Dear Friends,
>
> PLEASE support the campaign to BAN PARAQUAT. Just
> click the www.stop-paraquat.net and your VOTE will
> make a difference. Thanks a lot.
>
>
>
> PRESS RELEASE of the Berne Declaration
>
> Zurich, November 6, 2006
>
> Stop Paraquat: Citizens around the World condemn
> Syngenta
>
> The campaign to stop the Syngenta pesticide
> paraquat is gathering support around the world. The
> International Union of Agricultural Workers'
> Associations (IUF), the 2005 Alternative Nobel Prize
> Laureate Irene Fernandez of Malaysia, and a
> representative of the Swedish Chemicals Inspectorate
> said at a press conference in Switzerland that
> paraquat no longer has a place in agriculture
> because the highly toxic product of the Swiss
> agrochemical corporation had claimed too many
> victims already. Seeking to increase the pressure on
> Syngenta the Berne Declaration (BD) has called a
> “public proceeding”.
>
> In German-speaking countries the public proceeding
> in the paraquat case started in early October. So
> far, some 16 000 people have condemned Syngenta’s
> paraquat policies on www.stop-paraquat.net. "By
> marketing paraquat primarily to countries where it
> is not used according to instructions, Syngenta is
> acting with gross negligence and is complicit in ten
> thousands of poisonings every year" says BD-expert
> François Meienberg.
>
> Sue Langley, coordinator of the International
> Union of Agricultural Workers' Associations (IUF)
> representing over 2.5 million people in 125
> countries, explains why her members overwhelmingly
> oppose paraquat: “On banana plantations in Central
> America, palm oil plantations in South East Asia,
> and in many African countries workers suffer from
> the effects of paraquat on their health. The product
> must be banned worldwide.”
>
> Irene Fernandez, Right Livelihood Award Winner and
> Chairperson of the Pesticide Action Network Asia &
> the Pacific, has been fighting the use of paraquat
> in her home country for many years. A ban proclaimed
> by the Malaysian government in 2002 was never
> implemented – for various reasons, including an
> intervention by Syngenta. "Syngenta must be held
> accountable, at last, for the health damage caused
> by paraquat”, Fernandez insists.
>
> Sweden outlawed paraquat back in 1983 and in 2004
> filed an appeal to the European Court against a
> decision of the European Commission to re-approve
> paraquat for Europe. "Sweden has the opinion that
> we have a global responsibility to send clear
> signals that paraquat is not safe to use - neither
> in Europe nor in developing countries", said Kirsti
> Siirala, a representative of the Swedish Chemicals
> Inspectorate, at the press conference.
>
> For more information:
>
> François Meienberg, Campaign Director, Berne
> Declaration, Tel. +41 44 277 70 04, food@evb.ch
> or
> Oliver Classen, Media Officer, Berne Declaration,
> Tel. +41 44 277 70 06, medien@evb.ch