Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Asia and the Pacific
Press Release – March 17, 2004
Global Day of Action for People’s Health – Stop War and Occupation!
Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific calls for Health NOW! – “No war, no WTO, fight for people’s health!” on the first anniversary of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq
“We join our voice to the growing clamour of voices calling for an end to war and occupation, and an end to the ravages of globalisation and WTO-centred policies, in the struggle for people’s health and food sovereignty!” declares PAN AP executive director, Sarojeni V. Rengam, on the global initiative to commemorate one year after U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq with a global day of action on March 20.
The global Health NOW! campaign1, to be launched on March 18, asserts that unhampered economic globalization causes increasing poverty, while US-led wars of aggression and similar conflicts continue to maim and massacre millions of people and destroy social infrastructure, and planet earth itself. It calls on the peoples of the world to junk the World Trade Organization and regional trade agreements with a similar character. The campaign asserts that the roots of poverty and ill health lie in the exploitative nature of the globalization process with its grossly inequitable distribution of wealth and resources. This global system is dependent on military power for continuing control, making the world more dangerous and filled with unspeakable suffering and death.2
“PAN AP upholds this Day of Action for People’s Health, to commemorate the millions of children, women and men whose lives have been devastated by pesticides. If we look back at how pesticides first came about, we will see that they were first created as tools of war. The demand for industrial chemicals during World War Two generated new technologies and mass production. Chemical companies made enormous profits, and when the war ended they re-directed their industries towards the domestic market and other uses including agro-chemicals for agriculture,” comments Rengam. “During the Second World War for example, nerve gases were used to annihilate millions of Jews, these were the basis for the organophosphate pesticides still in use today. During the Vietnam war, the agro-chemical companies were involved in creating defoliants. For example, Monsanto was one of the major producers of Agent Orange, the military name for the herbicides used by US troops to clear jungles in Vietnam,” she explains, and adds, “these pesticides continue to poison people to this day!”
The Health Now! campaign calls on communities worldwide to oppose US-led wars of aggression, and other conflicts that continue to plague many countries. Launched in the guise of “wars on terrorism”, the former are waged to strengthen the continued bid by the US for world hegemony. The Campaign monitors the impact of war, occupation and militarization on health with special attention on Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan.3
“Where there is conflict such as in Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan, food security and sovereignty have been tragically undermined and destroyed,” asserts Rengam, “if we look at the horrific example of Palestine, peoples’ access to land, natural resources and markets for their produce have been devastated. People cannot grow food, thousands are displaced from their lands and livelihoods, and many do not survive!” she adds. “The building of the 730 kilometer ‘Apartheid’ wall between Palestine and Israel, which began in 2002 and is a third complete, has caused untold damage to the communities it has violated—it has split families apart, and split farmers from their land. Taller and longer than the Berlin wall, this wall has forced people to leave their homes to camp by their farms day and night so they do not lose claim to their birthright!”, she elaborates.
“It is very clear that with conflict or war, food security and peoples food sovereignty4 are undermined. The international community must make a stand to end such conflicts!”, she concludes, “we strongly support the campaigns’ demands5 for national and international authorities:
1. Stop the occupation of Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan. The immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops. No support, in any way, to foreign military intervention and occupation.
2. WTO out of health. Junk TRIPS and GATS. No to all trade agreements that harm the people’s health, including the Agreement on Agriculture and regional trade agreements.
3. Health care, not warfare. Reduce budgets for the military and for weapons development and production. Increase public expenditure on social services, including health care.