ID :
24855
Thu, 10/16/2008 - 15:27
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/24855
The shortlink copeid
THOUSANDS RALLY TO OBSERVE WORLD FOOD DAY
Jakarta, Oct. 16 (ANTARA) - Thousands of NGO activists staged a rally to observe World Food Day on Thursday and urged the government to treat Indonesian farmers fairly.
Most of the rally's participants were activists grouped in environmental and agricultural NGOs (non-governmental organizations), according to Dani Setiawan, the chairman of the Coalition Against Debt (KAU).
The NGOs included WALHI (Indonesian Environmental Forum), the Indonesian Farmers Union (SPI). Some of the protesters were members of the University Student Action Front (FAM) and the Alliance of Demanding Workers (ABM).
They demanded reform in the agricultural field as mandated by the country's Constitution. They also urged the government to restructure land ownership to be more favorable to farmers and the poor.
The rally's theme was "Realize Food Sovereignty and Farmers' Rights by Implementing Agrarian Reform Agenda".
The rally was held in front of the State Enterprises Ministry building on Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan and caused a traffic jam in the area around the National Monument (Monas).
Similar rallies were also to be held in other cities such as Medan (North Sumatra), Lampung (southern Sumatra), Bandung (West Java), Yogyakarta, and Makassar (South Sulawesi).
The rally was part of a series of events of the Global Action Week Against Debt and International Financial Institutions being observed worldwide from October 13 to 18, 2008.
Earlier, in a rally held last Tuesday (Oct. 14), the KAU chairman urged the government to stop depending on the World Bank and blamed the international financial institution for global financial, food and climate crises.
According to Dani Setiawan, the World Bank's economic liberalization which encouraged governments to eliminate subsidies, had caused the food crisis marked by food price surges in many countries.
Most of the rally's participants were activists grouped in environmental and agricultural NGOs (non-governmental organizations), according to Dani Setiawan, the chairman of the Coalition Against Debt (KAU).
The NGOs included WALHI (Indonesian Environmental Forum), the Indonesian Farmers Union (SPI). Some of the protesters were members of the University Student Action Front (FAM) and the Alliance of Demanding Workers (ABM).
They demanded reform in the agricultural field as mandated by the country's Constitution. They also urged the government to restructure land ownership to be more favorable to farmers and the poor.
The rally's theme was "Realize Food Sovereignty and Farmers' Rights by Implementing Agrarian Reform Agenda".
The rally was held in front of the State Enterprises Ministry building on Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan and caused a traffic jam in the area around the National Monument (Monas).
Similar rallies were also to be held in other cities such as Medan (North Sumatra), Lampung (southern Sumatra), Bandung (West Java), Yogyakarta, and Makassar (South Sulawesi).
The rally was part of a series of events of the Global Action Week Against Debt and International Financial Institutions being observed worldwide from October 13 to 18, 2008.
Earlier, in a rally held last Tuesday (Oct. 14), the KAU chairman urged the government to stop depending on the World Bank and blamed the international financial institution for global financial, food and climate crises.
According to Dani Setiawan, the World Bank's economic liberalization which encouraged governments to eliminate subsidies, had caused the food crisis marked by food price surges in many countries.
