The Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) welcomes the release of HARUN BHANDARI, a leader of the Bangladesh Krishok Federation (BKF) freed from Jail today (March 17, 2008). Mr. Harun Bhandari is a very efficient leader of BKF and also President of Barisal District Committee.
APC Secretariat
Peasant and indigenous women contribute tremendously to food and agricultural production through their hard work, knowledge, and their nurturing capacities. They are involved in all aspects of agriculture – sowing, nurturing and protecting crops from pests, harvesting, selecting and preserving seeds for the next crop, soil enrichment and so on. They use local ecological resources in a balanced way and then regenerate these resources.
I came from a peasant family and was organized in 1996 under the Kababaihang Naglilingkod sa Nayon-Mindoro Occidental (KANAYON-MO). In 1999, I joined the peasant campaign that leads to the successful struggle of farmers in Golden Country Farms Inc. (GCFI) against former Mindoro Occidental Congressman Ricardo Quintos. From then on the military began harassing me and my family.