Please find enclosed the latest press release on Monsanto by RFSTE.
Jafri
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Farmer Protests against Monsanto during General Election in India
Bellary (Karnataka) is the seat for the hottest electoral battle in the
Indian General Election, the last election of the millennium, in the
largest Democracy of the world. On 2nd September 1999, on the last day
of campaigning, more than 500 farmers gathered not to rally either for
the Congress (I) or the BJP but to protest at the District Collector's
office and at the Cargill-Monsanto Seed Plant at the Sanganakallu taluk,
in Bellary.
The protests were orgnised as part of the 'Bija Satyagraha' movement and
were led by Dr. Vandana Shiva of Navdanya and Mr. Lingaraj Patil,
President of Karnataka Krishak Samaj.
The protesters carried banners and shouted slogans saying "Monsanto: the
Real Foreign Invader - Quit India", "Monsanto and Cargill the Real
Videshi (foreigner) threats", "Monsanto the Biopirate of Neem, Cotton and
Mustard", and "The Real Cargill War - the Hijack of Indian Agriculture by
Videshi Corporation".
The Bija Satyagraha Movement, started by 2500 groups around the country,
represented at the Bellary protests by Navdanya and the Karnataka Krishak
Samaj, wants to draw attention on the real Videshi invasion by Monsanto &
Cargill. The Bija Satyagraha Movement is building the Swadeshi
alternative of keeping the seed in farmers hands and keeping seeds free
of patents, genetic engineering & MNC's control.
Corporations like Cargill and Monsanto have already driven thousands of
Indian farmers to suicide by selling costly seeds requiring costly
chemicals prone to high rates of crop failures. More than seven farmers
of Bellary district alone have committed suicide. These are the real
issues threatening the survival of the India people.
Ignoring these real economic threat, the Congress and BJP have reduced
the Bellary Election to a "foreigner - native" issue focussing only on
individual personalities in the election contest between the Congress
President, Italian born Sonia Gandhi and BJP representative, Sushma
Swaraj.
Cargill is the biggest grain trader of the world. It is the main force
behind the Agricultural Agreement of WTO and the opening of agricultural
markets. Cargill has already entered the Indian market and is all set to
hijack the Wheat, Corn and Soybean economy.
Monsanto, the world's largest biotech company has invaded India.
It now owns and controls Cargill seeds, MAHYCO, Rallis, EID Parry. The
main Cargill seed plant, now owned by Monsanto is in Bellary. This plant
was pulled down by angry farmers in 1992 because of the high rates of
seed failure.
Monsanto has taken over the biotech lab of our premier research
institute, the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. Monsanto is also
robbing all our Universities of our scientists. This is intellectual
hijack and intellectual theft.
Monsanto has also engaged in Biopiracy by patenting our cotton, mustard,
neem and soyabean. Through patents on seeds it is trying to establish a
totalitarian control over agriculture.
Monsanto undertook illegal and hazardous trials of genetically engineered
Bt. cotton. It has continued its trials in spite of the Supreme Court
case. Scientific evidence proves that toxic Bt plants kill beneficial
species such as butterflies, bees and beetles. Bt crops also accelerate
evolution of resistance in pests and the evolution of 'super pests'.
Pests are becoming resistant to pesticides leading to higher debts and
higher crop failure. This will lead to more debts and more suicides and
will wipe out both our biodiversity and our farmers.
Monsanto is also trying to import gene guns and virulent genetically
engineered plasmids for making and selling Terminator seeds, and other
ecologically hazardous products. This is a gene war on our farms, against
all species.
Monsanto is also trying to control drinking water and convert the growing
water scarcity into limitless profits.
Seed famine and water famines are the most severe threats the majority of
Indians are facing today.
This is the real Vidheshi invasion and threat to India. However, no
political party and no politicians are addressing these survival issues
faced by Indian people.
Because Monsanto poses a severe threat to Indian agriculture and Indian
farmers, Indian citizens have been telling Monsanto to quit India,
through the Monsanto Quit India campaign since Aug 9th 1998, Quit India
Day.
The Bija Satyagraha repeated this call during the Indian general election
1999 from Bellary, which is a citadel of corporate invasion into Indian
agriculture. Bellary symbolizes the combined imperialist power of
Cargill, the world's largest grain trader and Monsanto, the world's
largest seed monopoly.
We also want to draw attention to fact that both the BJP and Congress
have colluded with foreign MNC's. They have allowed Monsanto and Cargill
to enter Indian agriculture and rob us of our fundamental security - our
food security.
Both BJP and Congress joined hands to change Indian patent laws and allow
Bio-pirates like Monsanto to have monopoly markets through patents for
products derived from our neem, cotton and mustard etc.
Gandhi defined Swadeshi as economic democracy. Our politicians are
corrupting the content of this powerful word.
The citizens of India will save "Swadeshi' from being trivialized into a
call for xenophobia and narrow nationalism.
The real Swadeshi call that the Bija Satyagraha movement gave from
Bellary is:
1. "Monsanto Quit India"
Lawrence F. London, Jr. -+|+- Venaura Farm
london@metalab.unc.edu lflondon@worldnet.att.net
http://metalab.unc.edu/london, /permaculture, /ecolandtech
EcoLandTech -+|+- InterGarden -+|+- Permaculture
2. "Monsanto Stop the Hijack of Indian Seed and Water"
3. "No Patents on Life" - "No Patents on Seeds"
The real Swadeshi test that the Bija Satyagraha movement is putting to
every candidate is:
1. The next Government must scrap the new Patent Act 1999 and Stop the
implementation of TRIPS. It must also takes step to revise and reform
TRIPs by supporting the African Proposal to WTO to exclude life forms
from patentability.
2. The next government must stop the dumping of subsidized imports of
sugar, edible oil, pulses and other agricultural commodities. It must
work to exclude food from the WTO Agreement on Agriculture on grounds of
food security and survival Indian farmers.
3. The next elected government must stop the genetic engineering trials
that threaten our farmers, our biodiversity and our food security.
4. The government must stop the import of the Gene Guns and genetically
engineered plasmids by Monsanto.
For Further Information please contact:
Navdanya/ Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology
A - 60, Hauz Khas,
New Delhi - 110 016
Tel: 011-6968 077, 6853 772,
Fax: 011- 6856 795
Email: vshiva@giasdl01.vsnl.net.in
<><><><><>
Lawrence F. London, Jr. -+|+- Venaura Farm
london@metalab.unc.edu lflondon@worldnet.att.net
http://metalab.unc.edu/london, /permaculture, /ecolandtech
EcoLandTech -+|+- InterGarden -+|+- Permaculture
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