Bharat Mukti Morcha,
Goa Unit along with National Platform for Small Scale Fish Workers (Inland)
urgently calls upon government attention to the issues confronting fisheries in
Goa.
1. Threats to subsidies for fishers in
India due to ongoing negotiations by India at World Trade Organisation. We call
upon Prime Minister of India to assert and defend subsidies to fishers in
India.
2. Continues illegal trawling and purse
seine in Zuari River from January 16, 2020 has caused damage to river as well
as negatively affected livelihood of small scale gill net fishers. We call upon
Goa Government to restore administration that is in collapsed state in Zuari
river and apprehend offenders.
3. The National Fisheries Development Board
Bill 2019 is in violation of Constitution of India as it seeks to corporatize
and privatize fishing sector, infringe upon State government power to legislate
and regulate fisheries in up to territorial waters of India (12 nautical miles).
We are opposed to this and calls upon central government to desist from
enacting such a law.
4. Goa government must refrain from
enforcing Sagarmala Project with Central Government collaboration in
constructing Jetties for cargo handling. Goa’s six rivers has been declared as
National Waterways in 2016 without consulting fishing communities who stands to
perish in event of dredging of rivers. Expert Appraisal Committee of
MoEF&CC in response to application from Inland Waterways Authority of India
- on behalf of 228 mining barges - has directed to hold Public hearing before
undertaking dredging of Mandovi, Zuari and Cumbharjua rivers. Should mining
industry be allowed to ruin rivers the way it ruined western ghats forest and
paddy fields of hinterlands of Goa to stock looted wealth in Swiss bank and
others?
5. National Inland Fisheries and
Aquaculture Policy 2018 formulated by Central government without directing
State governments to hold consultations with fishers. We call upon State
government to explain this policy with fishers and translate in languages that
they understand and speak.
6. India
signed Voluntary Guidelines for Small Scale Fisheries in 2014 but Goa
Government has refrained from implementing the same. We call upon Goa
Government to open SSF Guidelines cell to coordinate the enforcement of the
same.
7 Fishers
are the largest non-consumptive stakeholders of rivers and Goa Government must
involve them into process of Rejuvenation of Rivers under focus namely Zuari,
Chapora, Tiracol and Sal. Casino vessels in Mandovi river must be stopped to
provide way for fishers to carry on their activities as good fish needs good
water.
8. Fishers in Goa like many other sections
of society are disturbed due to Indian Government laws Citizenship Amendment
Act 2019 (CAA)and National Population
Register (NPR) notified in July 2019.
These laws reflect abnormal quest for transforming natives of India into
foreigners through draconian measures such as making gathered data public,
requirement of three generations of birth details that are impossible to come
by, shifting to people into detention centers, notification of any law by
Central government whose violation will nullify citizenship, application of
Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) to local people will require RBI permission
to own property in India. Goa was not represented when the Constitution was
framed as Citizenship was extended to Goa only in 1962 through Government
Order. The issue of Goa-India relations will arise as to whether People of Goa
are foreigners in India or India is foreigner in Goa considering that UN security
council resolution S/5033 of 18 December 1961 on Goa is founded on Veto power
exercised by a foreign nation – USSR– to support India’s rule in Goa. Genetic
Evidence on the Origins of Indian Caste Populations is identified in 2001 study
published in Scientific Journal “Genome Research” that concluded ‘Our analysis
of 40 autosomal markers indicates clearly that the upper castes have a higher
affinity to Europeans than to Asians. The high affinity of caste Y chromosomes
with those of Europeans suggests that the majority of immigrating West
Eurasians may have been males.’ The case of Fr. Chico Monteiro - on how he was
tried, imprisoned, tortured, released from Patiala jail in exchange of Goan Political
prisoner in Portugal, and after his return to Goa his movement were monitored
and confined within borders of Goa - is still fresh in public memory. The enactments
of these laws are meant to deprive natives of Goa of their land at any cost in
order to subject them into slavery in detention centers. We call for repeal of
Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 and de-notification of National Population
Register. Fishers of Goa are natives of the land and we call for Amendment of
Constitution of India in order to allow Dual citizenship as Portugal has
granted citizenship to several Goan natives and several of them are from
fishing communities from villages such as Siridao etc. The enactment of these
laws symbolizes theft of freedom and ushering in of slavery dedicated towards
transforming largest democracy in the world into largest dictatorship in the
world.
Maggie
Silveira
President, Bharat Mukti Morcha, Goa Unit
National Council member, National
Platform for Small Scale Fish Workers (Inland)
