Traduction du message du Forum Pakistanais des Pêcheurs reçu par Frères des Hommes le 16 mai 2005

"Nous, membres du Forum Pakistanais des Pêcheurs (Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum - PFF) attirons votre attention sur l'arrestation de nos principaux responsables, Mohammad Ali Shah notre président, Sami Memon, Jamal Mustaf Shoro, Allah Dino, Mallah et Mohammad, chauffeur du PFF.

Ces derniers ont été arrêtés par la police de Hyderabad, après une manifestation pacifique et un sit-in des pêcheurs contre le système de contrat.

En ce premier jour de mise aux enchères de l'attribution des droits de pêche, des pêcheurs de toute la région du Sindh s'étaient réunis devant le Bureau du Département de la Pêche à Hyderabad. Ils exerçaient leur droit démocratique. Toutes leurs actions ont été menées de manière très pacifique.

Au moment de la dispersion, dans le calme, des pêcheurs, la police du District a invité les responsables nationaux du PFF à les suivre en leur indiquant qu'une réunion entre le PFF et des hauts fonctionnaires du Département de la Pêche avait été organisée afin de parvenir à une résolution à l'amiable du litige.

Le PFF croyant au dialogue et aux actions de plaidoyer, les responsables se sont rendus sans hésitation au poste de la police régionale. Mais, après deux heures d'attente dans les locaux de la police, les policiers ont indiqué aux responsables du PFF qu'une plainte pour émeutes et trouble à l'ordre public a été enregistrée contre eux et qu'ils étaient en état d'arrestation. Plus tard, ils ont été transférés au commissariat de police de Hussainabad.

Nous, membres de PFF faisons appel à tous les démocrates et défenseurs des droits de l'Homme a faire entendre leur voix contre l'arrestation des responsables du PFF. Nous en appelons également au Gouvernement afin qu'il libère immédiatement les responsables du PFF et retire toutes les plaintes fallacieuses contre eux.

Nous nous engageons à poursuivre notre lutte démocratique contre le système de pêche sur contrat injuste et favorisant l'exploitation. Ces arrestations et pratiques tacticiennes ne pourront entraver notre lutte. Au contraire elles nous ont redonné une vigueur et une énergie nouvelles pour accélérer notre lutte.

Nous faisons une nouvelle fois appel à nos amis et organisations de solidarité pour épauler le PFF dans sa lutte pour l'éradication du système exploitation".

Texte original du message du Forum Pakistanais des Pêcheurs reçu par Frères des Hommes, le 16 mai 2005

" We, the members of Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) draw your kind attention towards arrest of our central leaders including Chairperson Mohammad Ali Shah, Sami Memon, Jamal Mustaf Shoro, Allah Dino Mallah and Mohammad (PFF driver) by Hyderabad Police after a peaceful demonstration and sit-in of fishermen against contract system.

The fishermen from all over Sindh had gathered in front of office of Fisheries Department at Hyderabad on the first day of the auction for awarding fishing rights. They were exercising their democratic right and all the protest held in a very peaceful manner.

When all the fishermen dispersed peacefully, the Taluka Police Office (TPO), Hyderabad invited the PFF central leaders to come with him as he said he had arranged a meeting between PFF and high officials of Fisheries Department to amicably resolve the issue.

As PFF believes in dialogue and advocacy, so without any hesitation, the PFF leaders went to GOR Police Station. But after a two-hour wait in police station, the police officials told the PFF leaders that an FIR has been registered against them for committing riots and disturbance, so they were under arrested. Later, they were shifted to Hussainabad Police Station lockup.

We, the members of PFF appeal to all the democracy loving and human rights activists/organizations to raise their voice against arrest of PFF leaders. We also appeal to the government to release the PFF leaders immediately and withdraw all the false cases against them.

We pledge to continue our peaceful democratic struggle against unfair and exploitative contract system of fishing. We do not consider arrests or such tactics as an impediment in our struggle.

Instead, these arrests have created a new vigor and energy in us to speed up our struggle.

We once again appeal to our friends and friendly organizations to join hands with PFF in it struggle against elimination of exploitative system."

Kashar News

PRM holds protest demo

ISLAMABAD, May 18 (SANA): Activists of the People's Rights Movement (PRM) and other political and social workers and concerned citizens held a protest demonstration here in front of the parliament building against the Sindh government's insistence on retaining the contract system in the fisheries sector.

The demonstrators were also protesting against the arrest of activists of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) by Hyderabad police on Monday after a peaceful sit-in by over a thousand Fisherfok outside the office of the Sindh Fisheries Department.

The protestors held banners and placards slamming the arrests and the overall policy of corporatisation which the present government is championing in fisheries as well as other subsistence sectors such as agriculture.

Speaking on the occasion, Aasim Sajjad of PRM said that the federal government had itself abolished the contract system in December 2004 in the coastal areas of Badin and Thatta after a widespread civil disobedience campaign spearheaded by PFF.

At that time the government had acknowledged that Rangers forces in coastal areas were engaged in abusive practices and that the contract system adversely affected the livelihoods of local fishing communities.

However, only a few months later the Sindh government has gone back on its commitments and decided to once again impose the contract system, this time on inland fisheries across the province. Aasim Sajjad said that the present government is entirely committed to protecting the interests of capital at the cost of the subsistence needs of millions of fisherfolk who comprise the indigenous population of the country.

The protestors demanded an immediate withdrawal of the decision to auction fishing rights to inland fisheries and also to the overall policy of corporatisation of the fisheries sector which includes the issuing of licences to foreign corporate trawlers that have already destroyed the marine ecology of the Sindh coast while depriving almost 2 million Fisherfolk on the coastline of their livelihoods.

The protestors also demanded the immediate release of the PFF leaders arrested in Hyderabad under dubious circumstances. They said that the PFF civil disobedience campaign would continue in spite of the government's attempts to harass and terrorise.

They also said that a collective strategy of other working-class movements associated with PRM and other progressive political and social organizations would be formulated in the near future to extend PFF's struggle beyond Sindh.

Pour en savoir plus sur le contexte de la pêche au Pakistan : http://www.ecotopics.com/articles/pakistan_fisheries.htm

Daily Times - 12 May 2005

Fisherfolk to stage hunger strikes from tomorrow

KARACHI: The Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) has decided to launch a series of hunger strikes, rallies, marches and sits-in in front of fisheries department offices from May 13 to 23 to protest against the Sindh government’s decision of auctioning fresh water fishing grounds in Sindh. This was decided at an emergency meeting of the PFF Struggle Committee, which met on Wednesday at the PFF office Thatta under the chairmanship of Mohammed Ali Shah. Mustafa Mirani, Nawaz Khatti, Gulab Shah, Mithan Malah, Ayub Malah, Mithal Malah, Sami Memon, Sajan Shaikh and others attended the meeting. The PFF has been continuing its struggle against what it calls the exploitative system of auctioning of fishing waters of Sindh to influential people and has been demanding the restoration of the licence system under which fishermen were issued licences against licence fees to fish in those fishing waters.