Voluntary reapers

The mowing volunteers is a primarily French movement (but similar actions took place in 2007 in Germany, in Portugal and in the United Kingdom) of which them: 6700 asserted militants committed themselves in writing destroying the pieces of test Transgénique S and cultures of GMO in full field.

Qualification

Qualified by the criminal and civil law of “serious destruction of the good of others in meeting”, these acts constitute an offense. The maximum sentence planned for this type of offense is 5 years of prison and: 75000 euros of fine (sorrow likely to be doubled in the event of legal repetition).

They are asserted by the reapers as acts of civil Désobéissance although the detractors of the reapers affirm that the non-violent spirit of civil disobedience is contrary with the destruction caused by the reapers. However, apart from disputes with owners, no violence towards a person is to be regretted on behalf of the reapers, the only casualties to be announced having been to it side of the reapers and journalists at the time of interventions of the police force (these interventions can be sometimes " musclées" as in Valdivienne in 2004 when 300 soldiers dealt with 500 not armed reapers).

They bind them to their opposition to the use of the genetically modified organizations in Agriculture and to the “Brevetage of alive the”. The “voluntary reapers” affirm that the purpose of they are to make respect the right to an healthy environment, recognized now in the French Constitution, and in the name of the “Precaution principle”, which was registered in the Charte of the environment (although it did not exist yet at the time of the first actions).

History

The movement was born at the time of the gathering Larzac 2003, on the initiative of Jean-Baptiste Libouban. 400 people then declared “mowing volunteers”; in June 2005, its spokesperson affirmed that “4.800 people had declared mowing volunteers”. The Peasant confederation and the Greens in particular support the “reapers”.

In 2004,2005 and 2006, the “reapers” destroyed (in Midday the Pyrenees, Aquitaine, Center and Poitou Charente primarily) of the pieces of tests of transgenic plants cultivated in full field, culture illegal in France according to them. In 2006, the reapers also destroyed three pieces of culture commercial Monsanto corn (in Grézet-Cavagnan (82), OX (31) and Miradoux (81)) and attacked Lugos (33) with a corn GMO silo. These depredations gave place to legal proceedings. In June 2005, the reapers announced to have destroyed 70% of the tests of research in France which existed in 2004. July 31st, 2006, the ministry for agriculture estimated that 40% of the experimental fields had been destroyed.

In 2007, the Reapers take part again in many actions as well against pieces of test as against commercial cultures (21.000 hectares of corn GMO were sown this year in France). On Saturday, August 18, 2007 for example, a group of Voluntary Reapers destroys a piece of corn GMO test of Monsanto with Poinville (the Eure and Loir). 58 of them are put as a police custody by the gendarmerie, presents on the spot during mowing. Convened in front of the court of Chartres on October 9th, 2007, their lawsuit is deferred to April 8th, 2008, due to “Grenelle of the environment”. On Saturday, August 25, a hundred Reapers symbolically went to deposit each one in front of the factory Monsanto de Monbéqui a corn GMO ear mown in after midday in a field in Gers.

The “reapers” generally act as full day, without tools; the destruction of the seedlings of GMO is carried out by manual pulling up, not by mowing. The demonstrations are generally non-violent, but confrontations with the police force sometimes took place. For example, on Saturday, September 25, 2004, during a pulling up with Valdivienne, 300 soldiers launched teargases and grenades deafening on the 500 reapers present. There were 17 slightly injureds. Information made the turn of the topicality discreetly, certain members of the Greens were there. These acts involve the intervention of the police force, in a “completely disproportionate” way according to the “Reapers”. According to the newspaper Le Figaro, “to avoid any clash with the police force, the voluntary reapers henceforth prefer the night descents with the actions of day to face discovered”. At the time of their general meeting, joined together with Cournon in July 2006, the Reapers decide to continue their actions as well in a public way as at the time of night actions, on the pieces of tests and the commercial cultures.

The illegality of the acts of pullings up of GMO caused a debate: the sympathizers of the “voluntary Reapers” affirm that they act according to the principles of Non-violence and of civil Désobéissance. Their opponents consider that the destruction of fields is an offense which must be condemned because it slows down research and is a destruction of the good of others. It should however be specified that the voluntary reapers are not opposed, in accordance with their charter, that with the tests of GMO in full field and with their food use, but not with research in confined surroundings.

The Voluntary Reapers are on the initiative, with 15 other associations of “the call of Orleans” launched on February 27th, 2007, requiring the introduction in France of a moratorium on the tests and cultures of GMO. More than 70.000 people had signed this request for moratorium on May 25th, 2007 when the idea of a moratorium on corn MY 810 (only cultivated in France in a commercial way) is taken up publicly, in an interview with Parisian, by Alain Juppe, Minister of state, in load of sustainable development.

At the time of their general meeting joined together with Riec on Belon oyster July 22nd and 23rd 2007, the Voluntary Reapers decided to organize one weekend of actions August 4th and 5th in order to obtain this moratorium. These actions being able to take various forms: picnic in front of the pieces, gathering symbolic system of corn GMO seedlings to be deposited in front of the prefectures, etc… July 24th, 2007, 200 reapers blocked the agroalimentary terminal of the Port of St Nazaire to denounce the importation of colza GMO. Following this action, a delegation of 8 Voluntary Reapers (all continued or condemned by justice for actions of mowing of GMO) was received by Mrs. the Secretary of State in charge of ecology on July 31st to the Ministry, to again claim an immediate moratorium on the GMO.

Reactions

  • the companies Pioneer and Biogemma whose experimental plantations were destroyed deposited complaints against X for “criminal conspiracy” and “incentive with mowing”. An instruction is in hand in Clermont-Ferrand since 2005.
  • on August 1st, 2006, 250 producers of corn expressed in the south of France “to protest against confusion by anti-GMO of a transgenic morsel of corn belonging to a farmer”.
  • Dominique Bussereau, Minister for Agriculture, considered on August 20th, 2006 that they are “contrary acts of vandalism irresponsible with the Rule of law and with the respect of the Private property and work tools”.
  • In November 2006, in Lugos (33) a farmer tried to prevent the destruction (by watering) of its corn GMO harvests in silos by the reapers and made fire in the air in their direction. A demonstration to support it and protest against the destruction made by the reapers gathered 350 people according to the newspaper Southern West. Among the demonstrators were farmers, sympathizers, trade unionists, elected (local mayors and the deputy Marie-Helene of Esgaulx). A complaint was also deposited against the farmer for voluntary attempt at manslaughter.
  • on August 5th, 2007, a farmer of the Lot was hung with a tree in its field, whereas reapers had envisaged to organize a " there; spade-nique". It left behind him a leaflet of the reapers calling with a " picnic débat" in front of its corn seedlings transgenic. In order to determine the cause and the reasons of this suicide, an investigation was ordered by justice.

Legal decisions

“Voluntary mowings” were followed legal proceedings for “voluntary deterioration in meeting”.

The defense of comparing rests on the Déclaration of the Human rights and the citizen of 1789, which calls some with “resistance to oppression”, as on article 8 of the European Convention of the Human rights which protects the environment and lays out that “each citizen is entitled to an healthy environment”.

Judgments were marked:

For the mowing of a test of corn GMO in Menville on July 25th, 2004, whereas the lawyers of the Reapers asked for the release, in the name of the state of necessity, the indictment of prosecuting attorney of the Court of Appeal of Toulouse took on September 21st, 2005

and of the sorrows of imprisonment for these 8 defendants, closes for Jose Bove, with deferment for the others.

The stop of the Court of marked Appeal on November 15th, 2005 did not follow the totality of these requisitions and pronounced the following sorrows:

The 8 condemned were provided in cassation. The Court of appeal confirmed on February 10th, 2007 the decisions of the Court of Appeal.

  • Stop of the Court of Appeal of Riom (Puy de Dôme) of November 24th, 2005:
    • Five “reapers” are condemned to four months of suspended sentence and approximately 200.000 € of compensations to be paid jointly at the company Biogemma
    • a “reaper” is condemned for violence on agent for two months of suspended sentence and 1000 € of compensation.
Condemned provided themselves in cassation. The Court of appeal confirmed in April 2007 the decisions of the Court of Appeal.
  • Stop of the Court of Appeal of Orleans of June 28th, 2006; this judgment cancels the judgment of December 9th, 2005 of the court of Orleans which in first authority had released 42 reapers for “state of necessity” (L122-7 article of the penal code).
    • two months of imprisonment without remission and 1.000 euros of fine for Jean-Emile Sanchez, former spokesperson of the Peasant confederation
    • two months with deferment against the 48 other “voluntary reapers” which had destroyed two morsels of corn exploited by the American multinational Monsanto, the August 14th, 2004 and July 7th, 2005. Each defendant was in addition seen inflicting 1.000 euros of fine
The Court of appeal confirmed this decision on May 31st, 2007.

February 26th, 2007, 32 Voluntary Reapers appeared before the Court of Orleans to have destroyed piece of a transgenic corn test of the Monsanto firm on August 14th, 2006 with Villereau (Loiret). The Prosecutor required up to 6 months of prison including three firm months. The judgment was given on May 24th, 2007. The Reapers, found guilty, were condemned to sorrows from 3 to 4 months of suspended sentence, of 1500 to 3000 euros of fine and 1 to 2 years of deprivation of their civic rights. 16 of them which had refused to undergo a taking away of DNA during their police custody were condemned moreover to two months of suspended sentence. Condemned made call of this decision. The audience is envisaged before the Court of Appeal of Orleans December 17th and 18th 2007.

On October 2nd and 3rd 2007, two new lawsuits were to be held in front of the court of Villefranche de Lauragais (31) concerning one the destruction of a piece of test of corn GMO in Daux (31) on July 30th, 2006, the other that of a commercial culture of corn GMO to OX (31), also on July 30th, 2006. At the request of the Prosecutor, these lawsuits are deferred " sine die " , because of the proximity of the “Grenelle of the environment”.

François Roux and Marie-Christine Etelin, principal lawyers of the movement of the Reapers, are also at the origin of the movement of “Comparing voluntary”, which consists in for the “reapers” voluntarily requiring an appearance before the courts, in accordance with the spirit of the civil Désobéissance. The Magistrates' courts of Toulouse and Riom had recognized this step, but their decisions were cancelled by the Courses of Call.

Theoretical position on research

The “voluntary reapers” are not opposed to the basic research in biology: “In their eyes, this one must follow rigorous protocols in its experiments in confined surroundings. The applications which result from this must answer without damage with the true needs for the company and not make the play of the market. ” . However, of planted experimental in greenhouse they were also destroyed.

The “voluntary reapers” denounce the experiments in full field which would involve the contamination of the other plant species, which would cause to condemn cultures not GMO definitively and would put a term at the “Organic farming”.

The therapeutic defenders of the culture of GMO in full field advance that the “voluntary mowing” of corn seedlings transgenic could delay research on the creation of Lipase of vegetable origin, paramount element of the fight against the Mucoviscidose. With that, the “voluntary reapers” rétorquent that there exist other solutions of production, in particular for gastric lipase. Among these solutions, the culture of vegetable cells in bio fermenter would allow a production much more effective, without danger of contamination and probably less expensive.

Personalities “voluntary reapers”

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