As the world prepares for the 3rd Nyéléni Global Forum, all eyes turn to Sri Lanka, the host country of this historic gathering. In our latest podcast episode, we sit down with Anuka De Silva, a leader from the Movement for Land and Agrarian Reform (MONLAR) and member of La Via Campesina’s International Coordinating Committee, to hear directly from the ground about what this moment means.
“We are rising up. Resisting and building power from the bottom up. This forum is a spark in our collective struggle.” — Anuka De Silva
Sri Lanka is a very special case with 80% of its population living in rural areas. What implications does this have for food sovereignty?
Sri Lanka is a very small country in the Indian Ocean. We had an agrarian reform in the ‘60s and ‘70s, that’s why most of the people live in the rural areas. We also had change in government last year, and we think now we can push for a food sovereignty agenda. That’s why Sri Lanka is the perfect place to have the Nyeleni Global Forum.
“We changed the government through a massive people’s uprising. Now we are demanding real political reforms — beyond elections — to get out of the IMF trap.” — Anuka De Silva
What is the current situation of agriculture, fishing, and pastoral production in Sri Lanka?
Beside small-scale farming, we have a plantation sector relying on conventional agricultural practices, and big trolling with commercial fishing boats competing with small scale traditional fishing communities. Also the pastoralist situation is very hard because of the pressure from government projects impacting land use, and foreign development projects. They’re trying to use the pastoralist lands for different purposes because they believe that keeping grasslands is like “wasting” the land. That’s why especially in the Eastern coast, they have a huge fight to get their own land as pastoralist people.
How did Sri Lanka come to host the Third Nyéléni Global Forum and what can the world’s social movements expect from what will happen here in September?
In 2020 we had a big people’s uprising in the country because we challenged the president to leave the presidency, as we were facing lot of corruption in the previous government. It was not only about that one president, it’s a long history. In addition to corruption, we had a lot of oppression and we were suffering an economic crisis. We took the lead as social movements with the all other groups. We said that the president had to leave. Because of this history we think it’s good to bring the forum to Sri Lanka. But it’s not only about Sri Lanka, in the whole South Asia region we have very strong peasant movements, like the Indian farmers movement. They stood against to their government to challenge controversial farm bills and occupied Delhi in 2020 for one year. That was an historical moment. We know how is the people’s power, we believe in people’s power and as a region we think it’s a good moment to bring the Nyéléni Forum here.
What can the world and social movements expect from the September’s Forum?
I think we all facing huge oppressions, through capitalism and the neoliberal model. We are facing hunger and debt crisis. All together as a social movement we really need to create real systemic change. That is the most important part as the 3rd Nyéléni Global Forum. We really need a systemic change now, because we cannot wait as the globe is warming, people are dying of hunger and conflicts. We think this is the moment to come together to challenge in the system.
What are your expectations around the 3rd Nyéléni Global Forum and what is the significance of this event for Sri Lanka?
I think this is a very important moment for us as Sri Lankans because we changed the government, but still we’re facing penalizing conditions dictaded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as we are in a huge economic crisis. We are in the dept trap. There’s a need of real political change. It’s not just winning the elections, it’s about achieving deep policy reform. We are demanding the government to leave the IMF loan schemes, and also to protect farmers, fishers, and pastoralists. We demand a real good health and education systems in this country. Nyéléni is a really good moment to build connections between the people’s movements and push our government to move forward.
How many people and from how many organizations are expected to be here in September?
More than 500 people will be joining us all over the world from six regions with different social movements and actors who want to change the system. Most of them will be peasants, fishers peoples, and pastoralists, people advocacting for health for all, solidarity economy, and climate. There will be people from NGOs too. It’s a real good convergence.
What about language barriers? How are you preparing yourself to get into this issue?
Yes, we are so diverse, but we are trying to unite. We have a qualified team helping us to build a good linguistic diversity. We expect to have interpretation in 17 languages in the forum, as everyone needs to speak in their own language. Language is very important as a right.
With over 500 delegates from 80+ countries expected, and interpretation into more than 17 languages, this forum will be a convergence of voices, movements, and visions for systemic change.
🎧 Listen now to the full conversation with Anuka—also available on iVoox—and walk with us toward the forum in September.