New York Times Carries Full-Page Ad in Solidarity with Indian Farmers

As many as 75 Organizations placed a one-page advertisement in the prominent international daily the ‘New York Times (NYT)’ on February 16, 2021 to stand in solidarity with the Indian farmers as they continue their protest for their livelihoods.

The Justice for Migrant Women organized a letter placed as an advertisement in the New York Times on February 16 with the signatories of 75 Civil Rights, Legal, and Community Organizations speaking out both in support of the farmers and against the Indian government’s anti-democratic response to the peaceful protests.

The letter expressed solidarity with the ongoing farmers’ protest in India and calling out the Indian government’s harsh response to the peaceful protests.

“Justice for Migrant Women is proud to demonstrate our solidarity with the farmers’ protest, alongside more than 75 like-minded organizations across the US and beyond,” the Founder and President of Justice for Migrant Women Mónica Ramírez said.

“India’s response to these peaceful demonstrations run counter to the fundamental values shared by all democracies–among them freedom of expression, protest, and the press, as well as the fundamental dignity of all people–and it is time that we all lend our voices to speak against this unjust treatment with those who are fighting for their lives and livelihoods,” Mónica Ramírez said.

Organizational Signatories

• 18 Million Rising
• AFL-CIO
• Agroecology Research-Action Collective
• Amalgamated Transit Union International
• Amnesty International USA
• Amplifier
• Apna Ghar, Inc.
• Asian American Writers’ Workshop
• Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance
• Athens Neighborhood Planting Project
• Aubin Pictures, Inc.
• Auburn Seminary
• Battle Born Progress
• Can’t Stop! Won’t Stop! Consulting
• Caribbean Agroecology Institute
• Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment
• Chicago Metro LCLAA
• Cleveland Jobs with Justice
• Community Alliance for Global Justice
• Community Services Unlimited Inc.
• Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
• Detroit Black Community Food Security Network
• Dolores Huerta Foundation
• East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC)
• Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC)
• Equality Labs
• Fair Trade Federation
• Fair World Project
• Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project (FLAP)
• Food Chain Workers Alliance
• Food Empowerment Project
• Food Forest Network
• For Freedoms
• Global Labor Justice-International Labor Rights Forum
• Global Project Against Hate and Extremism
• Green America
• Hindus for Human Rights
• Hispanic Federation
• Illinois Migrant Council
• Indian Bayou Food Forest
• Jahajee Sisters
• Jobs With Justice
• Jonas Philanthropies
• Justice for Migrant Women
• Justice For Muslims Collective
• La Conexión
• Laal
• Labor Council for Latin American Advancement
• Leadership Counsel
• Lobelia Commons
• Louisiana Permaculture
• LULAC-IL
• Meztli Projects
• Migrant Justice
• Milk with Dignity Standards Council
• Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project
• Moms Across America/Mothers Across The World
• MPower Change
• National Lawyers Guild
• Nest
• NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
• New York City Fair Trade Coalition
• Real Food Media
• Repairers of the Breach
• Resilience Force
• Sakhi for South Asian Women
• org
• Sapna NYC
• South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)
• Southeastern African American Farmers’ Organic Network (SAAFON)
• Student Action with Farmworkers (SAF)
• Sur Legal Collaborative
• The Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice
• The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans
• The Revolutionary Love Project
• UMOS
• Win Without War

Separately, in an article “Climate Activist Jailed in India as Government Clamps Down on Dissent” by Sameer Yasir in the New York Times (NYT) on February 15, the Indian government’s continuous crackdown on freedom of speech and dissent was criticized.

The article referred to international reports that say freedom of speech in India has declined for a third consecutive year.

It also criticized the arrest of the 21-year-old young activist Disha Ravi for distributing a ‘tool kit’ to garner support for farmers protesting against the new farm laws.

The article stated that the Modi-led BJP government has resorted to blocking the internet and stifling fundamental freedoms in response to its contentious policies against Muslims and actions in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).