

Nandini Jayaram, women's coordinator of SICCFM, also defending the rights of farmers, at Bali

The group reminds the WTO members that no country needs to be on the defensive about protecting the right to food and fighting hunger in their countries.  And that aggressively upholding the rights of its citizens is not tantamount to collapsing the ministerial talks.  On the contrary, such pressure tactics must be exposed as a conspiracy to keep people hungry and poor.

It was decided that the group would closely monitor the negotiations during the ministerial meeting to ensure that the interests of the poor and hungry are not compromised in any way.

The following groups are currently in Bali, as the voices of millions of Indian farmers.

Action Aid India

Bhartiya Kisan Union

Bharatiya Krishak Samaj

Bharatiya Majdoor Sangh

Focus on the Global South India

Great Mission Group Consultancy

Public Services International

Right to Food Campaign

Shram Seva Nyas

South Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers’ Movements

Swadeshi JagranManch

Third World Network India