NEW DELHI (AP) – Thousands of protesting Indian farmers blocked roads across the country for several hours on Saturday to pressure their demands to repeal the new agricultural laws that have led to months of mass protests.
Protesters used tractors, trucks and even pebbles to block roads. They carried banners and flags denouncing the laws, which they say will leave them poorer and at the mercy of corporations.
“We will continue to fight until our last breath,” said Jhajjan Singh, 80, a farmer at a protest site in Ghazipur. Prime Minister Narendra “Modi should know that either he will stay, or we will.”
Authorities deployed thousands of security forces mainly outside the capital of India, where farmers have been camping in three main locations for more than two months. Farmers have said they will not leave until the government breaks the laws.
Saturday’s blockade began at noon and lasted three hours. No violence was reported immediately.
Several rounds of talks between farmers and the government have made no progress. The government has said laws are needed to modernize Indian agriculture.
On Friday, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar defended the laws in Parliament, lowering hopes of a quick deal, as he made no new offer to resume talks with farmers.
The protests turned violent on January 26, Republic Day in India, when a group of farmers riding tractors veered off the protest route and stormed the 17th-century Red Fort.. Hundreds of police officers were injured, as well as dozens of farmers. One protester died.
Peasant leaders condemned the violence, but said they would not cancel the protest.
Since then, authorities have sharply increased security at protest sites outside the New Delhi border, adding iron spikes and steel barricades to prevent farmers from entering the capital.
Meanwhile, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called on authorities and protesters to exercise “maximum restraint.”
“Peaceful assembly and expression rights should be protected both offline and online. It’s crucial to find fair solutions with due respect to #HumanRights for everyone, ”the UN agency said in a tweet on Friday afternoon.