Support nationwide farmers’ caravan – KMU

Militant labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno today called on residents of Metro Manila to welcome and show support for farmers who are participating in a first ever nationwide peasant caravan scheduled to enter the Metro on Jan. 20. 

Farmers, led by the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, launched the “Pambansang Lakbayan ng Anakpawis para sa Lupa at Katarungan” last Jan. 12 to boost the campaign for genuine land reform and against repression of farmers. The caravan will climax with a mobilization to Mendiola on Jan. 22, the 23rd anniversary of the Mendiola Massacre which claimed the lives of 13 farmers.

In short programs in MRT and LRT stations, where the labor center gave away statements titled “Lupa Hindi Bala (Land Not Bullets),” KMU leaders called on Metro residents to welcome and show support for the protesting farmers. 

“The farmers have marched from as far as Davao and the Cordilleras to assert legitimate demands that are seldom heard in Metro Manila, especially in the seat of power in Malacañang. Let us join them so their voices can become louder,” said Elmer “Bong” Labog, KMU chairperson.

“The government thinks that because residents of Metro Manila live far from the provinces, we are ignorant of what’s happening there. That’s why it bombards us with propaganda that all’s well in the countryside. Let us prove the Arroyo government wrong,” he added. 

“Let’s show the government what we know: that as long as there is no genuine land reform to end the exploitation of peasants and land-grabbing in the countryside, the plight of the country’s farmers can only get worse. That farmers still fight for land, and that the government’s only response is repression,” Labog said. 

The labor leader said the anniversary of the Mendiola Massacre is very important for farmers’ struggle for land reform, for farmers themselves and land reform advocates in the country. 

“The 1987 massacre highlights the issues we are raising: It showed that the basic situation of farmers did not change even after Marcos left the presidency. It showed how farmers fighting for genuine land reform are always met with violence, even death,” Labog said. 

Labog also enumerated the ways by which ordinary people can show support for the farmers joining the caravan.

“We can crowd the streets that they will pass through upon entering Metro Manila. We can bring them water, candies, biscuits, lugaw, or anything to eat. We can put up signs, clap, honk, cheer. If we live or work in elevated places, we can shower them with confetti. 

“We can join the concert in the evening of Jan. 21, in front of the Department of Agrarian Reform office near the Quezon City Memorial Circle. The farmers will stay there until the morning of Jan. 22, so we can go there to listen to their stories. Best of all, we can march with them to Mendiola on Jan. 22. They will start marching by 8:00 in the morning, so we better be early,” Labog concluded. #