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The use of fraud, imprisonment, and detention to force farmers to leave their land, so as to be seized by authorities and people in power
The crisis of farmers of Al-Ad'adeyya village, in town center of Damanhour, has become more complicated after two days of the farmers' protest in front of press union headquarter in Cairo. Farmers protested because National Security officers in Damanhour forced them to sign concession of their lands to the governorate. On Tuesday; the day before yesterday, many National Security officers went by their cars to the village to force villagers to leave their lands, so as to prepare the land to establish many projects upon it. National security officers assaulted villagers by beating them, where many victims were wounded, and taken to educational hospital of Damanhour. Others were detained, as a process of intimidation, as well.
Many farmers asserted to Doustor "the constitution" news paper that they were shocked when national security forces expelled them out of their lands, and started assaulting and beating them when they refused.
They said that National Security forces arrested many of the farmers, while injured were taken to hospitals. Farmers added: "Security officers used tear gas bombs to disseminate farmers and intimidate them. Meanwhile, General Mohammed Sha'rawy, Governer of Beheira, denied forcing farmers to concede their lands. He assured that farmers waived their lands with consent. He added lease contracts were ended in 30th October.
Inhabitants of Al-Ab'adeyya village, in Damanhour town center, who are nearly 50 villagers, submitted complaints to Land Center. Those complaints testify that they have rented agricultural lands, nearly 104 Feddans, from Egyptian department of endowment. They added their sole income comes from cultivating these lands. They were shocked by the decision of Beheira governor to prepare their lands, which they still cultivate, to set up industrial zones upon them.
When tenants refused to execute the decision of the governor, various authorities of the village; the local council of the village, Damanhour police station of Damanhour city, National Security officers of the governorate, and different organs of the governorate, started forcing villagers to sign concessions of their lands. Those authorities arrested villager, and forced them to sign for concession of their lands. The authorities handed each villager a check with 30,000 pounds, as an exchange of conceding lands to the governorate. The concession included the farmers' waiver of their lands. Farmers were forced to sign this waiver. This waiver includes adhesion data and terms. According to this concession, farmers consent the government acts to seize the land from them forcibly, without alert or resort to the judiciary. According to the concession, also, governorates organs have the power to execute forcibly.
According to the concession, also, farmers must guarantee the forcible hand of their lands to governmental organs. In case villagers breach their concession terms, government has the right to seize their private money. Administrative quarters, also, have the right to impose administrative seizure on movable properties of the farmers, and their rights as well! After villagers, who were arrested in police stations, had signed the concession papers, administrative quarters handed them their checks, and they were moved in the same day, via police cars, to the bank to get paid, forcibly, their thirty thousand pounds for their compulsory concession.
After release, farmers went to the office of D.A. and filed a report No. 3103, year 2009, at D.A. office in Damanhour. They, also, filed report No. 19575, 2009, in D.A. office in Alexandria. In addition, they filed report No. 19529, 2009, before the office of Public Attorney in Damanour. Farmers, also, filed records, proving the invalidity of the concession, and asking for concession unacceptability of it. They asked for help against bullying of the administrative quarters; administration forged the signs of farmers, so it is for many more forged signatures on blanks papers, where those papers are being used to press on farmers to set their lands aside. Farmers were surprised when they found police forces surrounding their village, few days ago, and ordering farmers to hand their lands to administration in a barren status, otherwise police officers would detain them. Police forces did arrest many old men and women in the village, and they were imprisoned in headquarter of the police station for no fault committed, to force them to leave the land.
Farmers' complaints and interviews with them testified their panic from the policy of the country to sell the farmers' lands, after seizing them. One of the farmers, called Omran El-Battal, asserted that there is no room for them in this country. He asked how the government could be aggressive to them in such a way. He asked, also, "Does the economic crisis, the government talks about, which led to the deterioration of prices of supplied wheat from 380 pound of ardeb to 270 pounds for the ardeb, and 200 pound of corn ardeb to 100 pound of the ardeb, is the reason that makes them sell our lands to balance the deficit, results from the crisis? Did not they get enough from the losses and deterioration of our status that we suffer from, so they wanted to seize our only source of income, so as to leave us exposed to hunger, disease and illiteracy? For whom we can file our complaints if all doors were closed in our faces, and all quarters refused to respond to our demands? Even more, most of officials, who I met, blamed us; despite we were under pressure, suffering torture, and detention, when we were forced to sign concessions. Is resisting police officers to not sign concessions became legal?" The center has filed many different records to stop abusing villagers, randomly arresting them, and detaining them in police stations without committing a fault. This record aims to secure farmers' rights of safety and freedom.
In addition, the center is preparing an appeal to submit to the administrative judiciary. The aim of this appeal is eliminating the governor's decision to seize the farmers' land, because the decision represents abusage, compulsion, fraud, and misuse of power. The center also asks the D.A., and the minister of interior to stop implementing the decision, to guarantee farmers' rights of safety.
The centre also urges civil society institutions to join farmers of Ab'adeyya village in demanding their rights to not be arrested, and persecuted; and to ensure the social safety of the country side, by guaranteeing their rights of decent life and freedom.
Dear friends/
Join us in calling upon the minister of interior, and the prime minister to stop abusing farmers of Ab'adeyya village, and to stop expelling them from their agricultural lands.
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