Launch of peasant organisation network

Press release to launch KONAREPA and to present some major demands to the incoming government - 4th May, 2006

In addition to all the political, economic, social, cultural and organisational problems facing the Haitian peasant movement, there is another problem weighing us down: ISOLATION. We believe this problem has led to a lack of communication and coordination, a lack of discussion and planning among ourselves. Even if we are all struggling for the same demands everywhere, each organisation is fighting on its own, in its own area, in isolation from the others.

Our experience shows that these practices weaken us as an organised sector, fighting for common interests. They diminish our ability to construct the real force that is required to effectively lead the struggle for our demands and to achieve our aims in the face of the powers that be.

In the spirit of starting to attack the problem that we have always faced and to make the struggle more effective, a group of peasant organisations, from different parts of the country but which are used to talking to each other, decided to hold a meeting for three days (28-30th April 2006) to reflect on the problem and seek a common solution. During this meeting, we addressed a number of issues:
· The big problems facing our country in general, in particular those that affect the peasant sector;
· The current situation so that we better understand what is going on in the country at the present moment in order that we develop a clearer idea of the actions we need to carry out;
· The main problems facing the Haitian popular movement, particularly the peasant movement.

After all the discussions, reflection, analyses and comments among ourselves, we decided:

1. To put together a single list of demands that addresse the main problems peasants face, and to present them to the authorities that are going to be put in place in the country;
2. To set up a national network to coordinate and strengthen the struggle for peasants' demands.
This national network is called KONAREPA (National Coordination for Haitian Peasants' Demands). This is the national network that we are now making known to the nation and the international community. Here are the organisations that make up the network:

1. Tèt Kole Ti Peyisan Ayisyen
2. Federasyon Gwoupman Peyisan Belfontèn (FGPB)/Croix-des Bouquets)
3. Federasyon Peyizan Patizan Makandal (FEPPAM/Grand’Anse)
4. Mouvman Revandikasyon Peyisan San Tè (MRPST/ Verettes)
5. Kòdinasyon pou Defann Enterè Peyisan (KODEP/Artibonite)
6. Kòdinasyon Militan pou Devlopman Onzyèm ak Douzyèm (CMD-OD/Petit-Goâve)

KONAREPA is a grouping of organisations that is its own master - it has no allegiance to any political party, or any public or private institution. Soon KONAREPA will be presenting the list of fundamental demands of the peasantry to the mass of peasants, the incoming government, and to all other sectors. Here are what will be the key elements in that list of demands:

1. The Préval government must quickly define a programme to restore the environment in all parts of the country.
2. It must set up a programme for national production based on agriculture. This programme must include proper agrarian reform, credit, agricultural inputs, and all the technical support required to boost the peasant economy.
3. It must set up a good irrigation system to cover the whole country.
4. It must create the conditions for peasants to have the means to store and transform our produce.
5. It must take measures to control the flow of goods from abroad that are crushing national production and guarantee a market and decent prices for peasants' products.
6. It must take measures to build roads in different rural districts so that peasants can easily bring their produce to market.
7. It must take measures to legalise land occupations by peasants everywhere in the country, especially in the North-West and the Artibonite.
8. It must bring to justice all the criminals guilty of massacres of peasants in the country, especially those at Jan Rabèl, Danti, Pyat, Jèvè, Bokozèl, Milo, etc. as well as those guilty of killing the peasants' friends like Father Jean-Marie Vincent, Father Jean Pierre-Louis, and Jean Dominique…
9. It must establish good social services for peasants in all rural districts, such as schools, hospitals, water, public markets, free birth certificates, leisure centres etc.
10. This government must set up a good security and judicial system in all rural districts in the country.

KONAREPA will work with all peasant organisations with the same orientation anywhere in the country. KONAREPA will grow in strength with all other main popular sectors to overthrow the system of exploitation and to take the country out from under the occupation's boots, so it can once again be sovereign. Achieving our goals depends on the quality of the struggle we lead.

The measure of our strength is our organisation, the measure of our organisation is our power.

For the KONAREPA Provisional Committee:
Wobè Meteye, Desten Lijèn, Andre Seyis

(Translated from Creole by Andrew Taylor for the Haiti Support Group)

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'Ideas and Action - Projecting the voices of Haiti's progressive civil society organisations' is a Haiti Support Group project funded by the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF).

The Haiti Support Group is a British organisation working in solidarity with the Haitian people's struggle for human rights, participatory democracy and equitable development, since 1992.

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