INTRODUCTION TO THE APPEAL TO BANGLADESH'S PRIME MINISTER IN SUPPORT OF LANDLESS PEASANT WOMEN
AND THEIR FAMILIES
This is to appeal to citizens worldwide to sign a Letter of Appeal to Bangladesh's Prime Minister, in support of the right to food, landed property and life security of landless peasant women and their families. Since the present government led by the chief of the Awami League, Sheikh Hasina, has come to power in the middle of 1996, Bangladesh has witnessed increasing violence against the peasant movement, including violence by the country's police. This development is contrary to the situation in the previous government period, when peaceful demonstrations and other actions to implement the peasants' legal rights generally could take place without being opposed by the police. The police-violence against the landless, more-over, forms part of a broader pattern of escalating police-repression. Thus, in July, public indignation over killings in police custody found expression in a 'hartal', i.e. a general stoppage of transport and closure of shops.
A separate development which is a cause for deep concern, is the government's decision, in May of last year, to issue new regulations regarding fallow land, 'khas'. Though the Land Manual that was in force from 1987 till last year had largely remained unimplemented, its contents were clearly progressive, since the Manual contained detailed provisions for the distribution of land amongst landless peasants, including the recognition of the right to landed property for women. The Awami League, instead of taking steps to promote the Manual's implementation, has issued new Legal Regulations that form a setback in terms of landless peasants' basic right to food and land. In consequence, landless peasants who have built settlements on 'fallow' land along the coast, and grassroots' organisations supporting their cause, are opposed to the new Regulations. They demand the constitution of a Task Force to speed up the distribution of all land that legally is registered as 'fallow' land.
Following this introductory statement, you find a copy of the Letter of Appeal to Bangladesh's Prime Minister, and a list of the signatures collected so far. The list is headed by the internationally reknowned author Susan George and by Bina Agarwal, whose investigative work on women's right to landed property has also received wide acclaim. They are joined by four leading members of the European Parliament, by university-based Bangladeshi intellectuals, and by many others. As of today, the Prime Minister has not yet responded to the Appeal, sent to her in July. Instead, recent reports from Bangladesh indicate that police-violence continues to expand. Thus, the South Asia Citizens Web calls upon people worldwide to add their signature to the list, and thus add your voice to those of Bangladeshi peasants and their sympathisers, demanding that police-violence and repression be immediately stopped.
In support of the Letter of Appeal, we further publicise two documents relating to the violent suppression of Bangladesh's peasant movement. The first document, 'Police Repession against Landless Fisherfolk in the Satkhira District of Bangladesh' summarizes the violent expulsion by the police of fisherfolk from wetlands, an incident that has taken place on July 27 of this year. The second document, 'Update on Char Lota', relates to an incident that occurred in December of 1996: a massive assault by landgrabbers on a settlement of landless in a lowlying island near the coast, in which numerous people were either burnt to death or maimed. It highlights the fact that the victims of the incident have never been granted with justice by the ruling government. The two documents, hopefully, sufficiently underline the need for sustained international protests, to prevent further escalation of police- and landgrabbers' violence.
The South Asia Citizens' Web
France, August 24, 1998