Civil disobedience in the defense of rights

Every year, on the 21st of November, fishermen’s associations throughout the entire world organize a demonstration around problems related to fishing. But this year, the event had a particular feeling of resistance, because it was held in spite of the revocation of the right to assembly. The day gathered fishermen, human rights advocates, and union representatives but also members of the civil society and the international community. Organized around the theme of “popular control of natural resources”, the day was marked by speeches, debates, and theatrical shows put on by troupes of the PFF, and was an opportunity to put questions related to the rights of fishermen on the table.

The PFF is very well known in the Sindh region, located in the south-west of Pakistan, for its actions in defense of the rights of the fishing community and notably for its recent victory against the fishing contracts guaranteeing to coastal communities the right of access to the resources of the Indus River delta [2]. But since their victory against the unfair laws dealing with fishing rights, the pressure from the government and the “Lords of the Sea”, who control access to resources and impede the population from living of fishing, has intensified. The past achievements of the movement, its popularity, its demands as well as the act of civil disobedience on November 21st clearly denote the PFF as a movement campaigning for the defense of citizens’ rights.

A movement under pressure

Members of the PFF have witnessed pressure on the group subjected by “the opposition,” in the general sense of the term. The measures are national and dictated by the central government; they are also local and regularly committed by the police. Methods of intimidation were used against the members and sympathizers of the PFF: requests for denials against the movement, attacks, the burning of a factory in the city neighboring the headquarters of the PFF which caused the unemployment of 3 000 people. Muhammad Ali Shah, leader of the PFF, has been the object of continual opposition and threats, against both his associates and himself, but nothing stops either him or his supporters. They were at the Press Association of Karachi on November 4th. They organized the day of fishermen, artisans and workers of the sea on November 21. They continue their struggle, determined and convinced of the legitimacy of their battle for the amelioration of the status of fishermen; as well as for the right to think and live freely. It is a right to be acquired, as it illustrates the tensions surrounding the legislative and provincial elections of this February, 2008.

Also read: Resonances Asia N°21 - February 2008