[asia-apec 713] Prime Minister Chretien Misrepresents Facts

[Carole Samdup]

Press Release from organizers of the 1997 Peoples' Summit on APEC:

PRIME MINISTER CHRETIEN MISREPRESENTS FACTS: PEOPLE'S
SUMMIT ORGANIZERS SAY THEY RECEIVED NO FEDERAL FUNDS
FOR ``TRAVEL OF PROTESTORS'' 

    OTTAWA, Sept. 25 /CNW/ - Federal funds received by organizers of the
Vancouver Peoples' Summit were limited to in-Canada expenses related to
organizational and logistical costs and were not to be used for delegate
travel from abroad.
    ``The Prime Minister's statement in the House of Commons on
September
23rd, 1998 was a clear misrepresentation of the facts'' said Bob White,
President of the Canadian Labour Congress, adding that organizers
pleaded with
the government officials in several meetings to allow at least part of
the
funding to be used to bring non-governmental organizations from other
countries.
    Organizers added the funding was not only conditional, it was
offered
reluctantly following a tense, confrontational meeting in Ottawa, April
24,
1997 between senior government officials and Peoples' Summit organizers.
During the meeting organizers pointed out that support for southern
country
representation at international NGO events had been recognized as a
legitimate, important activity in a recent CIDA policy paper.
    ``The government's decision sent the wrong signal and was
inconsistent
with its own policy guidelines'', said Betty Plewes, President and CEO
of the
Canadian Council for International Cooperation.
    ``The $100,000 finally received by the Peoples' Summit was a mere
drop in
the bucket compared with what government spent on official events and
security
for the 18 leaders,'' said University of Victoria professor, John Price,
one
of the local organizers.'' It was a token gesture.''
    Responding to demands for transparency regarding government APEC
expenditures in Canada during 1997, officials said they couldn't provide
the
total amount of taxpayers' dollars spent hosting APEC because the budget
was
``rolling".  Subsequent attempts to get the amount through an Access to
Information request were denied because ``Cabinet confidences are
excluded
from the ambit of the Act.''
    ``None of our recommendations to the government of Canada were
implemented'', said Maude Barlow, of the Council of Canadians.  ``It
remained
unresponsive to our critique of APEC and the free trade agenda was
pursued
without any heed to our concerns.''
    In June, 1997, Peoples' Summit representatives submitted a list of
recommendations to the Government of Canada, including:
    - that it conduct a full trade policy review
    - that it set up a review process to ensure that APEC activities do
not
      conflict with other international commitments, notably those
contained
      in the International Bill of Rights
    - that it endorse the principle of non-governmental parallel events
to
      APEC
    - that it guarantee people's right to freedom of expression and
assembly
      (including demonstrations) would be respected during the APEC
Leaders'
      Meeting, and that there would be no massive security operations
that
      might compromise this right.

    Many Canadian NGOs now feel Prime Minister Chretien's statement in
the
house is part of a broader strategy to hide behind the Peoples' Summit
to
avoid responsibility for the government's failure to protect the rights
of
Canadians and non-governmental guests in Canada last November.
    ``We are told that increasing trade with undemocratic countries will
lead
to improvements in human rights'' said Shauna Sylvester, organizer of
the
media forum at the Peoples' Summit. ``Instead we have seen Canadians
lose
their rights in order to protect the likes of President Suharto.''
    ``The minimal funding received from the Canadian government for the
Peoples' Summit can in no way condone the abominable behavior of RCMP at
the
University of British Columbia campus'', added Joan Grant Cummings,
President
of the national Action Committee on the Status of Women. ``Human rights
abuse
and APEC seem to go together.''
    ``Now we turn our eyes towards Malaysia'', said Warren Allmand,
President
of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development.
``Already the Malaysian NGO coalition is facing difficulties and several
local
activists have been arrested this week and remain in detention without
charge''.
    Organizers of the Asia-Pacific Peoples' Assembly have applied to
CIDA for
funding but so far the government hasn't responded to their request.
According
to a CIDA spokesperson the final decision will be made at the ``highest
levels''.
    Indicating full support for the University of British Columbia
students
called to testify at the RCMP Inquiry, the Canadian Advisory Board to
the
Peoples' Summit announced today it will contribute $5,000 towards their
legal
fees, since the government still refuses support.

    Signed by
    The British Columbia Council for International Cooperation
    The Canadian Council for International Cooperation
    The Canadian Labour Congress
    The Council of Canadians
    The International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development
    IMPACS-the Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society
    ETAN-The East Timor Alert Network/Canada


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For further information:  Carole Samdup, International Centre for
 Human Rights and Democratic Development (514) 283-6073; Tom O'Brien,
Canadian
 Labour Congress, (613) 526-7425