{"id":1594,"date":"2025-04-17T01:49:49","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T20:04:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onlinepeoplesnews.com\/?p=1594"},"modified":"2025-04-16T23:50:54","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T18:05:54","slug":"april-17-2025-international-day-of-peasant-struggles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onlinepeoplesnews.com\/?p=1594","title":{"rendered":"April 17, 2025 \u2013 International Day of Peasant Struggles"},"content":{"rendered":"

April 17, 2025 \u2013 International Day of Peasant Struggles<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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By Pramesh Pokharel<\/p>\n

Land, Water and Territories for Life!<\/b><\/p>\n

Since the 1996 massacre of Eldorado dos Caraj\u00e1s in Brazil, where 21 peasants were murdered for fighting for agrarian reform\u2014a crime that remains unpunished\u2014we have organized globally every April 17. Forgetting only serves those who continue to oppress us, so we unite to honor this struggle, demand justice, and strengthen our resistance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Land, water and territories are not mere commodities. They are the foundation of our communities, cultures, and Food Sovereignty. Right to land is essential for rural workers and communities to continue producing healthy food through peasant agroecology and to fully participate in social, economic, and political life. However, this right and struggle continue to be criminalized, and peasant rights, enshrined in the UNDROP, are systematically violated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Palestine suffers a brutal occupation and annexation of land by the Israeli apartheid regime. In many countries, from Latin America to Africa and Asia, peasants face extreme violence for fighting for a dignified life in their territories. In Pakistan, for example, landless peasants resist land grabbing and evictions driven by corporate projects under the “Green Pakistan” initiative. Meanwhile, in the Global North, land artificialization\u2014through shopping malls, highways, and urbanization\u2014destroys thousands of hectares of agricultural land each year, affecting peasant livelihoods. At the same time, land financialization prevents youth who wish to become peasant farmers from accessing land.<\/span><\/p>\n

Enough with dispossession, evictions, and the commodification of our territories!\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

We strongly reject the expulsion of Palestinians from their lands\u2014a clear example of land and resource grabbing, which also takes place worldwide through wars, far-right neoliberal policies, foreign interventions disguised as humanitarian aid, and mega-investments that destroy our territories and ways of life.<\/span><\/p>\n

We demand: A comprehensive land reform and ambitious public policies to stop land grabbing and ensure fair land redistribution to peasants.<\/b><\/p>\n

We call for the creation of a popular, comprehensive agrarian reform focused on Food Sovereignty, which:<\/span><\/p>\n