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April 4, 2016

Philippines: Police Kill 3 Farmers at Protest for Rice, Amid Drought
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In the Philippines, farmers in the south are demanding justice after
police opened fire on unarmed protesters, killing at least three farmers
and leaving dozens more wounded. At least 6,000 farmers were blocking a
highway in the southern city of Kidapawan to demand the government
provide rice, because extreme El Niņo conditions had destroyed the
harvest. On Friday, the police tried to break up the blockade by firing
on farmers who had linked arms to form a human barricade. Farmer Noralyn
Laus spoke out after the shooting.

Noralyn Laus: "Why we came down here is not to make trouble. We just
want to demand for rice, because of the situation of El Niņo is leaving
our tribes hungry. What happened yesterday, we didn't start it. They
started it by beating us. We wouldn't be angry if we weren't beaten up
or attacked. We're having a crisis. We don't have anything to eat or
harvest. Our plants wilted. Even our water has dried up."

Topics:Philippines Police Brutality

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