Asia Pacific

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…

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…

“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…

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…

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…

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 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…

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…

Transformative Cities, a project launched by a group of international organisations including Friends of the Earth International, the Transnational Institute (TNI), Right to the City platform and RIPESS, has recently published an Atlas of Utopias which shows that “change is happening”, Sam Cossar-Gilbert told Real World Radio. Cossar-Gilbert coordinates Friends of the Earth International’s work on economic justice and resisting neoliberalism,…

This was the third meeting of Friends of the Earth International´s Working Group since it was created. From May 2 to 5, its members analyzed what has been done so far and the steps to follow. Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) seeks to mainstream the feminist perspective and gender justice in all its programs, campaigns and member groups. Real…