Asia Pacific


PALESTINE: “WE DEMAND AN IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL OF ISRAELI OCCUPATION FORCES”

The Israeli blockade in Palestine has severe impacts on the daily lives of people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip: from blocking their access to water, to limiting their food sovereignty. Missile bombings over decades have damaged crop lands and wells, destroyed crops, killed hundreds of animals and deeply damaged artisanal fisheries. These were some of the impacts…

IPCC report leaves no doubt about climate change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released, on 9 August 2021, the first part of its Sixth Assessment Report: “Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis”. The rest of the report will be released over the next few months. “Many of the changes observed in the climate are unprecedented in thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years, and…

Friends of the Earth Bangladesh calls for independent investigation into coal plant workers police shooting

It has been a month since police opened fire on a workers peaceful demonstration at the under-construction Banshkhali Coal Power plant in Bangladesh. They were defending their worker's rights and payment of their overdue salary. "They were protesting because of their underwages, disgusting working conditions and also because they want to reduce a few working hours during Ramadan month", summarized…

Friends of the Earth Asia Pacific demands justice for nine indigenous leaders killed in the Philippines

On 30 December 2020, nine Tumandok indigenous leaders were killed and 16 others arrested by the Philippine Army and National Police in a joint operation on Panay Island, located south of the Philippines. State forces allege that those killed were members of an insurgent group and that upon being served search warrants for illegal possession of firearms and explosives, they…

Pressure mounts on the WTO for a people’s vaccine to combat Covid

“The US's recent decision to back the waiver of intellectual property rights of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) shows that people power works,” said Sam Cossar, Co-coordinator of the Economic Justice and Resisting Neoliberalism program of Friends of the Earth International (FOEI). “The pressure is really now on the European Union (EU) and Australia not to continue blocking it. It…

Irregularities surrounding police investigation in to death of Indonesian human rights activist Golfrid Siregar

Golfrid Siregar, member of the legal advocacy team of WALHI North Sumatra was found unconscious on a roadside on 3 October 2019, and died three days later in hospital. Despite being found fatally injured under very suspicious circumstances, the police said that his death was the result of a traffic accident. “Last year, the police held a press conference regarding…

Globalize Solidarity, Localize Agriculture!

On 10 September 2020, La Via Campesina will once again mark the International Day of Action against WTO and FTAs. On this day, in memory of Lee Kyung Hae’ sacrifice, LVC intend to hold a web-dialogue between peasant leaders and activists from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. They will elaborate and argue why agriculture must remain out of all…

Palestine: Activist Abu Saker and his son arrested

In the early hours of Wednesday 29 July, Abu Saker and his 22-year-old son Sakher were arrested by Israeli soldiers and held for 20 hours, without food or water. The police accused them of "stealing water" from Israel's national water company, Mekorot, which -in fact- "illegally appropriates Palestinians to serve, among others, Israel's settlement project", reported the website Stop The…

Australia: this is climate change

"Australia is experiencing an unprecedented fire crisis. 10 million hectares have been burned already. Nearly 2000 homes have been destroyed and many lives lost. The fires are so immense they have created their own weather systems, sparking more fires by generating their own dry electrical storms. Firefighters have never seen anything like it. Scientists are now saying many billions of…

Justice for Golfrid

Golfrid Siregar, member of the legal advocacy team of WALHI North Sumatra was found unconscious on the side of a road on October 3, at around 1 am. He had suffered major head injuries, though the rest of his body remained relatively uninjured. After three days at the hospital, his condition worsened, and he died. Although the circumstances of his…