The Latin American Coordination of Rural Organizations CLOC-Vía Campesina and its
member organizations throughout the continent wish to express their solidarity with the
country of Honduras, which two years ago faced an regrettable coup d’état, which brought
with it: deaths, violation of human rights, a social crisis and an attack on the fundamental
principles of democracy.

A six month study by a group of scientists from the universities of Kelaniya and Rajarata has found evidence of lethal levels of arsenic in the agrochemicals used by farmers in Sri Lanka. The group comprising chemists, pharmacologists, botanists, medical doctors and forensic specialists say the arsenic poisoning is very likely linked to the mystery kidney disease known as 'CKDu' that has killed 20,000 farmers in Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa in the past 20 years.

"We are 100 percent sure that there are dangerous quantities of arsenic in the agrochemicals imported into the country. We have to continue our research a little more to show that this is linked to the CKDu disease in Rajarata" says the head of the research team Prof. Nalin De Silva.

However, agrochemical manufacturing companies have not yet accepted responsibility. Agribusiness corporations have become very upset by this revelation and have published a full page advertisement with 20 such corporations coming together. It denies this and has the caption that "scientific truth that protects agriculture will ever prevail". In the meantime the Minister of Agriculture issued a statement saying that "There is no arsenic in the rice produced in the country". He says that "28 varieties of agrochemicals were tested and there was arsenic present only in two of those".

Press Release - La Via Campesina

(Jakarta, June 16, 2011) Food and agriculture will be on the menu of the G20 agriculture ministers meeting to be held in Paris on June 22 and 23, in preparation for the G20 conference in Cannes, France, in November. The international farmers’ movement La Via Campesina condemns the ongoing attempts by the governments of the world's richest nations to grab and control food policies that affect not only farmers but every single human being.

The G20 does not have the authority to dictate its policies to the rest of the world. It only includes the 20 richest economies, excluding the poorest. For example, from Africa, one of the continents most affected by hunger, only South Africa is admitted to the club.

The G20 is not only illegitimate, but also incompetent. Since its creation in 1999 it has intended to build a new world economic order, by controlling speculation and tax havens, dismantling “excessively large” banks and taxing financial transactions, amongst other plans. But these attempts have failed because the leaders of G20 nations continue to promote the same neoliberal policies that have created the current food and financial crises.