Action against Sindhi fisherfolk condemned
By Our Reporter
http://dawn.com/2006/06/22/nat15.htm
ISLAMABAD, June 21: Different non-governmental organisations on Wednesday condemned the violent police action against Sindhi fisherfolk in Karachi and demanded action against the officials that ordered the crackdown.
In a statement, the People’s Rights Movement (PRM) and a number of affiliated organizations including Anjuman Mazarain Punjab (AMP), All-Pakistan Alliance for Katchi Abadis and Sindhu Bachao Tarla said that the repression had exposed the government’s claims of being committed to democratic principles and it also showed that government was afraid of popular mobilisation.
The movement representatives said that the struggle of Sindhi fishing communities under the banner of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) proved that unity of the working class could successfully repel the attacks of the state and multinational capital on resources that served the public interest.
They said that the corporatisation of marine resources was being matched by the corporatisation of agricultural land, while in general all resources and public assets were being privatised. They said that this unbridled attack on working people will continue to produce responses such as those of Sindhi fisherfolk and sooner or later a nationwide political movement would take shape.
They said that the ongoing upheavals in Latin America as well in Nepal, India and Bangladesh should act as a warning to the government to pay greater attention to working people’s needs.
Other processes of resistance to state and capitalist aggression are developing simultaneously including against mega water projects in the Siraiki belt, evictions of katchi abadis in Karachi and other cities, and privatisation of various state- owned enterprises.
The movement leaders pledged their complete support to the PFF and its ongoing campaign against deep sea trawlers while demanding the release of all PFF activists that are still unaccounted for and immediate withdrawal of all cases filed against them.
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Police action against fishermen condemned
http://thepost.com.pk/Arc_IsbNews.aspx?dtlid=45630&catid=17&date=06/22/2006&fcatid=14
ISLAMABAD: The People’s Rights Movement (PRM) and a number of affiliated movements including Anjuman Mazarain Punjab (AMP), All-Pakistan Alliance for Katchi Abadis and Sindhu Bachao Tarla have strongly condemned the violent police action against Sindhi fisher folks in Karachi and demanded immediate action against the officers responsible for the vicious crackdown.
Representatives of the movements including Zahoor Khan of PRM, AMP General Secretary Mehr Abdul Sattar, Alliance President Zahid Anjum and Mushtaq Gadi of the Sindhu Bachao Tarla urged immediate action against the concerned officials Wednesday. They said the repression not only exposed entirely the government’s repeated claims of being committed to democratic principles but also showed how wary the government was of popular mobilisation.
They said struggle of the Sindhi fishing communities under banner of the Pakistan Fisher-folk Forum (PFF) was an inspiration to working people around the country as it proved that unity of the working class could successfully repel the attacks of the state and multinational capital on resources that served the public interest.
They said that the marine resources was being matched by the agricultural land, while in general all resources and public assets are being privatised. They said that this unbridled attack on the working people would continue to produce responses such as those of Sindhi fisher folk and sooner or later a nationwide political movement would take shape.
They added that the ongoing upheavals in Latin American as well as closer to home in Nepal, India and Bangladesh should act as a warning to the government to pay greater attention to working people’s needs rather than cater to the whims of the international financial institutions (IFIs) and American imperialism.
“In any case, the present government has lost what little credibility it possessed on account of its resort to force to suppress popular resentment as happened in Karachi against the fisher folk. Other processes of resistance to state and capitalist aggression are developing simultaneously including against mega water projects in the Siraiki belt, evictions of katchi abadis in Karachi and other cities, and privatisation of various state-owned enterprises,” they warned.
The movement leaders pledged their complete support to the PFF and its ongoing campaign against deep-sea trawlers while demanding the release of all PFF activists that are still unaccounted for and immediate withdrawal of all cases filed against them. They said that they remained committed to employing civil disobedience if the state continued to resort to repression and deny Sindhi fishing communities their historical rights.
Saeed Baloch
General Secretary PFF
#209 Regal Trade Square Saddar Karachi
Phone092 21 2750581-5090543-5092862
Cell.092 333 2175 243
web. www.pff.org.pk