OUR WORLD IS NOT FOR SALE -- ACT NOW FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE

Copenhagen Update 13, from COP15 negotiations and the peoples Summit at Klimaforum09 --- Soumya Dutta, Dec 14, 2009 morning

Sunday 13th December, - the official centre of the COP15, the Bella Centyre was closed for most business, BUT the peoples climate summit venue - the KLIMAFORUM, was a bee-hive of activities. Long and serious sessions on Debt, Trade, Financing etc, on the Cuban energy revolution, on rights to seeds & other BD for farmers, -- many such lively programmes kept the huge but disorganized crowd of climate activists, farmers groups, indigenous peoples groups etc busy throughout the day.

From around 3:30 Pm, the Peoples assembly of Climate Justice Now - started with around 600 + participants, and Via Campesina presented a wonderful touching inaugural piece. Everyone in the assembly responded spontaneously to the 5 mnt film on the struggles of the Indian tribal people -- K NP Sashi's "gaon Chhorob nahi, jangal Chhorob Nahi, maa maati chhorob nahi, Larhai chhorob nahi".

But undoubtedly, the highlight of the peoples assembly was the Nigerian poet Nnimmo Bassey, leading the indigenous peoples struggle against the Oil Multinational, whose foot-stomping song "We thought it is Oil, But it was Blood" put the whole assembly on fire.

Movement after movement asserted their right to determine their own future, free of market control, and free of capitalistic controls and manipulations and exploitations.