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Once more the farmers of the village of El-Mrashda are standing in the face of the blowing wind .... Who will protect their rights
The LCHR received complaints from the farmers of the village of El-Mrashda, Qena Governorate. In their complaints the farmers stated that they are more than two hundred farmers, and that ten years ago they reclaimed a piece of desert land in the desert west of El-Mrashda, Qena Governorate. The area of the piece of land is about four thousand acres. They cultivated all kinds of agriculture crops on this piece of land, and succeeded in transforming the bare desert into the a green heaven, after putting a lot of effort and hard work in the reclamation of this piece of land, until it was producing all kinds of crops. The problem of these farmers started since 2006, when Qena Governorate decided to allocate this piece of land to a Japanese company specialized in agriculture investment. The farmers went to a number of members of both houses of parliament and the Agriculture Committee of the Shura Council. The Committee agreed to give the Japanese company an alternative land instead of the land which the farmers reclaimed. Four months after that, the Director of Agriculture visited the reclaimed land and expressed his admiration. But after the visit the farmers were surprised by the Governor of Qena and the Development and Investment Authority issuing a new resolution that allocates the reclaimed land to the Japanese company, which led to the farmers going on a hunger strike, until a solution is found to their problem, so that they may continue farming the land which they reclaimed and sold every thing own in order to reclaim it.
The farmers ended their strike on a promise from the governor of Qena to give them alternative land. The unfortunate thing, is that the farmers submitted requests to the governor to fulfill his promises, but some staff members treated them badly, and assured them that the promises of the governor were only newspaper talk, so that the farmers might end their strike.
The LCHR presents the complaints of the farmers to the governor of Qena and the Minister of Agriculture demanding that they support the rights of the farmers of the village of El-Mrashda, and give them the land that the Governorate decided to allocate to the Japanese company, because the farmers are entitled to own this land, as they have given their effort and money over ten years to reclaim it, until it produced crops and food. And at the same time, allocate an alternative land to the Japanese company, according to the decision taken by the Shura Council's Committee on Agriculture, in order to ensure the rights of farmers to safe agriculture. The LCHR also demands the civil society organizations and the members of both houses of parliament, particularly those in the Governorate, to unite in solidarity with the demands of the farmers of the village of El-Mrashda, to enable them to posses their farmland, and for the sake of their rights to a decent life and safe agriculture.
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