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DAVAO CITY—The
militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said it
would hold mass demonstrations here, including a
lakbayan and caravan rally on Tuesday to mark the 20th
year of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program
(CARP), which it criticized as a failure.
In a
statement, the KMP said its series of demonstrations
beginning Thursday was the group’s expression of
indignation over the alleged failure of CARP to provide
genuine agrarian reform to majority of farmers.
“KMP
accounts that seven out of 10 farmers in the country do
not own the lands they till and that big landlords and
big rice cartels are the ones controlling the land,
including food production,” it said.
The
group described their protests until Tuesday as
“Lakbayan sa Katawhan Batok sa Krisis, Kagutom, ug
Pasismo [Walk of the Masses Against Crisis, Hunger and
Fascism].”
The KMP
would be supported by Bayan, the umbrella organization
of militant groups.
The
initial demonstration was held on Thursday afternoon at
the Bankerohan Public Market, where the biggest retail
store of the National Food Authority (NFA) is located.
On Friday, the group held an All-Leader’s Forum on the
Rice Crisis at the Magallanes Elementary School Gym.
On
Monday a caravan rally would be conducted in the morning
at the Agdao Public Market, NFA office and the
Department of Agriculture, and a camp-in would be held
at the Freedom Park.
On
Tuesday the anniversary of CARP, the KMP said there
would be “regionally coordinated mobilizations,” but did
not say in which areas.
In this
city, the march and rally in two different areas would
be attended also by contingents from Davao del Norte and
North Cotabato.
One group would take the route Agdao Flyover-Carpenter-Magsaysay-Uyanguren-Freedom
Park and the other would walk from the Department of
Agrarian Reform office at the Ecoland to Quimpo
Boulevard, Camp Leonor-Claveria-Freedom Park.
A
cultural rally would cap the series of demonstrations. |
