From sap at web.net Tue Nov 2 06:52:27 1999
From: sap at web.net (Faruq Faisel)
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 1999 16:52:27 -0500
Subject: [asia-apec 1337] Seminar on the Coup in Pakistan
Message-ID: <027801bf24b5$3aa5fb20$1a0000c0@web.net>
SOUTH ASIA PARTNERSHIP CANADA
Invites you to a mid-morning discussion on the:
MILITARY COUP IN PAKISTAN:
POSSIBLE REPERCUSSIONS ON THE SOCIAL STRUCTURES
AND
RELATIONS WITH CANADA
Panel of Discussants:
Ms. Ingrid. Hall
Director General
South and Southeast Asia Divisions
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Ms. Hall is returning from the Commonwealth Visit to Pakistan led by
Minister Lloyd Axworthy
&
Mr. I.A.Rehman
(by phone directly from Pakistan)
Executive Director
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00
Date: Friday, November 5, 1999
Place: CCIC Boardroom 3rd Floor, 1 Nicholas Street, Ottawa, Ottawa
To attend please RSVP
Sangye Khan or Isabelle Valois
SAP Canada, Phone: (613) 241-1333, Fax: (613) 241-1129 Email:
sap@web.net
From sap at web.net Tue Nov 2 07:01:03 1999
From: sap at web.net (Faruq Faisel)
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 1999 17:01:03 -0500
Subject: [asia-apec 1338] Re: Fwd: Corporate Hospitality at the WTO
References: <3.0.3.32.19991031083111.006b3084@pop.skyinet.net>
Message-ID: <000c01bf253a$c6e6ab40$1a0000c0@web.net>
SOUTH ASIA PARTNERSHIP CANADA
Invites you to a mid-morning discussion on the:
MILITARY COUP IN PAKISTAN:
POSSIBLE REPERCUSSIONS ON THE SOCIAL STRUCTURES
AND
RELATIONS WITH CANADA
Panel of Discussants:
Ms. Ingrid. Hall
Director General
South and Southeast Asia Divisions
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Ms. Hall is returning from the Commonwealth Visit to Pakistan led by
Minister Lloyd Axworthy
&
Mr. I.A.Rehman
(by phone directly from Pakistan)
Executive Director
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00
Date: Friday, November 5, 1999
Place: CCIC Boardroom 3rd Floor, 1 Nicholas Street, Ottawa, Ottawa
To attend please RSVP
Sangye Khan or Isabelle Valois
SAP Canada, Phone: (613) 241-1333, Fax: (613) 241-1129 Email:
sap@web.net
From src_st at hyd.netasia.com.pk Wed Nov 3 17:28:39 1999
From: src_st at hyd.netasia.com.pk (Sasp)
Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1999 13:28:39 +0500
Subject: [asia-apec 1339] Book on Laws related to women, children & minorities
Message-ID: <04a401bf25d5$7a2881c0$5c0038d2@ayazl>
Sindh NGO Federation, Sufi Shah Inayat Sangat, Sindh Research Council and
Oxfam have jointly published the first Sindhi Book on Laws related to women,
children & minorities.
The book written by Ayaz Latif Palijo Advocate covers detailed information
regarding Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), Muslim
Family Laws, Constitutional articles on Human Rights and Hudood Ordinance.
Rafiq Mustafa Abbasi
SINGOF
From tpl at cheerful.com Thu Nov 4 07:13:25 1999
From: tpl at cheerful.com (tpl@cheerful.com)
Date: Thu, 04 Nov 1999 06:13:25 +0800
Subject: [asia-apec 1340] Hongkong Protest vs Passport Cancellation
Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19991104061325.006a892c@pop.skyinet.net>
From: APMMF (Asia Pacific Mission for Migrant Filipinos)
Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI)
28 October 1999
RP maids in HK protest
passport cancellation
HONG KONG--A group of Filipino domestic helpers
protested here Wednesday against their consulate's decision to cancel
passports held as collateral or guarantees by finance companies.
The protesters from the United Filipinos in Hong Kong (Unifil) staged a
performance showing two people dressed as a shark and an alligator
wrestling over a passport outside the Philippine consulate.
The consulate issued the directive last month saying that passports
declared lost or reported held as guarantee or collateral are
automatically cancelled in a move 'to uphold the integrity of our
national document'.
Unifil said the consulate's move was "unfair, deceptive, punitive and
oppressive towards migrants in financial distress....It will force
migrant Filipinos to avail of loans through underground means."
There are about 180,000 foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong, mostly
from the Philippines, but also from Indonesia, Nepal and Thailand. Their
monthly earnings of about $3,670 Hong Kong (US$473) are often the main
source of income for their families at home. --
AFP
Note: If you would like a photo, taken from a Chinese Newspaper in
Hong Kong during a picket protest at the Philippine Consulate, e-mailed
to you please write to
<<0000,0000,8080apmmf@pacific.net.hk>.
The effigies of the shark and the crocodile represent the financing
agencies and the Philippine Consulate respectively.
Tahomaffff,0000,0000*******************************************
0000,0000,8080Asia
Pacific Mission for Migrant Filipinos (APMMF)
Address:0000,0000,8080
No.4 Jordan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR
Tel. no.:0000,0000,8080
(852) 2723-7536
Fax no.:0000,0000,8080 (852)
2735-4559
E-mail:0000,0000,8080
apmmf@pacific.net.hk
ffff,0000,0000**********************************************
0000,0000,8080
From tpl at cheerful.com Thu Nov 4 07:13:34 1999
From: tpl at cheerful.com (tpl@cheerful.com)
Date: Thu, 04 Nov 1999 06:13:34 +0800
Subject: [asia-apec 1341] Women Workers Press for Wage Increase
Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19991104061334.006a64e0@pop.skyinet.net>
From: GABRIELA
28 OCTOBER 1999
PROTEST FOR WAGES TURNS VIOLET TODAY AT SHOEMART
Workers of Shoemart, Inc. (SM), the biggest retail chain in the Philippines
reported for work today sporting "Itaas ang Sahod" (Increase Wages!) tags
and frowns smeared on their faces with violet lipstick.
"Violet is the women's symbol of protest. Our violet lipsticks and tags are
meant to mirror our disgust over a corporation we have helped build, yet
refuses to heed our justified demands for living wages," said Rose Gablanca,
Sandigan ng Manggagawa sa Shoemart, Inc., (SMS) union president. The
protest's launching is in time for the commemoration of the Philippine
National Women's Day of Protest -- October 28. Women make up 84% of SM
employees.
Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations deadlocked yesterday
after three months of talks. "We find management's counter proposals
utterly unacceptable and insulting to the workers. Granting our demands
will not even make a dent on Mr. Henry Sy's billions of profit extracted
from an overworked, underpaid and exploited workforce," Gablanca stressed.
Workers demand a PhP 135 increase in their daily wages over a two-year
period, while management counters with a measly PhP 18 increase over a
period of three years.
Shoemart workers noted that while SM's net profit has balooned by 600% from
PhP 443M in 1994 to PhP 2.7B in 1998, workers received only an average
increase of PhP 55. "Our demands, when computed constitute but 0.25% of
Shoemart's 1998 profits." the union explained.
Gablanca added that it is from a largely contractual workforce that Mr.
Sy is able to extract huge profits. Over 90% of the 20,000 Shoemart workers
in Metro Manila branches alone are contractual, working mostly as trainees
with only 3 to 5 months contract. This is in line with the government's
globalization policy of labor flexibilization through contractualization
and casualization of workers. Those on contractual basis are not entitled
to benefits given to the regular workers.
"Contractual workers are the most exploited. They are hired only when needed
and ruthlessly fired the very day the peak season ends, even if it is
Christmas eve." The SM union likewise demands for an increase in the wages
of contractual workers while helping in the latter's fight for security of
tenure and regularization.
With the continuous increase in the prices of oil and basic commodities,
their meager wages are rendered worthless. "Our families are going hungry.
We cannot accept leftovers and grime while SM owners bask in their
luxuries. We cannot retract our demands when there is in fact nothing to
turn back to. We will fight. We are a workforce made strong by hunger,
united in poverty, and with nothing to lose." ###
From amittal at foodfirst.org Wed Nov 10 09:34:47 1999
From: amittal at foodfirst.org (Anuradha Mittal)
Date: Tue, 09 Nov 1999 16:34:47 -0800
Subject: [asia-apec 1342] Food First Challenges BioTech
Message-ID: <0.700000824.255241148-212058698-942194087@topica.com>
NEW PAPER FROM FOOD FIRST CHALLENGES BIOTECHNOLOGY MYTHS
Ten reasons why biotechnology will not ensure food security, protect the
environment and reduce poverty in the developing world
by Miguel A. Altieri,
University of California, Berkeley
and
Peter Rosset,
Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy,
Oakland, California
October 1999
Summary:
Biotechnology companies often claim that genetically modified
organisms (GMOs) -- specifically genetically altered seeds -- are
essential scientific breakthroughs needed to feed the world, protect the
environment, and reduce poverty in developing countries. This view rests
on two critical assumptions, both of which we question. The first is
that hunger is due to a gap between food production and human population
density or growth rate. The second is that genetic engineering is the
only or best way to increase agricultural production and thus meet
future food needs.
We challenge the notion of biotechnology as a magic bullet solution
to agriculture's ills, by clarifying misconceptions concerning these
underlying assumptions.
Full paper on-line at:
http://www.foodfirst.org/resources/biotech/altieri-11-99.html
Join the fight against hunger. For more information contact foodfirst@foodfirst.org.
_____________________________________________________________
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From amittal at foodfirst.org Wed Nov 17 03:46:12 1999
From: amittal at foodfirst.org (Anuradha Mittal)
Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1999 10:46:12 -0800
Subject: [asia-apec 1343] KEEP THE PRESSURE ON USDA ABOUT TERMINATOR!
Message-ID: <0.700000824.1521457846-212058698-942777972@topica.com>
KEEP THE PRESSURE ON USDA ABOUT TERMINATOR!
Despite meetings and letters pouring in to USDA regarding USDA's
continued involvement in biotech research, the Agency is still not
moving in the right direction -- We need to keep the pressure on!
ORGANIZATIONS: Please sign on to this letter regarding USDA's
involvement in seed sterilization and genetic trait manipulation. (You
do not need to have been at any meeting to sign on to this letter)
Send your organization name and contact info to the Campaign before
NOVEMBER 19.
Feel free to use this letter as a template for individual letters to
Glickman as well.
Thanks
NATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
P.O. Box 396, Pine Bush, NY 12566, (914) 744-8448, Fax: (914)
744-8477; email: Campaign@magiccarpet.com
www.SustainableAgriculture.net
November 16, 1999
Dan Glickman, Secretary
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave. SW, Rm. 200A
Washington, DC 20250
Dear Secretary Glickman,
Thank you for meeting with us on October 28 to discuss genetic seed
sterilization and related issues. We are writing to seek more specific
responses to the requests we made at the meeting and at two earlier ones
with the Deputy Secretary. We also request that you meet
with representatives from the groups below to discuss your responses in
detail at your earliest convenience.
1. USDA should cease negotiations with Delta & Pine Land on the
licensing of its jointly held patent, US patent number 5,723,765.
2. USDA should abandon all research on genetic seed sterilization,
including in-house research and grants to university scientists, and
adopt a strict policy prohibiting the use of taxpayer dollars to
support genetic seed sterilization. We are equally alarmed by new
developments in genetic trait control technology and we urge your
department to cease research and development of this closely related
technology that involves turning on and off genetic traits in plants
with the application of external chemical inducers.
3. USDA should use public research dollars to re-invigorate public
plant breeding for family farmers and sustainable agriculture. Instead
of engineering seeds for sterility, USDA should boost breeding programs
that will lessen farmer's dependency on chemicals, fertilizers and
other expensive inputs. Given consumer concerns and uncertain markets
for genetically engineered seeds, USDA should invest in low-cost
alternatives to industry's patented, high-tech seeds. As part of
this initiative, funds should be redirected to the USDA SARE program to
encourage farmer/breeder associations to publicly develop seed lines for
sustainable agriculture, building on the success of a similar Fund for
Rural America grant.
4. USDA should implement a comprehensive technology assessment
program that would use transparent criteria to determine the
scientific, social, economic, and environmental appropriateness of new
technologies prior to development. The technology assessment process
should be used to help focus scarce public funding on research
directions that support public goods.
We request that a follow-up meeting convenient for all be set before the
end of this calendar year, and will be in touch with your office to
find such a time. Again we look forward to your response and the
opportunity to discuss this and other related issues.
Thank you very much for your continued engagement regarding these vital
public issues.
Sincerely,
Organization name and Contact person
###
Join the fight against hunger. For more information contact foodfirst@foodfirst.org.
_____________________________________________________________
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From sap at web.net Thu Nov 18 06:38:31 1999
From: sap at web.net (Faruq Faisel)
Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 16:38:31 -0500
Subject: [asia-apec 1344] Ottawa Seminar: Strengthening the Voice of Sri Lankan Women
Message-ID: <003b01bf3144$e6f33960$1a0000c0@web.net>
Mini Seminar on:
Strengthening the Voice of Sri Lankan Women: the Shakti Project
Presentation by: Ms. Agnes Mendis, Project Coordinator, Shakti Gender
Equity Project, Sri Lanka
Ms. Mendis, the Shakti Project Coordinator will give an overview of the
context in which the project was developed. She will make a presentation on
the project successes and challenges, and discuss the lessons learned to
date. She will also describe some of the linkages that were established
between Canadian and Sri Lankan organizations on support systems for women
affected by family violence.
Shakti is a five-year CIDA fund which supports sub-projects in three
priority areas: I) violence against women; ii) women and the economy; and
iii) women's political participation. The purpose of the project is to
strengthen the capacity of government and NGOs to develop, influence and
implement policies, legislation and programs that promote gender equity in
Sri Lanka. Project initiatives are undertaken through policy dialogue, pilot
activities, conferences, workshops, study tours, training programs and
applied research. The project also works with vulnerable women - in the Sri
Lanka context this often means war widows.
On: Tuesday, November 23, 1999, From 12:00 to 14:00
At: Conference Room (202), Second Floor, 1 Nicholas Street, Ottawa
Organized by: South Asia Partnership (SAP) Canada
For further information:
Ren?e Giroux, SAP Canada
Phone: (613) 241-1333, Fax: (613) 241-1129, E-mail: sap@web.net
Please register your attendance by phone, fax or e-mail
From amittal at foodfirst.org Fri Nov 19 12:52:45 1999
From: amittal at foodfirst.org (Anuradha Mittal)
Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1999 19:52:45 -0800
Subject: [asia-apec 1345] Special Fund for Victims of the Orissa Cyclone
Message-ID: <0.700000824.1623173893-212058698-942983565@topica.com>
November 18, 1999
PLEASE GIVE...
SPECIAL FUND FOR VICTIMS OF THE ORISSA CYCLONE IN INDIA
Many of you might know that a cyclone of tremendous and unprecedented
proportions has ravaged the state of Orissa in India. The sea surged
nearly 30 km into the mainland sweeping away people, cattle and houses,
and rendering agricultural land saline and unproductive. Over 10,000
people have been killed, and millions displaced from their homes and on
the verge of economic destitution. An estimated 3,46-,736 head of
livestock have so far been reported to have perished in the cyclone.
There is are acute shortages of food, medicines and shelter. Property
damage is projected to be greater than 3.5 billion dollars.
The cyclone came at a time when the state of Orissa was expecting a
bumper crop. All that is now gone, and to make things worse, farm
animals, seeds, and agricultural implements have been destroyed, as have
entire cities and a major port. Moreover, farmers will not be able to
plant crops for the next 2-3 years since the land has been salinized,
depriving them of their livelihoods for several years.
The State of Orissa has declared a state of emergency and there are now
5,000 Indian Army troops in the state attempting to clear roads, re-open
ports (so that supplies can be delivered) and drop food by helicopter.
Although the Indian government has launched a massive relief and
rehabilitation effort, the sheer magnitude of the calamity makes it
imperative to complement its activities is as many ways as possible.
There are several excellent non-profit and voluntary efforts afoot, but
these agencies need to be supported financially if they are to carry on
their work.
A group of concerned citizens is therefore launching a drive to
collect as many relief funds as possible. The funds will be channeled
to the best of the non-profit efforts currently underway. The
recipients will be identified by a select group of university professors
of South Asian origin who will be in India next week. The Institute for
Food and Development Policy (Food First) has volunteered to act as a
fiscal sponsor for this drive. Your contributions will therefore be tax
exempt. You can make your contributions by check, cash or credit card.
Please contribute generously to this effort to help the victims of this
immense tragedy.
Please make your checks out to: FOOD FIRST
Please indicate the following on the check: "Orissa Cyclone Relief"
Please mail your checks to:
Food First, Orissa Cyclone Relief
398 60th Street
Oakland, CA 94618
or, you can pay via credit card, by sending
your name, credit card company (visa or MC), credit card
number, expiration date, and amount. Send by mail to the
above address, by email to foodfirst@foodfirst.org,
or by fax to 1-510-654-4551 or, by phone at: (510) 654-4400
Thank you very much for your contribution.
Signed:
Anuradha Mittal, Policy Director, Food First
Ravi Rajan, Assistant Professor, University of California at Santa Cruz
Peter Rosset, Executive Director, Food First
Food First/The Institute for Food and Development Policy
398 60th Street
Oakland, California 94618 USA
tel: 510/654-4400 fax: 510/654-4551
www.foodfirst.org
********************************************************************
MORE INFORMATION ON THE CYCLONE
'Survival of Millions' at Stake in India Cyclone Disaster, says UN
report 10 November 1999
The situation of millions of people in Orissa - struck by a devastating
cyclone two weeks ago - is 'still so disastrous that its gravity cannot
be overestimated,' says the UN's assessment mission. The report says it
is 'a question of pure survival for millions of people during several
months'.
The field mission report - published by the UN Disaster Assessment and
Coordination team - says that: Nearly all means of earning a living -
crops, livestock and fishing boats - have been lost. Less than one in
20 people have proper sanitation. There has been massive destruction of
homes, health centers and schools. There is widespread contamination of
drinking water. Many affected areas can still only be reached by boat or
air.
The report says that immediate, short-term action is needed to provide
food, shelter and safe drinking water, and to prevent epidemics breaking
out. In the medium term, says the report, over US$100 million will be
needed in food aid alone. The report confirms the fears of Disaster
Emergency Committee (DEC) agencies (DEC is made up of the UK's leading
international development and relief charities) of the sheer scale of
the cyclone's devastation.
SAVE THE CHILDREN EMERGENCY BULLETIN ON THE ORISSA CYCLONE
5 Nov 1999
Summary: On Friday 29th October a 'super cyclone' hit the northern
Orissan coast at Paradip. It was the second disaster to hit the state in
two weeks - in mid-October the southern coast was also hit by a cyclone.
Accurate estimates of damage across the state remain very difficult, but
some observers believe that up to 5,000 people have been killed and 15
million may be affected. More than half of this number are children.
Background: A 'super cyclone' with winds of up to 160 miles per hour hit
the coast of northern Orissa on Friday 29th October. It was followed by
tidal waves up to 30 meters high which swept 15 kilometers inland.
Accurate reports of damage remain very difficult as telecommunications
have been disrupted across the state. However, estimates suggest that up
to 15 million people have been affected and 2 million have lost their
homes. The number of people killed is still unknown. So far, 924 bodies
have been recovered, but many observers believe that the final death
toll will be into the thousands.
This was the second cyclone to hit Orissa in a fortnight. Earlier in the
month a cyclone hit the southern coast; although not widely reported,
this storm caused widespread damage and significant loss of life.
Ganjam, Puri and Khurda districts were all badly affected, and in
Gopalpur 27 villages were submerged. The BBC reports that relief still
has not reached 60 per cent of the population, and that half are still
marooned in floodwaters.
Food distribution is very difficult as many areas remain under water,
and many people have now been without food for a week. There are reports
of supply trucks being looted and of armed gangs holding-up traffic and
robbing houses.
Health Fears: The flood waters are now contaminated with animal
carcasses and dead bodies, leading to fears that there may be outbreaks
of cholera and water-borne diseases such as diarrhea. Poor sanitation is
adding to the problem: many people forced from their homes have
congregated together and sanitation facilities are insufficient to cope.
Drinking water is usually drawn from tube wells. However, widespread
flooding and displacement mean that many people cannot access clean
water from this source.
Immediate Impact on Children: Although an accurate assessment of the
impact of the cyclone on children is still not possible, previous
experience suggests that the immediate physical and emotional effects
are likely to be severe. Some children will have lost parents, siblings
and/or other members of their family. This will cause immediate distress
and may have economic consequences, particularly if the main
bread-winner has been killed. Many children will also be traumatized by
the experience of living through the storm. These children will need
physical care and emotional support immediately and in the longer-term.
A particular concern is that children may be placed in institutional
care.
Health: There are initial reports of cholera, malaria and dysentery. If
serious epidemics of cholera and water-borne diseases do occur, there
will be high numbers of deaths among children under 5 years. Children
who have not eaten for many days are particularly vulnerable. Orissa is
one of the poorest States in India and, even before the cyclone, health
services struggled to meet needs. Without substantial support, services
will not have the capacity to prevent or respond to major epidemics.
Food: Food is an urgent priority. The amount of food aid being delivered
to Orissa is insufficient; distribution systems are poorly organized,
which means that rations to not reach all those in need; and
infrastructure breakdown means that there are no markets.
Shelter: In some areas, 100 per cent of mud houses have been destroyed.
There has also been extensive damage to bamboo houses and some concrete
housing. In total, an estimated 2 million people have been made
homeless. Continued exposure is likely to have damaging effects on
children's health, particularly as winter approaches. Children's clothes
will be required.
Education: There is little hard evidence about the impact of the cyclone
on schools. However, it is likely that many schools will have been
damaged or destroyed, and that undamaged schools are being used as
shelters (so classes cannot be held). Education provision was already
very inadequate in Orissa, and services will be under even greater
pressure as a result of the disaster. Education can play an important
role in helping children to cope in the aftermath of the cyclone.
Schools provide a forum in which practical survival skills can be
taught, as well as a sense of stability and normalcy that can aid
long-term recovery.
Cycle of Poverty: The full extent of damage to crops, farmland and
livestock is not yet known. However, Orissa's Finance Minister has said
that the paddy crop has been wiped out and that cashew and coconut
plantations are badly affected. ActionAid reports that in one area, Puri
district, 25,000 cattle have died. This could throw many farming
families into a cycle of poverty and deprivation.
Other families also face economic hardship. Small business people may
have lost their tools and stock. Female-headed households are likely to
experience even greater poverty. Tribal people who migrate to Orissa to
work have seen their earnings swept away, and day laborers have been
thrown out of work.
###
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_____________________________________________________________
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From tpl at cheerful.com Sun Nov 21 08:49:35 1999
From: tpl at cheerful.com (tpl@cheerful.com)
Date: Sun, 21 Nov 1999 07:49:35 +0800
Subject: [asia-apec 1346] REMINDER: Say NO to WTO! in Seattle
Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19991121074935.0069fbb8@pop.skyinet.net>
From: Sentenaryo ng Bayan, Seattle
Network Opposed to WTO, Seattle
BAYAN (New Patriotic Alliance)
ALL ROADS LEAD TO SEATTLE!
ALL PROTEST ARROWS ARE POINTED AT WTO!
Peoples' Assembly and March-Rally Say NO to WTO!
November 28 - 30, 1999
Filipino Community Center
Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Seattle, Washington
OBJECTIVES:
1. To make people aware of the disastrous effects of
the WTO, AOA and all schemes of imperialist
globalization on the peoples of the world.
2. To expand linkages, forge stronger unities and
establish cooperation in international campaigns with
other anti-AOA/WTO and anti-imperialist groups
and individuals worldwide.
3. To further advance our work of building
anti-imperialist resistance in North America.
People's Assembly Programme
NOVEMBER 28
09:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon Arrival and Check-in of delegates
12:00 noon - 1:00 p.m. Lunch
01:00 p.m. Opening of the Peoples' Assembly
Cultural Number-Unity Drumming
Welcome Address from Sentenaryo ng Bayan
Introduction of Delegations
Logistical Announcements
01:45 p.m. Short Statement of Solidarity from:
? BAYAN (New Patriotic Alliance) and
People's Campaign Against
Imperialist Globalization (PCAIG)
? NO to APEC Coalition, Vancouver
? Washington Fair Trade, Network Opposed To WTO!
02:00 Cultural Number
02:15 Keynote Address:
The Need to Advance People's Resistance
Against Imperialist Globalization!
by Prof. Jose Maria Sison
International Network for Philippine Studies
Consultant, National Democratic Front
of the Philippines (NDFP)
To be read by Atty. Arnedo Valera
President, DIWA, Washington D.C.
02:45 Coffee/Tea Break
03:00 People Say No to WTO!
Panel of Speakers (15 minute presentation each)
There's No Such Thing as Free Trade
Nor Fair Trade Under Imperialist Globalization
by Dr. Pao Yu Ching, Taiwan and U.S.A.
Keep MAI Out of WTO!
by Maude Barlow, Canada
Council of Canadians and
International Forum on Globalization (IFG)
American Trade Unionists Spurn WTO
by Philip Koritz, Seattle
Philippine Workers Support Committee
WTO: Worsening Environmental
Racism and Injustice
by Richard Moore, USA (Invited)
Southwest Network for Environmental
and Economic Justice (SNEEJ)
04:00 Open Forum/Sharing
04:30 Coffee/Tea Break
05:00 Anti-Imperialist Struggle and Resistance
Among the Filipino Community in the US
? Aquilina Soriano, US
League of Filipino Students
Los Angeles Chapter
05:30-07:30 No to WTO Youth and Student Caucus
Simultaneous with
05:30 With Globalization Comes US Agression
? The Case of Yugoslavia
by the International Action Center, US
? The Case of Cuba
by Fernando Remirez de Estenoz or
Sergio Martinez
06:00 Open Forum
06:30 Dinner/Cultural Presentations
07:30 Film Showing and Q&A session:
"Pressure Point" - a film by Malcom Guy and
Anna Paskal on the Montreal Blockade to MAI
08:30-8:40 Film Showing:
"Junk APEC" - a film about the 1996 people's
conference and caravan against APEC that
signalled the global peoples' campaign
against imperialist globalization
9:00 End of Day 1 Sessions
NOVEMBER 29
09:00 a.m. Mural Opening with community
singing, cultural number
To be led by Fr. Arturo Balagat
St. George's Parish, California
09:15 Recap of previous day's work
and a report back from the
Youth & Students' (YS) Caucus
? Leslie Byster, South Bay NO To WTO!
? Designated representative from YS Caucus
09:30 Keynote Speaker for Day 2:
Peasant Resistance to AOA and WTO
? Rafael Mariano, Chairperson
BAYAN and KMP (Phil Peasant Movement)
9:50 Take Agriculture Out of the WTO!
Panel of Speakers (15-minute presentation each):
? Rafael Alegria, Honduras
International Operational Secretariat
La Via Campesina
? Mika Iba, Japan
Network for Safe and Secure Food and
Environment (NESSFE)
10:35 Open Forum and Sharing
11:00 Coffee/Tea Break
11:15 Anti-Imperialist Struggle and Resistance
Among the Filipino Community in Canada
? Cecilia Diocson
Philippine Women's Center, Vancouver
11:45 Lunch Break
01:15 p.m. Cultural Presentation -
Kinding Sindaw from NewYork
01:30 Women Say NO to WTO!
Sponsored by GABRIELA, AMIHAN and
APWLD (Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law
and Devt)
Panel of Speakers (15 minute presentation each)
? Liza Largoza-Maza, Philippines
GABRIELA
? Sarojeni Rengam, Malaysia
Pesticide Action Network - AsPac (PAN-AP)
? Rawadee Prasertcharoensuk and
Cholada Montreevat, Thailand
APWLD Task Force on Women & Environment
and Task Force on Rural & Indigenous Women
02:15 Open Forum and Sharing
02:45 Coffee/Tea Break
03:00 Cultural Presentation
03:15 Presentation of Statement Against the WTO
and Imperialist Globalization"
to be presided by Dr. Carol Pagaduan-Araullo
Vice-Chairperson, BAYAN
05:30 Closing Ceremony:
Closing Remarks
by Christene Reyes, Sentenaryo ng Bayan
Cultural Number
06:00 Dinner
06:30 Film Premiere Showing and Q & A
"Golf War" - a film by Jennifer Schradie
and Matt de Vries about the peasant struggle
to protect Hacienda Looc from conversion to
tourism resort
07:30 SOLIDARITY NIGHT
Songs, dances, poetry reading
and much more!
NOVEMBER 30
08:00-10:00a.m. Bilateral consultation with Japanese
and Korean farmer organizations
10:00 a.m. No To WTO! Caravan starting at the
Filipino Community Center through
South Seattle and towards downtown
11:00 a.m. Assembly in the International District
on 4th and Jackson to begin March
to downtown Seattle to join the large rally
marching towards the Conference Center
01:00-03:00 p.m. Rally Against WTO on 4th and Pine
Evening Food-Cultural Evening Celebrating Rice
Unitarian Universalist Church
Findlay St. South
DECEMBER 1
06:30pm Filipino Community Dinner Affair
Beacon Hill Methodist Church
Speakers from the Philippines:
? Rosario Bella Guzman, IBON
? Dr. Joseph Carabeo
HEAD (Health Alliance for Democracy)
? Dr. Carol Araullo
BAYAN and PCAIG
. Rafael Mariano
BAYAN and KMP
Please write to the Peoples' Assembly Committee for
the registration form and if you require a personal
invitation for visa purposes:
Secretariat, Peoples' Assembly Committee (PAC)
Attn: ACE SATURAY, Sentenaryo ng Bayan
(206)721-6355 E-mail: passembly@yahoo.com
NOTE: We regret that because of financial constraints,
the organizers of the Peoples' Assembly will not be able
to subsidize expenses of delegates.
From passembly at yahoo.com Sat Nov 20 18:21:31 1999
From: passembly at yahoo.com (pa passembly)
Date: Sat, 20 Nov 1999 17:21:31 +0800
Subject: [asia-apec 1347] REMINDER: Say NO to WTO! in Seattle
Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19991120172131.0069ecec@pop.skyinet.net>
From: Sentenaryo ng Bayan, Seattle
Network Opposed to WTO, Seattle
BAYAN (New Patriotic Alliance)
ALL ROADS LEAD TO SEATTLE!
ALL PROTEST ARROWS ARE POINTED AT WTO!
Peoples' Assembly and March-Rally Say NO to WTO!
November 28 - 30, 1999
Filipino Community Center
Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Seattle, Washington
OBJECTIVES:
1. To make people aware of the disastrous effects of
the WTO, AOA and all schemes of imperialist
globalization on the peoples of the world.
2. To expand linkages, forge stronger unities and
establish cooperation in international campaigns with
other anti-AOA/WTO and anti-imperialist groups
and individuals worldwide.
3. To further advance our work of building
anti-imperialist resistance in North America.
People's Assembly Programme
NOVEMBER 28
09:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon Arrival and Check-in of delegates
12:00 noon - 1:00 p.m. Lunch
01:00 p.m. Opening of the Peoples' Assembly
Cultural Number-Unity Drumming
Welcome Address from Sentenaryo ng Bayan
Introduction of Delegations
Logistical Announcements
01:45 p.m. Short Statement of Solidarity from:
? BAYAN (New Patriotic Alliance) and
People's Campaign Against
Imperialist Globalization (PCAIG)
? NO to APEC Coalition, Vancouver
? Washington Fair Trade, Network Opposed To WTO!
02:00 Cultural Number
02:15 Keynote Address:
The Need to Advance People's Resistance
Against Imperialist Globalization!
by Prof. Jose Maria Sison
International Network for Philippine Studies
Consultant, National Democratic Front
of the Philippines (NDFP)
To be read by Atty. Arnedo Valera
President, DIWA, Washington D.C.
02:45 Coffee/Tea Break
03:00 People Say No to WTO!
Panel of Speakers (15 minute presentation each)
There's No Such Thing as Free Trade
Nor Fair Trade Under Imperialist Globalization
by Dr. Pao Yu Ching, Taiwan and U.S.A.
Keep MAI Out of WTO!
by Maude Barlow, Canada
Council of Canadians and
International Forum on Globalization (IFG)
American Trade Unionists Spurn WTO
by Philip Koritz, Seattle
Philippine Workers Support Committee
WTO: Worsening Environmental
Racism and Injustice
by Richard Moore, USA (Invited)
Southwest Network for Environmental
and Economic Justice (SNEEJ)
04:00 Open Forum/Sharing
04:30 Coffee/Tea Break
05:00 Anti-Imperialist Struggle and Resistance
Among the Filipino Community in the US
? Aquilina Soriano, US
League of Filipino Students
Los Angeles Chapter
05:30-07:30 No to WTO Youth and Student Caucus
Simultaneous with
05:30 With Globalization Comes US Agression
? The Case of Yugoslavia
by the International Action Center, US
? The Case of Cuba
by Fernando Remirez de Estenoz or
Sergio Martinez
06:00 Open Forum
06:30 Dinner/Cultural Presentations
07:30 Film Showing and Q&A session:
"Pressure Point" - a film by Malcom Guy and
Anna Paskal on the Montreal Blockade to MAI
08:30-8:40 Film Showing:
"Junk APEC" - a film about the 1996 people's
conference and caravan against APEC that
signalled the global peoples' campaign
against imperialist globalization
9:00 End of Day 1 Sessions
NOVEMBER 29
09:00 a.m. Mural Opening with community
singing, cultural number
To be led by Fr. Arturo Balagat
St. George's Parish, California
09:15 Recap of previous day's work
and a report back from the
Youth & Students' (YS) Caucus
? Leslie Byster, South Bay NO To WTO!
? Designated representative from YS Caucus
09:30 Keynote Speaker for Day 2:
Peasant Resistance to AOA and WTO
? Rafael Mariano, Chairperson
BAYAN and KMP (Phil Peasant Movement)
9:50 Take Agriculture Out of the WTO!
Panel of Speakers (15-minute presentation each):
? Rafael Alegria, Honduras
International Operational Secretariat
La Via Campesina
? Mika Iba, Japan
Network for Safe and Secure Food and
Environment (NESSFE)
? Fatima Burnad, India
Dalit Movement
Society for Rural Education & Devt, Chennai
10:35 Open Forum and Sharing
11:00 Coffee/Tea Break
11:15 Anti-Imperialist Struggle and Resistance
Among the Filipino Community in Canada
? Cecilia Diocson
Philippine Women's Center, Vancouver
11:45 Lunch Break
01:15 p.m. Cultural Presentation -
Kinding Sindaw from NewYork
01:30 Women Say NO to WTO!
Sponsored by GABRIELA, AMIHAN and
APWLD (Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law
and Devt)
Panel of Speakers (15 minute presentation each)
? Liza Largoza-Maza, Philippines
GABRIELA
? Sarojeni Rengam, Malaysia
Pesticide Action Network - AsPac (PAN-AP)
? Rawadee and Cholada, Thailand
APWLD Task Force on Women & Environment
and Task Force on Rural & Indigenous Women
02:15 Open Forum and Sharing
02:45 Coffee/Tea Break
03:00 Cultural Presentation
03:15 Presentation of Statement Against the WTO
and Imperialist Globalization"
to be presided by Dr. Carol Pagaduan-Araullo
Vice-Chairperson, BAYAN
05:30 Closing Ceremony:
Closing Remarks
by Christene Reyes, Sentenaryo ng Bayan
Cultural Number
06:00 Dinner
06:30 Film Premiere Showing and Q & A
"Golf War" - a film by Jennifer Schradie
and Matt de Vries about the peasant struggle
to protect Hacienda Looc
07:30 SOLIDARITY NIGHT
Songs, dances, poetry reading
and much more!
NOVEMBER 30
08:00-10:00a.m. Bilateral consultation with Japanese
and Korean farmer organizations
10:00 a.m. No To WTO! Caravan starting at the
Filipino Community Center through
South Seattle and towards downtown
11:00 a.m. Assembly in the International District
on 4th and Jackson to begin March
to downtown Seattle to join the large rally
marching towards the Conference Center
01:00-03:00 p.m. Rally Against WTO on 4th and Pine
Evening Food-Cultural Evening Celebrating Rice
Unitarian Universalist Church
Findlay St. South
DECEMBER 1
06:30pm Filipino Community Dinner Affair
Beacon Hill Methodist Church
Speakers from the Philippines:
? Rosario Bella Guzman, IBON
? Dr. Joseph Carabeo
HEAD (Health Alliance for Democracy)
? Dr. Carol Araullo
BAYAN and PCAIG
. Rafael Mariano
BAYAN and KMP
Please write to the Peoples' Assembly Committee for
the registration form and if you require a personal
invitation for visa purposes:
Secretariat, Peoples' Assembly Committee (PAC)
Attn: ACE SATURAY, Sentenaryo ng Bayan
(206)721-6355 E-mail: passembly@yahoo.com
NOTE: We regret that because of financial constraints,
the organizers of the Peoples' Assembly will not be able
to subsidize expenses of delegates.
From sap at web.net Wed Nov 24 06:26:24 1999
From: sap at web.net (Faruq Faisel)
Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 16:26:24 -0500
Subject: [asia-apec 1348] India After Election: Ottawa Presentation
Message-ID: <01a201bf35f9$8c431a80$1a0000c0@web.net>
A Presentation on:
INDIA AFTER THE ELECTIONS:
Current Indo-Canadian Relations And Security Issues in the Region
By:
His Excellency Peter F. Walker
Canadian High Commissioner to India
Date: Wednesday, December 1, 1999
Time: 12:00 - 14:00
Place: Conference Room (202)
Second Floor
1 Nicholas Street
Ottawa
Organized by: South Asia Partnership Canada
More than a year has passed since India and then Pakistan carried out their
nuclear tests. While the US has waived sanctions on India, Canada still
maintains the hard sanctions it imposed on both countries at that time.
India recently held elections and a fragile coalition government led by the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is currently in power. This BJP led government
is trying to bring forward more populist issues but the wave of
fundamentalism it initially espoused is still strong. In Pakistan, the
military has just overthrown the democratically elected government of Nawaz
Sharif and dissolved the national and provincial assemblies.
Given this rather unstable scenario in the region, this presentation by H.E.
Mr. Walker will give participants an overview of the current situation. A
question and answer session will follow the presentation.
Please RSVP to:
Faruq Faisel, SAP Canada
Phone: (613) 241-1333, Fax: (613) 241-1129, E-mail: sap@web.net
From amittal at foodfirst.org Wed Nov 24 10:37:38 1999
From: amittal at foodfirst.org (Anuradha Mittal)
Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 17:37:38 -0800
Subject: [asia-apec 1349] Social Policy Think Tank Releases Trade Principles
Message-ID: <0.700000824.1900848552-212058698-943407458@topica.com>
For Immediate Release
Nov. 23, 1999
Contact: Anuradha Mittal
(510) 654-4400 (ext. 108)
>From 26 Nov-3 Dec., 1999: Cell
Phone: 404-664-6812
Social Policy Think Tank Releases Trade Principles
on the Eve of WTO Negotiations in Seattle
OAKLAND, CA--Food First/The Institute for Food and Development Policy --
a policy think tank concerned with social and economic issues --
released a set of principles to guide the formulation of trade policy.
"Since 1973 the income gap between rich and poor nations has grown from
44 to 1 to 72 to 1. The gap between rich and poor within most countries
has grown rapidly as well, followed closely by deepening social
problems. We have seen increased homelessness and hunger in America,
even in times of economic prosperity. Behind this alarming picture lie
structural changes in the global economy brought about by rapid
increases in trade and capital flows," said Dr. Peter Rosset, the
Institute's Executive Director and the principal author of the report.
"As our nation considers the World Trade Organization (WTO)
negotiations, and Fast Authority for the President on trade treaties, we
need principles to guide," he said. "The key is to ensure that trade
serves the interests of ordinary people, not the other way around.
"Basic human rights like the right to food and to a job with dignity --
must have a higher priority than profit taking," said Ms. Anuradha
Mittal, Policy Director at the Institute.
The 18 principles described in the report "Food First Trade Principles",
offer guidelines to avoid the trap of trade agreements that promote
corporate profits at the expense of growing underemployment and lagging
wages.
The full text of the report is available on-line at:
http://www.foodfirst.org/pubs/backgrdrs/1999/f99v5n2.html
Some of the principles include the need to cancel the debt burden of
Third World countries, a "no net job loss clause," and the requirement
that trade agreements not supercede international agreements on human
rights or the environment.
Rosset, Peter. 1999. "Food First Trade Principles." Institute for Food
and Development Policy, Food First Backgrounder, vol. 5, no. 2.
*******************************************************************
ATTENTION REPORTERS: Policy Director Anuradha Mittal, and Executive
Director Dr. Peter Rosset, of Food First/The Institute for Food and
Development Policy, will be in Seattle for the WTO meetings, events,
etc. from November 26 - December 3rd.
They will be available to comment on the following topics:
* food security, hunger and the WTO
* small farmers and the WTO
* bioengineered foods, intellectual property rights, and the WTO
* principles for fairer trade
* economic human rights and the WTO
* food as a human right, and the WTO
* free trade vs. broadbased economic development
* the WTO ans sustainable agriculture
* etc.
They can be contacted *before* November 26 at the Food First office --
details at the end of this message.
>From November 26 to December 3rd, you may contact in Seattle them as
follows:
Cell Phone: 404-664-6812
Nov. 26-28
Alexis Hotel, 1007 First Avenue
Tel: 206-624-4844,
Fax: 206-621-9009
Nov. 28 - Dec. 3
Vagabond Inn, 325 Aurora Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109
Phone: (206) 441-0400
or 1/800-522-1555
Fax: (206) 448-3353
###
Join the fight against hunger. For more information contact foodfirst@foodfirst.org.
________________________________________________________________________
Start an Email List For Free at Topica. http://www.topica.com/register
From amittal at foodfirst.org Wed Nov 24 10:43:25 1999
From: amittal at foodfirst.org (Anuradha Mittal)
Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 17:43:25 -0800
Subject: [asia-apec 1350] Small Farms More Productive than Large Farms but Threatened by WTO Negot
Message-ID: <0.700000824.393662995-212058698-943407805@topica.com>
For Immediate Release
Nov. 23, 1999
Contact: Anuradha Mittal
(510) 654-4400 (x 108)
>From 26 Nov-3 Dec., 1999:
Cell Phone: 404-664-6812
Small Farms More Productive than Large Farms
but Threatened by The WTO Negotiations
The Institute for Food and Development Policy/Food First
and the Transnational Institute Release a New Report:
The Multiple Functions and Benefits
of Small Farm Agriculture
In the Context of Global Trade Negotiations
By Peter Rosset
Full text of the report available on-line at:
http://www.foodfirst.org/pubs/policybs/pb4.html
A condensed version is available at:
http://www.foodfirst.org/pubs/backgrdrs/1999/w99v6n4.html
November 23, 1999
Oakland, CA -- Small farms are more productive than large farms, yet
their continued existence is threatened by the World Trade Organization
(WTO) negotiations, according to a major study released by a social and
economic policy think tank.
The Institute for Food and Development Policy, also known as "Food
First," based in California, published the study authored by
agricultural development specialist Dr. Peter Rosset. Challenging the
conventional wisdom that small farms are backward and unproductive, the
study shows that small farmers worldwide produce from 2 to 10 times more
per unit area than do larger, corporate farmers.
"In fact small farms are 'multi-functional' -- more productive, more
efficient, and contribute more to economic development than do large
farms," said Dr. Rosset, Executive Director of the Institute for Food
and Development Policy and the author of the report.
Communities surrounded by populous small farms have healthier economies
than do communities surrounded by depopulated large, mechanized farms,
according the study. Small farmers also take better care of natural
resources, including reducing soil erosion and conserving biodiversity.
Small farmers are better stewards of natural resources, safeguarding the
future sustainability of agricultural production.
"Despite more than a century of anti-small farmer policies in country
after country, in both industrialized and third world countries," said
Dr. Rosset, "small farmers not only still cling to the soil but continue
to be more productive and more efficient than large, agri-business
farming operations. Small farmers offer the best way to feed the world,
and the only way to effectively conserve soil resources for future
generations."
Unfortunately the study shows that today the world's small farmers face
unprecedented threats to their livelihoods, thanks to free trade
agreements negotiated in recent years. "Free trade causes the prices
farmers receive to drop through the floor", said Rosset," driving them
into bankruptcy by the millions." Such low prices mean only the largest
can survive, according to the study.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture (AOA), to be
negotiated in Seattle, USA, later this month, is the weapon that could
deal the final death blow to the world's small farmers, according to
Rosset. "The U.S. Government negotiators," said Rosset, himself an
American, "have as their goal for Seattle the complete liberalization of
trade in farm products."
ATTENTION: Policy Director Anuradha Mittal, and Executive Director Dr.
Peter Rosset, of Food First/The Institute for Food and Development
Policy, will be in Seattle for the WTO meetings, events, etc. from
November 26 - December 3rd.
They will be available to comment on the following topics:
* food security, hunger and the WTO
* small farmers and the WTO
* bioengineered foods, intellectual property rights, and the WTO
* principles for fairer trade
* economic human rights and the WTO
* food as a human right, and the WTO
* free trade vs. broadbased economic development
* the WTO ans sustainable agriculture
* etc.
They can be contacted *before* November 26 at the Food First office --
details at the end of this message.
>From November 26 to December 3rd, you may contact in Seattle them as
follows:
Cell Phone: 404-664-6812
Nov. 26-28
Alexis Hotel, 1007 First Avenue
Tel: 206-624-4844,
Fax: 206-621-9009
Nov. 28 - Dec. 3
Vagabond Inn, 325 Aurora Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109
Phone: (206) 441-0400
or 1/800-522-1555
Fax: (206) 448-3353
###
Join the fight against hunger. For more information contact foodfirst@foodfirst.org.
_____________________________________________________________
What's hot at Topica? Sign up for our "Best New Lists"
newsletter and find out! http://www.topica.com/t/8
From bayan at iname.com Thu Nov 25 19:04:23 1999
From: bayan at iname.com (bayan)
Date: Thu, 25 Nov 1999 16:04:23 +0600
Subject: [asia-apec 1351] SEATTLE AND BEYOND: DISARMING THE NEW WORLD ORDER
Message-ID:
NW_PC
SEATTLE AND BEYOND: DISARMING THE NEW WORLD ORDER
by
Michel Chossudovsky
Professor of Economics at the University of Ottawa and author of The
Globalization of Poverty, Impacts of IMF and World Bank Reforms, Third
World Network, Penang and Zed Books, London, 1997.
In preparing the Seattle Millennium meetings, Washington in consultation
with Brussels and the WTO in Geneva, is set on weakening and dividing
social movements and citizens' groups which have converged on Seattle from
all over the World. Meanwhile, local organisers are busy --together with
the FBI and the Seattle Police Department (SPD)-- in carefully planning
"security arrangements" for the official venue. An extensive police
apparatus has been set motion.
Special Forces from the FBI, the CIA and other federal agencies will be on
the scene. "Trouble-makers" are to be held at bay, well equipped riot
police are on hand including Gang Squads and SWAT teams of the Tactical
Operations Divisions which constitute the "more militarized components" of
the police force.1 Everything has been put in place to keep the Citizens'
Summit physically removed from the Ministerial Conference. As in previous
counter-summits (Rio de Janeiro, Madrid, Copenhagen, Beijing, etc.), the
intent is to ensure that the numerous protest meetings, teach-ins and mass
rallies do not obstruct or in any way threaten the legitimacy of the
official venue. In Seattle, the holding of parallel sessions by NGOs
requires formal "accreditation" with the Seattle Host Committee chaired by
Microsoft's Bill Gates and Philip Condit of The Boeing Company.
Several months ahead of time, the WTO and Western governments had called
for a "dialogue" with selected civil society organisations in setting the
agenda for the Millennium Round. "Partner NGOs", namely those "we can
trust" were provided with funds to travel and organize their respective
"teach-ins" in Seattle. Already last year, the WTO had announced a plan for
"an on-going collaboration with partner NGOs" while emphasising that the
WTO "recognizes the role NGOs can play to increase the awareness of the
public in respect of WTO activities".2 Similarly, the European Commission
had underscored its "commitment to transparency and openness in trade
policy-making".3
Carefully screened "partner NGOs" were invited to participate in a number
of preparatory "issue-specific" events. The European Commission held
several rounds of consultations with selected consumer, labour,
environmental and development organisations with a view to "to improve the
transparency of WTO meetings" including public access to WTO documents and
the creation of an WTO "information ombudsman".4 In the words of (former)
European Trade Commissioner Sir Leon Brittan: "A Millennium round of trade
talks should not just benefit business. We can and should ensure that
Consumers and the environment also gain. The Commission has today opened a
dialogue with a wide cross-section of NGOs as it believes transparency and
openness are essential if a new round is to reap its full benefits. NGOs
are crucial partners in preparing for the negotiations that lie ahead." 5
THE COUNTER SUMMIT
Controlled and financed by official donors and research foundations, the
hidden agenda is to install a "politically correct" Citizens' Summit,
namely to ensure that the various teach-ins and public rallies in the
streets of Seattle conform to the dominant "counter discourse". The latter
consists in pressing for the inclusion of token environmental, labour and
human rights clauses, "poverty alleviation" schemes as well as
"institutional reforms" without defying the central role of trade
liberalisation.
The partner non-governmental organisations have, in this regard, already
committed themselves not to question "the legality" or legitimacy of the
WTO as an institution. Accredited NGO participants have been invited to
mingle in a friendly environment with ambassadors, trade ministers and Wall
Street tycoons at several of the official events including the numerous
cocktail parties and receptions. In turn, an (official) "WTO Sponsored NGO
Symposium" is to be held for chosen NGO participants one day before the
launching of the Ministerial Conference, with carefully worded opening
statements by WTO Director General Mike Moore and US Trade Secretary
Charlene Barshevsky.
In other words, the ploy in Seattle (supported by a lavish public relations
campaign) is to carefully diffuse an international mass movement directed
against the WTO and the powerful business syndicates which lie discretely
in the background. "Criticism yes, that's democratic", but the "free
market" system must prevail, the legitimacy of the institutions --including
their Geneva and Washington based bureaucracies-- must not be challenged...
In return, the official conference will accept to embody on behalf of the
"accredited" labour and civil society organisations, various token
environmental and other concessions in their main resolutions with a view
to providing a much needed "human face" to the WTO.
The Millennium Round meetings also purport to replicate the habitual
parallel "People's Summit" which now constitutes an integral component of
successive World venues. Repeated almost annually since the 1992 Rio
Environment Conference, the People's Summit while providing a forum for
critical debate, has over the years largely become "a ritual of dissent"
which largely leaves the official Summit unscathed.
The parallel P7 ("People's P7 Summit") at the G7 meetings in Cologne in
June 1999, for instance, was put together in consultation with the host
organisers of the official Summit, generously funded by the Heinrich Boell
Foundation which is an arm of the German Green Party controlled by Foreign
Minister Joschka Fisher. The structure of the Cologne P7 was geared towards
deflecting debate on controversial issues including the "humanitarian
bombings" of Yugoslavia... Meanwhile, more than 20,000 people from all
parts of Europe had gathered in the streets of Cologne under the umbrella
of the Jubilee Campaign.
Their petition to unconditionally erase Third World debt had been signed by
more than 17 million people. World leaders respectfully paid tribute to the
Jubilee initiative, responding with empty rhetorical commitments on debt
reduction for the World's poorest countries. The substantive proposal of
the Campaign had been casually dismissed.
In Seattle, many of the accredited NGOs representing specific interests
(eg. environmental, labour, human rights, women's organisations, etc) will
be putting forth separate demands. There is evidence that several of the
key NGOs have been infiltrated by Western intelligence agencies. The
Counter-Summit is to be fragmented into a "mosaic" of secluded events
focussing on separate and distinct policy issues. The hidden agenda is to
enable each of these separate venues "to do their own thing" in a semblance
of "people's participation": the goal of the Seattle organisers is to mask
the truth, prevent the development of a mass movement, suppress real
democracy and uphold the authority of the institutions of the New World
Order.
In turn, the AFL-CIO joined by trade union bosses from around the World,
has called upon the WTO to "enforce minimum labour standards... in the
global market". Caving in to Washington's demands, Labour's buzz-word is to
"make the global economy work for working families".6 A carefully drafted
petition urges the Ministerial Conference to adopt "trade and investment
rules [which] protect workers' rights and the environment".7 The overall
legitimacy of the WTO and of US trade policy is not in question. In turn,
the AFL-CIO has been put in charge of the organisation of a mass rally
which usefully serves the purpose of deflecting the international protest
movement on the streets of Seattle...
In Seattle, the big divide will be between those who are genuinely opposed
to the New World Order and those "partner" civil society organisations
which have all the appearances of being "progressive" but which in fact are
creatures of the system. Often funded by their respective governments, they
form part of a politically correct "Opposition" which acts as "a
spokesperson for civil society". But who do they represent? Many of the
"partner NGOs" and lobby groups which frequently mingle with bureaucrats
and politicians, have few contacts with grass-roots social movements and
people's organisations. In the meantime, they serve to deflect the
articulation of "real" social movements against the New World Order.
This does not mean that "dialogue" with the WTO and the governments should
be ruled out as a means of negotiation. On the contrary, "lobbying" must be
applied vigorously in close liaison with constituent social movements. The
underlying results and information of these negotiations, however, must be
channelled with a view to reinforcing rather than weakening grass roots
actions. In other words, we should not allow "lobbying" to be conducted in
an isolated and secretive fashion by organisations which are "hand picked"
by the governments and the WTO.
A MORATORIUM ON LIBERALISATION NEGOTIATIONS
More than 1200 groups and organisations from more than 85 countries have
called for a "Moratorium" on further liberalisation under WTO auspices
including the holding of an "Audit" to be undertaken on the impacts of
globalisation. Their consensus statement ("Statement From Members of
International Civil Society Opposing A Millennium Round"): "oppose[s] any
further liberalisation negotiations, especially those which will bring new
areas under the WTO regime, such as investment, competition policy and
government procurement. We commit ourselves to campaign to reject any such
proposals. We also oppose the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual
Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement. We call for a moratorium on any new
issues or further negotiations that expand the scope and power of the WTO.
During this moratorium there should be a comprehensive and in-depth review
and assessment of the existing agreements. Effective steps should then be
taken to change the agreements. Such a review should address the WTO's
impact on marginalised communities, development, democracy, environment,
health, human rights, labour rights and the rights of women and children.
The review must be conducted with civil society's full participation.
The Statement constitutes an important step in challenging the official
Agenda. It is based on a carefully worded consensus of a large number of
individual organisations.
ILLEGALITY OF THE WTO
Yet this important Statement in demanding a "Moratorium" on further
liberalisation negotiations, fails to question the legitimacy of the WTO as
an institution. And indeed this issue should have been included explicitly
in the Statement.
The Marrakesh Agreement of 1994 constitutes a blatant violation of
fundamental social, economic and cultural rights. The stakes in Seattle are
fundamental and cannot be addressed with a compromise Statement which
tacitly accepts the legitimacy of the WTO as an institution. The WTO was
put in place following the signing of a "technical agreement" negotiated
behind closed doors by bureaucrats. Even the heads of country level
delegations to Marrakesh in 1994 were not informed regarding the statutes
of the World Trade Organisation which were drafted in separate closed
sessions by technocrats.
"The Final Act Embodying the Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral
Trade Negotiations", was signed by ministers in Marrakesh on 15 April 1994.
The Final Act is a "technical agreement" which instates the WTO as a World
body. "The WTO framework ensures a "single undertaking approach" to the
results of the Uruguay Round - thus, membership in the WTO entails
accepting all the results of the Round without exception."
Following the Marrakesh meeting, the 550 page Agreement (plus its numerous
appendices) was either rubber-stamped in a hurry or never formally ratified
by national parliaments. The articles of agreement of the WTO resulting
from this "technical agreement" were casually entrenched in international
law. In other words, the 1994 Marrakesh Agreement which instates the WTO as
a multilateral body, bypasses the democratic process in each of the member
countries. It blatantly derogates national laws and constitutions while
providing extensive powers to global banks and multinational corporations.
These powers have in fact become entrenched in the articles of agreement of
the WTO.
In other words, the process of actual creation of the WTO following the
Final Act of Uruguay Round is blatantly "illegal". Namely a "totalitarian"
intergovernmental body has been casually installed in Geneva, empowered
under international law with the mandate to "police" country level economic
and social policies, derogating the sovereign rights of national
governments. Similarly, the WTO almost neutralises "with the stroke of the
pen" the authority and activities of several agencies of the United Nations
including the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
Moreover, the articles of WTO are no only in contradiction with
pre-existing national and international laws, they are also in at variance
with "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights". Acceptance of the WTO as
a legitimate organisation is tantamount to an "indefinite moratorium" or
repeal of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Moreover, apart from the blatant violation of international law, WTO rules
provide legitimacy to trade practices which border on criminality,
including "intellectual piracy" by MNCs, the derogation of plant breeders
rights, not to mention genetic manipulation by the biotechnology giants,
the patenting of life forms including plants, animals, micro-organisms,
genetic material and human life forms under the TRIPs agreement.
In the sphere of financial services, the provisions of the GATS provide
legitimacy to large scale financial and speculative manipulations directed
against developing countries which are often conducive to the demise of
country-level monetary policy.
And the WTO Dispute Settlement Procedures upholds the legitimacy of these
various manipulative procedures...
THE BALANCE SHEET OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DESTRUCTION
Amply documented, humanity is undergoing in the post-Cold War era an
economic and social crisis of unprecedented scale leading to the rapid
impoverishment of large sectors of the World population. National economies
are collapsing, unemployment is rampant; Wall Street banks are "taking over
countries" one after the other; regional wars have erupted along strategic
gas-oil pipelines and often behind the various "insurgencies" are powerful
corporate interests which coincidentally are also lobbying for trade
reform... In most countries the standard of living has collapsed...
This Worldwide crisis of the late twentieth century is more devastating
than the Great Depression of the 1930s. It has far-reaching geo-political
implications; economic dislocation has also been accompanied by the
outbreak of regional conflicts, the fracturing of national societies and in
some cases the destruction of entire countries. This crisis is by no means
limited to the developing countries. In Europe and North America the
Welfare State is being dismantled, schools and hospitals are being closed
down creating conditions for the outright privatisation of social services.
By far this is the most serious economic crisis in modern history.
In a large number of developing countries, the services economy and banking
are already in the hands of foreign capital, peasant economies have been
devastated as a result of the dumping of EU and US grain surpluses.
Genetically modified seeds produced among others by Cargill and Montsanto
(together with carefully engineered farm inputs produced by these same
agribusiness conglomerates) have been forced upon farmers throughout the
World often leading to mass poverty and the fracture of rural economies,
not to mention the contamination of the food chain derogating the rights of
consumers Worldwide.
In turn, international agribusiness is intent upon driving the family farm
into bankruptcy. This process is by no means limited to developing
countries: up to 30 percent of grain farmers in Western Canada are on the
verge of bankruptcy specifically as a result of the enforcement of WTO
provisions concerning farm subsidies by the Canadian government. And if
this is happening in Western Canada which constitutes one of the World's
most resourceful "bread baskets", what will be the fate of farmers in other
regions of World?
CHINA'S ACCESSION TO THE WTO
The terms of China's accession to the WTO agreed upon in bilateral
negotiations with the United States barely a few weeks before the
Ministerial Conference in Seattle, spells havoc in a country of more than
one billion population. It will devastate China's agriculture; it will
trigger a deadly wave of bankruptcies of State enterprises leading to mass
unemployment. The provision of "national treatment" to Western banks could
potentially precipitate the fracture of the entire structure of Chinese
State banking...
The Chinese authorities fully aware of the ramifications, have attempted in
a publicity stunt to convince Chinese public opinion that "the benefits
from the agreement would justify the job losses and bankruptcies it will
cause".8 In the words of China's chief WTO negotiator Mr. Long Yongtu "a
nation cannot develop and become strong without a sense of urgency and a
sense of crisis."9
ANALYSING AND EVALUATING THE NEW WORLD ORDER
In the face of global economic and social devastation, is an (official)
"Audit" really required as put forth in the "Statement From Members of
International Civil Society" to ascertain what is happening? Some of the
NGO critics --including the trade unions-- involved in the dialogue with
the WTO argue that there are both "positive" and "negative" impacts of
trade liberalisation. This position is ambiguous: the devastating impacts
of "globalisation" are already known and documented, the NGO community has
already produced a wealth of critical analysis and research. Moreover, the
audit proposal accepts the legitimacy of the WTO, it presupposes that there
are mistakes and "lets talk and put this system on hold" for a few years
"while we re-evaluate".
Do we need an Audit to ascertain "whether or not" the World is in crisis?
And by whom will this Audit be performed and for whom? The key "partner
NGOs" have already positioned themselves to undertake the relevant
commissioned background studies. Many of the organisations which signed and
endorsed the "Statement" were unaware that the Audit with part of the
"Dialogue" with the WTO and Western governments. And these research
contracts performed "sector by sector" in a "politically correct" fashion
according to pre-established guidelines set by the funding agencies will
take several years to complete.
The conduct of an Audit has already been accepted by the European Union in
its consultations with the NGOs. Former European Commissioner Sir Leon
Brittan, on behalf of the European Union had in fact proposed in 1998, "the
commissioning of a study on the impact of the new Round on sustainable
development" (European Commission, op. cit). In other words, the Audit is
also part of the official agenda of the Seattle Round. In the meantime,
while the Audit is being conducted, economic, social and environmental
destruction will continue unabated.
THE MILLENIUM ROUND IS ALREADY "DE FACTO"
What happens to the World system does not depend solely on the results of
the Millenium Round. We must understand that in many developing countries,
many of the clauses of the Millenium Round are already a "fait accompli".
The are part of the "conditionalities contained in ad hoc loan agreements
with the IMF and the World Bank. Under the structural adjustment programme
as well as in the context of the IMF sponsored "bailout agreements" (eg.
Indonesia, Thailand, Korea, Brazil), developing countries have already
committed themselves to many of the propositions contained in the Millenium
Round.
Moreover, the hands of Third World delegates to Seattle are tied, the vote
of most of the trade ministers from developing countries at the Seattle
Ministerial Conference is controlled by Western creditors. It is unlikely
that much opposition will be voiced from the official delegations from
developing countries.
Many developing countries have accepted in the context of agreements signed
with the Bretton Woods instititions to liberalise trade, deregulate capital
movements, privatise State public utilities, dismantle social programmes
and provide "national treatment" to foreign investors in a large number of
economic activities including services, banking, procurement, etc. These
provisions are often coupled with a "bankruptcy programme" under the
supervision of the World Bank with a view to "triggering" the liquidation
of competing national enterprises. An "enabling free market environment" is
implanted (without recourse to WTO clauses pertaining to "effective access
to markets"), national producers are brutally displaced and destroyed,
countries are casually recolonised...
Wall Street bankers and the heads of the World's largest business
conglomerates are indelibly behind this process. They interface regularly
with IMF, World Bank and WTO officials in closed sessions as well as in
numerous international venues. Moreover, participating in these meetings
and consultations are the representatives of powerful global business
lobbies including the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), The Trans
Atlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) (which brings together in its annual
venues the leaders of the largest Western business conglomerates with
politicians and WTO officials), the United States Council for International
Business (USCIB), the Davos World Economic Forum, the Institute of
International Finance representing the World's largest banks and financial
institutions, etc. Other "semi-secret" organisations which play an
important role in shaping the institutions of the New World Order-- include
the Trilateral Commission, the Bildebergers and the Council on Foreign
Relations.
FINANCIAL DEREGULATION
To top it off, "perfect timing": the deregulation of the US banking system
was approved by the US Senate barely six weeks before the Millennium Round
meetings in Seattle. The new legislation favours an unprecedented
concentration of global financial power. In the wake of lengthy
negotiations which concluded in the early hours of October 22nd, all
regulatory restraints on Wall Street's powerful banking conglomerates were
revoked "with a stroke of the pen". Under the new rules ratified by the US
Senate and approved by President Clinton, commercial banks, brokerage
firms, hedge funds, institutional investors, pension funds and insurance
companies can freely invest in each others businesses as well as fully
integrate their financial operations. The legislation has repealed the
Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, a pillar of President Roosevelt's "New Deal"
which was put in place in response to the climate of corruption, financial
manipulation and "insider trading" which led to more than 5,000 bank
failures in the years following the 1929 Wall Street crash.10
In other words, a handful of financial conglomerates will gain effective
control over the entire US financial services industry. Coincidentally
these same Wall Street financial giants are also the main beneficiaries of
financial services' deregulation under the General Agreement on Trade in
Services (GATS) which provides "national treatment" to Wall Street's giants
in banking, insurance, brokerage services, actuarial services, etc. The
GATS is almost "tailor-made" to meet the standards set under the new US
financial services legislation. The financial giants oversee the real
economy Worldwide, they are creditors and shareholders of high tech
manufacturing, the defence industry, major oil and mining consortia, etc.
Moreover, as underwriters of the public debt, they also have a stranglehold
on national governments and politicians. Ultimately, they also call the
shots on trade reform in Seattle.
Moreover, the clauses of the defunct MAI which was to provide "national
treatment" to foreign banks and MNCs (leading to the dislocation of
municipalities and local governments) is also in the process of becoming a
"fait accompli". The financial conglomerates are now fully integrated with
the insurance companies. In turn, the latter oversee and control the
multinational health care providers which are actively lobbying in Seattle
for the deregulation of public health care under the GATS. The institutions
of the Welfare State are to be scrapped. The struggles of the entire
post-war period are to be erased.
The Worldwide scramble to appropriate wealth through "financial
manipulation" is the driving force behind this restructuring of the global
financial architecture of which the new US banking legislation and the
"Seattle Round" are an integral part. In concert with the WTO, the US
legislation favours the elimination of remaining barriers to the free
movement of finance capital. In practice it empowers Wall Street's key
players including Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, J. P, Morgan, Deutsche
Bank-Bankers Trust, etc. to develop a hegemonic position in global banking
overshadowing and ultimately destabilising financial systems in Asia, Latin
America and Eastern Europe... and this process is ongoing irrespective of
the actual outcome of the Millenium Round.
THE SPECULATIVE ONSLAUGHT
In turn, financial deregulation in the US allows speculative trade to
prosper Worldwide in a totally permissive environment. In turn, the
Millenium Round by calling for the deregulation of capital movements will
provide greater legitimacy to speculative trade thereby empowering Wall
Street to extend its global financial domain.
Institutional control over the channels of speculative trade provides the
US and EU financial giants with the tools to manipulate currency and stock
markets and impair the role of central banks. The ultimate objective is to
take control over the reigns of monetary policy and oversee financial
markets all over the World. In the 1997 Asian crisis alone, more than 100
billion dollars were confiscated in a matter of months from the vaults of
Asia's central banks; similar speculative assaults were carried out in
Russia in 1998 and in Brazil in 1999. Derivative and option trade including
the "short selling" of national currencies were behind these assaults
leading to massive debt default and financial collapse. Well documented,
the IMF played a key role in facilitating the speculative onslaught on
behalf of Western and Japanese financial institutions.
In a cruel irony, the use of these deadly speculative instruments was
formally legitimised in the Fifth Protocol of the General Agreement on
Trade in Services (GATS) in the immediate wake of the Asian crisis. Totally
disregarding the impending dangers, the GATS protocol negotiations
coincided chronologically (October 1997) with the climactic meltdown of
stock markets all over the World.
WAR AND GLOBALISATION
And War is also part of the Millennium Round. What happens to countries
which refuse to deregulate trade and foreign investment and provide
"national treatment" to Western banks and MNCs? The Western
military-intelligence apparatus and its various bureaucracies routinely
interface with the financial establishment. The IMF, the World Bank and the
WTO --which "police" country level economic reforms-- also collaborate with
NATO in its various "peacekeeping" endeavours, not to mention the financing
of "post-conflict" reconstruction under the auspices of the Bretton Woods
institutions...
At the dawn of the Third Millennium, War and the "Free Market" go hand in
hand. War does not require a multilateral investment treaty (ie. an MAI)
entrenched in international law: "War is the MAI of last resort." War
physically destroys what has not been dismantled through deregulation,
privatisation and the imposition of "free market" reforms. Outright
colonisation through war and the installation of Western protectorates is
tantamount to providing "national treatment" to Western banks and MNCs in
all sectors of activity. "Missile diplomacy" replicates and emulates the
"gunboat diplomacy" used to enforce "free trade" in the 19th Century. The
US Cushing Mission to China in 1844 (in the wake of the Opium Wars) had
forewarned the Chinese imperial government "that refusal to grant American
demands might be regarded as an invitation to war."11
The "Seattle Round" purports to "peacefully" recolonise countries through
the manipulation of market forces, --ie. through the "invisible hand". It
nonetheless constitutes a form of warfare.
More generally, the dangers of war must be understood. War and
globalisation are not separate issues. The citizens' campaign against the
WTO must be integrated with the anti-war movement against the bombing of
sovereign countries by the US and its European allies.
DISARMING THE NEW WORLD ORDER
The WTO created from a "technical agreement" (Final Act of the Uruguay
Round) provides entrenched "legal" rights to banks and global corporations.
In turn the 1994 Marrakesh Agreement sets up procedures --including
manipulative Dispute Settlements-- which are now conveniently embodied in
international law but which blatantly violate the rights of citizens all
over the World.
Under WTO rules, the banks and MNCs can legitimately manipulate market
forces to their advantage leading to the outright recolonisation of
national economies. In other words, the WTO articles provide legitimacy to
global banks and MNCs in their quest to destabilise institutions, drive
national producers into bankruptcy and ultimately take control of entire
countries.
Moreover, the Agreement formally instates a "triangular division of
authority" between the WTO, and its sister organisations the IMF and the
World Bank in a system of "global surveillance" of developing countries'
economic and social policies. This means that enforcement of IMF-World Bank
policy prescriptions will no longer hinge upon ad hoc country-level loan
agreements (which are not "legally binding" documents). All the main
clauses of the IMF's deadly "economic medicine" will eventually become
permanently entrenched under the Seattle Millenium Round. Countries will
not only be "bonded" by external debt, they will be permanently "enslaved"
by an international body controlled by the World's largest business
syndicates. These WTO articles will set the foundations for "policing"
countries (and enforcing "conditionalities") according to international law.
In other words, we must act in relation to the original "iniquity" and
"illegality" of the Final Act of the Uruguay Round which creates the WTO as
a "totalitarian" organisation. There can be no other alternative but to
reject the WTO as an international institution, to imprint the WTO as an
illegal organisation. In other words, the entire process must be rejected
outright.
And this means that citizens' movements around the World must pressure
their governments to withdraw without delay and cancel their membership
with the WTO. Legal proceedings must also be initiated in national courts
against the governments of member countries, underscoring the blatant
violation of domestic laws and national constitutions.
In other words, the citizens' platform in Seattle and around the World must
be geared towards disarming this economic system and dismantling its
institutions. We cannot postpone our struggle and "wait a few years" in the
context of an "Audit" and meanwhile the World is consumed and destroyed. We
must act now. We must question the legitimacy of a system which ultimately
destroys people's lives.
We must challenge politicians and international officials, we must unmask
their insidious links to powerful financial interests and eventually we
must overhaul and transform State institutions removing them from the
clutch of the finacial establishment. In turn, we must "democratise" the
economic system and its management structure, challenge the blatant
concentration of ownership and private wealth, disarm financial markets,
freeze speculative trade, arrest the laundering of dirty money, dismantle
the system of offshore banking, redistribute income and wealth, restore the
rights of direct producers, rebuild the Welfare State.
Concurrently, we must also build the conditions for a lasting World peace.
The military-industrial and security apparatus which sustains these
financial interests must eventually be dismantled, which also means that we
must abolish NATO and phase out the arms industry.
We must combat the "media lies" and "global falsehoods" which uphold the
WTO and the powerful business interests which it supports. We must combat
the "false consensus" of Washington and Wall Street which ordains the "free
market system " as the only possible choice on the fated road to a "global
prosperity". This consensus is now shared by all political parties
including Social Democrats.
To achieve these objectives we must restore a meaningful freedom of the
press. The global media giants fabricate the news and overtly distorts the
course of World events. In turn, we must break the "false consciousness"
which pervades our societies, prevents critical debate and masks the truth.
Ultimately , it precludes a collective understanding of the workings of an
economic system which destroys people's lives. The only promise of the
"free market" is a World of landless farmers, shuttered factories, jobless
workers and gutted social programmes with "bitter economic medicine" under
the WTO and the IMF constituting the only prescription. We must restore the
truth, we must reinstate sovereignty to our countries and to the people of
our countries.
The struggle must be broad-based and democratic encompassing all sectors of
society at all levels, in all countries, uniting in a major thrust workers,
farmers, independent producers, small businesses, professionals, artists,
civil servants, members of the clergy, students and intellectuals. People
must be united across sectors, "single issue" groups must join hands in a
common and collective understanding on how this economic system destroys
and impoverishes.
The "globalisation" of this struggle is fundamental, requiring a degree of
solidarity and internationalism unprecedented in World history. The global
economic system feeds on social divisiveness between and within countries.
Beyond Seattle, unity of purpose and Worldwide coordination among diverse
groups and social movements is crucial. A major thrust is required which
brings together social movements in all major regions of the world in a
common pursuit and commitment to the elimination of poverty and a lasting
World peace.
NOTES
1. The latter frequently position snipers at key positions. See Paul
Richmond,
"An Assessment of the Police, What to expect during the Seattle Ministerial
Conference", http://forward.to/walkout, September 1999.
2. WTO Press Release, Ruggiero Announces Enhanced WTO Plan for Cooperation
With
NGOs, 17 July 1998.
3. European Commission Press Release, "Commission and NGOs hold dialogue
on the
Millennium Round", Brussels, 17 November 1998.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. See AFL-CIO, Make the Global economy Work for Working familiies,
http://www.wslc.org/wto/index.htm, Ocotber 1999.
7. Ibid.
8. Financial Times, London, 17 November 1999).
9. Quoted in Financial Times, op cit.
10. See Martin McLaughlin, "Clinton Republicans agree to Deregulation of US
Banking System", World Socialist website, 1 November 1999.
11. Quoted in Michel Chossudovsky, Towards Capitalist Restoration, Chinese
socialism after Mao, Macmillan, London, 1986, p. 134).
C Copyright by Michel Chossudovsky, Ottawa, 1999. All rights reserved.
Permission is granted to post this text on noncommercial community internet
sites, provided the essay remains intact and the copyright note is displayed.
To publish this text in printed and/or other forms contact the author at
chossudovsky@videotron.ca, fax: 1-514-4256224.
Michel Chossudovsky
Department of Economics,
University of Ottawa,
Ottawa, K1N6N5
Voice box: 1-613-562-5800, ext. 1415, Fax: 1-514-425-6224
E-Mail: chossudovsky@videotron.ca (Alternative Email:
chossudovsky@sprint.ca)
Recent articles:
Post-war Kosovo
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/yugo_archive/19990816mcpaper.htm
Overview on the War: http://www.transnational.org/features/Yuoverview.html
On the role of the KLA: http://www.heise.de/tp/english/inhalt/co/2743/1.html
Breakup of Yugoslavia: http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/62/022.html
Impact of the bombings:
http://www.diaspora-net.org/food4thought/chossudovsky.htm
On The Globalisation of Poverty and the Financial Crisis:
http://wwwdb.ix.de/tp/english/special/eco/6373/1.html
http://www.transnational.org/features/chossu_worldbank.html
http://www.transnational.org/features/g7solution.html
http://www.twnside.org.sg/souths/twn/title/scam-cn.htm
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http://www.heise.de/tp/english/special/eco/
http://heise.xlink.de/tp/english/special/eco/6099/1.html#anchor1
http://www.ased.org/resources/global/articles/chossu.htm
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B A Y A N
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Telephone: (63-2) 435-9151 Telefax: (63-2) 922-5211
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From tpl at cheerful.com Tue Nov 30 10:16:48 1999
From: tpl at cheerful.com (tpl@cheerful.com)
Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1999 09:16:48 +0800
Subject: [asia-apec 1352] Women's Statement Against AOA/WTO
Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19991130091648.006a5548@pop.skyinet.net>
Join the fight against WTO and globalization!
Be a signatory or endorse this statement.
WOMEN'S STATEMENT AGAINST AOA/WTO
presented by GABRIELA and AMIHAN
in the Peoples' Assembly Session: Women Say NO to WTO!
November 29, 1999
Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
Stop Trading Off Peoples' Lives and Future!
Take Agriculture Out of WTO!
Junk WTO!
Women Say NO to Imperialist Globalization!
In Seattle, the stage is set for another trading event that will barter
the lives and future of women, men and children in exchange for super
profits for monopoly capital. The Millennium Round of negotiations of the
World Trade Organization (WTO) will definitely be dominated by the US,
Japan, Germany and the rest of the Group of 7. Majority of their people and
the rest of the world will once more be shoved into economic and political
maelstrom.
We, the impoverished producers of Asia, await with much apprehension the
outcome of the 3rd WTO Ministerial Meeting, one of which main agenda is a
review of the Agreement on Agriculture (AOA). And not without enough basis.
Most of our governments are gearing to further open up our markets for
agricultural products and our lands and other resources to corporate
plunder. The same formula that is whittling away whatever control we still
have on our products and resources.
No doubt the dominant players in the game, the US, Japan and EU will again
battle to squeeze out more concessions despite the astonishing array of
concessions already gained in the previous rounds.
No doubt governments of developing countries, will beg for more favors,
promise more bargains and make more compromises to keep them on board
ship.
In the end, among the major losers in this trading game are the poor
producers: the peasants, farmers, agricultural workers, the women and the
children without whose labor there could be no products to be traded,
without whose labor there could be no trade in agriculture to speak of.
In the end, the gainers are the national ruling elite, made up of the big
landowners and big business, and the transnational corporations (TNCs)
whose monopoly control of the land, trade and production technology already
assures them of the lion's share of the region's productive output. Once
more, monopoly capital gets the loot.
We, who toil daily under the scorching sun to produce 91% of the world's
rice, barely have enough rice to eat. We, who work in the plantations of
bananas, pineapples, rubber and palm oil, barely have enough cash to send
our children to school and buy medicine when we get sick. Official data
tell it all. Asia is home to rich natural resources and strong human power.
It is home to an unparalleled ecological heritage, yet it remains the home
of 70% of the world's poor.
We therefore re-state in the strongest terms: We have never benefited
from our governments' commitments to the AOA and the rest of the WTO
agreements.
The market access provision of the AOA, which provides for tariff
reduction, is eschewed to the advantage of industrialized countries which
start off with high tariff rate bases and therefore end up still being
able to protect their local markets. The developing countries are left with
their local markets wide open for imports thus displacing their local
products.
But developing countries have to sell and trade, say our governments which
are still keeping blind to the fact that all of globalization's promises
have failed. "Equal playing field" under imperialist globalization is a lot
of nonsense. There can be no free trade nor fair trade in a world system
dominated by monopoly capital.
Our governments continue to offer us as sacrificial lambs to the so-called
'global competitiveness'. Intensification of exploitation of our labor and
the natural resources are resorted to in order to produce products at the
cheapest price possible. Men, women and children are made to work almost as
slaves on mere pittance. Family labor is mobilized in exchange for
compensation fit for paupers.
Another anomaly is the domestic support provision of the AOA which
mandates a reduction of production subsidies for the farmers. Various
estimates point, that even with a 20% subsidy reduction, governments of
developed countries can still can afford to provide billions of subsidies
to their farmers in various forms without them being declared WTO illegal.
One the other hand, we from the developing countries have to fend for
ourselves. Our cash-strapped and debt-burdened governments are only too
happy to take away our already low subsidies. With little or no support
from government, and with high production inputs, our local products cannot
compete with the cheap, highly subsidized imported products that flood our
markets.
The WTO has spelled disaster on us and our natural resources. Large tracts
of lands devoted for the production of staple food are converted for the
cultivation of products for trade. Worse, our lands and forests are taken
away from us to pave the way for conversion to golf courses and other
tourism resorts, grandiose mal-development projects like dams, mining and
logging concessions and so-called industrial centers. We are left landless
and ruined.
Of great concern is our food security, our capacity to produce our own
food and its accessibility to every one. We can never subscribe to the idea
peddled by most of our governments that food security is simply the
availability of food and that we are better off importing cheap food from
other countries.
These products have been flooding the local market, competing with locally
produced ones which have become relatively more expensive because of higher
production cost due to withdrawal of subsidies and lower tariff for the
imported ones. Imported products continue to threaten, if not already
putting an end to, the viability of local products. Worse, with the trade
of even our staple food like rice and corn, in the hands of cartels, price
manipulation resulting into steep increases in the prices of these
commodities, have been resorted to. Heavier pressure is created on our
already very tight food budget.
Our health suffers from all the chemicals introduced in agricultural
production and the pollutants from mining and industrial operations that
poison our lands, air, seas, rivers and other bodies of water.
For us, WTO means greater exploitation of our labor and resources, further
ruin of our sources of livelihood and steady deterioration of our already
meager income. These further translate to hunger, malnutrition and
worsening of our life situations.
For us women, the squeeze is even tighter. As our meager family income is
further reduced, our husbands are forced to depart our villages in search
of jobs. Many do not return, leaving us women on our own to keep the rest
of the family alive. Our working hours are doubled or tripled to augment
our income and find food for the children.
Hundreds of thousands of us are likewise forced to leave for the urban
areas and even other countries in the hope of finding jobs. Many end up
being victimized by labor and sex traffickers. And some of us have
prostituted ourselves as unwilling commodities in the sex trade.
To make matters worse, the collusion among the imperialist powers, the
local ruling elite and the state, that they dominate, goes beyond the
economic sphere. To stifle peoples' opposition and to protect monopoly
capital business interests, the state unleashes its military and
paramilitary forces against the women, men and communities resisting
globalization. Militarist aggression is the imperialists' and the state's
answer to legitimate peoples' demands.
We, therefore, affirm our commitment to resist and fight imperialist
globalization and its newest conduit - the WTO. Let their trading begin.
But let us fight to have our lives and our future spared.
Take Agriculture out of WTO!
Junk WTO!
Strengthen international solidarity
and advance the peoples' struggle against imperialism!
[Initiated by AMIHAN, GABRIELA, KMP and BAYAN.]
Printed Name Organization Country Tel/Fax/Email
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