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Peasantry
under Attack once again
Act Now, we need your support immediately, |
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A large numbers of police have encircled the 7
villages at Khanewal district this evening on 8th June at Khanewal
district of Punjab. There are reports of six peasant leaders
arrested while rest are retaliating the arrests. Several hundreds
women are ready to fight the unjustified arrests.
Police from several districts have been called after the local
police was unable to arrest the peasant leaders who have decided
not to pay any more of the share of crops to the several
government owned farms administrations.
This latest police action has come after a high level meeting at
Governor House with the governor of Punjab and most of the
bureaucrats in the agriculture department. The mayors of two
districts also participated. It has been reported in the press
that governor was very much angry at the inability of the local
administration to deal with the rebellion of the peasantry. The
agricultural department misinformed the governor that the movement
is dominated by outsider both from political parties and social
sector.
This meeting decided to deal with the peasant movement with iron
hand. It is ironic that military administration has not forgotten
to take revenge from the peasantry at the time when there is war
like situation. There is a lot of lessons of patriotism at present
and a talk of unity and fraternity. But even at the time of war,
the class war against the peasantry is going on.
Military want to stop the growing support for the peasant movement
which is growing nationally. On 2nd June, over 6000 peasants
participated in a public meeting at Khanewal where Asma Jehangir,
former chairperson of Pakistan Human Right Commission of Pakistan
was the main speaker. Labor Party Pakistan Punjab secretary
Mushtaq Goraya, Assim Akhtar of Peoples Rights Movement were the
other main speakers. Asma Jehangir who went to the meeting >from
Lahore after five hours of drive was very well received by the >peasantwomen
who made up over half of the total gathering. She assured the
peasants for her and HRCP support for their just cause. Earlier a
delegation of HRCP had visited the Depal Pur district and found a
large number of human rights violations against the peasantry.
The peasants movement is led by Anjaman Mozareen Punjab (Punjab
Tenants Association). They have shown tremendous courage and have
led the first militant peasant struggle for decades in Punjab.
There are over half a million peasantry involved in the movement
who are cultivating 68000 acres of land. Several government
departments claim the ownership rights of the land. But the
peasants are cultivating this land for over 100 years and are now
demanding ownership right.
It is worth mentioning that General Pervaiz Musharaf assured AMP
several times before the referendum hat the land will be handed
over to them free of cost. But after the referendum, the story is
different and the peasantry is facing all sort of police and
private gangsters actions against them. So for, three peasant have
been killed, hundreds been arrested and several thousand peasants
are facing many unjustified police charges. Their real crime is
demanding land ownership rights.
Labor Party Pakistan is appealing to all the international friends
and comrades to take up the issue of the peasant movement and send
protest emails immediately to General Pervaiz Musharaf demanding
an immediate end of the suppression, taking back all the charges,
release of all the arrested leaders and fulfilling his own promise
of land to the peasants who are working on government land.
Send your protest letters
President of Pakistan
General Pervaiz Musharaf
CE@pak.gov.pk
Governor of Paunjab
Lieutenant General (Retired) Khalid Maqbool
Fax: 92 42 9200077
Mr. Khurshid Zaman Qureshi
Minister of agriculture
agriculture@punjab.gov.pk
Malik Asif Hayat
Inspector General Police of Punjab
police@punjab.gov.pk |
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LABOUR
PARTY PAKISTAN
LPP
(For a democratic socialist Pakistan)
For
further inquiry please contact at labourparty@gmx.net
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