The artist Cian Dayrit has been arrested in the Philippines for his part in a protest.
On 9 June local members of MAKISAMA-Tinang, a peasant group, and their supporters participated in a bungkalan (collective farming) activity to assert their right to land in the town of Concepcion, Tarlac province. The event marks the 34th anniversary of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, much criticised for its failure to redistribute private and public agricultural land to the benefit of small independent farmers.
Their action was violently dispersed by local police. 91 people, including Dayrit, were arrested and charges were made against 83 of those detained, citing illegal assembly and malicious mischief against 83 people. The police were called by a cooperative controlled by a powerful local politician who disputes the farmers’ land claims.