From notoapec at clear.net.nz Sun Sep 3 07:42:27 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2000 10:42:27 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1535] Fw: Trade agreements: Japan, S'pore closer to "new age' pact Message-ID: <000601c0152f$137ed7e0$1c84a7cb@notoapec> >Strait Times 30/8/00 Japan, S'pore closer to "new age' pact > >Progress in efforts to launch formal talks on >free-trade pact that will cover IT cooperation >and stock-market rules > >By KWAN WENG KIN >JAPAN CORRESPONDENT > >TOKYO -- Singapore and Japan have moved another >step closer to launching formal negotiations within >the year on a wide-ranging, ""new-age'' Free Trade >Agreement that would include close cooperation in >IT, stock-market rules and other new areas. > >A Singapore-Japan joint study group, ending two >days of talks here yesterday, reported ""substantial >progress'' in their latest meeting to consider the >feasibility of launching formal FTA negotiations. > >Officials would not comment on details of a draft >report they were working on but press reports here, >quoting undisclosed sources, said it would contain >nearly 40 items. > >The reports said that the ""new-age'' FTA would go >beyond the removal of tariff barriers for goods and >services and was expected to include cooperation in >electronic commerce, unification of stock-market >rules and facilitating the movement of IT specialists >and other skilled workers. > >Common rules for stock markets would enable the >simultaneous listing of companies on the stock >exchanges of both countries, making it a world's first, >said the reports. > >By making capital procurement easier in both >markets, it would also help to attract more >investments to Singapore and Japan. > >The reports also said that though the >Japan-Singapore FTA (JSFTA) was not expected to >boost bilateral trade significantly, it would help to >speed up structural reforms in both countries. > >A major hurdle was overcome by an earlier >agreement by both sides to exclude agricultural >products from the proposed agreement. > >A statement released after yesterday's meeting said >there was ""broad consensus'' by participants on the >scope and merits of a JSFTA. > >The meeting, the fourth since the group first met in >March this year, was originally expected to draft a >report to be submitted to the leaders of both >countries when they meet at the Asean Plus Three >meeting, which Singapore will host in November. > >The group is now due to hold a fifth and final meeting >in Singapore on Sept 27-28 to finalise the draft. > >It is understood that the additional meeting is to give >the Japanese side, which includes representatives >from several key ministries, extra time for domestic >consultations. > >The JSFTA was brought up by Foreign Affairs >Minister S. Jayakumar last week in talks here with >Japanese leaders. > >Once launched, the JSFTA negotiations are expected >to be completed as early as end-2001, making the >resulting FTA the first that Japan is likely to conclude >with any country. > >Singapore, however, recently signed an FTA with >New Zealand. > >Japanese business circles have been putting >increasing pressure on their government to forge >bilateral and regional FTAs, a concept that Japan >once ignored as it preferred the multilateral trade >framework under the World Trade Organisation. > > > > From notoapec at clear.net.nz Sun Sep 3 07:44:12 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2000 10:44:12 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1536] Fw: Singapore-NZ trade agreement _ When small is better Message-ID: <000b01c0152f$515efe00$1c84a7cb@notoapec> >Straits Times 30/8/00 > >Editorial > >When small is better > >THE trade agreement which Singapore and New >Zealand initialled will not bring down tariffs much >lower than they are on either side. That was not >the purpose, as both are undistorted economies >whose small home markets have made a necessity >of integration with neighbours and countries farther >afield. This new development was, from a certain >perspective, an indictment of Apec and Asean, and >a lamentation of what could turn out to be a case of >the World Trade Organisation's unfulfilled promise. >Or, in tradespeak, bilateralism and regionalism >working better where multilateralism is either >plodding or is being thwarted by the conflicting >aims of signatory nations. An economy as >vulnerable to external influences as Singapore's is, >could hardly do nothing and wait for the big >mercantilists -- the United States, Japan, France -- >to find a way of countering domestic opponents to >freer trade. Mind you, that is tearing down the >ramparts piece by piece -- organised labour, >environmentalists, farmers fattened on subsidies, >cultural custodians, stick-in-the-mud legislators, >anti-child labour humbugs. > >No wonder Seattle 1999 was so successful as an >anarchists' jamboree. The WTO has been in >suspended animation since the riots in the >American city last November buried a crucial >attempt to start a new round of international trade >opening made urgent by the >information-communication revolution. Apec, the >Asia-Pacific grouping, is still more of a statement of >intent than coming anywhere to fruition in tearing >down tariff walls. Here, diversity is no strength. >When its most enthusiastic promoter, US President >Bill Clinton (or his stand-in), attends his last Apec >summit in Brunei in November, collective interest >could possibly begin to wane if progress remains >slow. As for Asean, the concept of a free-trade >area is being embraced more in the paying of lip >service than a willingness to put in the gut and >sinew. > >In the circumstances, Singapore's diversion to >going bilateral is just being sensible. While it >continues to support the multilateral framework -- >this remains the world's best bet if the Tower of >Babel can be called to order -- direct pacts can >stimulate the process. As a last resort, they can be >a substitute. The hope must be that it never >reaches the latter stage. Besides New Zealand, >Singapore is in talks with Canada and Mexico for >similar agreements. With Japan, a decision is >pending whether to start negotiations. Japan itself, >which never favours bilateral agreements, is >considering the feasibility of deals with Chile and >South Korea. The reversal of policy by the world's >second-largest economy says plenty about the state >of international trade. > >Singapore's wide geographic spread in direct deals >thus far pretty much sums up its game plan. Draw >them together, and they form a whole. But it is >tough going one-on-one. Even with New Zealand, >nothing can be presumed. The Labour coalition's >junior partners, the Alliance and the Greens, are >suspicious about what the open sesame can do to >the country's weakening social consensus. It is >another sign that globalisation is getting to be a >hard sell after the Seattle debacle. Logically, the >next step is for the Asean free-trade area >mechanism and Australia-New Zealand, which have >their own direct agreement and investment links >with Chile, to stitch together a southern hemisphere >regional market. Asean-Australasia combined bring >together 570 million people. It is a tantalising >thought -- if WTO-like contrariness can be >overcome. > > From bayan at iname.com Mon Sep 4 17:10:48 2000 From: bayan at iname.com (BAYAN) Date: Mon, 04 Sep 2000 01:10:48 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1537] Getting into Bed with Big Business Message-ID: <20000903172255.BAFC3328BF@smtp.skyinet.net> GETTING INTO BED WITH BIG BUSINESS The UN is no longer just a joke. It is becoming the villain of the piece by George Monbiot 31 August 2000, Manchester Guardian (UK) Pity the UN, for it is not powerful enough even to be hated. While other global bodies are? widely reviled, the UN has become little more than a joke. Ignored and undermined, its treaties unratified, its fees unpaid, the sometime saviour of the? world has sunk toward irrelevance. The general assembly is permanently sidelined. The? security council is heeded only when its decisions don't interfere with the plans of any of its? members. Next week's Millennium Summit, the biggest meeting of heads of state in the history of the world, is likely to be just another scene in an ever more ludicrous pantomime. UN officials have long been aware of the problem. They have spent much of the past 10? years desperately seeking to be taken seriously by the world's great powers. They are in danger, as a result, of exchanging the role of clown for the role of villain. The UN's metamorphosis began at the Earth Summit in 1992. The UN Centre on Transnational Corporations, which tried to help weak nations to protect themselves from predatory companies, had recommended that businesses should be internationally regulated. The UN refused to circulate its suggestions. Instead the summit adopted the proposals of a very different organisation: the Business Council for Sustainable Development, composed of the chief executives of big corporations. Unsurprisingly, the council had recommended that companies should regulate themselves. In 1993, the UNCTC? was dissolved. In June 1997, the president of the general assembly announced that corporations would be?given a formal role in UN decision-making. Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, suggested? that he would like to see more opportunities for companies - rather than governments or the UN - to set global standards. At the beginning of 1998, the UN Conference on Trade and Development revealed that it was?working with the International Chamber of Commerce to help developing countries "formulate competition and consumer protection law" and to facilitate trade. The UN, which until a few? years before had sought to defend poor countries from big business, would now be helping? big business to overcome the resistance of poor countries. The ICC repaid the favour by asking the world's richest nations to give the UN more money. In January 1999, Mr Annan launched a new agency, called the Business Humanitarian? Forum. It would be jointly chaired by the UN High Commissioner on Refugees and the? president of a company called Unocal. Unocal was, at the time, the only major US company still operating in Burma. It was helping the Burmese government to build a? massive gas pipeline, during the construction of which Burmese soldiers tortured and killed? local people. "The business community," Annan explained to Unocal, Nestle, Rio Tinto and? the other members of the new forum, "is fast becoming one of the UN's most important allies? That is why the organisation's doors are open to you as never before." Two months later, a leaked memo revealed that the UN Development Programme had? accepted $50,000 from each of 11 giant corporations. In return, Nike, Rio Tinto, Shell, BP,? Novartis, ABB, Dow Chemical and the other companies would gain privileged access to UNDP offices, acquiring, in the agency's words, "a new and unique vehicle for market development activities", as well as "worldwide recognition for their cooperation with the UN". The UNDP would develop a special UN logo which the companies could put on their? products.? After fierce campaigning by human rights groups, this scheme was suspended. But in July? this year, Mr Annan launched a far more ambitious partnership, a "global compact" with 50 of the world's biggest and most controversial corporations. The companies promised to respect their workers and the nvironment. This, Annan told them, would "safeguard open markets while at the same time creating a human face for the global economy". The firms? which signed his compact would be better placed to deal with pressure from single-issue? groups". Again, they would be allowed to use the UN's logo. But there would be no binding? commitments, and no external assessment of how well they were doing. The UN, in other words, appears to be turning itself into an enforcement agency for the? global economy, helping western companies to penetrate new markets while avoiding the regulations which would be the only effective means of holding them to account. By making? peace with power, the UN is declaring war upon the powerless.? ? Guardian Newspapers Limited 2000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- B A Y A N Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or New Patriotic Alliance No. 23 Maamo Street, Sikatuna Village Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Telephone: (63-2) 435-9151 Telefax: (63-2) 922-5211 Email: Webpage: http://www.bigfoot.com/~bayan-phils Webpage: http://www.bigfoot.com/~bayan-phils ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From putratan at indosat.net.id Mon Sep 4 12:03:31 2000 From: putratan at indosat.net.id (North Sumatra Peasant Union) Date: Mon, 04 Sep 2000 10:03:31 +0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1538] AI - UA on Sosa Case Message-ID: <39B31103.B618EE4E@indosat.net.id> PUBLIC AI Index: ASA 21/38/00 EXTRA 71/00 Risk of torture/ill-treatment 1 September 2000 Jalaluddin Harahap (32) Anwar Sadikin Hasibuan (21) Parno (37) Khoiruddin Nasution (24) Maranaga Hasibuan (28) Syaiful Tanjung (55) Hamiruddin Nasution (28) Gumri Hasibuan (31) Atar Pasaribu (45) Badoar Lubis (57) Goloman Hasibuan (31) Four others - names unknown Amnesty International is concerned that 15 people in custody in North Sumatra are at risk of torture or ill-treatment. Police have refused them medical treatment, although one has reportedly been injured by a rubber bullet and others are said to have been injured by beatings with rattan canes. The 15 people were arrested on 27 August in connection with a land dispute between villagers belonging to the Sosa indigenous group and a privately-owned plantation company. They are in custody at the Police Resort (Polres) in Padang Sidempuan, the capital of Tapanuli Selatan District. On 24 August, villagers from Panyabungan village, in the Sosa Sub-district of Tapanuli Selatan District, had occupied land they said the plantation company PT PHS (Permata Hijau Sawit) Mananti had taken from them. A meeting between the villagers and the company was arranged the following day, but when the villagers arrived at the PT PHS Mananti factory a group of unidentified men tried to abduct villager Ali Sati. When they heard about this, people from other nearby villages gathered at the factory. At around 5pm Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers arrived and opened fire on the crowd. Nineteen-year-old Pebriadi Nasution was reportedly killed, and at least three others were injured, including Atar Pasaribu, who was hit by a rubber bullet. On 27 August the police went into Panyabungan village and arrested 33 people suspected of involvement in the dispute. Lawyers managed to visit the remaining 15 for the first time on 1 September, by which time they had already been interrogated. Police were present throughout the interviews and the lawyers said the 15 were too frightened to talk openly. The lawyers are concerned that they may not be permitted to visit their clients again. A Sosa man from Pasir village, Sahrial Hasibuan, was arrested and beaten when he went to the factory on 25 August after the attempted abduction of Ali Sati. He has since been released, but needed medical treatment for head injuries: he had been hit on the forehead with a rifle butt and beaten on the back of the head. The police are now said to be looking for leaders of the People's Forum for Sosa Customary Law (Forum masyarakat adat Sosa - Formasa) and the North Sumatra Peasants' Union (Serikat Petani Sumatra Utara - SPSU). Both organizations are involved in supporting the rights of indigenous people. One of the leaders of Formasa is the Panyabungan village head, Nasruddin Hasibuan. He has been missing since 28 August, when police ransacked his house. He is thought to be in hiding. The people of Panyabungan village are reported to have fled to the forest in the face of police intimidation. BACKGROUND INFORMATION The Sosa are an indigenous people living in around 84 villages in the Sub-district of Sosa. Like other indigenous peoples in Indonesia they have their own adat (customary law) system. According to the Sosa adat system, ancestral land cannot be sold. The Sosa people are involved in disputes with both private and state-owned plantation companies which have taken over land in the area. In August 1998, a farmer was shot and killed during a dispute with a state owned plantation company, PTPN IV in the Prinarik area of Sosa sub-district. Approximately 23 people were arrested and sentenced to up to a year in prison. The Sosa people set up Formasa a year later, to campaign for the recognition of their adat laws and traditions by the central government, and assert their right to their ancestral lands. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send faxes/express/airmail letters in English, Bahasa Indonesia or your own language: - seeking guarantees that the 15 detainees will not be tortured or ill-treated in custody; - urging the authorities to immediately allow them medical attention and confidential access to their lawyers; - urging the authorities to release all 15 if they are not to be charged with a recognizably criminal offence; - urging the authorities not to arrest anyone solely for exercising their right to the peaceful expression of their opinions and to peaceful assembly and association; - calling for an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the killing of Pebriadi Nasution. APPEALS TO: Head of Police for North Sumatra Brigadier General Sutanto Kapolda Sumatra Utara Jalan Medan Tanjung Merawa Medan, North Sumatra Fax: + 62 61 7879372 Salutation: Dear Brigadier General NATIONAL POLICE CHIEF Gen. Rusdihardjo Kapolri Markas Besar Kepolisian RI Jl. Trunojoyo 3 Kebayoran Baru Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia Fax: + 62 21 720 7277 Salutation: Dear General Rusdihardjo COPIES TO: MINISTER OF DEFENCE AND SECURITY Prof Dr Mahfud MD Menteri Pertahanan dan Keamanan Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat No.13-14 Jakarta Pusat 10110 Indonesia Fax: + 62 21 381 4535/ 384 5178 Salutation: Dear Minister and to diplomatic representatives of Indonesia accredited to your country. PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 13 October 2000. *************************************** Exposed by: Serikat Petani Sumatera Utara/SPSU (North Sumatra Peasant Union/NSPU) Jl. Karya Jasa 58, Pangkalan Masyhur Medan, North Sumatera Indonesia 20143 Tel/Fax: +62 61 7862073 Email: putratan@indosat.net.id ************************************************************ Serikat Petani Sumatera Utara/SPSU (North Sumatra Peasant Union/NSPU) is the federation of peasant organization consists of 105 local peasant organizations in North Sumatera Province as its member. SPSU is declared by the peasant of North Sumatera in Parsariran, South Tapanuli District, North Sumatera Province Indonesia on June 3 1994. SPSU is member of La Via Campesina (International Peasant Movement) at International Leve. SPSU is founder and member of Federasi Serikat Petani Indonesia/FSPI (Federation of Indonesian Peasant Union/FIPU). FSPI or FIPU declared on July 8th 1998 by several peasant organization of Indonesia. SPSU has two main bodies : Peasant Representative Board as the legislative body and The Peasant Executive Body. Both of them are elected by Congress directly. In order to implement its program SPSU will set up the Special Task Force and recruit the Consulates in local, regional, national, and international level. Special task force and Consulates are the supporting system of The Peasant Executive body consists of everyone and every institutions who concern to the Agrarian Reform, Indigenous People, Sustainable Agriculture, Democracy, and Peasant Movement. ************************************************************ From putratan at indosat.net.id Mon Sep 4 12:03:31 2000 From: putratan at indosat.net.id (North Sumatra Peasant Union) Date: Mon, 04 Sep 2000 10:03:31 +0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1539] AI - UA on Sosa Case Message-ID: <39B31103.B618EE4E@indosat.net.id> PUBLIC AI Index: ASA 21/38/00 EXTRA 71/00 Risk of torture/ill-treatment 1 September 2000 Jalaluddin Harahap (32) Anwar Sadikin Hasibuan (21) Parno (37) Khoiruddin Nasution (24) Maranaga Hasibuan (28) Syaiful Tanjung (55) Hamiruddin Nasution (28) Gumri Hasibuan (31) Atar Pasaribu (45) Badoar Lubis (57) Goloman Hasibuan (31) Four others - names unknown Amnesty International is concerned that 15 people in custody in North Sumatra are at risk of torture or ill-treatment. Police have refused them medical treatment, although one has reportedly been injured by a rubber bullet and others are said to have been injured by beatings with rattan canes. The 15 people were arrested on 27 August in connection with a land dispute between villagers belonging to the Sosa indigenous group and a privately-owned plantation company. They are in custody at the Police Resort (Polres) in Padang Sidempuan, the capital of Tapanuli Selatan District. On 24 August, villagers from Panyabungan village, in the Sosa Sub-district of Tapanuli Selatan District, had occupied land they said the plantation company PT PHS (Permata Hijau Sawit) Mananti had taken from them. A meeting between the villagers and the company was arranged the following day, but when the villagers arrived at the PT PHS Mananti factory a group of unidentified men tried to abduct villager Ali Sati. When they heard about this, people from other nearby villages gathered at the factory. At around 5pm Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers arrived and opened fire on the crowd. Nineteen-year-old Pebriadi Nasution was reportedly killed, and at least three others were injured, including Atar Pasaribu, who was hit by a rubber bullet. On 27 August the police went into Panyabungan village and arrested 33 people suspected of involvement in the dispute. Lawyers managed to visit the remaining 15 for the first time on 1 September, by which time they had already been interrogated. Police were present throughout the interviews and the lawyers said the 15 were too frightened to talk openly. The lawyers are concerned that they may not be permitted to visit their clients again. A Sosa man from Pasir village, Sahrial Hasibuan, was arrested and beaten when he went to the factory on 25 August after the attempted abduction of Ali Sati. He has since been released, but needed medical treatment for head injuries: he had been hit on the forehead with a rifle butt and beaten on the back of the head. The police are now said to be looking for leaders of the People's Forum for Sosa Customary Law (Forum masyarakat adat Sosa - Formasa) and the North Sumatra Peasants' Union (Serikat Petani Sumatra Utara - SPSU). Both organizations are involved in supporting the rights of indigenous people. One of the leaders of Formasa is the Panyabungan village head, Nasruddin Hasibuan. He has been missing since 28 August, when police ransacked his house. He is thought to be in hiding. The people of Panyabungan village are reported to have fled to the forest in the face of police intimidation. BACKGROUND INFORMATION The Sosa are an indigenous people living in around 84 villages in the Sub-district of Sosa. Like other indigenous peoples in Indonesia they have their own adat (customary law) system. According to the Sosa adat system, ancestral land cannot be sold. The Sosa people are involved in disputes with both private and state-owned plantation companies which have taken over land in the area. In August 1998, a farmer was shot and killed during a dispute with a state owned plantation company, PTPN IV in the Prinarik area of Sosa sub-district. Approximately 23 people were arrested and sentenced to up to a year in prison. The Sosa people set up Formasa a year later, to campaign for the recognition of their adat laws and traditions by the central government, and assert their right to their ancestral lands. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send faxes/express/airmail letters in English, Bahasa Indonesia or your own language: - seeking guarantees that the 15 detainees will not be tortured or ill-treated in custody; - urging the authorities to immediately allow them medical attention and confidential access to their lawyers; - urging the authorities to release all 15 if they are not to be charged with a recognizably criminal offence; - urging the authorities not to arrest anyone solely for exercising their right to the peaceful expression of their opinions and to peaceful assembly and association; - calling for an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the killing of Pebriadi Nasution. APPEALS TO: Head of Police for North Sumatra Brigadier General Sutanto Kapolda Sumatra Utara Jalan Medan Tanjung Merawa Medan, North Sumatra Fax: + 62 61 7879372 Salutation: Dear Brigadier General NATIONAL POLICE CHIEF Gen. Rusdihardjo Kapolri Markas Besar Kepolisian RI Jl. Trunojoyo 3 Kebayoran Baru Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia Fax: + 62 21 720 7277 Salutation: Dear General Rusdihardjo COPIES TO: MINISTER OF DEFENCE AND SECURITY Prof Dr Mahfud MD Menteri Pertahanan dan Keamanan Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat No.13-14 Jakarta Pusat 10110 Indonesia Fax: + 62 21 381 4535/ 384 5178 Salutation: Dear Minister and to diplomatic representatives of Indonesia accredited to your country. PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 13 October 2000. *************************************** Exposed by: Serikat Petani Sumatera Utara/SPSU (North Sumatra Peasant Union/NSPU) Jl. Karya Jasa 58, Pangkalan Masyhur Medan, North Sumatera Indonesia 20143 Tel/Fax: +62 61 7862073 Email: putratan@indosat.net.id ************************************************************ Serikat Petani Sumatera Utara/SPSU (North Sumatra Peasant Union/NSPU) is the federation of peasant organization consists of 105 local peasant organizations in North Sumatera Province as its member. SPSU is declared by the peasant of North Sumatera in Parsariran, South Tapanuli District, North Sumatera Province Indonesia on June 3 1994. SPSU is member of La Via Campesina (International Peasant Movement) at International Leve. SPSU is founder and member of Federasi Serikat Petani Indonesia/FSPI (Federation of Indonesian Peasant Union/FIPU). FSPI or FIPU declared on July 8th 1998 by several peasant organization of Indonesia. SPSU has two main bodies : Peasant Representative Board as the legislative body and The Peasant Executive Body. Both of them are elected by Congress directly. In order to implement its program SPSU will set up the Special Task Force and recruit the Consulates in local, regional, national, and international level. Special task force and Consulates are the supporting system of The Peasant Executive body consists of everyone and every institutions who concern to the Agrarian Reform, Indigenous People, Sustainable Agriculture, Democracy, and Peasant Movement. ************************************************************ From putratan at indosat.net.id Mon Sep 4 12:03:31 2000 From: putratan at indosat.net.id (North Sumatra Peasant Union) Date: Mon, 04 Sep 2000 10:03:31 +0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1540] AI - UA on Sosa Case Message-ID: <39B31103.B618EE4E@indosat.net.id> PUBLIC AI Index: ASA 21/38/00 EXTRA 71/00 Risk of torture/ill-treatment 1 September 2000 Jalaluddin Harahap (32) Anwar Sadikin Hasibuan (21) Parno (37) Khoiruddin Nasution (24) Maranaga Hasibuan (28) Syaiful Tanjung (55) Hamiruddin Nasution (28) Gumri Hasibuan (31) Atar Pasaribu (45) Badoar Lubis (57) Goloman Hasibuan (31) Four others - names unknown Amnesty International is concerned that 15 people in custody in North Sumatra are at risk of torture or ill-treatment. Police have refused them medical treatment, although one has reportedly been injured by a rubber bullet and others are said to have been injured by beatings with rattan canes. The 15 people were arrested on 27 August in connection with a land dispute between villagers belonging to the Sosa indigenous group and a privately-owned plantation company. They are in custody at the Police Resort (Polres) in Padang Sidempuan, the capital of Tapanuli Selatan District. On 24 August, villagers from Panyabungan village, in the Sosa Sub-district of Tapanuli Selatan District, had occupied land they said the plantation company PT PHS (Permata Hijau Sawit) Mananti had taken from them. A meeting between the villagers and the company was arranged the following day, but when the villagers arrived at the PT PHS Mananti factory a group of unidentified men tried to abduct villager Ali Sati. When they heard about this, people from other nearby villages gathered at the factory. At around 5pm Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers arrived and opened fire on the crowd. Nineteen-year-old Pebriadi Nasution was reportedly killed, and at least three others were injured, including Atar Pasaribu, who was hit by a rubber bullet. On 27 August the police went into Panyabungan village and arrested 33 people suspected of involvement in the dispute. Lawyers managed to visit the remaining 15 for the first time on 1 September, by which time they had already been interrogated. Police were present throughout the interviews and the lawyers said the 15 were too frightened to talk openly. The lawyers are concerned that they may not be permitted to visit their clients again. A Sosa man from Pasir village, Sahrial Hasibuan, was arrested and beaten when he went to the factory on 25 August after the attempted abduction of Ali Sati. He has since been released, but needed medical treatment for head injuries: he had been hit on the forehead with a rifle butt and beaten on the back of the head. The police are now said to be looking for leaders of the People's Forum for Sosa Customary Law (Forum masyarakat adat Sosa - Formasa) and the North Sumatra Peasants' Union (Serikat Petani Sumatra Utara - SPSU). Both organizations are involved in supporting the rights of indigenous people. One of the leaders of Formasa is the Panyabungan village head, Nasruddin Hasibuan. He has been missing since 28 August, when police ransacked his house. He is thought to be in hiding. The people of Panyabungan village are reported to have fled to the forest in the face of police intimidation. BACKGROUND INFORMATION The Sosa are an indigenous people living in around 84 villages in the Sub-district of Sosa. Like other indigenous peoples in Indonesia they have their own adat (customary law) system. According to the Sosa adat system, ancestral land cannot be sold. The Sosa people are involved in disputes with both private and state-owned plantation companies which have taken over land in the area. In August 1998, a farmer was shot and killed during a dispute with a state owned plantation company, PTPN IV in the Prinarik area of Sosa sub-district. Approximately 23 people were arrested and sentenced to up to a year in prison. The Sosa people set up Formasa a year later, to campaign for the recognition of their adat laws and traditions by the central government, and assert their right to their ancestral lands. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send faxes/express/airmail letters in English, Bahasa Indonesia or your own language: - seeking guarantees that the 15 detainees will not be tortured or ill-treated in custody; - urging the authorities to immediately allow them medical attention and confidential access to their lawyers; - urging the authorities to release all 15 if they are not to be charged with a recognizably criminal offence; - urging the authorities not to arrest anyone solely for exercising their right to the peaceful expression of their opinions and to peaceful assembly and association; - calling for an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the killing of Pebriadi Nasution. APPEALS TO: Head of Police for North Sumatra Brigadier General Sutanto Kapolda Sumatra Utara Jalan Medan Tanjung Merawa Medan, North Sumatra Fax: + 62 61 7879372 Salutation: Dear Brigadier General NATIONAL POLICE CHIEF Gen. Rusdihardjo Kapolri Markas Besar Kepolisian RI Jl. Trunojoyo 3 Kebayoran Baru Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia Fax: + 62 21 720 7277 Salutation: Dear General Rusdihardjo COPIES TO: MINISTER OF DEFENCE AND SECURITY Prof Dr Mahfud MD Menteri Pertahanan dan Keamanan Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat No.13-14 Jakarta Pusat 10110 Indonesia Fax: + 62 21 381 4535/ 384 5178 Salutation: Dear Minister and to diplomatic representatives of Indonesia accredited to your country. PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 13 October 2000. *************************************** Exposed by: Serikat Petani Sumatera Utara/SPSU (North Sumatra Peasant Union/NSPU) Jl. Karya Jasa 58, Pangkalan Masyhur Medan, North Sumatera Indonesia 20143 Tel/Fax: +62 61 7862073 Email: putratan@indosat.net.id ************************************************************ Serikat Petani Sumatera Utara/SPSU (North Sumatra Peasant Union/NSPU) is the federation of peasant organization consists of 105 local peasant organizations in North Sumatera Province as its member. SPSU is declared by the peasant of North Sumatera in Parsariran, South Tapanuli District, North Sumatera Province Indonesia on June 3 1994. SPSU is member of La Via Campesina (International Peasant Movement) at International Leve. SPSU is founder and member of Federasi Serikat Petani Indonesia/FSPI (Federation of Indonesian Peasant Union/FIPU). FSPI or FIPU declared on July 8th 1998 by several peasant organization of Indonesia. SPSU has two main bodies : Peasant Representative Board as the legislative body and The Peasant Executive Body. Both of them are elected by Congress directly. In order to implement its program SPSU will set up the Special Task Force and recruit the Consulates in local, regional, national, and international level. Special task force and Consulates are the supporting system of The Peasant Executive body consists of everyone and every institutions who concern to the Agrarian Reform, Indigenous People, Sustainable Agriculture, Democracy, and Peasant Movement. ************************************************************ From putratan at indosat.net.id Mon Sep 4 12:03:31 2000 From: putratan at indosat.net.id (North Sumatra Peasant Union) Date: Mon, 04 Sep 2000 10:03:31 +0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1541] AI - UA on Sosa Case Message-ID: <39B31103.B618EE4E@indosat.net.id> PUBLIC AI Index: ASA 21/38/00 EXTRA 71/00 Risk of torture/ill-treatment 1 September 2000 Jalaluddin Harahap (32) Anwar Sadikin Hasibuan (21) Parno (37) Khoiruddin Nasution (24) Maranaga Hasibuan (28) Syaiful Tanjung (55) Hamiruddin Nasution (28) Gumri Hasibuan (31) Atar Pasaribu (45) Badoar Lubis (57) Goloman Hasibuan (31) Four others - names unknown Amnesty International is concerned that 15 people in custody in North Sumatra are at risk of torture or ill-treatment. Police have refused them medical treatment, although one has reportedly been injured by a rubber bullet and others are said to have been injured by beatings with rattan canes. The 15 people were arrested on 27 August in connection with a land dispute between villagers belonging to the Sosa indigenous group and a privately-owned plantation company. They are in custody at the Police Resort (Polres) in Padang Sidempuan, the capital of Tapanuli Selatan District. On 24 August, villagers from Panyabungan village, in the Sosa Sub-district of Tapanuli Selatan District, had occupied land they said the plantation company PT PHS (Permata Hijau Sawit) Mananti had taken from them. A meeting between the villagers and the company was arranged the following day, but when the villagers arrived at the PT PHS Mananti factory a group of unidentified men tried to abduct villager Ali Sati. When they heard about this, people from other nearby villages gathered at the factory. At around 5pm Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers arrived and opened fire on the crowd. Nineteen-year-old Pebriadi Nasution was reportedly killed, and at least three others were injured, including Atar Pasaribu, who was hit by a rubber bullet. On 27 August the police went into Panyabungan village and arrested 33 people suspected of involvement in the dispute. Lawyers managed to visit the remaining 15 for the first time on 1 September, by which time they had already been interrogated. Police were present throughout the interviews and the lawyers said the 15 were too frightened to talk openly. The lawyers are concerned that they may not be permitted to visit their clients again. A Sosa man from Pasir village, Sahrial Hasibuan, was arrested and beaten when he went to the factory on 25 August after the attempted abduction of Ali Sati. He has since been released, but needed medical treatment for head injuries: he had been hit on the forehead with a rifle butt and beaten on the back of the head. The police are now said to be looking for leaders of the People's Forum for Sosa Customary Law (Forum masyarakat adat Sosa - Formasa) and the North Sumatra Peasants' Union (Serikat Petani Sumatra Utara - SPSU). Both organizations are involved in supporting the rights of indigenous people. One of the leaders of Formasa is the Panyabungan village head, Nasruddin Hasibuan. He has been missing since 28 August, when police ransacked his house. He is thought to be in hiding. The people of Panyabungan village are reported to have fled to the forest in the face of police intimidation. BACKGROUND INFORMATION The Sosa are an indigenous people living in around 84 villages in the Sub-district of Sosa. Like other indigenous peoples in Indonesia they have their own adat (customary law) system. According to the Sosa adat system, ancestral land cannot be sold. The Sosa people are involved in disputes with both private and state-owned plantation companies which have taken over land in the area. In August 1998, a farmer was shot and killed during a dispute with a state owned plantation company, PTPN IV in the Prinarik area of Sosa sub-district. Approximately 23 people were arrested and sentenced to up to a year in prison. The Sosa people set up Formasa a year later, to campaign for the recognition of their adat laws and traditions by the central government, and assert their right to their ancestral lands. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send faxes/express/airmail letters in English, Bahasa Indonesia or your own language: - seeking guarantees that the 15 detainees will not be tortured or ill-treated in custody; - urging the authorities to immediately allow them medical attention and confidential access to their lawyers; - urging the authorities to release all 15 if they are not to be charged with a recognizably criminal offence; - urging the authorities not to arrest anyone solely for exercising their right to the peaceful expression of their opinions and to peaceful assembly and association; - calling for an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the killing of Pebriadi Nasution. APPEALS TO: Head of Police for North Sumatra Brigadier General Sutanto Kapolda Sumatra Utara Jalan Medan Tanjung Merawa Medan, North Sumatra Fax: + 62 61 7879372 Salutation: Dear Brigadier General NATIONAL POLICE CHIEF Gen. Rusdihardjo Kapolri Markas Besar Kepolisian RI Jl. Trunojoyo 3 Kebayoran Baru Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia Fax: + 62 21 720 7277 Salutation: Dear General Rusdihardjo COPIES TO: MINISTER OF DEFENCE AND SECURITY Prof Dr Mahfud MD Menteri Pertahanan dan Keamanan Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat No.13-14 Jakarta Pusat 10110 Indonesia Fax: + 62 21 381 4535/ 384 5178 Salutation: Dear Minister and to diplomatic representatives of Indonesia accredited to your country. PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 13 October 2000. *************************************** Exposed by: Serikat Petani Sumatera Utara/SPSU (North Sumatra Peasant Union/NSPU) Jl. Karya Jasa 58, Pangkalan Masyhur Medan, North Sumatera Indonesia 20143 Tel/Fax: +62 61 7862073 Email: putratan@indosat.net.id ************************************************************ Serikat Petani Sumatera Utara/SPSU (North Sumatra Peasant Union/NSPU) is the federation of peasant organization consists of 105 local peasant organizations in North Sumatera Province as its member. SPSU is declared by the peasant of North Sumatera in Parsariran, South Tapanuli District, North Sumatera Province Indonesia on June 3 1994. SPSU is member of La Via Campesina (International Peasant Movement) at International Leve. SPSU is founder and member of Federasi Serikat Petani Indonesia/FSPI (Federation of Indonesian Peasant Union/FIPU). FSPI or FIPU declared on July 8th 1998 by several peasant organization of Indonesia. SPSU has two main bodies : Peasant Representative Board as the legislative body and The Peasant Executive Body. Both of them are elected by Congress directly. In order to implement its program SPSU will set up the Special Task Force and recruit the Consulates in local, regional, national, and international level. Special task force and Consulates are the supporting system of The Peasant Executive body consists of everyone and every institutions who concern to the Agrarian Reform, Indigenous People, Sustainable Agriculture, Democracy, and Peasant Movement. ************************************************************ From bayan at iname.com Tue Sep 5 13:39:21 2000 From: bayan at iname.com (BAYAN) Date: Mon, 04 Sep 2000 21:39:21 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1542] Action Alert against San Roque Dam and Text for Postcard Campaign Message-ID: FROM THE CORDILLERA PEOPLE'S ALLIANCE, PHILIPPINES: PO Box 975, 2600 Baguio City, Philippines Tel: + 63 74 4426358, Fax: + 63 74 443 7159, Email: cpa11@skyinet.net Dear friends, Greetings from the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA)! Below is? the? draft text of the Action alert/postcard campaign on the San Roque Dam campaign which is a joint project of CPA and the International Rivers Network (IRN). The postcard will be sent to the Philippine President and to the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation-- the one funding the project. This will? be ready for distribution by end September.? The postcard campaign is aimed to create an international pressure to JBIC and the Phil. National Government to cancel the project because of it's adverse impact to the dam effected communities, and to the Filipino people in general. The post-card campaign will coincide with other campaign activities such as the national Fact-Finding Mission to dam affected communities in Pangasinan on first week Ocotber, and lobby tour of representatives of dam affected communities in Japan on the second half of November others for stronger impact. For the postcard campaign, may we request for your support and assistance by acting as distribution center in your respective area/country. If this is possible, please inform us how many copies you can manage and also provide us with your complete mailing address. IRN will be the one to send this to you from California, U.S.A. Kindly acknowledge this message and we look forward to your positive response. Sincerely, Joan Carling Secretary General Cordillera Peoples Alliance Stop the San Roque Dam! Let the Agno River Flow. A social and economic crisis is brewing in the Philippines. Thousands of people are being forced to sacrifice their lives and livelihoods for the? $1.1 billion San Roque Dam Project, financed by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. You can help them! Sign and mail the attached postcards to the Japanese and Philippine governments today. Already, hundreds of families have been moved to make way for the project. Many are struggling to survive in cramped quarters in a resettlement site, without any land to sustain them. The lives of another 200 families are being disrupted by excavation for the dam. They, too, will be forced from their lands. And this is just the beginning. Twenty thousand indigenous Ibaloi people living upstream may lose their ancestral lands to excessive sedimentation as a result of the project. They have vowed to fight the project to the end, stating that they will not be a party to their own death. But they need your help. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation, a publicly funded institution, has lent $700 million to the project. The Bank has policies in place which state that those resettled need to have a guaranteed means of livelihood. The people affected by San Roque do not. Help us send a strong message to JBIC today. All further loan disbursements must be withheld until a thorough and public reassessment of the project's economic, social and environmental impacts has been completed. "Like Cows in a Corral"? San Roque Oustees Battle to Survive "I feel like we are cows put in a corral. We can't do anything but walk around in circles. We're like cows getting thinner everyday without any grass to eat." -- 66 year old man Around 180 families have already been moved to the Camanggaan resettlement site. Families have been relegated to small concrete houses boxes, really. There is no land available for the new tenants to grow food or graze animals. Some people have sunk into despair as the reality of their new lives finally hits them. Most are still waiting for the small amount of compensation promised to them. Stuck on 200 square-meter lots with no? source of income, families are battling to survive. No Jobs, No Livelihood Programs Villagers who formerly led subsistence livelihoods have been abandoned on resettlement sites without means of supporting themselves. NPC promised to give the relocated families priority employment at the dam construction site, yet only around 10% have received jobs. Those who have jobs fear for the future when dam construction is complete and all the jobs disappear. Around 90 percent of relocated families still do not have a stable source of livelihood. Some people were promised 20,000 pesos as initial capital for livelihood programs, but none have received this money. Others were promised livestock projects but have no land to raise animals. People at Camanggaan feel they were better off in their former communities. Before we moved here, we were far better off. Even though we had smaller houses, we had sources of livelihood," said a 39-year-old mother of three. "We could eat, grow vegetables, do gold panning. Here we need money to survive but we have no source of income. Life here is difficult." Poor process >From the start, people affected by the San Roque Dam have been lied to and shut out of the planning process. People were coerced into signing documents agreeing to resettlement and offers of compensation. Many could not understand the contract since it was written in English and not explained to them. Indigenous Peoples? Resistance 20,000 indigenous Ibaloi people living upstream are fiercely opposed to the San Roque Dam, believing it will destroy their community and their livelihood. They are concerned that high rates of sedimentation in the watershed area will lead to increased flooding around the reservoir, inundating their lands and negatively impacting water quality. For the Ibaloi, the destruction associated with large dams is all too clear. After nearly 40 years, some 2,000 Ibaloi families displaced by the upstream Ambuklao and Binga dams have not received any compensation. Many of those displaced have seen their lands covered by increasing sediment loads backed up behind the dams. They know that the same will happen at San Roque if it is completed. A Bad Investment for the Philippines Rather than bring growth and prosperity, the San Roque dam is likely to saddle the Philippine government with huge debt. The generous power purchase agreement assures that San Roque Power Corporation is guaranteed lucrative returns while the Philippine people are saddled with the project?s social, environmental and hydrologic risks. NPC has agreed to pay more than 5 times current rates for power, and a $10 million per month ?capacity fee? even if no power is generated by the dam. For further information, go to www.irn.org/programs/sanroque, or contact: Cordillera Peoples? Alliance, PO Box 975, 2600 Baguio City, Philippines Tel: + 63 74 4426358, Fax: + 63 74 443 7159, Email: cpa11@skyinet.net International Rivers Network, 1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley CA 94703, USA. Tel: + 1 510 848 1155, Fax: + 1 510 848 1008 Email: irn@irn.org HERE?S THE TEXT FOR THE POSTCARDS TO JBIC AND ERAP. Dear Mr. Yasuda, I am very concerned about the plight of people resettled for the San Roque Multipurpose Project and urge you to cancel all remaining loans for the project. It is quite clear that the National Power Corporation has violated JBIC and international best practice guidelines on resettlement. Currently, hundreds of families are struggling to survive on the Camanggaan resettlement site. Promises of jobs, compensation, and livelihood projects have not been honored. Another 200 families to be resettled from the excavation area will likely share the same fate. 20,000 indigenous Ibaloi people face destruction of their communities due to excessive sedimentation and deteriorated water quality as a result of the dam. In light of these concerns, I urge JBIC to stop all further disbursements for the project. Additional resettlement should be halted until a full and complete investigation of existing and future resettlement is carried out, and until those people who have already been resettled are assured of a sustained and satisfactory livelihood. JBIC, as primary funder of the project, has an obligation to ensure that this occurs. Sincerely, p.s. Please keep me informed of action taken to alleviate suffering at the San Roque resettlement sites at the following address: ------------------------------ President Estrada Office of the President Malaca?ang Palace Compound J.P. Laurel St., San Miguel, Manila Philippines Dear President Estrada, I am writing to urge you to stop the San Roque Multipurpose Project. There is clear evidence that this project is a bad investment for the Philippine people and government and a social and economic nightmare for those who have been displaced for the dam. The generous power purchase agreement assures that San Roque Power Corporation is guaranteed lucrative returns while the Philippine people are saddled with the project?s social, environmental and hydrologic risks. NPC has agreed to pay more than 5 times current rates for power, and a $10 million per month capacity fee even if no power is generated by the dam. It is quite clear that NPC has failed to adhere to JBIC or international best practice guidelines on resettlement. Hundreds of families are struggling to survive on cramped resettlement sites without adequate land or sources of livelihood. 20,000 indigenous Ibaloi people face destruction of their communities due to excessive sedimentation as a result of the dam. I do not support subsidizing foreign corporations at the cost of the Philippine people. I urge you to stop the SRMP immediately and take steps to restore the livelihoods of those who have already been displaced by the project. I look forward to hearing your response. Sincerely, Name: Address: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- B A Y A N Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or New Patriotic Alliance No. 23 Maamo Street, Sikatuna Village Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Telephone: (63-2) 435-9151 Telefax: (63-2) 922-5211 Email: Webpage: http://www.bigfoot.com/~bayan-phils Webpage: http://www.bigfoot.com/~bayan-phils ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From notoapec at clear.net.nz Wed Sep 6 04:40:56 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (notoapec@clear.net.nz) Date: Wed, 6 Sep 2000 07:40:56 +1200 (NZST) Subject: [asia-apec 1543] NZ Herald - Message-ID: <200009051940.HAA27743@waklwh3.wilsonandhorton.co.nz> New Zealand Herald, Auckland 06/09/00 - Dialogue: Human reality hidden in new free trade deal By AZIZ CHOUDRY* The Singapore and New Zealand Governments are selling their new free trade and investment agreement as an abstraction, unlinked to people's lives. On Batam, an Indonesian territory 40 minutes from Singapore by boat, I saw the human realities that lie behind the deal. This agreement has already been dubbed a Trojan Horse for a possible new trade bloc covering South-east Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Trade Minister Jim Sutton wants to assure us that proposed rules of origin for goods covered by the deal will prevent Singapore being used as a new backdoor to products from low-wage Asian factories. A briefing paper states: "The rules of origin applied to goods traded between New Zealand and Singapore recognise the economic circumstances of Singapore as a city state." Another Trojan Horse lurks in these special "economic circumstances." "Made in Singapore" can mean as little as 40 per cent of the product's value comes from Singapore. The last process of manufacture must be performed in Singapore and cannot be minimal (such as packaging). But it might simply involve pressing and labelling garments made overseas. This means competition not only between New Zealand and Singaporean workers but also low-waged Indonesians on Batam. In 1968 Batam, in Indonesia's Riau province, was nearly all rainforest, with 3000 inhabitants. A bonded free trade zone since 1978, it now boasts 13 industrial parks and about 400,000 people, predominantly migrant factory workers. The Suharto regime invited foreign investors, mostly from Singapore, Taiwan and Japan, to build electronic and other middle-size factories, resorts and golf courses there. Transnational corporations based in Singapore and Singaporean companies have relocated to Batam, attracted by a large pool of cheap, trainable labour and available land. Singapore's former Ambassador to Indonesia stated that the intention was "a free flow of goods, services and investments between Singapore and Batam so that the industries which were located in Batam will support industries in the region to be more competitive for export to Europe, the United States and Japan." Exports from Batam grew to $NZ3 billion by 1994. By 1998, 350 foreign companies operated in Batam and private investment surpassed $15 billion. Singapore remains the largest investor there - of the 35 companies which set up in the first half of 1998, 10 were Singaporean. Batam is the apex for the Singapore-Johor (Malaysia)-Riau economic growth triangle, mooted in 1989 by Singapore Prime Minister Goh. This has enabled relocation of industries with conventional technology which had lost their competitive advantage in the world market while they were located in Singapore. With scarce land and higher wages, Singapore has used Batam and Johor to expand its economy regionally, strengthen its economic advantage and enjoy lower costs. Investors on Batam are exempt from income tax and VAT for up to five years. Foreigners may own 100 per cent of their businesses. Imports are duty-free, including raw materials, machinery, other equipment and spare parts. There are no stamp duties on the import of capital goods. Jakarta has spent many millions on developing Batam's essential infrastructure. Singaporean capital has developed investment parks and a project aimed at supplying water to Singapore. I visited the showpiece BatamIndo Industrial Estate, home to 80 companies, a joint venture between a consortium of Singaporean companies (led by a Singapore Government-linked company, Singapore Technologies, which controls Computerland in New Zealand) and a consortium of Indonesian investors. I jotted names down: Oki, National-Panasonic, Philips, Matsushita, Viking, Kyocera, Sony Chemicals, Epson, Ciba Vision, Singacom, Novartis, Shimano, Sanipak ... Electronic and computer-related industries dominate on Batam, including factories assembling computer components and parts, audio and video equipment and auto parts. After assembly, parts mostly return to Singapore to be included in product marketed from there and exported as "made in Singapore." Significantly, given the proposed removal of textiles, clothing and footwear tariffs under the Singapore free trade agreement, other factories manufacture leather goods, shoes, garments, and toys. Visitors to Batam could be distracted by the shiny factories and good roads and miss the human costs of this model of economic integration. But survival is tough for workers drawn from across Indonesia. There are no unions and few family or community support networks. Ethnic clashes have left dozens dead, scores seriously hurt and hundreds fleeing their homes. Some 2000 troops were sent last July to buttress local security forces. Houses, cars and motorcycles have been torched. Bataks, originally from North Sumatra, have clashed with migrants from Flores over control of local transport routes. National and local authorities have tried to play down the conflict. The minimum monthly wage for factory workers is 425,000 rupiah ($118). Virtually all food is imported. Prices tend to be higher than Jakarta. More than 60,000 workers work in BatamIndo. Many live in company dormitories which, like the factories, are ringed by high fences, barbed wire and security guards. Religious and ethnic tension is common. Illegal shanty towns contrast with the Batam business elite's gleaming mansions. Meanwhile, in karaoke bars and resorts, legions of sex workers wait for mostly Singaporean clients. The speech from the throne last year said "legitimate issues of labour standards ... need to be integrated better with trade agreements." When Singapore rejected such demands, our Government quickly acquiesced. When "free trade" itself leads to human misery and exploitation such as that in Batam, it is hardly surprising that many trade unions and peoples' movements smell hypocrisy in official calls to link free trade and investment agreements with such standards. While free trade and investment remains the ultimate goal, how can we rely on any government to respect workers' rights when the intention is clearly to trade such concerns away at the drop of a hat? Singapore has huge financial, political and economic investments in Batam and the growth triangle. The international competitiveness of much of its industry depends on these production mechanisms. Are we to seriously believe that any of this will change for a trade agreement with New Zealand? *Aziz Choudry, of Gatt Watchdog, visited Indonesia in August. ---------------------------------- storyID: 150261 fromname: GATT Watchdog frommessage: submit.x: 25 submit.y: 8 For more information on Wilson and Horton please visit our web site at http://www.wilsonandhorton.co.nz ********************************************************************** CAUTION - This message may contain privileged and confidential information intended only for the use of the addressee named above. If you are not the intended recipient of this message you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination, distribution or reproduction of this message is prohibited. If you have received this message in error please notify Wilson and Horton Limited immediately via email at postmaster@wilsonandhorton.co.nz, or by phone (649) 379 5050. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of Wilson and Horton Limited. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for the presence of computer viruses. This does not guarantee that this message is virus free. From bayan at iname.com Thu Sep 7 12:06:59 2000 From: bayan at iname.com (BAYAN) Date: Wed, 06 Sep 2000 20:06:59 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1544] NAFTA ruling raises environmental questions Message-ID: NAFTA RULING RAISES ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS (Mexico ordered to pay California-based Metalclad $16.7-million after municipality blocks plans for a hazardous waste dump) By HEATHER SCOFFIELD Parliamentary Bureau Friday, September 1, 2000 Toronto Globe and Mail Ottawa - Mexico has lost a major NAFTA investor lawsuit that could have serious implications for Canada's ability to pass environmental regulations and may even affect the way that Toronto disposes of its garbage. An independent tribunal under the North American free-trade agreement ruled this week that Mexico must pay California-based Metalclad Corp. a total of $16.7-million (U.S.) as compensation for a Mexican municipality's refusal to allow the company to run a hazardous waste dump. The decision is proof that NAFTA and the environment are at odds, and that municipalities will have a tough time turning away garbage if foreign corporations are involved, said Michelle Swenarchuk of the Canadian Environmental Law Association. "NAFTA is saying, you can have your local rules for dumping, but if a foreign company wants to dump... it can force you to pay," Ms. Swenarchuk said yesterday. "This case is a terrible example of how necessary environmental controls can become near impossible for local communities." For example, if the Canadian firm that plans to ship Toronto's garbage to Kirkland Lake, Ont., is bought by a U.S. firm, local authorities will have a difficult time restricting the foreign company even if they decide that Toronto's garbage would be unhealthy for the Kirkland Lake community, Ms. Swenarchuk said. The NAFTA ruling is the first time an investor has successfully used the trade agreement to sue a foreign government for measures that amount to expropriation. Metalclad had asked the NAFTA tribunal for at least $113-million in damages, claiming that municipal authorities in Mexico essentially sabotaged their investment in a hazardous waste dump by denying them building permits. "We won on every ground that we sued," said Metalclad's chief executive officer, Grant Kesler. He claims the state governor in Mexico encouraged local people to protest against the American company and blocked the progress of Metalclad in an attempt to protect the Mexican monopoly on hazardous waste. But Mr. Kesler added that he was disappointed that the NAFTA tribunal awarded him only a sixth of the damages he had asked for. Metalclad had sued for lost potential business, but the tribunal only awarded the company the value of the existing property in the state of San Luis Potosi, Mr. Kesler said. But the Mexican government officials and witnesses involved in the case tell a different story. They claim that Metalclad was allowed to buy the dump on the condition that it clean up a massive quantity of hazardous waste that was polluting the area. And when Metalclad changed its plans and said it wanted to expand the dump, people living in the area who had long opposed the dumping of hazardous waste there rebelled. Municipal permits were withdrawn as local people began to complain about their babies becoming sick. "We're not talking about a minor problem here. We're talking about the same quantity of waste that was in the Love Canal issue," Hugo Perezcano, the Mexican government's chief lawyer on the case, said in an interview from Mexico City yesterday. "It's just sitting there." The tribunal had nothing to say about the Mexican government's environmental concerns or the local opposition to Metalclad, Mr. Perezcano said. "That should raise concerns in the three NAFTA parties [Canada, the United States and Mexico]," he said. The Mexican government says it will try to have the award set aside using a loophole in NAFTA that will let Mexico argue its case again before a neutral court -- in this case, the British Columbia court system. A local environmentalist who was involved in the case, Pedro Medellin, was dejected about the loss. "Nobody seems to care much what people think," he said from San Luis Potosi. ### ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- B A Y A N Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or New Patriotic Alliance No. 23 Maamo Street, Sikatuna Village Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Telephone: (63-2) 435-9151 Telefax: (63-2) 922-5211 Email: Webpage: http://www.bigfoot.com/~bayan-phils ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From notoapec at clear.net.nz Thu Sep 7 15:41:04 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2000 18:41:04 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1545] GATT Watchdog Media Release - Singapore Free Trade Agreement Message-ID: <002201c01896$99aa26c0$c884a7cb@notoapec> GATT Watchdog PO Box 1905 Christchurch 7 September 2000 MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE USE Jim Sutton Agrees - Singapore Agreement opens backdoor to TCF products from low-waged Indonesian factories! - GATT Watchdog Trade Minister Jim Sutton has effectively conceded that under the Singapore free trade and investment agreement, 60% of the value of Singapore-sourced goods can be added by low-waged (minimum wage 425000 rupiah (US $51 a month)) mainly women Indonesian workers in factories in the Batam free trade zone, says GATT Watchdog. Batam, 40 minutes by ferry from Singapore, in Indonesia's Riau province, is part of a regional economic growth triangle which is crucial to maintaining the international competitiveness of much of Singapore's industry. GATT Watchdog spokesman Aziz Choudry visited Batam ten days ago. Apparently Cabinet is due to approve the agreement on Monday 11th September but the text remains secret "There is major Singaporean investment there - attracted by cheap labour and available land. There is lots of new investment currently going in. In the first 9 months of 1999, 29 foreign companies set up there. Factories and dormitories are surrounded by high fences and barbed wire. There are no trade unions. Ethnic and religious conflict is rife. Some workers live in shantytowns on the fringes of industrial parks. The human costs of living and working in Batam for migrants from all over Indonesia are very high. Now New Zealand's remaining textile clothing and footwear (TCF) workers are expected to compete with these industries. Workers in both countries lose out as a result of failed economic models based on exploitation". Mr Choudry will speak at a meeting tonight in Christchurch on his visit to Batam and the Singapore free trade and investment agreement, along with Green Party Co-Leader Rod Donald and CAFCA's Murray Horton. Yesterday, Jim Sutton answered a written question (16079) to Rod Donald: "Will goods produced by Singaporean owned companies in the SIJORI regional economic trade and development zone (Singapore, Johore in Malaysia and the Riau Islands) all be treated as coming from Singapore for the purposes of the Singapore Closer Economic Partnership Agreement?" Mr Sutton stated: "No Goods produced in export processing zones outside the sovereign territory of Singapore will not be regarded as goods of Singapore origin. In order to qualify for tariff preference under the CEP Agreement, goods must have at least 40% of their ex-factory or works cost added in the sovereign territory of Singapore and the last process of manufacture must be undertaken in Singapore." "Does that mean a garment can be designed in Singapore, manufactured in Batam, then go to Singapore to be pressed and labelled, before coming here tariff-free? Given the differences in input costs like labour and overheads between Singapore and Batam, this could effectively mean that very little of the real work in producing the product actually takes place in Singapore itself - just enough to warrant the 40% threshold," said Mr Choudry. "The Singapore deal has lower-content requirements than apply to Australia under CER." "TCF imports from Singapore still attract tariffs. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials casually told New Zealand unions in May that if trade in TCF from Singapore doubled it would 'only' mean the closure of about 3 medium sized clothing factories in New Zealand. The government tells us that only 1% of TCF imports come from Singapore - but the removal of the 18% tariff will mean that level will increase. Even a small increase could tip the balance for the domestic industry and there has been no assessment of the impact on vulnerable factories and jobs of workers - mainly Pacific Islands and Maori women. And it competely contradicts the tariff freeze which Parliament passed to support the struggling industry." "Labour campaigned on regional development and support to small industry and local businesses. It is now unable or unwilling to rein in the 'free trade fundamentalists' to give effect to the Party's election manifesto". For further comment, please contact Aziz Choudry at 03 3662803 or (025) 662 7174 From bayan at iname.com Sun Sep 10 01:03:47 2000 From: bayan at iname.com (BAYAN) Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 09:03:47 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1546] 1st Fil-Can National Forum a success! Message-ID: >From the Philippine Women Centre of B.C. pwc@attcanada.ca; www.pwc.bc.tripod.com UNITY FORGED AT HISTORIC FILIPINO-CANADIAN NATIONAL FORUM The city of Winnipeg, Manitoba buzzed with the presence of over 100 Filipinos gathered for the first-ever Filipino-Canadian National Consultative Forum: "Unity in our history, struggle, and resistance towards the genuine freedom of all Filipinos!"? From August 25 to 27, 2000 for three days they engaged in intense discussion, debate, and deliberation to reach a historic point of unity in the making of this young community in Canada. Hosted by KAMPI (Movement of Filipino Workers in Manitoba), the national forum drew 120 participants from all over the major cities of Canada - Winnipeg, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, and Ottawa.? The forum was filled with the stories, experiences, and spirit of resistance from Filipino migrant workers, women, and youth bringing together all sectors of the Filipino community on a national level. They came together and forged unity in their history and understanding of their migration to Canada, on the current struggles their community faces, and finally on their resistance against their marginalization in Canadian society and as overseas Filipinos.? Their unity marks a milestone in the history of Filipinos in Canada. Through their collective unity, the stories they shared helped to fill the blank pages of Filipino-Canadian history and helped to paint an understanding of their current struggles as a young migrant and immigrant community. Timely juncture for national gathering The forum came at a timely juncture in the history of the Filipino community in Canada as little has been documented about their history of migration and their current situation. Everyday, Filipinos are entering Canada.? With this influx, they are one of the fastest growing immigrant communities.? Numbering over 300,000 in 1996, the Filipino community is ever increasing.? As a direct result of the active export of Filipinos working and living in 186 countries escaping the grinding poverty of the Philippines, the number of Filipinos in Canada are growing.? With this dynamic growth in their community, the national gathering provided an opportunity to seize this opportunity to unite in a comprehensive understanding of the roots of their migration, in their current situation, and in their commitment to struggle. The national forum aimed at uniting progressive Filipinos also came at a timely juncture because of the current crisis in the Philippines.? Escaping the Philippines because of grinding poverty, intensifying militarization, grave displacement, heightened attacks on workers, and a dwindling basic livelihood, around 3,000 Filipinos leave their country everyday in search for survival abroad. This intensifying political and economic crisis in the Philippines was one of the major focuses of the forum.? A main topic on the table were the follies and foibles of the growingly fascist U.S.-Estrada regime and the intensifying human rights attacks against the people.? Intensifying militarization throughout the Philippines has caused massive displacement spawning hundreds of thousands of internal refugees forced from their land at the barrel of a gun and at the harsh hands of multinational corporations. Estrada's war mongering against the Muslim people of Mindanao as they struggle for independence has only exposed his anti-people intentions just like his signing of the Visiting Forces Agreement signed by Estrada which has turned the country over to the occupation of American military bases. His iron-fisted rule has only brought terror and massive displacement on the lives of the people. This cruel treatment and displacement also spills out internationally. There are currently 8 million Filipinos displaced from their homeland eeking out a living as migrant workers in 186 countries.?? The participants understood that their presence in Canada is a direct result of this crisis. Unity in our history, struggle, and resistance Opening night The forum kicked off with an exciting opening that featured cultural presentations and a variety of speakers.? KAMPI welcomed all the participants and international guest speakers with warm militant greetings. Providing the context and history to the gathering was Cecilia Diocson, the Global Council Representative for Canada for Migrante-International.? She spoke about the decades of organizing within the Filipino-Canadian community laid down building to the historic gathering.? Finally, the participants received greetings from a host of supporters such as a message from the Honorable Becky Barrett, Manitoba's Labour Minister, and the Honourable Pat Martin, the NDP critic for Immigration for the Parliament.? With this, the forum was under way as the participants geared up for the next two days. Discussion and debate To open and set context to the gathering of overseas Filipinos, a keynote address was offered by Fidel Agacoili, the Chairperson for the Committee on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law for the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.? He offered a framework for the participants' understanding of their prescence and problems in Canada by bringing to the forum an international perspective on the present crisis and human rights situation in the Philippines.? With his presentation, he tied the massive out-migration of Filipinos abroad to the chronic crisis of the semi-colonial and semi-feudal society of the Philippines that offers its people little opportunity to survive.? Coupled with the current fascist U.S.-Estrada regime, he outlined how systemically and brutally the people's human rights are being attacked.? Fidel ended his presentation with a discussion on the prospects for resolving this crisis and bringing an end to the people's desperation with the NDFP's program for a just and lasting peace.? The keynote set a strong and comprehensive tone for the rest of the forum. With this important framework, the forum took to bringing out the stories and struggles of migrant Filipinos. The first panel speaker, Joy de Guzman, vice-chairperson of Migrante-International deepened Fidel's opening discussion with a closer look at the modern-day diaspora of the Filipino people.? She offered the forum lessons on organizing among migrant Filipinos by sharing Migrante-International's organizing work as an alliance of progressive overseas Filipino organizations. With this update from this Philippines, the forum focused on the history, struggle, and resistance of Filipino-Canadians.? As the Canadian representative to the Global Council of Migrante-International, Cecilia Diocson, explained Filipinos' history of migration to Canada and examined the root causes of this migration.? From this history, she shared the current struggles and challenges 40 years of forced migration to Canada has brought their community.? She outlined the extreme underdevelopment and inequality of their community.? She spoke about the Canadian government's current Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) that brings in Filipino women to work and live as temporary workers to cook, clean, and care for the middle- and upper-class Canadian families.? Cecilia pointed to this government program as a primary structural tool that segregates the Filipino community as a highly-ghettoized pool of cheap labour.? She also brought out the stories of young Filipino-Canadians facing racism and an almost complete loss of their roots and heritage pushing them to question their identity and role in their community.? With this, she emphasized the history of resistance to this marginalization of the Filipino community and shared with fellow overseas Filipinos in Canada the upcoming challenges and opportunities ahead. The last panel speaker was Ninotchka Rosca, international spokesperson for the Purple Rose Campaign, a campaign to end the sex trafficking of Filipino women and children.? Ninotchka brought out the need to look critically at the reality that among all the Filipinos that are forced to live and work abroad, the majority are women.? She spoke about the total commodification of Filipino women in the international sex trafficking industry.? Her accounts of the gross exploitation, abuse, and oppression of trafficked Filipino women throughout the world showed the extent of this problem.? She also made sure to point to imperialist globalization and all its instruments (IMF, WB, WTO-GATT, etc.) as the culprits of the intensification of the trafficking of Filipino women as prostitutes, mail-order brides, and entertainers in all corners of the globe.? Ninotchka also extended with a challenge for Filipinos in Canada to participate in the movement to end the trafficking of Filipino women. Grounded in the understanding and analysis presented by the keynote and panel speakers, the participants took to their workshops which focused on the themes: labour and migration, immigration, systemic racism, human rights, trafficking of Filipino women, and Filipino-Canadian youth and their issues. In the workshops, the participants were able to share their experiences and come to a deeper understanding of these issues.? Based on this greater awareness of their situation as Filipinos in Canada, a good part of the workshop focused on coming up with recommendations and actions for change in their community and what change they could bring about for the Philippines towards equality for all Filipinos. Stories and struggles The national forum gave the community the freedom to finally share their history, stories, and struggles as migrants and immigrants displaced from their homeland and exploited as a cheap labour in Canada. Local and national media coverage broadcasted these stories and the success of the forum to the public, bringing into the consciousness of Canadians the resistance of the Filipino people.? A consciousness previously clouded by stereotypes and a lack of genuine understanding of Filipinos in Canada. Since the 1960's Filipinos have been migrating to Canada as teachers, nurses, doctors, architects, accountants and other professionals.? Today, this migration has only grown as the Philippines plunges deeper into poverty and Canada calls for cheap and docile labour become louder.? More than ever before, we are seeing hundreds and thousands of desperate Filipinos migrating to Canada with the counterfeit dreams of escaping exploitation only to be used as cheap labour - forcibly de-skilled, underdeveloped, and degraded. This reality came out strongly with the sharings from Filipino women brought into Canada as cheap and highly-skilled nannies through the Canadian government's Live-in Caregiver Policy.? Melca Salvador, Acier Gomez, Parallag, Leticia Cables - all Filipino women, all domestic workers, all targets of unjust deportation by Canada immigration, and for Filipino-Canadians all stand as symbols of the cruelty of forced migration and the disposability of Filipinos in Canada.? These were just some of the examples of the stories the community shared about their lives in Canada. Towards the genuine freedom of all Filipinos! The final day was dedicated to forging the unity they had built over the last two days with hammering out of their forum declaration and the recommendations and actions they agreed upon. Stemming from the understanding built over the entire forum, the participants committed themselves to carry out educating, organizing, and mobilizing work on a local and national level.? The forum took a clear position to scrap the racist and anti-woman LCP.? The participants also agreed to a resolution to hold a national Filipino-Canadian youth forum to be held in Toronto in June 2001.? There was also support for the October 2001 North American Filipino women and women of Filipino ancestry Consultative Forum in Seattle, Washington.? There were also strong actions resolved by the forum to support and involve Filipino-Canadians in achieving genuine change, development, and peace in the Philippines for the just and lasting peace of all Filipinos. In the end, the forum has made a lasting mark and milestone in the development of the Filipino community in Canada.? With this gathering and grounding in their understanding of their history, Filipinos in Canada have entered a new stage in their resistance and struggle.? As captured in their final declaration: "Declaring our unity in our understanding of our history of migration to Canada, We reaffirm our commitment to raise to a higher level our collective struggle towards our genuine peace, development and freedom.? The victory of our people's struggle will be a significant step to ending the oppression of people the world over." _______________________________________ Celebrating a Decade of Struggle Philippine Women Centre of B.C. ph/fax: (604) 215-1103 Check us out at: www.pwc.bc.tripod.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- B A Y A N Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or New Patriotic Alliance No. 23 Maamo Street, Sikatuna Village Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Telephone: (63-2) 435-9151 Telefax: (63-2) 922-5211 Email: Webpage: http://www.bigfoot.com/~bayan-phils Webpage: http://www.bigfoot.com/~bayan-phils ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From bayan at iname.com Sun Sep 10 02:19:32 2000 From: bayan at iname.com (BAYAN) Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 10:19:32 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1547] Open letter of FGB to 11.11.11 (formerly NCOS) Message-ID: >From the: Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP, Peasant Movement of the Philippines) kmp@quickweb.com.ph PHILIPPINE SOLIDARITY GROUPS BELGIUM PROTESTS 11.11.11 SUPPORT FOR BELGIAN OFFICIAL "DEVELOPMENT AID" TO THE PHILIPPINES Open letter of FGB to 11.11.11 (formerly NCOS) Recently, 11.11.11 presented the study ?Belgian Direct Bilateral Aid for Agrarian Reform in the Philippines. A Civil Society Perspective.? to the public. This research about the Belgian Integrated Agrarian Reform Support Program (BIARSP) was carried out by 11.11.11 and its partners in the Philippines. The Philippine Solidarity Groups Belgium (FGB) wants to register its disapproval about the design as well as the results of this study. FGB is particularly indignant about the statement of support to BIARSP that was issued as a result of this research. BIARSP supports the landlords The support of 11.11.11 to BIARSP and ?the initial policy decision of the Belgian Government to support the Philippine agrarian reform process?(1) is out of place and a sign of flawed analysis at best, if not manifest incognizance. BIARSP has nothing to do with land reform in the first place, let alone with land distribution.(2) By the way, the result of BIARSPs precursor, BARSP, was not the acceleration of land distribution but the reduction of lands that are targeted for distribution.(3) This is not surprising as BIARSP is conceived as a support program for the Philippine government?s Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). Our Philippine partner organization KMP, formerly an NCOS partner, has exposed CARP already long ago as a program for land concentration and consolidation of landlord power. (See attached media release of KMP June 9, 2000) KMP ascertains that after 12 years of CARP, the breaking up of feudal relations in the Philippine countryside hasn?t even started. Seven out of ten Filipino peasants are still landless.(4) Also some of the present 11.11.11 partners acknowledge CARP?s failure. On the occasion of CARP?s anniversary, Romeo Royandoyan, executive director of the Philippine Peasant Institute (PPI), wrote that the farmers find little to rejoice about. He referred to the government?s promotion of ?land reform? schemes like ?joint ventures?(5) and ?swap deals?(6) to conclude that the slogan of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) ?Return the Land? is addressed to the farmers rather than to the landlords.(7) CARP is therefore not a program for the radical redistribution of agricultural lands but for the pacification of the Philippine countryside as the Filipino peasantry has a long tradition of active and even armed resistance against injustice and exploitation. The promise of ?land reform? is the ?carrot? that has to make the landless peasants toe the line. At the same time, the Philippine landlords and the government do not hesitate to use the ?stick? instead of the ?carrot?. Farmers who are fighting for the right to land are illegally detained or killed in cold blood.(8) History shows that thoroughgoing land reform has never been granted by the ruling class to the poor peasants. Genuine land reform has always been the result of a struggle that crushed the power of the landed elite. FGB is therefore supporting the struggle of the Filipino peasants who are effecting land reform themselves. BIARSP forces the peasants into the neo-liberal straitjacket BIARSP fits in with the Agrarian Reform Communities (ARC) strategy of the Philippine government. On the one hand, the ARCs have to conceal the failure of CARP through the establishment of some showcases. On the other hand, the ARC-strategy has to adjust Philippine agriculture to neo-liberal globalization. In the ARCs, the production of export crops is promoted at the expense of food crops. Agricultural practices that are liberally applying harmful pesticides and fertilizer are encouraged. For the farmers, the consequence is a catastrophe. The ecological balance and the health of the farmers and their families are affected while the poor farmers are sinking into the quagmire of debt. The contribution of BARSP and BIARSP to this scenario is well documented by the 11.11.11 research. BIARSP encourages the production of cash crops and introduces new varieties that are dependent on chemical pesticides and fertilizer. Poor peasants are provided with loans so they can afford these products. As a result, the farmers incur debts while transnationals are assured of their markets. To top it all, BIARSP talks the farmers into contracts with food giants like Nestl?.(9) Is this supposed to be land reform? The liberalization of agriculture has already hit Philippine food security and sovereignty hard. While the country used to be self-sufficient in staple food, it now has to import huge amounts of rice. Thousands of poor peasants can testify that their products are priced out of the market by subsidized imported products. Transnational corporations and landlords are taking advantage of this situation through the introduction of export crops making the peasants ever more dependent. In this context, it is out of place to ?commend the Belgian government for locating one major direct bilateral international cooperation effort on the country?s most crucial and pressing reform and social justice initiatives: agrarian reform and rural poverty alleviation.?(10) Implicitly, this also justifies the underlying policy of land concentration and liberalization. Therefore, FGB is of the opinion that BIARSP should be rejected because it is a variation of CARP and ARCs, policies that perpetuate feudal exploitation and undermine Philippine food sovereignty. It is the people?s perspective that counts The research report is subtitled ?A Civil Society Perspective? and reads as one big plea of the ?civil society? to dip into BIARSP?s resources.(11) That is why 11.11.11 has set itself a new task: the task of ?critical engagement? with the government.(12) Probably, 11.11.11 was influenced by its Philippine partner organizations who easily lump together the ?civil society? with the government. Many key personalities from these NGOs have already made the changeover to the government.(13) Others are combining their jobs in 11.11.11 partner organizations with positions as DAR consultants.(14) It is also noteworthy that Ed Quitoriano, head of the research team, easily changed hats after the study: he joined a team of the Belgian Technical Cooperation (BTC, formerly ABOS). Throughout the whole research, government agencies were treated as privileged partners. They were kept informed and could give their comments on preliminary versions of the research report. Before 11.11.11 presented the study to its member organizations, it held two workshops with DAR, BIARSP and BTC where they could give their comments once more. Francisco Lara of DAR was, as its head consultant, closely involved in the research and wrote a whole chapter of the final report. Is this the ?civil society perspective?? In the Philippines, this policy has already lost any credibility. It is only practiced by a band of NGO bureaucrats who occupy themselves with their career plans in their cozy offices, far away from the people but close to the sources of funding. It is deplorable that some of them can do that at the expense of 11.11.11. Progressive NGOs and people?s organizations resolutely embrace ?the people?s perspective? which is incompatible with subservient collaboration with a government that only looks after the interests of the elite while trampling on those of the people. We agree with 11.11.11 that the official bilateral development cooperation has to be closely monitored by the NGOs. Some members of FGB have already developed initiatives to monitor BIARSP from ?the people?s perspective.? On a low budget and without DAR and BTC breathing down their necks, they consulted the local population in the BARSP and BIARSP project areas. Their conclusions demonstrate the negative impact of these projects on the local peasants.(15) Building solidarity with the grassroots Solidarity and empowerment cannot be built in the salons of semi-governmental organizations and ministries but in the day-to-day struggle of people?s organizations built by farmers, workers, women and urban poor themselves. A good example is 11.11.11?s partnership with MST in Brazil. Around their struggle, 11.11.11 was able to develop a dynamism that resulted in meaningful solidarity activities. There is a world of difference, however, with 11.11.11?s Philippines policy, demonstrating a striking lack of consistency. While 11.11.11 supports a partner in Brazil who firmly criticizes the World Bank?s ?market assisted land reform?, it throws in its lot with Philippine NGOs who are developing similar models in cooperation with the World Bank.(16) While the solidarity links with MST where able to inspire many a local 11.11.11 committee or activist, the partnerships with Philippine organizations hardly have any impact outside the inner circle. And yet there is an alternative. MST has a partner in the Philippines: KMP. Both peasant organizations share the same analysis about the importance of genuine land reform and are working according to the same principles. By the way, KMP and MST have developed a firm south-south partnership and are cooperating in La Via Campesina, the worldwide network of peasant organizations. However, 11.11.11 has severed all ties with KMP and other Philippine people?s organizations, skipping the opportunity to be the catalyst in meaningful south-south solidarity between poor peasants in Asia and South America. Moreover, it demonstrates that 11.11.11 has chosen to exclude the development of solidarity and empowerment from its Philippines policies. A turnabout is necessary We hope that 11.11.11 will change course after this experience and side with the poor peasants in order to strengthen solidarity and to inform the Belgian public about the Belgian official ?development aid? from the farmers? perspective. Considering the nature of the present 11.11.11 partner organizations in the Philippines, we think that this would require a thorough revision of its Philippines policies. We hope that FGB and other member organizations of 11.11.11 will be allowed to have a say this time. In the short term, a withdrawal of the statement of support to BIARSP would be a meaningful gesture that would do justice to the different opinions within the organization. Moreover, it could be the first step toward Philippines policies focusing on solidarity and empowerment. More specifically, we propose that 11.11.11 announces the withdrawal of its statement of support to BIARSP on October 21 in a statement of solidarity with the struggle of the Philippine peasantry for land. On this day, the Philippine peasants will commemorate the proclamation of PD 27, the bogus land reform program of dictator Marcos. For the landless peasants, this is a yearly day of protest for genuine land reform. This symbolic date would render the gesture of 11.11.11 extra meaningful. We call on all member organizations and individuals to support this proposal and to bring it up in the respective organs of 11.11.11 and the broader Third World movement. Endnotes: (1) ?Some introductory notes to the study? Jozef De Witte, p. 4 (2) The 11.11.11 study comes to the same conclusion, albeit hesitantly: ?The question therefore is whether BARSP or BIARSP, without LTI, is really an agrarian reform program? The question is not about labels or program definition but, more importantly, the issue of what characterizes an agrarian reform support program.? See ?Belgian Direct Bilateral Aid for Agrarian Reform in the Philippines. A Civil Society Perspective.? Ed Ll. Quitoriano, MODE Inc., May 2000, p. 66 (3) ?Agrarian Reform Communities in the Philippines. Strategy and Praxis.? Eddie Ll. Quitoriano, NCOS Pilipinas, March 1998, p. 41 (4) 1998 Annual Poverty Indicator Survey (5) In these joint ventures, a corporation is established under the initiative of DAR for the management of the land. In practice, the corporation is still controlled by the landlord while the farmers remain as landless as before the ?land reform?. Last year, president Estrada proclaimed Danding Cojuangco, his as well as ex-dictator Marcos? crony, ?the godfather of land reform? because he was able to maintain his tyranny on a 4,361-hectare estate in Negros. (6) In ?swap deals? the landlord is allowed to keep his land if he can offer another piece of land for ?land reform?. The prototype is Danding Cojuangco?s 11,000 hectares on Bugsuk Island he got from dictator Marcos in exchange for 1,600 hectares he put up for land reform elsewhere. This year DAR Secretary Morales announced that Cojuangco?s Bugsuk Island will remain exempted from land reform. (7) ?An ironic anniversary for CARP? Romeo C. Royandoyan, Philippine Daily Inquirer, June 6, 2000 (8) Ka Miling Ca?ete, for example, a peasant leader from a local chapter of KMP in Bulacan, who took on ex-dictator Marcos? son-in-law was arrested on February 16. Roger Alla and Terry Sevilla of UMALPAS-KA in Hacienda Looc, Batangas, were killed last March 4 because of their resistance to the company that wants to build golf courses on the land they were awarded by CARP. More information about these cases can be found on the KMP Website: http://www.geocities.com/kmp_ph (9) ?Belgian Direct Bilateral Aid for Agrarian Reform in the Philippines. A Civil Society Perspective.? Ed Ll. Quitoriano, MODE Inc., May 2000 (10) ?Statement of Support for the Belgian Integrated Agrarian Reform Support Programme and Some Recommendations for a More Effective Program Implementation? NCOS, May 2, 2000, p. 1 (11) PPI was already one of the bidders for the contract of the NGO-partner in BARSP. (12) ?Therefore it is important to combine all possible forces, including those from the NGO and PO side, that they all can contribute to the creation of the most favourable conditions to make this program a success. We are of the opinion that NGO?s and PO?s can and should play an important role in this on top of their inherent willingness to do so. (...) We can describe this attitude as one of critical engagement or co-operation.? See: ?Some introductory notes to the study? Jozef De Witte, p. 4 (13) Leonor Briones, the present National Treasurer and Presidential Adviser on Social Development, and Francisco Lara, the Head Executive Assistant and the right hand of DAR Secretary Morales, came from 11.11.11 partner organizations Freedom from Debt Coalition en MODE respectively. (14) PPI executive director, Romeo Royandoyan, is a DAR Consultant. The executive director of the Project Development Institute (PDI), Ria Miclat-Teves is ?Policy Adviser? of DAR. (15) See for instance: ?The comprehensive agrarian reform program 1987-1998 of the Philippines. The viability of agrarian reform communities. Evaluation of land reform programs in the Philippines? Thesis of Konings Anne, Hogeschool Gent, Academic year 1998-1999. (16) To top it all, 11.11.11 partner PDI will sponsor the ?International Conference on Agrarian Reform? from December 5 to 8 in cooperation with DAR and the World Bank. In the context of this conference, a summit will take place between the ministers for agrarian reform of Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the Philippines, the pilot countries for the World Bank?s market-assisted land reform. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- B A Y A N Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or New Patriotic Alliance No. 23 Maamo Street, Sikatuna Village Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Telephone: (63-2) 435-9151 Telefax: (63-2) 922-5211 Email: Webpage: http://www.bigfoot.com/~bayan-phils Webpage: http://www.bigfoot.com/~bayan-phils ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From bayan at iname.com Sun Sep 10 02:29:54 2000 From: bayan at iname.com (BAYAN) Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 10:29:54 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1548] Statement of the NY People's Assembly Message-ID: >From the: NY People's Assembly Against Imperialist Globalization PEOPLERESIST@aol.com EXPOSE THE UNITED NATIONS AS AN INSTRUMENT OF U.S. IMPERIALISM: JOIN THE ANTI-IMPERIALIST CONTINGENT AT THE UN MILLENNIUM SUMMIT (Statement of the NY People's Assembly Against Imperialist Globalization) On 6-8 September 2000, New York City will host the largest gathering of heads of state in history at the United Nations Millennium Summit. Activists and representatives of progressive national and international organizations will mobilize to ensure that the true conditions and needs of the people are put forth and that the UN and its member states are exposed for their unabashed support of imperialistglobalization at the expense of the world’s peoples. The United Nations was formed in 1948 with rhetoric about peace and brotherhood. But from its outset, the UN has been an undemocratic-and anti-democratic-organization that promotes the interests of wealthy governments and corporations against the interests of the world’s poor and oppressed majority. The five states holding permanent seats on the UN Security Council-the U.S., China, Britain, France, and Russia-control the levers of power in the UN. These imperialist and semi-imperialist countries, with the US in the lead, have accumulated great wealth by exploiting the natural and human resources of the oppressed nations. The imperialist powers have also ensured that almost all UN member states adhere to their will. These member states represent their countries’ elite and dictators, and are propped up by the imperialists. Any country that refuses this world order is deemed a ‘rogue state’ by the imperialist countries and becomes a target of economic sanctions and bombing campaigns. Democracy within the UN cannot be a reality until democracy becomes possible at the national level. This requires the elimination of the main obstacle to democracy: U.S. economic and military world domination-imperialism. The United Nations has served as a useful tool for the government and multinational corporations of the United States. When the U.S. government wages wars for markets or oil fields, it periodically uses the UN to disguise U.S. wars of aggression as ‘international police actions against rogue states.’ Such was the case in Korea in 1950 and in Iraq in 1991. Even now, the U.S. is using UN weapons inspections as a pretext for further atrocities. So far UN sanctions on Iraq have killed over a million people, mostly children and the elderly. A UN which endorses U.S. wars can hardly be said to represent the world’s peoples, the victims of these wars. The last thing the people of the world or the people of the U.S. need is another U.S. war of aggression, whether fought in the name of ‘the American people’ or in the name of ‘the international community.’ The UN provides limited support to the poor through programs such as the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), but this is like trying to cure a headache with aspirin when the headache is caused by brain cancer. The root cause of war and poverty is imperialism, mainly U.S. imperialism. But rather than stand with the people to fight and end the main cause of oppression, the UN turns a blind eye. On September 8 we will stand at the doorstep of the United Nations to call for an end to the system it serves. Down with U.S. imperialism! Down with imperialist globalization! Forward to a people’s millennium! NEW YORK PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY AGAINST IMPERIALIST GLOBALIZATION (NY-PAAIG) INITIATING ORGANIZATIONS: Colombia Action Committee Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador Committee to Support the Revolution in Peru International Action Center Makabayan Youth Collective (Youth and Students for the People) Molokon Community Network in Solidarity with the People of the Philippines Philippine Forum Queers for Racial and Economic Justice Resistance in Brooklyn Student Liberation Action Movement ENDORSERS BEYOND NYC: League of Filipino Students-Seattle NO to the WTO!/Seattle International People’s Assembly Sentenaryo ng Bayan-Seattle South Bay People’s Assembly Pilipino Workers Center-Los Angeles Alliance of Filipino Immigrants and Advocates of Southern California, League of Filipino Students-SFSU Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines Philippine Information Network Services Filipino Workers’ Committee Karapatan-Filipino Center for Human Rights-South Bay People’s Artists-Los Angeles League of Filipino Students-Los Angeles Committee on Philippine Issues-Chicago League of Filipino Students-Chicago Philippine Solidarity Committee-Chicago BAYAN International, USA-Los Angeles PESANTE-Philippine Peasant Support Network GABRIELA Network-Los Angeles Kabataang maka-Bayan-Los Angeles Nagliliyab-Los Angeles Panay Solidarity Network Alyansa ng Komunidad-Los Angeles Balagtasan Collective-Los Angeles Foundation Kollective-Los Angeles Filipino Ministry of San Bernardino People’s Health Network Migrante International, USA ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- B A Y A N Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or New Patriotic Alliance No. 23 Maamo Street, Sikatuna Village Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Telephone: (63-2) 435-9151 Telefax: (63-2) 922-5211 Email: Webpage: http://www.bigfoot.com/~bayan-phils ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From bayan at iname.com Sun Sep 10 02:19:42 2000 From: bayan at iname.com (BAYAN) Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 10:19:42 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1549] On the NY People's Assembly Message-ID: >From the: NY People's Assembly Against Imperialist Globalization peoplesassembly@egroups.com NEW YORK PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY AGAINST IMPERIALIST GLOBALIZATION (NY-PAAIG) We come from different political tendencies, but we unite in the New York People’s Assembly Against Imperialist Globalization to resist: 1. Imperialism-an enemy of the world’s peoples; the system in which governments use economic, military, political and cultural means to defend the investments of powerful corporations in nations which are weaker economically and militarily. 2. Corporate globalization-a continuation and intensification of imperialism; the opposite of genuine people’s internationalism. 3. The government and multinational corporations of the United States-the dominant imperialists. 4. Institutions dominated by U.S. imperialism-including the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Democratic Party, Republican Party, United Nations, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, and North Atlantic Treaty Organization. These institutions are beyond reform. The NY-PAAIG is not led by any one party or organization. It is a coalition whose operation is based on the principles of solidarity and mutual aid within the parameters of our points of unity. ACTIONS: Fri 8 Sep Noon-5pm-NY-PAAIG “Down with U.S.Imperialism!” Consulate Tour: Noon-Protest at Peruvian Consulate, 215 Lex, at 33rd. Down with the Fascist U.S.-Backed Fujimori Regime! 1:00 pm-Protest at El Salvador Consulate, 46 Park Ave., at 36th St. No U.S. Military Bases in El Salvador! 2:30 pm-Protest at Philippine Consulate, 556 5th Ave., at 46th St. Oust the U.S.-Estrada Regime! Stop U.S. Military Aid to the Philippines! Stop the Bombing of Mindanao! 4:00 pm-Protest at Colombia Consulate, 10 E. 46th St., between 5th and Madison. No More Vietnams! Stop U.S. Military Aid to Colombia! 4:30 pm-March to join S8 rally at Dag Hammersjold Plaza. 5:00-7:00-Rally at Dag Hammersjold includingspeakers from NYPAAIG and constituent organizations. Also in the works: Friday 22 September forum/cultural solidarity night against imperialist globalization, timed to precede the IMF/World Bank meeting in Prague. Details to be announced. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- B A Y A N Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or New Patriotic Alliance No. 23 Maamo Street, Sikatuna Village Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Telephone: (63-2) 435-9151 Telefax: (63-2) 922-5211 Email: Webpage: http://www.bigfoot.com/~bayan-phils ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From bayan at iname.com Sun Sep 10 02:40:43 2000 From: bayan at iname.com (BAYAN) Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 10:40:43 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1550] In Solidarity with the Korean People For Reunification and Against Bases Message-ID: >From the: People’s Assembly, USA passembly@yahoo.com DECLARATION AND CALL TO ACTION FOR SOLIDARITY WITH THE KOREAN PEOPLE FOR REUNIFICATION OF KOREA FOR REMOVAL OF U.S. TROOPS AND BASES FROM KOREA All people who yearn for peace, everyone working for peace and justice in this world, join the Korean people in joyously welcoming the recent steps toward the reunification proclaimed in the June 15th Declaration from the North-South summit, held in Pyongyang, between President Kim Dae Jung of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and General Secretary Kim Jong Il of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). This is an historic accomplishment for the Korean people. But it is also a critical step toward lessening tensions and promoting world peace for all humankind. Above all, it goes far in removing the main excuse on the part of the U.S. Pentagon for planning to build ballistic missile defenses which would violate the ABM Treaty, unleash a renewed nuclear arms race, increase the first strike capability of the U.S. and escalate the danger of nuclear war. The justification for these proposed missile systems has been to counter a so-called "threat" from "rogue" North Korea. But now, even the term "rogue" has had to be toned down to "state of concern" as it becomes abundantly clearer to people everywhere that the DPRK poses no threat to peace. Thus, the decades-long struggle of the Korean people for reunification, that began to take shape at the recent summit, has substantially advanced efforts by the peace movement to stop the deployment of ballistic missiles systems, namely the theater missile defense and the proposed national missile defense and for banning nuclear weapons. We understand that this critical progress in Korea toward peace and stability must be defended and built upon. The presence of 37,000 U.S. troops and at least 97 bases in South Korea, on land seized without compensation, along with the frequent military maneuvers; the 50-year long daily testing of weapons by the U.S. Air Force near the village of Mae Hyang-ri; and the destruction of the environment through such things as dumping toxic substances into the Han River, the drinking water source for the millions in and around Seoul-all this must end if the efforts for peace and reunification, and thus for world peace, are to be fully realized. The continuing state of war with North Korea and the refusal by the U.S. to sign the peace treaty, along with the continuing existence of the SOFA agreement which gives the U.S. virtual control of South Korea, remain major obstacles to achieving those goals. Therefore we demand that the U.S. rescind the SOFA agreement, that the U.S. military leave Korea, that all war games in the region be ceased, and that the U.S. sign the peace agreement. It is obscene that hundreds of millions of dollars which have gone to maintain this military might on the Korean peninsula, have filled the pockets of the arms manufacturers, instead of being used for human needs, healthcare, schools, feeding hungry children or for the development of two-thirds of humanity who subsist in abject poverty. Peace also depends on truth. We demand that the full truth about the massacres and atrocities committed by the U.S. military in Korea be revealed. These genocidal crimes against humanity must be acknowledged and compensation must be extended to the victims and their families. Associated Press accounts recently have reported on revelations from declassified official documents confirming horrific massacres of Korean civilians by the U.S. military acting under official orders, during the Korean War. The stories of the U.S. massacres at No Gun ri have been in the center of these press revelations. These begin to corroborate the testimony of victims and their families. However, they represent only the tip of the iceberg. These massacres of civilians are being investigated by the Korea Truth Commission which includes an International Investigation Commission. We cannot afford to wait for 50 years for declassified U.S. documents to confirm such atrocities. Many, besides the Korean people, knew of these atrocities at the time, just as many today know of the rampage massacres of Colombian villages by paramilitary forces backed by the military and funded and trained by the U.S. We remember My Lai and the Phoenix program in Vietnam, we remember the hundreds of villages wiped out by U.S.- backed and trained forces in Guatemala, we remember how U.S. General McCaffrey ordered the massacre of retreating Iraqis, including civilians, AFTER the cease fire in the Gulf War, we remember how hundreds of thousands of trade unionists, Communists, and activists were slaughtered in Indonesia, fingered by the CIA, we remember the U.S. culpability in the genocide in East Timor, we remember the bombing of civilians in Yugoslavia, and so forth. So getting at the truth, however painful, is not only important for theKorean people, it is indispensable for the U.S. people so they can act to stop such inhuman acts and imperial wars in the future, all of which are funded by their taxes and are carried out in their name in order to back upthe imperative drive for corporate profit. Only by understanding the truth can we help guarantee it will never happen again. Only in this way can we begin to achieve a world of peace with justice. We would welcome statements of support and solidarity and we urge you to take action to help carry out the goals expressed in this Declaration. FOR MORE INFORMATION: International Center for Peace and Justice, icpj@igc.org Karen Talbot, Director of ICPJ is an advisor to the International Investigation Commission of the Korea Truth Commission. In July she participated in a 9-day Investigation Commission delegation to South Korea. The delegation visited massacre sites, the weapons testing site a Mai Hyang-ri, and took part in many rallies and meetings with the people. A report of the trip will be available soon, as well as a major article on the subject giving background about the Korean War and the massacres. We will keep you informed about future actions. We expect these will include international days of action. . Please inform us of any steps you or your organization plan to take. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- B A Y A N Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or New Patriotic Alliance No. 23 Maamo Street, Sikatuna Village Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Telephone: (63-2) 435-9151 Telefax: (63-2) 922-5211 Email: Webpage: http://www.bigfoot.com/~bayan-phils ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From bayan at iname.com Sun Sep 10 04:52:46 2000 From: bayan at iname.com (BAYAN) Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 12:52:46 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1551] Move UN out of US, says Manila Times pundit Message-ID: <20000909050349.566963291F@smtp.skyinet.net> MOVE UN OUT OF US by Herman Tiu Laurel , The Manila Times, Sept. 8, 2000 http://ww w.manilatimes.net/2000/sep/08/opinion/20000908opi4.html The UN Millennium Summit is bringing over 150 leaders from countries of every political and ideological persuasion to attend the summit being held now in the UN headquarters. It is a rare opportunity for all of the world to be represented at one place to talk about the common concerns of man. But because the UN headquarters is located in the US, one delegation which had already flown halfway to New York suddenly turned back and went home. North Korean parliament head Kim Yong-Nam, angrily returned to Pyongyang on Sept. 5 in protest of body searches demanded by American Airlines security staff at Frankfurt, Germany, using the excuse that North Korea is on the US State Department terrorist nation list. But others, like Fidel Castro, have had no problems. North Korea?s Vice Foreign Minister Choe Su Hon told a Frankfurt press conference that the US ?had forced Pyongyang to cancel its UN participation when US security officials opened suitcases and hand-bags forced them to take off clothes and shoes, and thoroughly searched even the sensitive parts of the body as if they were criminals.? One news analyst describes this incident as, ? a diplomatic version of the US bombing of China?s Belgrade embassy.? The implication is that it was an attempt at scuttling the North-South Korea dialogue and disrupting the Asian-initiated peace process in the Korean peninsula. The North Korean delegation cancelled their trip to the Millennium Summit and along with it meetings North Korean President Kim was to have had with South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, President Clinton, Russian President Putin, and Japanese Prime Minister Mori, as well as North Korea?s first-ever speech to the UN. My favorite news agency, EIRNS reports official North Korean reaction, ?This is an unbearable mockery of the sovereignty of an independent state and a grave challenge to the United Nations and the summit organized by it.? The US White House responded courtesy of spokesman Joe Lockhart, ?It?s certainly an unfortunate incident that we regret a combination of unfamiliarity with our procedures and some unfamiliarity on the part there of the delegation coming through.? But Lockhart, however, insisted that the US has no intention of apologizing. Then whose fault was the unfamiliarity with procedures or with the delegation coming through? Should there be an apology? Even South Korean newspapers have called on the US to apologize, as the Korean Times editorial said, ?One thing is clear: the incident could have been prevented. The Washington government should have paid undivided attention to Kim Yong-Nam?s trip to New York, as it was supposed to be the first-ever visit of a North Korean leader to the former enemy nation. Whatever reasons may be, Washington owes an apology to the North Korean government It is obvious that the worsening bilateral relationship is not in the best interest of not only the two countries but also Seoul and other related nations.? Here?s the reaction of an Asia hand, Chalmers Johnson, to the incident, ?This is clearly an operation done by the State Department and the FBI to ensure that the North Koreans did not come to the UN and give their speech to tell the American public that peace is breaking out in Korea, so please change your policy towards us It sends the message that the Pentagon has no interest in the end of the Cold War in Asia who would agree to being strip-searched in an international airport? As if they don?t know who Kim Yong-Nam is. He?s the architect of their whole peace policy, he?s the architect of the whole June Inter-Korean Summit.? An apology from the US would quickly dissolve the hardening angry feelings over the incident, but it refuses to do so. Why? Is it a deliberate psychological sabotage of the peace process in the Korean peninsula, as Chalmers Johnson believes, or is it just plain superpower arrogance? The haughty attitude of a rogue superpower? Whatever the real reason, which we hope the Americans will reveal in time, the whole incident raises a question in my mind. Why is the United Nations headquarters located in the United States and not in some neutral country? Why is the UN located in the most controversial country in the world and accused of some of the worst international and diplomatic evils? And it is a country that is perennially delinquent in paying its official dues to the international organization. It is time to consider seriously moving the UN out of New York, USA, to some fair and neutral state free of any suspicion of political self-interest and conducting intrigues while hosting the international forum. My e-mail: htlfam@pacific.net.ph ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ B A Y A N Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or New Patriotic Alliance No. 23 Maamo Street, Sikatuna Village Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Telephone: (63-2) 435-9151 Telefax: (63-2) 922-5211 Email: Webpage: http://www.bigfoot.com/~bayan-phils ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ From bayan at iname.com Sun Sep 10 15:04:30 2000 From: bayan at iname.com (BAYAN) Date: Sat, 09 Sep 2000 23:04:30 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1552] In't Fact Finding Mission on Agrarian Reform in the Philippines Message-ID: <20000909151522.C0A34328F9@smtp.skyinet.net> >From the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP, Peasant Movement of the Philippines) kmp@quickweb.com.ph NEWS ON THE INTERNATIONAL FACT-FINDING MISSION ON AGRARIAN REFORM IN THE PHILIPPINES Dear Friends, Greetings from the Philippines! Please find news clippings and pictures about the International Fact Finding Mission to the Philippines jointly conducted by FIAN-International and La Via Campesina at the KMP website located at the following URL: http//www.geocities.com/kmp_ph/strug/landreform/iffm.html The fact-finding mission was held last August 18 and lasted till the 25th of August. The mission held a press conference last August 28 where it publicly announced the results of the fact-finding. The Philippines is the last leg of the mission which has been already to Brazil, Columbia and Honduras. The mission members were composed of Mr. Armando Urquia of COCOCH- Honduras as Via Campesina's representative, Mr. Michael Windfuhr, Executive Director of FIAN-International, Mr.Trond Skerpeiteg of FIAN-Norway, Mr. Biplab Halim of FIAN-India and the local member is Atty. Oscar Santos. The IFFM visited 18 areas in the three major islands - Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao and received 28 cases from the peasants and rural workers. The mission members were warmly received by the peasants who recounted various problems of displacements, land grabbing, military harrassments, arrests/detentions and the ensuing hunger and poverty caused by the failure of the failure of land reform. The official and final report will be issued by the year end. Lastly, KMP joins the rest of the members of La Via Campesina in enjoining social activists and militants and advocates of social justice and genuine democracy to rally behind the call for support by FIAN-International and La Via Campesina to extend whatever assistance and help they could give to the life and death struggle of the poor peasants and landless rural workers for genuine agrarian reform. In solidarity, Lu Roque KMP-International Relations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ B A Y A N Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or New Patriotic Alliance No. 23 Maamo Street, Sikatuna Village Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Telephone: (63-2) 435-9151 Telefax: (63-2) 922-5211 Email: Webpage: http://www.bigfoot.com/~bayan-phils ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ From notoapec at clear.net.nz Sun Sep 10 10:05:45 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2000 13:05:45 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1553] NZ: Cullen hints at US trade pact Message-ID: <001b01c01ac4$2cb44de0$1a84a7cb@notoapec> The Dominion, Wellington, 9/9/00 Cullen hints at US trade pact Singapore Finance Minister Michael Cullen expressed hope yesterday that the free trade pact between Singapore and New Zealand would be a catalyst for similar trade links with the United States. "Both parties see that CEP (Closer Economic Partnership) could be a catalyst for similar agreements with other Asean economies and eventually with key Apec economies including the United States," Dr Cullen told a New Zealand - Singapore Business Council meeting in Singapore yesterday. CEP also held implications for the mooted P5 trade agreement, linking New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Chile and the United States. Dr Cullen does not expect any movement on the five-way trade pact before the US presidential election. But he said he would hold talks with US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers about it on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation. Meanwhile, a New Zealand briefing paper said it was hoped the New Zealand Singapore free trade agreement would accelerate free trade liberalisation within the 21-member Apec forum, and push the World Trade Organisation forward in global free trade. Dr Cullen said regional and sub-regional agreements were not counter to broader agreements that might emerge at WTO level. Progress was being made behind the scenes for a new round of trade liberalisation talks despite the WTO failing to fix and agenda after the collapse of a meeting in Seattle, Washington, last December, Dr Cullen said. - AFP From notoapec at clear.net.nz Sun Sep 10 11:09:56 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2000 14:09:56 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1554] APEC on Oil prices Message-ID: <000901c01acc$37d60f80$ca85a7cb@notoapec> Singapore Straits Times 10/09/00 Oil prices: Apec sees no threat Forum nations confident of riding the cycle out and upbeat about economic outlook; IMF forecasts highest growth for global economy in over a decade By DOUGLAS WONG IN BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN FINANCE Ministers of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum are expected to announce, at the end of their meeting here today, that their growth outlook is strong and unlikely to be derailed by high oil prices. The rising oil prices that have hit 10-year highs had found their way into discussions yesterday. And there was talk of a sharp split among the ministers over how to approach the issue. But New Zealand's Finance Minister Michael Cullen denied there was a split and told reporters that ""there was a broad consensus among both oil-producing and oil-consuming members that what we seek is greater stability in prices over the medium term''. Enough of the forum's participants must have thought this was achievable, since the meeting's chairman and Brunei's Industry Minister Pehin Abdul Rahman Taib told reporters that most of Apec's 21 economies were ""very optimistic'' about their economic outlook. More good news came from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which reported to the ministers that it was forecasting 4.75 per cent growth for the global economy this year, the highest in over a decade. On the same theme, Singapore's Second Minister for Finance Lim Hng Kiang told The Sunday Times that yesterday's discussion confirmed that the Asian economic recovery was broad-based, and that the response of Apec governments had been appropriate. ""After sharing our experiences, we're clearly upbeat about our prospects,'' he said, adding that the risks from oil-price-induced inflation and over-valued equity markets ""are not a major threat'' to the global economy. Noting that studies have shown that oil prices of US$30 a barrel would at most take half of a percentage point off global economic growth, he said: ""It's not something that will knock the world economy off its very strong growth path. ""We have to ride the cycle out.'' Apec groups a diverse range of economies, from oil producers Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, the United States and Russia to major consumers like Japan, South Korea and Thailand. While the last two in particular expressed concern about high oil prices, the producing countries pointed out yesterday that they do not actually have the capacity to produce more oil now. When prices slumped to US$10 a barrel, their economies had been hit badly. Said Mr Lim: ""Nobody is in favour of such massive volatility, so we should strive for a more stable oil market.'' In reviewing the recent Asian financial crisis, Apec finance ministers were in broad agreement that national and international systems should be strengthened, and that social safety nets should be developed. ""We're in an era of very massive capital flows which can be volatile -- but we were broadly agreed that the benefits outweigh the potential risks, so we have to live with this by strengthening our systems,'' Mr Lim said. A number of initiatives, such as better banking standards and training of financial officials, are under way under Apec to this end. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Mon Sep 11 03:31:53 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 06:31:53 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1555] The Press (Christchurch) on Singapore-NZ FTA Message-ID: <000c01c01b55$65a73180$b2cfa7cb@notoapec> The Press, Christchurch MONDAY, 11 SEPTEMBER 2000 O P I N I O N S T O R Y Linking with Asia 11 SEPTEMBER 2000 New Zealand's free trade agreement with Singapore is more important than the sum of its parts. It usefully binds us more closely to one of our most prosperous neighbours but, more significantly, it signals the Clark Government's commitment to the globalised economy, writes The Press in an editorial. That was in doubt. Labour's strong nationalism ? cultural and economic ? and its criticism of the rush to reduce tariffs might have led to it suspending the deal with Singapore. The pact, after all, is a prime example of the new global age of open trade and finance, reducing virtually all economic barriers between the two countries. It also better positions New Zealand for the continuing attempts to unite the Pacific Rim in a free trade area, suggesting the Government is committed to those wider globalisation schemes. Considering the radical suspicions of the Alliance about free trade, the commitment must have been hard to reach. Maybe the coalition will divide on the deal with Singapore. The parliamentary support Labour is seeking for it might be gained only by ACT and National backing Labour. The deal with Singapore has been achieved, also, against a growing worldwide sentiment opposing globalisation. The strength of that movement played a significant part in knocking the World Trade Organisation off track in last year's attempt to initiate another round of international talks aimed at removing the remaining trade barriers. Many New Zealanders, particularly those active on the Centre-Left, are sympathetic to the protectionist cause. It is a relief that the Government is resisting the seductions of the anti-free trade position. New Zealand is a world trader offering, primarily, agricultural products, which are the most susceptible to being locked out of markets. We must be at the forefront of the international moves to keep markets open and to lower barriers where they exist. The effort is vital to our prosperity. That was never more true than it is today. The sharp fall in the kiwi dollar was a warning that we must narrow the gap between our imports and exports; that overseas investors have limited tolerance of our addiction to spending more than we earn. The lower dollar, by making our exports cheaper and our imports more expensive, gives us a chance of changing our unsustainable habits. That change will be faster and easier the fewer trading barriers in New Zealand's way. Singapore's opening of its doors will not of itself dramatically advance our cause. The detail of the Closer Economic Partnership pact with that country is still not public, but it will, according to Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton, deliver reciprocal benefits, encourage trade and investment, and significantly enhance the economic partnership with a key Asian economy. He goes on to say that Singapore has agreed to improve access for New Zealand suppliers in key sectors ? education, telecommunications, the environment, medicine, architecture, engineering. Professional qualifications will be mutually recognised, some goods' standards will be harmonised, and technical trade barriers reduced. These are useful gains, but from them greater things might flow. The New Zealand Government is explicit that it regards the Singapore pact as the first step in the creation of a wider regional trade pact. Mr Sutton said in Kuala Lumpur on Monday that the aim was to bind Australia and New Zealand with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in a free trade bloc. The gains of such an association with Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, Mr Sutton said, would be huge ? $50 billion in new business over 20 years. The second step is to win Thailand and Malaysia to the cause, and Finance Minister Michael Cullen has been raising this with them in the last few days. This is a very ambitious agenda and it will not be easily implemented. The already low New Zealand and Australian tariffs mean that the Tasman nations have limited bargaining chips, and they do not offer huge markets. Some Asian nations therefore feel less enthusiasm for a free-trade area than does New Zealand, and others think development of trade among themselves should be strengthened before they open the market to their southern neighbours. Backing this Asian caution is a feeling that Australia and New Zealand are too culturally different to fit. But the proposal is at least being discussed. Michael Cullen was doing that at the weekend on the sidelines of the Apec finance ministers' meeting in Brunei. And, in October, Asean and Tasman ministers will meet in Thailand to explore the issue. The fact that Australia is joining New Zealand in this venture is significant. Until the breakdown of the World Trade Organisation initiative in Seattle last year, Canberra was not keen on regional trading blocks, on the basis that they prevented the world-wide liberalisation of trade. The Seattle failure has changed that, and it showed last week when the Tasman ministers met to review CER. Mr Sutton, in particular, was plain about using CER as the basis of a free trade push into Asia. The agreement with Singapore encourages the tackling of the wider agenda. It shows that a mutually beneficial free-trade pact can be established between an Asian and a non-Asian country. Great benefits can flow from this promising start. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Mon Sep 11 04:09:21 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 07:09:21 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1556] Brunei media story - APEC/PECC Message-ID: <000101c01b5a$a12a89a0$e684a7cb@notoapec> Borneo Bulletin Online 9 Sep 2000 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2000 Call to clean up East Asian corporations By Dean Visser A Bruneian walks past a banner welcoming the delegates of the Apec Finance Ministers' Meeting at the Brunei International Airport Friday. Protecting an increasingly globalised world from future economic crises was among the top concerns as Brunei hosts the two-day finance ministers' meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) starting today. AP Non-government observers will push the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum to launch a campaign for greater corporate transparency in East Asian countries, an official said Friday. Jesus Estanislao, delegation head of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council, said better "corporate governance" was needed to avoid an economic crisis like the one that battered East Asia in 1997 and 1998. "If corporations and institutions don't go to the root of some of the problems that were part of the East Asian financial crisis, we can have the virus come back in a different strain," Estanislao said. Speaking to reporters on the eve of a meeting of APEC finance ministers in Brunei slated for Saturday and Sunday, Estanislao said his business-oriented delegation would ask the ministers to address the problem. "In many (East Asian) countries, boards of directors really do not take their duties and responsibilities very seriously," he added. "Therefore, there are no checks and balances." He wanted APEC to persuade member countries to ensure that companies followed proper disclosure laws and were accountable to shareholders. "In many economies in East Asia there's been very little work" towards corporate reform, he said. "In Korea there's been some movement, and to some extent in Thailand." The Pacific Economic Cooperation Council is the only official non-governmental observer body for Apec. The council consists of academics, businessmen and other observers from Pacific Rim countries. The council will propose that APEC help form an "Institute of Directors" to act as watchdogs and trainers for corporate directors in East Asia, Estanislao said. "We're moving towards having a corporate governance scorecard, which will follow a common framework in East Asia," he said. "We're trying to build codes in East Asia for corporate governance." Corporate governance could not be left entirely to governments, Estanislao said, as some would ensure that unfavourable data are "toned down or not discussed at all." He said bodies such as the International Monetary Fund had problems pushing for corporate governance in East Asia, due to "unhappiness" with the IMF's increasing clout in the region. The issue of oil prices is also hot among the topics. Delegates to the deputies' meetings said the issue of oil prices - which have nearly tripled in the past two years - is likely to dominate the ministers' meeting. "Oil's an issue that some of the ministers will want to raise," New Zealand finance deputy John Wilson said. The skyrocketing cost of oil "is one of the factors that limits the growth of the region," Peruvian delegate Capunay said. APEC includes large oil exporters such as Indonesia and Mexico. But oil-importing members, such as Thailand and Japan, have called on APEC to address the problem of high prices. This weekend's meetings precede a November Apec summit in Brunei, an oil-rich sultanate in northern Borneo island. Apec, established in 1989, aims to achieve free trade and investment among its members by 2020. The members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. - AP BACK From bayan at iname.com Tue Sep 12 17:31:50 2000 From: bayan at iname.com (BAYAN) Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 01:31:50 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1557] Security to be tight for Summit of the Americas Message-ID: SECURITY TO BE TIGHT IN QUEBEC; PROTESTERS VOW TO DISRUPT EVENT Kevin Dougherty Friday 8 September 2000 The Montreal Gazette A tight security perimeter will enclose the core of the provincial capital for three days in April, when the heads of 34 western hemisphere governments meet for the third Summit of the Americas. The event will probably be the first international forum outside the United States attended by the new American president - George W. Bush or Al Gore, depending on the outcome of the Nov. 7 U.S.election summit organizers said yesterday. While the leaders meet April 20-22 at the Quebec Hilton and in the Citadel, a fortification dating back to the 18th century, protesters - some peaceful, others intent on disrupting the gathering - will stage parallel events. Among the sovereign states in the hemisphere, only Cuba is excluded from the summit. Organizers explained that Premier Lucien Bouchard will not attend because only national governments are participating. The federal government is host of the event. The centrepiece of the gathering will be talks on negotiating a Free Trade of the Americas Agreement, creating a free-trade zone from Alaska to Argentina, by 2005. A group called CLAC, the French acronym for Anti-Capitalist Convergence, plans a “Carnival Against Capitalism” in Quebec City during the summit. On the Internet, CLAC states that it “adopts a confrontational attitude and rejects reformist alternatives, such as lobbying, which cannot have a major impact on anti-democratic processes. “We intend to shut down the Summit of the Americas and to turn the FTAA negotiations into a non-event,” CLAC said in an Internet posting. In a paper titled Anti-Globalization - A Spreading Phenomenon, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns that, “the threat of summit-associated violence in Quebec City cannot be ruled out.” Jaggi Singh, a self-described anarchist and one of the organizers of protests against the 1997 Asia Pacific Economic Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum in Vancouver, is working with the Anti-Capitalist Convergence. “It’s hard to talk about shutting down a conference when the police are shutting it down for you,” Singh said from Montreal, referring to the tight security planned for the event. “They have declared a security zone where 35,000 people have to undergo security checks to go to places where they live and work and do business.” Singh said CLAC has already mobilized “hundreds” of organizers and, while it intends to disrupt the summit, it does not advocate violence against summit participants. The protesters fear the FTAA could erode labour, environmental and human-rights protection. Marc Lortie, who is Prime Minister Jean Chretien’s “sherpa” or chief organizer for the event, told reporters yesterday that the contents of the FTAA negotiations could not be revealed because the issues are still being negotiated. Lortie added that the summit organization will work with organizers of a peaceful Peoples’ Summit slated for April 17-20 in Quebec City. Labour unions, social activists and other groups, considering themselves part of “civil society,” will participate in the Peoples’ Summit. But Sebastien Bouchard, who speaks for activist groups in Quebec City, said at least 10,000 protesters will gather in the provincial capital to demonstrate peacefully against globalization and the proposed hemispheric free-trade agreement. “Nonviolent civil disobedience is being prepared,” Bouchard said, dismissing the parallel Peoples’ Summit as the “phony alternate summit.” Rights & Democracy, a federally funded human-rights advocacy group based in Montreal, which is headed by former Liberal cabinet minister Warren Allmand, is among the groups participating in the Peoples’ Summit. Diana Bronson, of Rights & Democracy, said yesterday that she is worried the tight security could shut down the peaceful event, noting that during a preparatory meeting for the Quebec summit held in Windsor in June, security forces denied access to a meeting hall at the last minute. “We don’t want to find out the day before that we don’t have a meeting place for the event,” Bronson said. Constable Julie Brongel of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the precise dimensions of the security perimeter have not been determined. She did not say how many police officers would participate. In addition to the RCMP, which is responsible for the security of summit participants and summit venues, the Surete du Quebec, and the municipal forces of Quebec City and neighbouring Sainte-Foy, will be assigned to the event. Some bodyguards for foreign heads of state will be designated special constables, allowing them to bear arms in Canada, Brongel said. Organizers expect 9,000 people, including as many as 3,400 media representatives, will attend the summit. That figure does not include protesters. ### ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ B A Y A N Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or New Patriotic Alliance No. 23 Maamo Street, Sikatuna Village Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Telephone: (63-2) 435-9151 Telefax: (63-2) 922-5211 Email: Webpage: http://www.bigfoot.com/~bayan-phils ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ From notoapec at clear.net.nz Tue Sep 12 03:23:41 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 06:23:41 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1558] Coalition split on Singapore FTA Message-ID: <000101c01c1d$6bd7ada0$58cfa7cb@notoapec> The Dominion, Wellington TUESDAY, 12 SEPTEMBER 2000 T O P S T O R Y Helen Clark Jenny Shipley Leaders' duel may sink trade deal 12 SEPTEMBER 2000 By NICK VENTER A contest of wills between Prime Minister Helen Clark and her predecessor Jenny Shipley is threatening a free trade agreement with Singapore. Negotiations over the groundbreaking deal began when Mrs Shipley was prime minister and concluded under Miss Clark. But the deal might not come into effect because neither leader appears willing to give ground over a controversial clause in the agreement. On Monday, Miss Clark accused Mrs Shipley of "playing the race card". Mrs Shipley accused her of "arrogance". The clause at issue asserts the Government's right to give more favourable treatment to Maoris to "close the gaps". According to Miss Clark, it is similar to a clause included in the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Trade by the previous National-led government. But Mrs Shipley says the clause goes beyond anything contemplated by National and paves the way for deals such as the reservation of high frequency radio spectrums for Maoris. She said Miss Clark should use the Government's executive powers to sign the agreement. If she persisted in putting the agreement before Parliament it was "very unlikely" National MPs would vote for it in its present form. "We will not be hostage to her inability to manage her Coalition," she said. National holds the whip hand on the legislation because the Alliance chose to invoke for the first time the "agree to disagree" clause in its Coalition agreement with Labour. Its decision leaves Labour 12 votes short of the numbers it needs to get the bill ratified by Parliament. But Miss Clark said she would not push through an agreement that did not have parliamentary support. "It's up to them (National). If they want to make fools of themselves and New Zealand, go ahead. If the National Party is not prepared to support it, the agreement will not proceed." Mrs Shipley is also angry that National was not consulted about the agreement before it was initialled off by New Zealand and Singaporean representatives. National's trade spokesman, John Luxton, was given a copy of the agreement in confidence about a week ago, but there was no consultation about the content, Mrs Shipley said. It was "arrogant" of Miss Clark to presume National would support the deal under those circumstances. Miss Clark said it was "contemptible" of National to play short-term politics with the agreement, but she was relaxed about the outcome. "There's no mud on our face. We carried on work they had already begun. If they want to scab on her arrangement with the Singaporean prime minister, let her go and explain that to him. "Why she is playing the race card on it will be a mystery to anyone who is involved in trade." Alliance leader Jim Anderton said his party would vote against the agreement because it did not include minimum employment and environmental standards, and because it reduced New Zealand's control over its own affairs. If the agreement is ratified, remaining tariffs will be removed on goods traded between the two countries, providing an immediate boost for New Zealand brewers. It will also make it easier for New Zealand suppliers of telecommunications, health, architecture and engineering service suppliers to do business in Singapore. However, the biggest impact is likely to be in precedent-setting. Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton said it was being keenly watched and would make negotiation of economic partnerships throughout the Apec (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) regime more credible. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Tue Sep 12 03:29:49 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 06:29:49 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1559] NZ Finance Minister - APEC Message-ID: <001801c01c1e$4530da40$58cfa7cb@notoapec> From http://www.executive.govt.nz/speech.cfm?speechralph2233&SR=0 5 /9 /2000 Hon Dr Michael Cullen NZ to Co-chair APEC Finance Ministers at Brunei Finance Minister Michael Cullen and Brunei Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, Pehin Abdul Rahman Taib, will co-chair the 7th APEC Finance Ministers meeting in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei on September 9 and 10. Dr Cullen said today he was looking forward to the challenge. "We have a busy programme. "APEC responded to the Asian crisis by intensifying work to strengthen the international financial architecture. "Standards, codes and guidelines are being developed in a variety of areas including; banking supervision, securities and insurance regulation, the dissemination of economic data and the transparency of monetary, financial and fiscal policies. "The Voluntary Action Plan for Freer and More Stable Capital Flows is New Zealand's major policy initiative for APEC. This recognises the emergence of global capital markets, and the importance of maintaining cross-border capital mobility while putting in structures for effective risk management. "Another item on the agenda is the need to develop mechanisms to fight financial crime, including money laundering and international tax evasion," Dr Cullen said. "In addition to the formal proceedings, I have bi-laterals arranged with: the Finance Minister for China, HE Xiang Huai-cheng; Canadian Finance Minister Paul Martin; the US Secretary of the Treasury, Lawrence Summers, and the Australian Federal Treasurer, Peter Costello. "I will also have the opportunity when in Singapore en route to Brunei to meet Singapore's Finance Minister Richard Hu and the leader of the Singapore delegation to APEC, Second Finance Minister Lim Hng Kiang. "These are all important players in the world economy so it will be useful to get their perspective on world economic trends," Dr Cullen said. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Tue Sep 12 03:44:44 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (Gatt Watchdog) Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 05:44:44 +1100 Subject: [asia-apec 1560] The Age: Battle of Melbourne Message-ID: <200009111844.e8BIiil24157@dispatcher.fairfax.com.au> Greetings, Gatt Watchdog wants you to know about a story on The Age. --------------------------------------- La Trobe University - One of the most progressive universities in the world. http://www.latrobe.edu.au/ --------------------------------------- Battle of Melbourne By ANDREW RULE, CLAIRE MILLER and PAUL ROBINSON 2000-09-11 23:49:41 Thousands of protesters disrupted the World Economic Forum at Crown Casino yesterday but failed to shut the conference down, despite one of the biggest protests seen in Melbourne since the 1980s. URL: http://www.theage.com.au/news/20000912/A59747-2000Sep11.html Why not check out our other great articles at http://www.theage.com.au. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Tue Sep 12 03:52:38 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 06:52:38 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1561] Melbourne Age - WEF coverage Message-ID: <000501c01c21$75a63820$58cfa7cb@notoapec> Fear is the key, says technocrat By GARRY BARKER Tuesday 12 September 2000 World Economic Forum protesters were motivated by fear and outmoded notions of technology, one of the world's leading technologists said yesterday. The protesters were haunted by 50-year-old forecasts of the future of technology, said John Gage, co-founder and chief scientist of Sun Microsystems, one of the principal Silicon Valley companies. "They believe that what we represent is in some way depriving people of jobs," he said. "But that is a 1930s view of where things came from and what will be happening with these machines that do the work of human beings." A symbiosis would develop between machines and humans that would change the way governments, corporations and individuals thought and worked. They would create work, not destroy it, he said. But enormous cultural and technological changes would occur as these links between humans and machines developed. People who today thought they had no role in the IT revolution would be brought into play by new information systems. New and cheaper means of information transfer were being developed, through devices such as cell phones always connected to the Internet, and "digital ink" plastic sheets that could be used to download documents. These were here, or coming, but the information side had a lot more work to do than the technology side. "You may not realise it, but the World Economic Forum is taking a leading role in setting the agenda for government and for business in attempting to bridge the digital divide to those billions of people who, for the moment, do not participate." He showed a tiny Japanese network cellphone. "One million of those sold in the past four weeks," he said. "Every girl in Japan has a pink one that says `Hello Kitty', and they browse 17,000 web pages. They wear them all the time, because everything is there, from e-mail to movie times." Making such devices serve some human use was the fundamental drive in every company that was attempting to mix technology and information with business. "When you hit it with something small and cheap that provides an immediately useful function to people, then you can sell a million in a few weeks and keep on doubling those sales. "This represents a shift in the information technology business." Over the past half century the design of computers had not changed much. "We still think of computers as things that put files on disks. That technology will continue for some time yet, but now we have the network that has put $US10 trillion of added value into the industry, into companies that make computers that talk to each other. "Everything is now on the network. You can reach your information instantly." While there were only about 200 million PCs in the world, there were almost 20 billion chips in cellphones, printers, light switches in every device that added intelligence. Modern cars had as many as 150 microprocessors built into them. "We are watching a transformation as those cars are linked into the network because they provide an interface with a human that is useful routes, prices, services of all kinds," Mr Gage said. The speed at which technology was advancing was awesome, he said. He spoke of Sony's new Playstation console, which he said would soon not only connect to the Internet but would have a 30-gigabyte hard disk. About 1 million would be sold on its release date, October 26, and in a year they would sell about 80 million, he said. "Say they sell 10 million," he said. "That means 300,000 terabytes of online storage possible by Christmas. That is more data storage than in all of Australia; more than in the entire US Government, including the intelligence agencies." From notoapec at clear.net.nz Tue Sep 12 04:07:55 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (notoapec@clear.net.nz) Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 07:07:55 +1200 (NZST) Subject: [asia-apec 1562] NZ Herald - Message-ID: <200009111907.HAA15065@waklwh3.wilsonandhorton.co.nz> New Zealand Herald 12/09/00 - First round to protesters at Melbourne money forum By GREG ANSLEY and NAOMI LARKIN MELBOURNE - Thousands of protesters surging around Melbourne's Crown Casino effectively imprisoned some of the world's richest and most powerful corporate leaders yesterday. It was the biggest demonstration Australia has seen since the Vietnam War. Up to 10,000 protesters sealed off the casino - venue for the World Economic Forum - forcing police behind barricades, blocking busloads of delegates from getting in, and trapping others inside. Five people were hurt, including a policeman who had a rib broken. One protester's foot was broken by a horse. West Australian Premier Richard Court was trapped inside his car by swarming protesters who stomped on the roof, slashed the tyres and spray-painted the bodywork. Mr Court was not hurt. Among those on the outside were New Zealand Green Party MPs Sue Bradford and Nandor Tanczos, who were there to protest, and National finance spokesman Bill English, who failed to get in. The three-day event is organised by the Swiss-based World Economic Forum, which brings together business and Government heads to discuss the global economy. The conference started late, with many delegates unable to attend because of the demonstrations. Helicopters flew some to the venue, and others were ferried across the Yarra River by boat. Protesters, organised by the S11 Alliance, began encircling the casino in driving rain and biting cold early in the morning, using highly organised tactics. Marshals used mobile phones and bullhorns to direct protesters, frustrating police efforts to race buses through relatively unguarded entrances. For most of the day, the mood of police and protesters was restrained, at times almost amiable, and jibes and jokes were exchanged. The first injuries came when the demonstrators surged against police, who pushed back. Protesters responded to the use of horses with a charge that forced them back against the barricades. One protester holding on to the wire was punched several times in the stomach and forced to the ground by several policemen. Another man had his face punched when he bit a policeman. Mr Tanczos said the demonstrations were a success because the blockades covered all five entrances and "seriously disrupted" the forum. "It was a really important demonstration of people power, of showing to the world that there is not agreement on this, that corporate globalism has not been adopted by everyone." New Zealand Finance Minister Michael Cullen is due to attend the conference today. Sue Bradford said that if he turned up, a contingent of protesting New Zealanders, including the two Green MPs, would try to stop him from entering. Mr English told the Herald he arrived at the forum at 11.30 am and spent the next three hours walking around the venue trying to get in. "The frustration with it is that the protesters have every right to put their point of view. But like a lot of people, I've come a long way and I just want to hear what's being said." Although he was one of only a handful of people wearing suits, he did not feel threatened. He had not seen his fellow New Zealand MPs among the protesters. "Nandor wouldn't stand out in this crowd, I'm the sore thumb." A spokeswoman for Dr Cullen said yesterday that he had not decided if he would attend. Last night as delegates dined at the casino, protesters remained outside, promising: "No one in, no one out." Most had left by 8 pm, but the casino was forced to shut from 6 pm because of the protests. ---------------------------------- storyID: 150993 fromname: GATT Watchdog frommessage: submit.x: 15 submit.y: 7 For more information on Wilson and Horton please visit our web site at http://www.wilsonandhorton.co.nz ********************************************************************** CAUTION - This message may contain privileged and confidential information intended only for the use of the addressee named above. 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From notoapec at clear.net.nz Tue Sep 12 04:25:52 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 07:25:52 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1563] Singapore-NZ FTA Message-ID: <000701c01c26$1a1b36e0$58cfa7cb@notoapec> From Newsroom www.newsroom.co.nz Govt Allies Reject Singapore Free Trade Agreement Staff Reporter Patric Lane 11/09/00 16:24:00 The Government will need the support of the National Party to ratify a proposed free trade agreement with Singapore. The Alliance has just announced it will not support a free trade treaty with Singapore. The Green Party Co-Leader, Rod Donald, confirmed to NewsRoom that the Green Party would also vote against any legislative changes needed to ratify the treaty. Prime Minister Helen Clark said this afternoon that Cabinet had considered the agreement today and decided to take the next step of sending it on for select committee consideration. Last month, Miss Clark said the Government would put the treaty to a parliamentary vote that would be symbolic but full of meaning. However, today she said that while the Executive had the power to sign the treaty, it would still need the support of Parliament to make a number of legislative changes in order to ratify it. With the Alliance and Greens indicating they will vote against the free trade agreement, the Government will need the support of National to enact the free trade agreement. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Tue Sep 12 15:51:34 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 18:51:34 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1564] NZ Trade Union Federation Media release on Singapore-NZ Free Trade Agreement Message-ID: <000301c01c85$e9e37540$7bcea7cb@notoapec> Union Slams Free Trade Agreement Scam Tuesday, 12 September 2000, 4:54 pm Press Release: NZ Trade Union Federation ?New Zealand is set to be duped again as it continue its tradition of wide-eyed naivete in international trade negotiations,? TUF President and Clothing Union Secretary, Maxine Gay said today. She was referring to rules of origin in the Singapore free trade agreement released today, which require 40% local content for goods to qualify for duty free status. ?This 40% threshold bears no resemblance to the 50% local content requirement which applies to goods imported from Australia under CER. It shows a frightening ignorance of how the global economy now works. ?Singapore has ties to significant offshore Export Processing Zones. Batam, for example has tens of thousands of workers living in dormitories, working in factories in which unions are illegal, earning as little as US 25c an hour. The trick is simple. Under this agreement local content means 40% of the ex factory cost? not 40% of the work. ?Workers in Singapore are paid at least as much as workers here in New Zealand. The Singaporean input is also likely to be more highly skilled and can include elements prior to manufacture such as design. ?So hours of work on Batam at a fraction of a fair labour cost can be married to a few minutes pressing, labelling or packaging the product in Singapore before it is sent on, duty free, to New Zealand. ?The only beneficiary of this arrangement is Singaporean business interests. At every point in this chain workers are either exploited or displaced. ?We are particularly concerned that Singapore will become a conduit into New Zealand for textiles, clothing and footwear, taking advantage of the hole the agreement opens in our tariffs on those products. ?MFAT has blithely assured us that if Singaporean imports in TCF, worth about 5 million dollars at present, were to double then ?only about three medium sized factories would close in New Zealand?. ?While this in itself would be totally unacceptable, we think the increase in duty free imports will be much greater over time. ?In terms of the textile, clothing and footwear industry, we see this foolish agreement as a direct breach of the Labour Party?s promise to support a freeze on tariffs in this sector. And we are extremely disappointed to learn that the Labour Party will join forces with National in order to continue the destruction of jobs and capital in New Zealand,? Ms Gay concluded. For further information: Maxine Gay Ph:04 384 8963(W) 025 276 9225 (mob) From notoapec at clear.net.nz Tue Sep 12 19:54:11 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 22:54:11 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1565] Sydney Morning Herald 12 Sep 2000 - Aus PM on Globalisation Message-ID: <002901c01ca7$c9d3f000$7bcea7cb@notoapec> Explain globalisation, reform agricultural trade: Howard By MICHELLE GRATTAN, Chief Political Correspondent The future of globalisation could be in doubt unless its benefits were sold properly and its "losers" were helped, the Prime Minister told the World Economic Forum last night. Mr Howard delivered a strong argument in favour of globalisation accompanied by an equally forthright warning. He likened the advantage it brought to the effect the Olympics had had on sport. "When the opportunity was created for nations to compete freely with each other, and literally on level playing fields, the standards of all rose." But in Seattle, Davos and now in Melbourne "we're reminded by a noisy minority" that some did not understand the benefits of open markets. "To some, globalisation is a mere stalking horse, a convenient scapegoat for all that is not right in the world." Governments and business had to convince people that globalisation's benefits were attainable for the poor as well as the prosperous, he said. They must also recognise economic changes would produce losers as well as winners, both within and among nations. "Policies must be developed to ensure the difficulties of adjustment are eased and new opportunities found," he said. "Governments will need to provide strong and flexible 'social safety nets' and additional resources, creatively allocated, for education and to generally promote innovation. "This need for intensive, ongoing communication and for the development of appropriate mechanisms to counter transition difficulties is not merely a moral issue. "Without these measures, the future of globalisation, as we know it, as we desire it, could well be cast in doubt." He pointed out that the world had experienced globalisation before and yet seen it recede in the face of international suspicion and populist calls for renewed protectionism after World War I. Arguing strongly that the launch of another WTO round was crucial for developing countries to reap the benefits of globalisation, Mr Howard said that it was only by building market access that many of the least developed countries could ever hope to lift their standards. For developing countries that had grown fastest in the last 40 years, globalisation had been their "ticket to prosperity". But important elements of the global economic framework remained "seriously skewed" against the developing countries "denied the opportunity to trade their way to sustainable growth and higher 'core labour standards' because of the barriers in much of the developed world to their agricultural and other exports." Australia would continue to campaign strongly for further reform of world trading rules, especially for further liberalisation of agricultural trade. "It is crucial to address the flagrant imbalances in international trade rules that favour most of the world's rich countries, including the US and the EU, against efficient agricultural exporters, including Australia." But he was not optimistic about any change of heart within either the US or the EU on agriculture. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Wed Sep 13 03:03:12 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (notoapec@clear.net.nz) Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2000 06:03:12 +1200 (NZST) Subject: [asia-apec 1566] NZ Herald - Message-ID: <200009121803.GAA10105@waklwh3.wilsonandhorton.co.nz> NZ Herald, Auckland 13/09/00 - National seeks Singapore trade deal compromise By VERNON SMALL and BERNARD ORSMAN National Party leader Jenny Shipley put a proposal to the Government last night that could see the party support the Singapore free-trade treaty. Mrs Shipley, whose Government initiated the Singapore deal, put the compromise to Labour after renewed sparring in Parliament yesterday over a clause that reserves the right to favour Maori. Mrs Shipley is understood to be under pressure from former National heavyweights such as Jim Bolger and Bill Birch to back the deal and reach a compromise with Prime Minister Helen Clark. "There may be able to be a vehicle developed that we could vote on," Mrs Shipley said last night. National did not want to vote on the detailed trade deal, she said, but might back the specific law changes that would be required for the treaty to be ratified. Helen Clark indicated she was open to a compromise, suggesting that it might be possible to hold a vote on general support for a free-trade deal with Singapore, which National could back, followed by a separate vote on the treaty provision. The latter would likely win the support of the Greens and the Alliance, who are otherwise opposed to the free trade deal. After yesterday's wrangling over arrangements for Maori, Helen Clark raised the prospect of drafting a standard Treaty of Waitangi clause for all appropriate legislation. She told the Herald: "If the issue of constitutional reform is to be advanced in New Zealand the big issue will be how the treaty will be accommodated, and unless we have some greater understanding of its status in the contemporary setting, it's very hard to have an informed debate." She was mulling over asking academics to review the treaty's role, partly because of the report of the Waitangi Tribunal into Maori rights to radio spectrum. The report found the Government did not have an obligation to Maori under the treaty, but the Government went ahead anyway and granted Maori rights to part of the asset at a discounted price. The lack of a standard Treaty of Waitangi clause has caused difficulties for the Government in its health reform bill as well as the Singapore free trade deal. Helen Clark yesterday attacked National in Parliament for refusing to back the Singapore deal unless the wording of the Treaty of Waitangi clause was changed. She produced cabinet papers which she said showed National in office had proposed similar wording for the ill-fated Multilateral Agreement on Investment in 1998 and the World Trade Organisation's General Agreement on Trade and Services in 1994. Mrs Shipley told Parliament that officials had advised National in the late 1990s against providing "extended" treaty clauses in international agreements. Helen Clark said the clause in the proposed Singapore deal was inserted on officials' advice, not at the behest of Maori caucus members or the wider Labour caucus. "Officials are trying to protect our right to pursue policy with respect to treaty settlements and with respect to these social economic disparity programmes." ---------------------------------- storyID: 151143 fromname: GATT Watchdog frommessage: submit.x: 19 submit.y: 5 From notoapec at clear.net.nz Wed Sep 13 03:33:28 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2000 06:33:28 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1567] Melbourne Age on WEF protest Message-ID: <000901c01ce7$f2868860$5484a7cb@notoapec> Police bust the casino blockade THE FRONT LINE By ANDREW RULE and ADRIAN ROLLINS Wednesday 13 September 2000 Over the top: Riot police leap over the barricades to clear a path through the demonstrators blocking entry and exits at the Crown Casino complex last night, where up to 10 protesters were injured. Picture: SIMON O'DWYER , MICHAEL BOWERS About 200 police in riot gear and wielding batons charged a 10-deep line of blockading demonstrators outside the World Economic Forum last night, allowing several bus loads of delegates to leave. In a carefully planned operation, police from the tactical response unit charged out of Crown Casino's underground carpark about 7.30pm, smashing through a human barricade of protesters. At the same time mounted police charged the demonstrators from the side and cleared a path for dozens of motorcycle police escorting more than eight buses on to the casino's forecourt. Waiting delegates were then ushered on to the buses, which ferried them through the cleared barricades and on to the Hyatt Hotel for a conference dinner. It is believed up to 10 people were taken to hospital as a result of the violence, although the extent of their injuries was not known last night. Three Fairfax photographers were among those caught in the skirmish, and had cameras and other gear smashed. The night-time charge of the barricades followed similar successful operations in the morning. All 850 delegates managed to get into the forum yesterday - earning praise for the police from Premier Steve Bracks. Police earlier hit back at allegations that they had been too soft on protesters on Monday, when almost a third of delegates were unable to access the conference. And a senior officer criticised State Opposition Leader Denis Napthine and Western Australian Premier Richard Court for ignoring police advice the day before. Deputy Commissioner (Operations) Neil O'Loughlin said Mr Court and Dr Napthine had been foolish to take their own cars to the casino on Monday - it resulted in both being put in potential danger. His comments followed Dr Napthine's charge that police had not tried hard enough to get delegates into the forum, and Mr Court's attack on protesters as "un-Australian" with "a typical mob mentality". The force's special response unit was used in a calculated "show of strength" that saw helmeted police form a wedge and mount a baton charge that resulted in several protesters going to hospital, one with a suspected punctured lung. Several police were also injured during the push, including one who suffered a suspected heart attack. He was later recovering in hospital. "We were more precise in what we did this morning in order to get the people in and that meant a show of strength," Mr O'Loughlin said. He said Dr Napthine had run into trouble on Monday because "he chose to attend the forum in a car on his own" against advice. The car, like Mr Court's, was surrounded by demonstrators and daubed with paint and protest signs. Dr Napthine managed to get into the forum on Monday after climbing a barrier. He said later police had been "too hands-off". Mr O'Loughlin said the fact that only three demonstrators were arrested yesterday was no measure of the operation's success. "They (the response unit) achieved their purpose this morning with the assistance of other members of the force." He defended the decision not to use the unit on Monday, saying a change of circumstances had caused a change of tactics yesterday. Mr Bracks said using troops to break up the protest would be an "absolute last resort" that would send the "worst possible message" and be an overreaction to a protest that had been relatively incident-free under police control. He condemned Monday's isolated outbreaks of violence as un-Australian and praised police for an "absolutely outstanding" job yesterday morning to ensure all delegates got into the conference. A small group of militant demonstrators "were absolutely disgraceful yesterday" and deserved the criticism of all Australians, he said. "It's just not the Australian way," Mr Bracks told radio 3AW. Protesters had broken their word that they would be non-violent, he said. "Trying to restrain people from getting into the venue is effectively a form of violence which they've pursued which I absolutely deplore and is not acceptable in the way we operate in Australia." But he said that, despite millions of dollars lost in police overtime and casino revenue, it was worth hosting the event because it put Melbourne on the world stage. Mr Bracks said the conference was all about corporate responsibility to shareholders and corporations' relations to government. Federal Trade Minister Mark Vaile said yesterday that protesters were not representative of broad public opinion. "I don't think (the protesters) have genuinely sincere concerns. Australians should seriously be asking `Who are these people? Who do they represent?'," he told Channel Nine. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Wed Sep 13 16:50:46 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2000 19:50:46 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1568] Jane Kelsey - Select Committee Process on Singapore trade agreement a "sham" Message-ID: <000501c01d58$02348da0$3c85a7cb@notoapec> 13 September 2000: For Immediate Release Select Committee Process for Singapore Agreement a ?Sham? Referral of the Singapore free trade agreement to the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade select committee is a sham, according to Professor Jane Kelsey of Auckland University. The Committee is required to report back to Parliament within 15 sitting days ? around 19 October. That means there will be no time for solid independent analysis, let alone calling for, preparation and hearing of considered submissions by the Select Committee. "The text was secret until it was tabled in Parliament on Monday. The only information available until then was a minimal and self-serving cost-benefit analysis prepared by officials, which formed the basis of the Government?s much vaunted ?consultation?, and a more recent updated summary of some of its terms," said Professor Kelsey. "Those of us with concerns about its implications were reduced to shadow-boxing with the Government. Now that we have the text and can analyse its details, the time frame means there will be no genuine opportunity to make submissions and have the flaws in the Agreement reconsidered." "The Select Committee is dominated by Labour and National MPs and serviced by Foreign Affairs and Trade Officials. Leaving them to analyse the agreement and National Interest Analysis without independent submissions makes a mockery of the process". "There would be constitutional outrage if this approach was taken with a major piece of domestic legislation. It should be considered even more outrageous in an international agreement that purports to bind the policy and legislative options of future governments". Background Information: This is the first major international economic agreement to come before the select committee under standing orders 384 to 387, as amended last October after a limited review of the sessional orders for dealing with treaties that were introduced in 1998. Once the agreement has been presented to the House, both the text and the accompanying ?national interest assessment? stand referred to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade select committee. The standing orders impose no time limits for the select committee to report. Nor is there any specified procedure for conducting a public inquiry. The 1999 review of sessional orders said that 15 sitting days should be a minimum time for a committee examination. Because this would be inadequate where a treaty or agreement was controversial and the committee wished to conduct a public inquiry including the calling for submissions, the committee should be able to ask the Government for an assurance that no action would be taken on the agreement within a specified further time. There is no such provision in the new standing orders. Instead, a Cabinet memorandum dated February 2000, which has been obtained under the Official Information Act, requires the Select Committee to report within 15 days. Professor Jane Kelsey From notoapec at clear.net.nz Wed Sep 13 18:56:06 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2000 21:56:06 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1569] Singapore - NZ FTA - Singapore Straits Times 8/9/00 Message-ID: <000101c01d68$d7d2e1e0$785561cb@notoapec> S'pore-NZ pact a model for Asean By DOUGLAS WONG THE new free trade agreement (FTA) between Singapore and New Zealand has added momentum to a broader deal between Asean and Australasia, New Zealand Trade Minister Jim Sutton said on Wednesday. Speaking to The Straits Times after a three-nation tour -- in which he visited Jakarta, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur -- he said that he was hopeful of progress on a link between the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) and the Australian-New Zealand FTA known as the CER (Closer Economic Relations). ""The joint task force studying a tie-up concluded last month that it would be both possible and desirable, and ministers will consider their report next month at the Asean Economic Ministers meeting in Chiang Mai,'' he said. The tie-up could generate some US$50 billion (S$86.9 billion) in new business over the next 20 years. Mr Sutton said that he had discussed the issue with his Singapore counterpart, Brig-Gen George Yeo. ""We all recognise there needs to be an early dividend for less developed economies and that we also need to look at the non-tariff barriers to trade''. The agreement between New Zealand and Singapore on a Closer Economic Partnership (ANZSCEP) is being seen as a model for the broader link, he added. He noted that Malaysia's International Trade and Industry Minister, Datuk Rafidah Aziz, had told him that she was not enthusiastic about the term ""FTA'' and said that she preferred the Afta-CER link to be based on the CEP model. ""We blazed a trail with the CEP; it's a state-of-the-art agreement with rules of origin designed for the globalised manufacturing change, which is a useful precedent for Singapore. ""It also treats agriculture the same way as everything else, a useful precedent for us.'' Singapore and New Zealand inked their deal last month, after under a year of negotiations, and Mr Sutton said that while there had been some vocal opposition to the deal in his country, he was sure there would be overwhelming parliamentary support for it. ""I am going to do my absolute best to get it into operation by Jan 1, 2001.'' On the multilateral trade front, he said that the World Trade Organisation -- headed by New Zealander Mike Moore -- was unlikely to start a new global round of negotiations this year. ""I speak to Mike quite frequently. But while he still thinks there is a small chance, my sense is that we are not going to have another round this year.'' He was also cautious about progress by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Forum. ""The reality in international diplomacy is that you move a little bit at a time. I am satisfied if we make any detectable forward movement,'' he said of Apec. ""That is why we are working on bilateral and regional FTAs. I think it is gaining momentum.'' Copyright ? 2000 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Thu Sep 14 02:23:51 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (notoapec@clear.net.nz) Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2000 05:23:51 +1200 (NZST) Subject: [asia-apec 1570] NZ Herald - Message-ID: <200009131723.FAA17494@waklwh3.wilsonandhorton.co.nz> New Zealand Herald 14/09/00 - Quiet chat smooths path to trade pact By VERNON SMALL Prime Minister Helen Clark and Opposition leader Jenny Shipley have found a face-saving way for National to back the free trade agreement with Singapore. The leaders met in the Prime Minister's office yesterday to nut out the process, which would leave untouched a Treaty of Waitangi clause National had insisted should be changed. But the new-found mood of reconciliation only went so far. Reporters and photographers were banned from Helen Clark's ninth-floor Beehive suite to prevent any shots of the two together. There was no joint press conference or statement after the meeting, and Helen Clark would not meet reporters until her media staff had relayed to her details of Mrs Shipley's press conference. After the 20-minute meeting, attended by Finance Minister Michael Cullen, Trade Minister Jim Sutton, former National Trade Minister Lockwood Smith and National's trade spokesman, John Luxton, Helen Clark said she hoped that a "win-win solution" could be negotiated. "I have no doubt we can achieve a wording that will allow National and the Alliance to express their views," she said. The solution would see Parliament vote to support a free trade pact with Singapore, which National could agree to, without getting into details. "What is important is that we know before signing that there is very substantial support in the Parliament for the overall objective of such an agreement with Singapore," Helen Clark said. The Alliance and the Greens have said they will vote against the accord, meaning National's backing is crucial if Labour is to get a clear majority. Once broad approval was achieved, Parliament could then vote on the key Waitangi Treaty clause, which reserves the right to give Maori preferential treatment. The Greens and the Alliance are likely to support Labour's wording of that clause. Helen Clark said Singapore could be totally confident that the deal would go ahead. The treaty clause, which was similar to clauses National proposed when it was in Government, would be a precedent for future bilateral free-trade deals. "However, I would think that New Zealand Governments in the future, of whatever shade, would be looking to enter a general reservation into multi-lateral trade treaties ... giving preferential treatment [to Maori]." Mrs Shipley said she was optimistic of a deal that would allow National to support free trade with Singapore. But there would need to be an unequivocal statement separating National from the treaty clause, which allows more favourable treatment for Maori. "We do not support that and will seek to have it removed in due course." She said business leaders and key opinion leaders, whom she would not name, had expressed concern about the treaty clause. The Herald yesterday reported that former National Prime Minister Jim Bolger, now Ambassador to the US, and former Finance Minister Sir William Birch, who is advising the Government on free trade, were understood to be putting pressure on National and Mrs Shipley to find a way to back the pact. But she said that neither man had phoned her to urge such action. The compromise arrangement will be put to National's caucus meeting on Tuesday. But it has already incensed National's closest political ally, the Act party. Commerce spokesman Stephen Franks said New Zealand could pay a high price for the "race privilege clause," which would provide the "grievance industry" with a new litigation weapon. "National's behaviour shows exactly how we drifted into the current swamp. Without any sense of principle or integrity they are now negotiating a tawdry deal. "This is playing a corrupt political game with our constitutional future. "National is saying they will support racial privilege as long as you don't ask us to be seen to vote on it." ---------------------------------- storyID: 151291 fromname: GATT Watchdog frommessage: submit.x: 28 submit.y: 12 For more information on Wilson and Horton please visit our web site at http://www.wilsonandhorton.co.nz ********************************************************************** CAUTION - This message may contain privileged and confidential information intended only for the use of the addressee named above. If you are not the intended recipient of this message you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination, distribution or reproduction of this message is prohibited. If you have received this message in error please notify Wilson and Horton Limited immediately via email at postmaster@wilsonandhorton.co.nz, or by phone (649) 379 5050. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of Wilson and Horton Limited. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for the presence of computer viruses. This does not guarantee that this message is virus free. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Thu Sep 14 05:48:35 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2000 08:48:35 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1571] GATT Watchdog Outrage over NZ Govt attempt to sneak Singapore free trade deal through Message-ID: <001901c01dc4$11172960$d73761cb@notoapec> GATT Watchdog PO Box 1905 Christchurch GATT Watchdog Outraged at Indecent Haste to Sneak Singapore Agreement Through MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE USE 14 September 2000 While attention has focussed on the Parliamentary play-fight between Helen Clark and Jenny Shipley over the Singapore free trade and investment agreement the Government is trying to quietly and swiftly sneak the deal through, reneging on earlier statements that the public will be able to have any real input on the agreement, says GATT Watchdog.. GATT Watchdog learnt yesterday that Trade Minister Jim Sutton will give evidence this morning (Thursday 14 September) on the "closer economic partnership" with Singapore to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Select Committee which will consider the process for a select committee hearing on the agreement. "We understand that the call for submissions will go out tomorrow, with a ten-day deadline. This government says it believes in "free and fair trade". It says it believes in ?open government?. Its actions show that it really doesn?t give a damn about free, fair and informed debate on the issues," said Aziz Choudry of GATT Watchdog. "Pursuant to a February 2000 Cabinet memo, the Select Committee must report to Parliament within 15 sitting days. The 1999 review of sessional orders said that 15 sitting days should be a MINIMUM time for a committee examination. The equivalent committee in Australia also has a 15 sitting day MINIMUM." "This is in clear breach of the understanding given by Mr Sutton about the process surrounding this agreement. It would set a dangerous precedent for the consideration of future international agreements. Given that the Closer Economic Partnership with Singapore (CEP) is seen as a step towards a possible trade and investment agreement encompassing New Zealand, Australia and South East Asia, that is very disturbing." "There is absolutely no justification for this indecent haste. The Singapore agreement is not due to come into effect till January 1 2001." "Jim Sutton recently told journalists ?There is a high degree of public interest in this agreement. I am delighted that MPs and the public will now have an opportunity to have their say on it.?. Now Mr Sutton and co are thumbing their noses at the public and any MPs who want an opportunity to reconsider this agreement which has been negotiated in secrecy", said Mr Choudry. "The text of the CEP was only made available on Monday. It is 182 pages long with an 8-page National Interest Analysis. To expect people to obtain, read, analyse, digest, write and deliver submissions on this important agreement in a ten day period is outrageous and insulting." "People need an appropriate amount of time to consider the contents of the agreement and its implications. Anything less than a month is just not good enough - even if the Trade Minister was to personally deliver a copy of the text of the agreement to every household in the country" "We suspect Mr Sutton and Ms Clark want this deal stitched up so they can announce it with great fanfare around the time of November?s APEC Summit in Brunei. With APEC in virtual paralysis and the WTO reeling from failure to launch a new round of global trade talks in Seattle last year, both governments see the agreement as a way to symbolically put some "ooomph" back into international trade and investment liberalisation." "Like its predecessors, this government is petrified of any genuine contest of ideas about free trade. Foreign Affairs and Trade officials did not want a repeat of the 1997/8 hui held to "consult" Maori at which the Multilateral Agreement on Investment was solidly rejected. With the failure of free trade and investment policies to deliver the promised benefits to the majority of New Zealanders, and this week?s mass mobilisations against the global free market economy outside the World Economic Forum in Melbourne fresh in many people?s minds, it aims to sneak this through and avoid further controversy. It must be stopped." For further comment, ph Aziz Choudry, GATT Watchdog - 03 3662803 From notoapec at clear.net.nz Fri Sep 15 03:46:36 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (notoapec@clear.net.nz) Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 06:46:36 +1200 (NZST) Subject: [asia-apec 1572] NZ Herald - Message-ID: <200009141846.GAA28849@waklwh3.wilsonandhorton.co.nz> NZ Herald 15/09/00 - NZ reassures Singapore on trade stance By BERNARD ORSMAN New Zealand has assured Singapore that political sparring between National and Labour will not scupper a free-trade deal between the countries. Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton had to reassure Singapore High Commissioner Tan Keng Jin on Tuesday afternoon when Opposition leader Jenny Shipley was hedging on National support for the agreement unless changes were made to the wording of a Treaty of Waitangi clause. With the Alliance joining the Greens in opposing the agreement, leaving Labour relying on National to pass a parliamentary vote of approval for it, the deal and New Zealand's free-trade credentials were at risk. Mr Tan approached Mr Sutton at a Dairy Board function in Wellington for an explanation over the political scrapping. A spokeswoman for Mr Sutton said the minister reassured Mr Tan that it was just politics and there was nothing to worry about. Later on Tuesday, Mrs Shipley started working on a face-saving way for National to back the pact that would also allow her MPs to oppose the treaty clause, which allows more favourable treatment for Maori. Mr Tan took the unusual step yesterday of attending a parliamentary select committee meeting that discussed the "closer economic partnership" with Singapore. He sat alongside Mr Sutton as a "friendly observer," taking notes, and declined to comment when asked by the committee. At one point, Mr Sutton stepped in stop NZ First leader Winston Peters quizzing Mr Tan. Under intense questioning from National's John Luxton and Lockwood Smith, at the foreign affairs and defence select committee, Mr Sutton was unable to say who inserted the words "favourable treatment for Maori" after a discussion paper on the pact, which did not include them, went out for public comment in April. ---------------------------------- storyID: 151389 fromname: gatt watchdog frommessage: submit.x: 27 submit.y: 15 For more information on Wilson and Horton please visit our web site at http://www.wilsonandhorton.co.nz ********************************************************************** CAUTION - This message may contain privileged and confidential information intended only for the use of the addressee named above. If you are not the intended recipient of this message you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination, distribution or reproduction of this message is prohibited. If you have received this message in error please notify Wilson and Horton Limited immediately via email at postmaster@wilsonandhorton.co.nz, or by phone (649) 379 5050. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and may not necessarily reflect the views of Wilson and Horton Limited. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for the presence of computer viruses. This does not guarantee that this message is virus free. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Sat Sep 16 05:14:16 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 08:14:16 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1573] Fw: Singapore Seeks Pivotal Trade Role Message-ID: <000c01c01f51$87479000$4084a7cb@notoapec> 14 Sept 2000 Stratfor.com Singapore Seeks Pivotal Trade Role Summary Singapore is redoubling its efforts to establish bilateral free trade agreements, later blending its various agreements into larger regional trade accords. In doing so, the country improves its export opportunities as well as increases overall international trade traffic ? a process from which it stands to benefit. This allows Singapore to reap the economic and political rewards by setting itself up as the fulcrum of Asian trade. Analysis The Asian financial crisis sapped the enthusiasm of most Asian states for more liberalized trade. Not Singapore?s. Over the past two years Singapore has begun to favor new bilateral free trade agreements over multilateral accords. In doing so, the government is working to increase its own export opportunities as well as increase overall international trade traffic, a process from which it stands to benefit. And as Singapore blends its various bilateral trade agreements into larger regional trade accords, the country will reap economic and political rewards for being the initiator and dealmaker. Singapore is setting itself up as the center of Asian trade. In the past, Singapore has strongly supported a strong World Trade Organization (WTO), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), three organizations that seek to lower trade barriers among their members. But simply getting the members of those organizations to meet takes years. Last year?s disastrous WTO summit in Seattle vividly demonstrated to Singapore how little hope new trade rounds have when leading powers ? such as the United States and the European Union ? cannot agree on basic issues. So Singapore has struck out on its own. While the country continues its longstanding efforts to deepen WTO, APEC and ASEAN, it now favors bilateral free trade agreements. In the past two years Singapore has signed trade deals with Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, South Korea and the United States. But why is Singapore so committed to free trade? Unlike most of its neighbors, the 1998-1999 financial crisis did not derail Singapore?s economic growth. Consequently, there is little sentiment in favor of protectionism in the Singaporean government. The underlying reality, however, is that trade is far more important to Singapore than it is to even the export-oriented economies of Asia. All sea trade between Europe and Asia passes through the Strait of Malacca, which is on Singapore?s doorstep. This allows Singapore to profit ? as a transshipment point ? from trade in which it is not directly involved. As a result, Singapore is the world?s largest transshipment point, with an annual throughput of 16 million containers in 1999. This makes Singapore an attractive trading partner to any state. Singapore accounts for approximately 1.5 percent of all global trade, about the same amount as Mexico, a country with 30 times the population. Singapore has other critical advantages in negotiating trade deals. It has no agricultural sector. Consequently, it has no farm lobby to protect. One of the thorniest free trade issues is how to incorporate heavily protected agricultural sectors. This allows Singapore to breeze through bilateral negotiations that have bogged down multilateral negotiations. As well, other states view trade deals with tiny Singapore as safe bets. The Asian crash was complicated by speculative attacks on the Asian currencies. But speculators tend to avoid fiddling with the Singapore dollar partly due to Singapore?s vast foreign currency reserves. In the crisis? darkest days, Singapore held $75 billion in currency reserves, the world?s largest on a per capita basis. Furthermore, Singapore has no foreign debt, freeing up a vast amount of capital for investment abroad. Finally, despite Singapore?s per capita wealth ? just shy of $30,000 in 1999 ? it has only 3.2 million people. Few countries fear a flood of Singaporean goods, much less Singaporean troops. This makes economic relations with Singapore beneficial, safe and predictable. Singapore?s next step will be to bind its various agreements together into larger trade accords. The government?s most ambitious plan envisions a Pacific-5 free trade deal incorporating Australia, Chile, New Zealand, Singapore and the United States. Other programs seek to combine different bilateral agreements into trilateral ones. And while Singapore has not yet played the ASEAN card in trade negotiations, it certainly plans to use the organization?s market of 500 million consumers to its advantage. Singapore?s strategy is not purely economic, however. Diplomatically, Singapore will get the credit for melding its various bilateral links into larger trading structures, strengthening the country?s economic and political profile. This is especially useful when one considers that Singapore lives in an unstable neighborhood. If major powers beyond Southeast Asia have an interest in Singapore?s survival, its immediate neighbors will be a bit more willing to negotiate rather than bully. But most importantly, by becoming the architect and initiator of Asia?s evolving trade format, Singapore is positioning itself as the logical centerpiece for economic, political and diplomatic traffic ? that?s a very powerful place to be. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Sat Sep 16 05:16:05 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 08:16:05 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1574] Fw: NZ-S'pore free trade pact a sure thing Message-ID: <000f01c01f51$c811ddc0$4084a7cb@notoapec> >Straits Times 14 Sept 2000 > >NZ-S'pore free trade pact a sure thing > > >By DOUGLAS WONG > > >SINGAPORE can have ""absolute confidence'' that the bilateral free trade >agreement with New Zealand would be ratified, said New Zealand Prime >Minister Helen Clark yesterday. > >Ms Clark said she had reached an agreement with Ms Jenny Shipley, leader of >opposition National Party -- whose administration first started work on the >deal with Singapore -- that should ensure parliamentary backing for the >pact. > >Her coalition partners, the Alliance and Green Parties, have said they will >vote against the free trade deal, while the National Party opposed a clause >which refers to the government's treaty obligations to improve the rights of >the indigenous Maori people. > >Confirming this, Mrs Shipley yesterday said her party supported the New >Zealand Singapore Closer Economic Partnership agreement (CEP) in principle, >but it would seek to negotiate a removal or rewording of the Maori clause if >it came back to office. > >""We have agreed to try and see if a mechanism can be arranged to >disassociate ourselves from the text,'' she told reporters after meeting the >Prime Minister. > >The Labour-led government is expected to come up with a text for a >parliamentary motion which would allow the National Party to support the >specific law changes required by the pact without endorsing the overall >treaty with the contentious clause. > >""I think the Singaporeans can take from what has been said today with >absolute confidence that the agreement will be signed...it will be passed >and there will be ratification,'' Ms Clark told reporters. > >She had met Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong in New York last week on the >sidelines of the United Nations Millennium summit and assured him that the >deal would be concluded. > >New Zealand political analysts told The Straits Times that the National >Party's opposition to the government's Maori policies was focused more on >unrelated health-restructuring plans and that party elders had persuaded Mrs >Shipley not to jeopardise the CEP. > >A parliamentary vote is expected in about two weeks and the free trade >agreement looks set to come into effect as planned on Jan 1 next year, the >analysts said > > > > > From notoapec at clear.net.nz Sat Sep 16 06:32:31 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 09:32:31 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1575] APEC - Borneo Bulletin Online, Brunei Message-ID: <001901c01f5c$752e6140$e784a7cb@notoapec> FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2000 Reaping the benefits from APEC 2000 By Jacky Lim & Mohd. Azrol Azmi The Information Department organised a briefing yesterday on APEC 2000 at the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources. This 9th Courtesy briefing was given to Heads of Departments, Deputy Heads of Departments and Assistant Heads of Departments from the Government sector. The Director of the Information Department, Abd Ghani Pg Hj Metusin chaired the briefing. He said that the briefing was aimed at expressing the country's commitment and dedication to as well as detailing the preparations for the APEC 2000 Summit. The briefing not only provided information and allowed guests to share their knowledge but also acted as a medium to pass information onto the staff of the respective Government Departments. Also present to brief the Government Heads of Departments, was a representative from the APEC Secretariat, Awang Haji Mohd Hamid bin Hj Mohd Jaafar, APEC National Secretariat Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There are a few benefits for the country in hosting the APEC 2000 explained Awang Hj Mohd Hamid. APEC 2000 will put Brunei on the global Business Ventures map and attract the attention of companies seeking partners in the South East Asian region. Awang Hj Mohd Hamid said that the SMEs in Brunei will also benefit and be able to expand as well as lure additional investment. A good business venture will be able to create more job opportunities for young Bruneians. This in turn will raise the people's standard of living and stabilise the economy. Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Dewa Major General (ret) Dato Seri Pahlawan Hj Mohammad Bin Hj Daud, the Executive Director APEC2000, Ministry Of Foreign Affairs highlighted the shortage of vehicles and accommodation for the APEC delegates. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Sat Sep 16 06:36:31 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 09:36:31 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1576] Brunei - APEC 2000 10/09/00 Message-ID: <001b01c01f5d$043e8680$e784a7cb@notoapec> Borneo Bulletin Online Time To Restore Credibility By Sabyasachi Mitra - Reuters Brunei's Lead Chair Minister of Industry and Primary Resources Pehin Rahman and Co-Chair NZ Minister of Finance Dr Michael Cullen with other delegates at the meeting yesterday. Photo: Hj Md Said Finance ministers from Pacific Rim nations began a two-day meeting on Saturday to get the diverse regional grouping back on track even as soaring global crude oil prices threatened to steal the limelight. "One of the main issues on the agenda is to enhance the credibility and effectiveness of the Apec finance ministers' process," a Southeast Asian finance ministry official told Reuters. "But many members have raised the issue of high oil prices though it was not formally on the agenda," he said. Apec finance deputies, who prepared the agenda for the ministerial meeting, said it might formally urge the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to raise crude output to combat high global oil prices. Officials from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank attending the meetings have expressed concern that oil prices -- currently at 10-year highs -- could derail recovery in Asian economies. The line up for Apec's seventh annual meeting of finance ministers being held in the oil-rich kingdom of Brunei include Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa and US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers. "The Asian crisis in 1997 had destabilised the Apec process," New Zealand Finance Minister Michael Cullen said, adding the ministers hoped to inject dynamism and restore credibility to the elite regional grouping. Apec, which accounts for 60 percent of global economic output and nearly 45 per cent of word trade, aims to achieve free trade and investment between its members by 2010 for developed economies and 2020 for developing ones. "I think that focus has somewhat taken a backseat," Prasenjit Basu, Credit Suisse First Boston's chief economist for Southeast Asia, told Reuters by telephone from Singapore. Apec finance ministers are expected to reaffirm their political commitment to economic reforms in a communique at the end of their meeting on Sunday. "Apec is a forum where everybody has to commit to a certain level of reform measures otherwise the future of Apec will be in doubt," a senior Brunei finance ministry official told Reuters. "The issue of globalisation and reform of the global financial system is a part of this process," he said. Investors say many Asian nations, basking in the glow of their stunning economic rebound, are delaying tougher microeconomic reforms in banking and corporate sectors. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Copyright ? 2000 Brunei Press Sdn Bhd. All right reserved. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Sat Sep 16 06:38:36 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 09:38:36 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1577] Borneo Bulletin Sunday 10 Sept - APEC 2000 - Brunei Message-ID: <001d01c01f5d$5146fc00$e784a7cb@notoapec> Boost For Financial Systems By Shino Yuasa - AFP Malaysian Deputy Finance Minister Shafie Mohd Salleh and South Korean Ministers of Finance and Economy Jin Nyum arrive for the meeting. Reuters China's Minister of Finance Xiang Huaicheng (L) and Hong Kong's Secretary of Financial Services, Stephen Ip at the talks. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum needs to step up its programme to provide training for financial regulators in the region to ensure its economic future, a group of experts said. Following the Asian financial crisis, reform of financial institutions is essential to ensure lasting recovery, said a memorandum to Apec from a panel of experts linked to the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council, a grouping of academics, businesses and governments from 25 Pacific Rim countries. "Weaknesses in domestic financial systems, especially banking systems, were a central and common cause of the financial crisis in all of the Asian countries," the report said. It urged Apec to launch a major economic and technical training programme in the financial sector to provide training for banking and financial workers. Apec finance ministers should play a central role in the planning process and develop final recommendations for the program before an Apec summit meeting here in November, the experts said. Although various training programmes are available through Apec, these have faced problems, including being insufficient to meet the demand from emerging market economies. They also lack a clarity of purpose, are of uneven quality and there is a lack of coordination between programmes.The experts suggested such an institute be funded through individual contributions or by Brunei supplying 50-100 million dollars to mark its chairmanship of Apec this year. "Such an effort could play a major role in both helping Asia assure its recovery from the crisis on a lasting basis and in restoring Apec to a vital role in promoting stability and prosperity in the region," the report said. The experts said Apec faces a crucial time of testing. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Copyright ? 2000 Brunei Press Sdn Bhd. All right reserved. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Sat Sep 16 06:40:29 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 09:40:29 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1578] APEC Finance Ministers Spouses Programme Message-ID: <001f01c01f5d$954f5dc0$e784a7cb@notoapec> Borneo Bulletin Sunday 10 Sep 2000 Spouses visit SOAS mosque By Mohd Bahrin APEC Finance Ministers' spouses inside the mosque. Getting a briefing from Malai Norain Mohamed. Why are Muslims permitted to have four wives? Is it necessary to perform ablution before prayers? Do they have to pray five times a day? Why should we open our shoes before entering a mosque? Those are some of the many questions asked by the wives of finance ministers from the APEC member economies. The spouses made a short visit to one of the famous landmarks in Brunei, the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque in the capital yesterday afternoon. It seems the Islam religion and its developments and the spread in the country was quite a very unknown chapter for them. This was the opportunity for them to learn about the official religion of the country and its role in the national concept of the Malay Islamic Monarchy (MIB). During their visit, they were briefed on the details of the mosque and its beautiful architecture build by the 28th Sultan of Brunei and the "Architect of Modern Brunei" by the Public Relations Officer from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Malai Norain Mohamed. They were told the ethics and respect for mosques. Muslim followers always considered that mosques as holy places and houses of Allah. From aaronj at interchange.ubc.ca Sun Sep 17 10:48:55 2000 From: aaronj at interchange.ubc.ca (Aaron James) Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2000 18:48:55 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1579] Apec "must improve Customs procedures' Message-ID: <3.0.6.32.20000916184855.0082f310@pop.interchange.ubc.ca> Straits Times SEP 15 2000 Apec "must improve Customs procedures' By NARENDRA AGGARWAL THE developed countries among the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) grouping should help developing countries improve their Customs procedures to promote international trade. This was one of the suggestions that emerged from the two-day Apec workshop on trade facilitation in the Asia-Pacific that ended in Singapore yesterday. ""It was felt that some of the more developed economies in Apec should provide technical cooperation to the less developed countries within the grouping to strengthen their customs administration and standardisation,'' said Mr Stuart Carre, a senior official from the Canadian Foreign Ministry, which co-sponsored the workshop along with the World Bank. The workshop attracted more than 100 participants -- government officials, academics and private-sector representatives -- from 20 Apec member countries. Russia was the only country unrepresented. The Canadian official told The Straits Times that participants were concerned over the increasing gap in the transit time taken by goods at the borders of developing countries within Apec, compared to the time taken at the borders of developed countries. World Bank lead economist John Wilson said ""trade facilitation as a means of promoting global trade should take a higher profile in the trade agenda of international bodies like Apec''. One of the reasons the Apec workshop had been convened here was ""because Singapore is a model of trade facilitation'' and the organisers wanted participants to see the benefits that an open trading system had brought to the country. He said the World Bank had developed an ""Infodev'' programme under which the resources of the private sector were being pooled with those of the bank to support e-commerce around the world, especially for the benefit of small and medium-sized enterprises. Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada chief economist Woo Yuen Pau said the overall Apec mechanism ""was floundering as nothing substantial had been achieved''. For instance, he said, a recent survey on Customs, standards and business mobility in the Apec region, done by the foundation for the Apec Business Advisory Council, showed that Apec's approval rating among businessmen was only in the 20 per cent range. ""The response was overwhelmingly negative -- respondents were either unaware of Apec's efforts or they felt Apec's efforts were not effective. ""This result is a serious rebuke to Apec, whether interpreted as lack of action, lack of success, or simply lack of communication,'' Mr Woo noted. World Bank's Mr Wilson said that the workshop had taken note of the need to involve the private sector more closely in Apec activities. Recommendations from the workshop would be presented to the Apec leaders at their summit meeting in Brunei in November. Copyright ? 2000 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved. -------------------------- Aaron James 101 - 1717 Comox Street Vancouver, British Columbia V6G 1P5 phone (work): 604-255-7346 phone (home): 604-602-1626 fax: 604-255-0971 http://members.tripod.com/aaronjeromewestjames From notoapec at clear.net.nz Mon Sep 18 06:02:46 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 09:02:46 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1580] NZ Press Assn article - Singapore FTA Message-ID: <000c01c020ea$a33a0aa0$e8cda7cb@notoapec> MONDAY, 18 SEPTEMBER 2000 F E A T U R E S S T O R Y Singapore deal stepping stone to bigger economies 16 SEPTEMBER 2000 There's much more to New Zealand's proposed trade agreement with Singapore than meets the eye ? it could lead to stronger economic relationships with Asia and even the rest of the world. If the Government and the Opposition can agree on the wording of New Zealand's Closer Economic Partnership agreement with Singapore, the country could be opening more than just one trade door. Commentators say the trade deal could be the start of something big and that, by forging links with Singapore, New Zealand will gain greater access to both South-East and North-East Asian economies, followed by the Americas. Finance Minister Michael Cullen said the Government hoped to have the trade agreement with Singapore in place by January 1 next year. It will wipe tariffs on locally-made goods from each country and liberalise trade in services between the two countries. Since New Zealand and Australia forged a Closer Economic Relations agreement, trans-Tasman trade has surged. The same could be expected under the Singapore pact. Statistics New Zealand said imports from Singapore were worth $458 million last year out of a total $24.248 billion. Provisional figures for the 2000, to the end of July, were $538 million out of $29.206 billion. The Alliance's protectionist policies mean Labour needs National's support to cement the agreement but the major parties have hit a snag. They are quibbling about a clause reserving the New Zealand Government's ability to fulfil its Treaty of Waitangi commitments and take action to close the gaps between Maori and other New Zealanders. If and when the two parties ratify the agreement, the benefits for New Zealand's economy could be huge, Victoria University emeritus professor in economics Sir Frank Holmes told NZPA. As well as the direct effects of the deal ? reduced trade barriers between the countries ? it would also act as a stepping stone towards other more important arrangements, Sir Frank said. The arrangement wouldn't make much of a difference to the agricultural and manufacturing sectors because access in those areas was already quite free, he said. "It's only in areas where there's an element of protection, such as textiles and clothing, where there may be some additional competition." The Trade Union Federation had expressed concern the Singapore free trade agreement could be used to get products from Indonesian sweatshops into New Zealand through the back door. It feared textiles, clothing and shoes could be made on the cheap on Indonesian islands just off the coast of Singapore. But a spokeswoman for Overseas Trade Minister Jim Sutton said 40 per cent of an item must be sourced in Singapore to qualify under the agreement. The rules stipulated this 40 per cent must not be simply a minimal process, like packaging or labelling. Sir Frank agreed, saying the rules would prevent goods from other countries being brought into New Zealand. "As far as the textile industry is concerned, we were on the way to removing all our barriers to trade anyway. "The Singaporeans would not have been interested in just New Zealand ? we're not as important as all that ? but they have somewhat similar reasons to our own. They want this to be a model which one hopes others will adopt." - Sir Frank Holmes "There are much fewer barriers now than there used to be and the really good parts of the textile and clothing industry ? the ones where we have good New Zealand design and things like that ? are surviving and thriving quite well, selling into other markets," he said. "(The agreement) will ginger up the whole industry over time and as long as particular industries have a few years to get ready for the competition, if it's any good it will adjust." But the main benefits to New Zealand would come through in the services sector, with considerable improvements anticipated in the sale of educational, financial and legal services. "They're trying to improve their own performance in that area and they've had a lot of restrictions on competition there," Sir Frank said. "If New Zealand gets a free trade deal with them we may have some advantage over other countries in getting access to their fairly restricted market." The agreement would also put Singapore and New Zealand in "a rather special political position" and both would be more interested in investing in each another's countries, he said. "There's quite a bit of Singaporean investment in New Zealand already and their interest in us will probably be increased to some extent." Singapore Airlines owns 25 per cent of national carrier Air New Zealand, and Brierley Investments is now based in Singapore. In a speech to the Singapore/New Zealand Business Council in Singapore, Dr Cullen said the agreement would put New Zealand's bilateral trade and economic relationship with Singapore on a "new and firmer footing". "It will stimulate and encourage trade and investment and significantly enhance our economic partnership with this key Asian economy," he said. However, Sir Frank said the deal might lead to more significant arrangements with other countries, "and they are much more important than the direct benefits that we might get from the Singapore deal". Australia and New Zealand's CER pact could be linked with the Association of South-East Asian Nations' free trade agreement, he said. The Singapore-New Zealand deal would be a good stepping stone towards that broader arrangement. "We hope that the Australians will want to come in on this deal ? it's a starting point not a finishing point for other arrangements that are more important than the Singapore-New Zealand deal directly. "The Singaporeans would not have been interested in just New Zealand ? we're not as important as all that ? but they have somewhat similar reasons to our own. They want this to be a model which one hopes others will adopt." Parts of North-East Asia were also forging regional trading agreements in other parts of Asia, Sir Frank said. "Even the Japanese are negotiating with Singapore about the possibility of a free trade deal, the Koreans are doing quite a bit. There's a danger that countries like Australia and New Zealand might be left out of this game unless we have linkages with other countries in Asia. "The Singapore deal links us in with one of these countries that will participate with the North-East Asian countries, Japan Korea, Taiwan and perhaps China." Sir Frank said the Singapore deal could also be a step towards the mooted P5 agreement between Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Chile and the United States. "It's terribly important to us and to Australia that we're not left out in the cold. The Singapore link is a link with a small but important country in Asia that might be useful in keeping us in the game." - NZPA From notoapec at clear.net.nz Mon Sep 18 13:38:15 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 16:38:15 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1581] Singapore Straits Times 10/09/00 on Singapore FTA Message-ID: <000e01c0212a$43cc9d40$5ecca7cb@notoapec> Singapore Straits Times 10 September 2000 S'pore, NZ free trade pact deemed a done deal Prime Minister Goh says that all that is left to be done is to sign the document when it is ready, and New Zealand expects that will be soon By IRENE NG POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT NEW YORK -- Barely a year after the idea was mooted, the free trade pact between Singapore and New Zealand is considered a done deal for Singapore. Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said all that is needed to be done was to sign the final document once it is ready. And it is expected to be ready ""reasonably soon'', New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said, adding that New Zealand was ""enthusiastic'' about the pact. The two leaders were speaking to reporters after their bilateral meeting here on the sidelines of the UN Millennium Summit. Ms Clark explained that the process of signing international treaties in New Zealand has to go through several stages and be scrutinised by several parliamentary bodies. ""But we are very, very close,'' she said. ""This process began, after all, with the very positive meetings with PM Goh and Mrs Jenny Shipley last year.'' Mrs Shipley, of the National Party, was then New Zealand prime minister. Last September, on the sidelines of the Apec summit in Auckland, she and Mr Goh agreed to start negotiations on a free trade agreement which would hasten the pace of liberalisation between the two countries. Ms Clark told reporters: ""I would expect the National Party to carry through on its original commitment.'' The idea was that the FTA could be the harbinger of a wider arrangement involving countries such as Australia and Chile. Mr Goh believed that such bilateral FTAs would be useful for forcing the pace of wider trade liberalisation, given that Apec was not moving as fast as it was hoped. Agreeing, Ms Clark added that the bilateral pact is a ""demonstration to others that this is possible with goodwill and painstaking negotiation''. ""I think when Chileans see the progress we have made on this, they will show more interest. There has also been some indication of greater interest from Australia now that they've seen that Singapore and New Zealand have actually pulled this off,'' she added. This message seems all the more forceful, given that in New Zealand, the FTA has led to a political juggling act for the Labour-led minority coalition government of Ms Clark. Promoting the FTA has brought it into conflict with its avowedly anti-free trade coalition supporters, the Alliance and Green parties. But Ms Clark seemed confident that this problem could be overcome. Besides the FTA, both leaders also discussed this week's tragedy in West Timor, which caused great consternation among leaders gathered at the UN summit. Three UN relief workers were killed by thousands of refugees and pro-Jakarta militiamen. Mr Goh said Singapore hoped that the situation in both West Timor and East Timor would stabilise. ""Indonesia, as the Government of West Timor, has to ensure that UN facilities and personnel are not attacked, but as Indonesia is a vast country undergoing political transition, we understand its difficulty in enforcing their word in far away provinces,'' he said. Mr Goh also had bilateral meetings on Thursday, with Botswana President Festus Mogae and International Labour Organisation director-general Juan Somavia. Yesterday, he met Israel Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Rwanda President Paul Kagame, and Morocco Crown Prince Moulay Rachid. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Tue Sep 19 09:16:16 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 12:16:16 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1582] APEC no guarantee to prosperity - 17/09/00 - Borneo Bulletin Online Message-ID: <000301c021ce$d723c880$edcda7cb@notoapec> APEC no guarantee to prosperity Malai Hassan Othman and Jacky Lim The Deputy Finance Minister (centre, front row) speaking at yesterday's meeting. Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation or APEC is not a ticket for small economies like Brunei to greater progress and prosperity in this era of world new order. Participating in APEC process does not mean capital and investment flow will increase, or economic growth will accelerate for all member economies. "Much will depend on the economic and related policies, the response of investors, as well as the growth of additional capacities and capabilities for increased exports. Increased productivity and efficiency and increased exploitation and use of technology (by respective economies) are also instrumental," said Dato Haji Awang Selamat Munap, the Deputy Minister of Finance yesterday. He spoke at the start of a two-day second meeting of the APEC sub-committee on Customs Procedures being held at the International Convention Centre in Berakas. Dato Awang Haji Selamat described their works as preparing for a more level playing field for the players or economies to engage in. He noted these efforts could contribute towards advancing the APEC Agenda of Investment and Trade Liberalisation for the Asia Pacific Economies in the context of open regionalism. But he said while the ultimate agenda is economic growth and prosperity for all, there is no certainty that in short, medium and long term, every economy in APEC would benefit from the cumulative advance of this APEC Agenda. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Copyright ? 2000 Brunei Press Sdn Bhd. All right reserved. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Wed Sep 20 03:09:14 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 06:09:14 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1583] New Zealand Herald oped 20 Sept 2000 - Jane Kelsey on Singapore FTA Message-ID: <000101c02264$b9c8ea40$fc84a7cb@notoapec> NZ Herald 20.09.00 Dialogue: Trade treaty dilutes our sovereignty 20.09.2000 - By JANE KELSEY* Imagine the Government has announced a law that would prohibit any future government from ever reintroducing tariffs on anything, while it concedes that more factories will close and workers, mainly Maori and Pacific Island women, will lose their jobs as a result. The same law plans to stop any New Zealand Government from ever again requiring a foreign investor to seek approval for an investment of less than $50 million, except for large or sensitive areas of land and fishing quotas. It would also prevent central Government and local authorities from ever deciding to Buy New Zealand for purchases over $125,000, so that local businesses and workers might gain a preferential benefit from the money which is collected from them and other citizens through rates and taxation. Nor could they prefer local companies in tenders for providing environmental services such as waste disposal. And, despite the Government's concern that regional economies are struggling and the gaps between the rich and the poor are widening, the new law would ban the future use of subsidies to support those communities, and instead promises a foreign country that it will treat their products, services and investors at least as well, if not better, than it treats our own. Imagine, too, that this proposed law with its detailed schedules is 190 pages long. Copies are made available only on the Government's website. It's too bad if you can't afford a computer, or live in a rural area without reliable links to the internet. The Government has referred the law to a select committee. It is not due to come into effect until January 2001, so there's plenty of time to call for and hear submissions and reflect on the views expressed. But the cabinet has decided it must be reported back within 15 sitting days. So the committee gives the public nine days to penetrate the trade jargon and legalese and post in their submissions. The tight time-frame means those who make submissions have no guarantee of being heard. That may not matter much, because the committee has no power to amend the proposed law anyway. When the committee reports back to the House, the report will be debated and the law voted on in resolutions that are carefully worded to ensure a Government majority on each motion. Even then, the vote won't bind the cabinet. It has reserved the exclusive right to make the law binding, and parts of it enforceable by international tribunals of trade experts that sit overseas. This may sound outrageous. Yet that, and more, is the story of the proposed free trade and investment agreement with Singapore. Reported to the House on September 11, the lengthy document is now the subject of a farcical select committee process, the precursor to Parliament's debate on resolutions which the major parties have pre-scripted to their mutual satisfaction. The cabinet retains the executive authority to sign. The Government defends the timing and process by claiming there has been extensive and unprecedented consultation on the deal, and those with an interest will have no problem meeting the deadline. But the text was secret until it was tabled in Parliament. The only public information was a minimal and self-serving cost-benefit analysis prepared by officials, which formed the basis of the Government's vaunted consultation, followed by an updated summary of some of its content. The Government claims it has opened the process more than ever before (in fact, the National Government was forced to release more information on the Multilateral Agreement on Investment in 1997 and 1998). Trade officials have met a wider range of groups this time. But those with concerns about the agreement, ranging from local manufacturers, to exporters, to unions, overwhelmingly reported that they were met with deaf ears. Maori were consulted only through hand-picked focus groups. Those who dissented were ignored, as were their questions about the exclusion of the treaty partner from this negotiation process. Others with concerns about specific aspects of the agreement, such as the rights granted to Singaporean investors and the enforcement of those guarantees, were reduced to shadow-boxing with the Government. Now the text is available, they are faced with a fait accompli. There is no genuine opportunity to make submissions, raise concerns and have the flaws in the agreement reconsidered. This is deeply disappointing, and will do nothing to stem the tide of criticism, here and internationally, about the democratic deficit which agreements like this symbolise. Subjecting treaties to a parliamentary vote is a major step forward, one which should be paralleled by recognising that this nation's first treaty guarantees Maori a central role in such negotiations. But New Zealand remains well behind the 8-ball in opening the treaty-making process to scrutiny. Across the Tasman, the joint standing committee on treaties is conducting an extensive inquiry into the implications of the WTO agreements and any further negotiations. People have had months to prepare submissions, and all will have the right to be heard. Several years ago, in the wake of the MAI furore, New Zealand adopted a watered-down version of Australia's approach. New sessional orders provided for international agreements to be presented to the House, with an accompanying national interest analysis drafted by officials. Both were then referred to the foreign affairs, defence and trade select committee, which had the option to call for submissions, then report back to the House. There might be a debate, but no vote. That process was reviewed in late 1999 (without seeking public submissions) and incorporated into standing orders. This is the first major international economic agreement to come before the select committee under those rules. But the cabinet took a shortcut along the way. The 1999 review said 15 sitting days should be a minimum for select committee examination. Where a treaty was controversial and the committee wanted to call for submissions, it should seek more time before the agreement was ratified. That is the Australian approach. There is no such provision in the new standing orders here. Instead, a cabinet memorandum dated February 2000, obtained through an urgent Official Information Act request last week, requires the select committee to report within 15 days. There is no apparent reason, except to shut down an inconvenient and potentially embarrassing debate. This is more than a matter of democratic process. Such agreements sign away the sovereignty of this country in pursuit of a free trade dogma which has dwindling credibility. When even the Princes St branch of the Labour Party, the nursery of the present Labour Government's leadership, warns that Labour's commitment to trade liberalisation needs to be debated within the party before any agreement with Singapore is signed, the Government can no longer afford to turn a deaf ear. *Professor Jane Kelsey teaches economics at Auckland University. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Wed Sep 20 03:57:08 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 06:57:08 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1584] LA Times on China/trade Message-ID: <000901c0226b$6c83dcc0$fc84a7cb@notoapec> LA Times 19.9.00 NEWS ANALYSIS Senate Poised to Pass China Trade Measure Commerce: Approval would ease the country's entry into the WTO, a move seen globally with both eagerness and anxiety. By JONATHAN PETERSON, Times Staff Writer WASHINGTON--The Senate's expected vote today to normalize trade relations with China will echo through the world economy for years, unleashing fierce new competition for many countries and confronting global rule-makers with a trader that has been notoriously aloof to the rule of law. Specifically, the vote would pave the way for China to join the World Trade Organization, the Geneva-based entity that is the closest thing to a referee for the global economy. China's membership is expected within months, concluding its 13-year quest to enter the club. Yet China would be a WTO member like no other. It is a first-tier trading power that often lines up with the world's have-nots on key policy matters. Although it has grown dramatically outside the formal international economic system, it would have to struggle to work within it. Beyond that, China's economy remains fraught with risks for the outsiders who envision riches in its historic market opening. "There's been a lot of optimistic rhetoric" about the benefits of China joining the world's trading system, said Greg Mastel, director of the global economic policy project at the New America Foundation, a Washington think tank. "The reality is that for at least five or 10 years, it's going to be a rocky ride." Until now, much of the U.S. debate has centered on how China would be changed by deeper engagement with the United States and the rest of the world. Less discussed, however, has been how deeper Chinese engagement will affect an already disorderly global economy and the ongoing struggle to discipline it. China has operated carefully in the United Nations and other global bodies, where it has sought the image of a responsible, major power, experts point out. Still, some of these same analysts and scholars suggest that China's impact on the WTO could be significant: * China represents an influential new voice for the emerging world in a trading system that already is polarized between rich and poor. China is certain to oppose the U.S. goal of including workplace standards in trade deals, and to approach calls for new environmental controls with great wariness. * At the same time, China will pose a growing competitive threat to the very emerging nations that it sometimes speaks for. To cite a major example, it will compete fiercely with poor countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa to sell apparel and other textile products to the United States. * As Beijing slashes formal barriers to foreign investment, corporate America is preparing to set up new manufacturing and services in China, fueling future controversies over lost U.S. jobs in a flap reminiscent of the North American Free Trade Agreement. "I would expect that debate to be replayed," said Rob Scott, a trade specialist at the Economic Policy Institute, a think tank that has been critical of global trade accords. A working group in Geneva is trying to iron out the final technical terms for China's entry into the 138-member WTO, where its interests may conflict with the United States' in key ways. U.S. officials, for example, have pushed hard to protect intellectual property from Third World theft--a concern of pharmaceutical, entertainment, software and other industries. The United States also has tried to derail a WTO debate on its own sanctions against dumping, the unloading of exports at below the cost of production, typically by emerging countries. In addition, the White House has wanted the WTO to consider how workplace issues, such as pay and safety, could be part of future trade deals. Officially or unofficially, China has been on the other side of all these matters. For all that, however, some China specialists say that Beijing's long-awaited membership remains a wild card for the conflict-fille d WTO, where its positions may prove hard to predict. As the world's seventh-largest economy and--including Hong Kong--the world's fourth-largest exporter, China's economic fortunes are more tied up with the affluent West than with emerging countries, said Minxen Pei, a China specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "China will always have its own national interest as its primary concern," he said. China's record of making few waves in such international entities as the United Nations and World Bank adds to the case that it may be a moderate citizen of the WTO: "They're not system-busters. They don't want to tear apart global institutions," said Margaret M. Pearson, a political scientist at the University of Maryland. "But they will fight very hard for their core interests. They can be expected to be very, very active in the WTO." As an official member of the global trade system, China will be required to abandon such pervasive practices as demanding that foreign firms doing business there use local supplies, materials or distributors. Yet internal Chinese tensions cast doubt on whether its leaders can reliably deliver on their new pledges. For example, China's promise to open its economy to more foreign competition threatens massive job cuts in its bloated public sector, said Gary C. Hufbauer, a senior fellow at the Institute for International Economics--cuts that could unleash a huge political backlash. But if China flouts the international rules, many nations will be tempted to follow its example, analysts say. Indeed, while many argue that bringing China into the global framework will strengthen democratic reforms there, "In some ways the reverse is equally true," maintained Daniel A. Seligman, director of the Sierra Club's Responsible Trade Campaign. "Bringing China into the WTO weakens the rule of law globally." Business lobbyists long have touted China as a marketplace of breathtaking potential. This message has fueled hopes that 1.2 billion Chinese will soon be using more goods made in the United States, perhaps even narrowing the U.S. trade deficit with Beijing that last year hit $68.7 billion, according to U.S. government figures. But just what the emerging business ties will mean for American workers remains a matter of dispute. A study by the conservative U.S. Business and Industry Council concluded that American firms view the coming era more as an opportunity to expand production inside China than to export American products over there. Such strategies appear likely to spark complaints that U.S. business is shifting production to China, and that such investments are opportunities that might otherwise have benefited American workers. "If you look at the companies' Web sites, and you examine the statements of their executives, there's almost no talk of ramping up U.S. exports from the U.S. to China," said Alan Tonelson, a research fellow who authored the report. "What they talk about a great deal is ramping up production in China--to service the Chinese market, the U.S. market and global markets." Other analysts say the truth is more ambiguous. As American firms set up shop and expand in China, they also may rely on parts and supplies from home, which would lead to some increases in their imports from the United States, said Joseph P. Quinlan, senior international economist with the Morgan Stanley Dean Witter investment firm in New York. Efforts by U.S. firms to capture overseas markets, strengthening their global competitiveness in the process, are often applauded by economists. "It's really a complex picture," Quinlan said. Ultimately, it may be other nations that are hit hardest by the competitive pressures from China, as Beijing scrambles to earn foreign currency and fuel desperately needed economic growth by exporting products that are also made in other emerging nations. On textiles and apparel, for example, many countries had hoped for years of breathing room before they had to compete with China in selling to the U.S. market. But U.S. officials last year agreed to eliminate barriers to Chinese textiles and apparel at the same time it does so for other countries. "China is not so much a threat to the United States as it is to Thailand, to some of the Central American countries, to Central Europe," said Quinlan. "There's no doubt about it." From notoapec at clear.net.nz Wed Sep 20 04:09:43 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 07:09:43 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1585] Brunei miltary, police prepare for APEC Message-ID: <001301c0226d$2cbae780$fc84a7cb@notoapec> Borneo Bulletin Sunday Online 17/9/00 Siap Waspada exercise ends By Ayu Sulaiman & A M Zukarnaen Pehin Orang Kaya Lela Pahlawan Brigadier General Dato Seri Laila Jasa Hj Mohd Jaafar bin Hj Abdul Aziz, the Commander of the Royal Brunei Land Forces. Participating military personnel during the closing ceremony of the Siap Waspada exercise. The Siap Waspada exercise, which had commenced on September 11, came to a successful end yesterday. The Exercise was the continuation of the Command Post Exercise, which was aimed at training all units under the Royal Brunei Armed Forces to implement the Internal Security Safety Precautions and Administrative Assistance protocols that might be needed during APEC 2000 meetings. "The situations played out during the Siap Waspada Exercise are merely illusions with the unexpedted occurring on a regular basis," explained Pehin Orang Kaya Lela Pahlawan Brigadier General Dato Seri Laila Jasa Hj. Mohd. Jaafar bin Hj Abdul Aziz, Commander of the Royal Brunei Land Forces at a ceremony marking the end of the Siap Waspada Exercise at the First Battalion Parade Ground, Berakas Garrison yesterday. "We must therefore, not be content with the fact that the Exercise has been completed successfully. All units must strive for better ways to progress. This would reflect the professionalism and the strength of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces and the Royal Brunei Land Forces," stressed the Commander. The Commander praised the personnel who took part in the Exercise as well as all other concerned agencies that had contributed in one way or another to the success of the Exercise. The Exercise ended yesterday after the staging of numerous exciting operations including ' A Bomb Detonation at the International Convention Centre in Berakas', 'Hostage Negotiation in Pulau Baru-Baru', and 'Riots Dispersal at the Brunei International Airport'. The Exercise involved some 2000 personnel from the various units under the Royal Brunei Armed Forces namely, the Royal Brunei Land Forces, the Royal Brunei Navy, the Royal Brunei Support Force and the Royal Brunei Police Force. From grain at baylink.mozcom.com Wed Sep 20 17:32:50 2000 From: grain at baylink.mozcom.com (GRAIN Los Banos) Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 16:32:50 +0800 Subject: [asia-apec 1586] Position opening on trade & IPR in Asia Message-ID: <4.2.0.58.20000920162450.00c70720@127.0.0.1> Position opening at GRAIN | September 2000 | pls circulate REGIONAL PROGRAMME OFFICER (ASIA) ON TRADE & IPR GRAIN is a small international NGO working to help strengthen farmers' and local communities' control over agricultural biodiversity, especially in developing countries. With offices in Asia, Europe and Latin America, GRAIN's programme addresses trade liberalisation and genetic diversity in agriculture; the corporate push for intellectual property rights on life forms and local knowledge; alternative community rights; and the need to make agricultural research and innovation systems more relevant to small farmers. Our new Regional Programme Officer will be responsible for GRAIN's work in Asia on intellectual property, community rights and trade. The work entails: monitoring, networking and information activities at the regional level; developing and implementing joint research projects with local groups; and providing programme support to peoples' initiatives in the region. Details are available at http://www.grain.org/jobs.htm. __________________________________________ GRAIN Aurora Apts, Unit 1, Pearl St, Umali Sbd College, Laguna 4031 Philippines Tel: (63-49) 536 39 79 Fax: (63-49) 536 55 26 Email: mailto:grain@baylink.mozcom.com Web: http://www.grain.org From notoapec at clear.net.nz Wed Sep 20 19:51:37 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 22:51:37 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1587] South China Morning Post - China and WTO Message-ID: <009a01c022f0$c1ba95a0$fc84a7cb@notoapec> South China Morning Post, 20/09/00 Mainland firms ill-prepared for WTO WANG XIANGWEI Mainland officials and analysts on Wednesday hailed the trade deal approved by the US Senate overnight, which would give China the permanent normal trade status and remove the last major stumbling block for China's accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). However, they cautioned against over-optimism about WTO entry, saying that membership of the global trade body would bring problems as well as benefits. They said that while WTO entry would bring long-term benefits for the mainland's economy and its full integration into the international market, expectations of an immediate boom in trade and investment were inappropriate. ''The WTO benefits for the mainland should come gradually, particularly in the area of foreign investment,'' Xu Xiaonian, executive director of research at the China International Capital Corp (CICC), an investment bank, said on Wednesday. He said foreign investors would need time to see how the mainland would restructure its economy and implement the WTO rules. Mr Xu and other mainland economists said the expected WTO entry was just the first step in a long march for mainland firms that have a lot to learn about how best to exploit the advantages of economic globalisation. They said mainland businesses were ill-prepared for the challenges ahead. ''Solid and down to earth preparatory work is scarce, although officials and entrepreneurs have long been crying wolf,'' leading government advisor Lu Zhiqiang told the China Daily on Monday. ''As far as I know, few serious studies have ever been conducted into relevant laws on foreign trade, overseas investment, and rules and regulations of the WTO so that Chinese firms can meet challenges while undertaking their obligations,'' Mr Lu, the deputy director of the State Council's Development Research Centre, said. Mr Xu of CICC said many mainland firms have not taken the WTO entry and its probable impact seriously. He said that the mainland government has come under increasing pressure from industry groups to erect WTO-allowed trade and regulatory barriers to protect against an onslaught from foreign investors. ''Many of the businessmen still have this 'so-what?' attitude that goes: even after China opens up its economy following the WTO entry, foreign investors will still need licences to do business on the mainland, ''They thus urge the government to exercise tough approval standards to stunt foreign competition and protect domestic industries. ''While it is tempting to do so, the government should resolutely resist the pressure [from those lobbying groups],'' he said, adding that failure to do so would only slow the pace and increase the costs of mainland economic restructuring. Economists said the mainland authorities are also faced with the urgent and difficult task of restructuring and improving the mainland's legal and regulatory frameworks in accordance with WTO rules. The government said it had already begun revising old laws and drafting the necessary new regulations. Economists said that the government should focus its efforts on laws governing the industries that are largely regulated by government directives. One such area is the capital market. For instance, the mainland has so far approved just one joint venture investment bank, China International Capital Corp. CICC is controlled by the China Construction Bank and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. ''It has been approved as an exceptional case and there are no laws governing this area at all,'' Mr Xu of CICC said. ''But things will have to change once China is a WTO member.'' Other economists said the government should step up the training of government officials and businesspeople as a matter of urgency. Shi Wei, a senior economist at the State Council Office for the Restructuring of Economic Systems, said some provinces had started to invite him and his colleagues to give lectures to the officials over the impact of the WTO entry. However, other economists said as mainland factories and institutions have been accustomed to relying upon government help, many of them were still waiting for the government to sort everything out for them. ''Those companies will never be ready until the day comes,'' Mr Xu said, adding that that could mean some mainland firms were likely to be forced into bankruptcy. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Wed Sep 20 20:13:22 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 23:13:22 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1588] World Bank Report - Post Soviet Poverty Message-ID: <009e01c022f3$cb17b620$fc84a7cb@notoapec> Poverty Skyrockets in Former Soviet States By HANS GREIMEL Associated Press 09/19/00 PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- Poverty in countries of the former Soviet Union has increased tenfold since the collapse of communism, the World Bank reported Tuesday. In its first study of poverty and inequality in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the international lending institution said it was disappointed its $35 billion in loans to the region have not paved a smoother transition to a free market economy. "It's clear that in a system where the government is weak, the overall effectiveness of our loans is not, and can't be, as effective as in areas with stronger, efficient governments,'' World Bank Vice President Johannes Linn said in releasing the 500-page study at a press conference. "It's disappointing, and with the benefit of hindsight, we would have done some things differently,'' Linn added. Meeting for the first time in the capital of a former communist country, the World Bank, along with its sister lending organization the International Monetary Fund, hope to showcase the Czech Republic as a former Iron Curtain success story. But while the Czech Republic is a front runner to join its rich Western neighbors in the European Union, its eastern neighbors are still reeling from the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the former Soviet states alone, cumulative economic output plunged nearly 50 percent over the last 10 years, while output in other Eastern Europe countries shriveled by 15 percent, according to the World Bank. All that contributes to a population stuck in unprecedented poverty, with roughly 21 percent living on less than $2 a day level in 1998, compared to only 2 percent in 1988. Tajikistan topped the list, with just under 70 percent of its people living in poverty. At the other end were the Czech Republic and Slovenia, where less than 5 percent of the populations are poor. Russia was in the middle of the pack, with roughly 20 percent living in poverty. "Many in the region weren't poor 10 years ago,'' said World Bank economist Ana Revenga, who co-authored the report. "They had jobs, livelihoods, expectations for pensions, and then had the rug literally pulled out from under them overnight.'' While maintaining the World Bank's loans to the region were still worthwhile, Linn said they would have been more effective had the Bank required more local political participation in the reform efforts and focused more on fostering social safety nets for the poor. That would have entailed closer work with other non-governmental organizations, Linn added. In the meantime, the World Bank has fine tuned its lending criteria to refuse loans to countries with high levels of corruption. "In the end, the government needs to want to make changes, and when that is not the case, then we stop lending,'' Linn said. "It's a learning process.'' From notoapec at clear.net.nz Thu Sep 21 04:19:56 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (notoapec@clear.net.nz) Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 07:19:56 +1200 (NZST) Subject: [asia-apec 1589] NZ Herald - Message-ID: <200009201919.HAA08045@waklwh3.wilsonandhorton.co.nz> NZ Herald 21/09/00 - Editorial: Keep knocking on the American door New Zealand needs no urging to forge a closer trade arrangement with North America. If the recently established North American Free Trade Agreement was opened to a wider membership tomorrow, New Zealand would be one of the first to knock on the door. In fact, the free trade deal we are making with Singapore is just one dimension of the much more ambitious "P5" plan of the previous Government that would have brought the United States, Chile and Australia into the fold. Interest in a trade pact with the Americas has not diminished with the change of government. In March, at the end of a visit to Chile, the Prime Minister was confident she had rekindled Chilean interest in a "P3" with New Zealand and Singapore. The US and, oddly enough, Australia are proving harder to entice. Australia, which already has a free trade agreement with New Zealand, possibly prefers to initiate these things itself. And the US has had some presidential distractions over the past year or two. But protectionist sentiment waxes and wanes in American politics. That should not obscure the attractions that closer trading ties with North America hold for this country. It is not just a big, prosperous market with an appetite for much the same food that we produce, it is the sort of market that could help New Zealand diversify its economy. The advantages of language, education and costs could entice more North American investment in the products of knowledge and new technology. It is a matter of patience and keeping all possibilities open. After Nafta, the US Congress withdrew the authority of the Clinton Administration to make further trade treaties. The failure to launch a new global trade round at Seattle last year was another setback. Yesterday's Senate vote, which merely granted China the right to trade with the US on the same terms as almost all other countries, came as a relief in the present climate. It opens the way for China's admission to the World Trade Organisation. But the tide will turn in the United States before long. Both leading candidates in the presidential election, especially Vice-President Gore, believe in the value of free trade. There is reason to hope that once a new administration has settled into office next year, it will gain the confidence of the Congress for free-trade initiatives and will be open to consideration of treaties with Latin America and Australasia. There are those who see the world dividing into three powerful trading blocs - Europe, Asia and the Americas. While that prospect goes against the grain of global free-trading objectives laid down by the WTO and reflected in the guiding principles of Apec and the proposed NZ-Singapore agreement, it is a possibility no country can ignore. For New Zealand, it means that our Asian thrust must not blind us to the possibility that, if one day we are driven to choose, our trading interests might be more heavily weighted to the US. For the moment, happily, there is no need to choose one hemisphere over another, and no certainty that the powerful nodes of international trade are going to square off into mutually antagonistic blocs. The European Union, formed 40 years ago in an era of protection, maintains common barriers to trade with the rest of the world, but more recent regional trade pacts, such as Apec, are aimed at mutually reducing barriers to all. The US, an enthusiastic member of Apec, may be attracted to closer trade arrangements with Australasia as an extra strand in its ties with East Asia. The NZ-Singapore pact is an important foot in the door of South-east Asia, where there are trade talks that could exclude the rest of Apec. Whatever might attract North American interest to a closer trading arrangement with this part of the world, there is no question of its value to us. Distance is not the difficulty it once was to closer trading partnerships. Singapore is as far from Auckland as Los Angeles. As we pursue ever better trading arrangements far to the north-west, we should not neglect the other side of the Pacific. There lies the world's largest, richest and most competitive economy. To become a small part of it would be a blessing to beat all trading partnerships. ---------------------------------- storyID: 152154 fromname: GATT Watchdog frommessage: submit.x: 33 submit.y: 11 From notoapec at clear.net.nz Thu Sep 21 13:06:38 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 16:06:38 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1590] Bill Rosenberg (CAFCA/GATT Watchdog researcher) oped piece on Singapore-NZ FTA Message-ID: <000701c02381$58fb6e40$b385a7cb@notoapec> Policy Implications of the Singapore Agreement Thursday, 21 September 2000, 9:04 am Opinion: Bill Rosenberg NOTE: The following appeared in the Evening Post 20/9/00 in a slightly edited form. Policy and constitutional implications of the Singapore agreement By Bill Rosenberg There are vital constitutional and policy implications in the controversy over the Singapore free trade agreement (officially called a "Closer Economic Partnership" because the words "free trade" have had a bad press lately). Yet the public is being given only nine days by the Select Committee hearing submissions, to obtain, read, understand, analyse and make submissions on the complex 192 page document, which was secret until 11 September. There has been much comment on the agreement's Treaty of Waitangi provision. Article 74 of the agreement allows "more favourable treatment to Maori", including measures "in fulfilment of [New Zealand's] obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi". There have been vehement arguments for and against the Article. Labour says it is necessary to allow for social policy to "close the gaps". The opposition say it is divisive. What is important is that both sides of the argument acknowledge that the agreement will have long term effects that bind future governments. That is why the debate is taking place. Whatever your views of the agreement itself, this constitutional aspect sounds loud warning sirens. How can today's government bind future governments? Actually it is worse than that. Currently, Cabinet has the power to ratify international agreements, with only token reference to Parliament. Cabinets can bind future Parliaments. Surely Cabinet is accountable to Parliament and shouldn't be able to tell the current Parliament what to do, let alone Parliaments yet to be elected? That is a basic constitutional convention. Admittedly in this case, Helen Clark has magnanimously assured us that Cabinet will abide by Parliament's vote - though uninformed by a proper Select Committee process. But if things don't go her way, and the Singapore agreement does not get approved by Parliamentary vote, she can still go back and get Cabinet to ratify it. Future, less charitable, governments can, without a word to the public, return to giving Parliament only a token role by exercising Cabinet's extraordinary power. Ratification would force changes in a number of pieces of legislation. The most important is one which reverses Labour/Alliance policy on freezing tariffs with respect to trade with Singapore. More importantly, it would prevent future Parliaments from changing many current policies without first getting the agreement of Singapore. For example, we must * Accept tariff-free imports designed, checked and packed in ingapore with 60% of the value potentially created in appalling, low wage conditions, in an Indonesian free trade zone, perhaps putting people here out of work Accept tariff-free seafood caught anywhere in the world by vessels "registered or recorded" (not necessarily owned) in Singapore * Retain the higher threshold of $50 million for proposals from Singapore-based investors which require approval by the Overseas Investment Commission, rather than the previous $10 million Leave the fast money from Singapore's financial dealing rooms, which may destabilise our currency or balance of payments, uncontrolled except after a crisis has hit * Avoid favouring local over Singaporean suppliers in local and central government contracts worth more than $125,000. Yet Singapore retains the right to considerably stronger measures, such as controls on foreign investment, various types of incentive payments, and a very powerful collection of government-controlled companies, which own some of the $1.2 billion of Singaporean investment in New Zealand. This agreement is designed to be a precedent-setter for New Zealand and the rest of APEC - a "Trojan Horse" in the words of Asia 2000's head, Tim Groser. If this one is ratified, the government hopes to apply it to a more ambitious programme of negotiations with the rest of Southeast Asia, South Korea, Chile, Canada and the United States. That means these issues will only grow in importance. They will remove further options that this and future governments have for managing our economy, our social divides, and our relationship with the rest of the world. At a time when the wisdom of purist free trade and investment policies is being questioned in the streets, in United Nations human rights reports, by World Bank economists, and in many eveloping countries, the fervour with which these agreements are being pushed seems strange. It is particularly strange for a government elected to turn around the excesses of the free market and favour local development. More appropriate would be a thoughtful review of the economic and social effects of such policies, and development of a proper constitutional process. That process should acknowledge that international agreements are like entrenched legislation. Almost constitution-like, they are difficult to change and bind future Parliaments. The process must be based on careful scrutiny in open and consultative procedures like those used for often less important legislation. The Singapore agreement must be subject to such a process too. AUTHOR NOTE - Bill Rosenberg researches and writes on foreign investment and New Zealand's economic relationship with the world. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Thu Sep 21 20:41:57 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 23:41:57 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1591] South China Morning Post on China Trade (PNTR) Message-ID: <000101c023c0$f9a66ae0$94cfa7cb@notoapec> South China Morning Post Thursday, September 21, 2000 Trade breakthrough prompts mixed views SUZANNE HARRISON and STAFF REPORTERS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Hong Kong led the cheering when the United States Congress approved Permanent Normal Trading Relations (PNTR) with the mainland - despite worries some companies were set to face tougher competition. "The scene is set for China to complete accession to the World Trade Organisation," Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa said yesterday. "Hong Kong will obviously stand to benefit from a good and stable relationship between our two largest trading partners," he said. On Tuesday night, the US Senate passed the hard-fought PNTR Bill, removing restraints on trade with the mainland. The bill had already passed the House of Representatives. President Bill Clinton said the mainland would now open its markets to US products - from wheat to cars to consulting services. "When we open markets abroad to US goods, we open opportunities at home," he said. PNTR had been delayed for about nine months in the wake of a strong campaign calling for sanctions against the mainland for its alleged role in weapons proliferation. For the mainland, the granting of PNTR is the final move towards enjoying the terms of trade now offered to more than 130 other countries. It is also a vital step in negotiations towards accession to the WTO, likely to occur next year. Despite yesterday's enthusiasm in Hong Kong for the clearing of the last hurdle to WTO membership, some local analysts expressed concern the SAR would lose its competitive edge to Shanghai as the mainland opens up to foreign investment. They warned Hong Kong could lose its status as the window to the mainland, with foreign companies dealing directly with mainland businesses. However, most took a more positive view of Hong Kong's prospects after the mainland's accession to the WTO. American Chamber of Commerce chairman Richard Kahler said: "My view is that the pie will keep getting bigger." Secretary for Trade and Industry Chau Tak-hay also forecast the mainland's entry into the world trade body would benefit Hong Kong. "I am confident Hong Kong businesses will seize the tremendous opportunities which will be opened up in such areas as professional and financial services, telecommunications, transportation, distribution, marketing, retail and tourism," Mr Chau said. Chinese General Chamber of Commerce chairman Robin Chan Yau-hing believes the mainland's impending entry into the WTO will have a positive long-term impact on Hong Kong's economy. "Hong Kong manufacturers - as the main investors in the mainland - can expect a reduction in production costs, as they can benefit from more preferential [import] tariffs and the exemption from export quotas," Mr Chan said. Still, some Hong Kong companies are likely to face a tougher future as business operations in the mainland are forced to become more transparent. Morgan Stanley economist Andy Xie said that, as the mainland prepared to be bound by WTO rules, some small Hong Kong companies which have operated in a "murky" business environment would need to make changes because of increased competition. "The benefits of being the window to China is going to diminish faster than you expect," Mr Xie said. "There are a lot of good Hong Kong companies I am not worried about - such as the top-tier . . . but the end result is that good companies will benefit, and bad companies will not benefit in a more transparent system." Visiting US Chamber of Commerce president Thomas Donohue said Hong Kong companies would need to do some soul-searching. "We suggest they think about how they would fit into a system where China is going to become a highly developed partner, how Hong Kong keeps its position in trade and finance," he said. From sap at web.net Sat Sep 23 05:16:43 2000 From: sap at web.net (Faruq Faisel) Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2000 16:16:43 -0400 Subject: [asia-apec 1592] South Asian Film Festival in Ottawa Message-ID: <009301c024d3$21b23380$1a0000c0@look.ca> We apologize if you receive this more than once. Travelling Film South Asia South Asia Partnership (SAP) is hosting a festival featuring 15 documentaries from South Asia at the Ottawa Public Library Auditorium (main branch), at 120 Metcalfe, from September 25-30, 2000. The films offer an in-depth review of pressing issues with regard to culture, lifestyle, history, politics, activism and the environment, and provide a window on contemporary documentary making in South Asia. Daily ticket (5$) and Festival Pass (20$) can be purchased from SAP Canada or at the door. For more information please contact Isabelle Valois/Ren?e Giroux, at (613) 241-1333; e-mail: sap@web.ca or visit the following websites for the schedule and film description: www.sapcanada.org or www.somastation.com or www.savari.com Film Schedule September 25- 30, 2000 ______________________________ Monday Sept. 25, 2000 - 7PM Theme: Crossing Paths: An exploration of overlaps': tourism and industrialization over local cultures Films: Don't Pass Me By - Eclectic profiles of 'macho' locals and tourists who come to low both their minds and muscles at the Nepali resort town of Pokhara. Sarah Kapoor, Christina Lamey and Kristi Vuorinen. 1999. 40 min. Nepal. Ragi: Kana: Ko Bonga Buru (Buddha Weeps in Jadugoda) - The state needs uranium to be mined, but the consequences of negligence are tragic for a vulnerable and rural population in the Bihar plateau. Winner of the Third Best Film Award at FSA '99. Shriprakash. 1999. 76 min. Bihar/India ______________________________ Tuesday Sept. 26, 2000 - 7PM Theme: Quest for Freedom: A road too often traveled on the path to a better life. Films: The Forgotten Army - An expedition with some veterans of Subash Chandra Bose's Indian National Army to retrace their historic march and the events that took place between 1942 and 1945. Winner of Grand Jury Prize at FSA '99. Kabir Khan. 1997. 105 min. Pre-1947 India. Muktir Kotha (Words of Freedom) - Bangladeshi villagers recall the liberation war of 1971, their memories jogged by a documentary on the war, Muktir Gaan. Tareque and Catherine Masud. 1999. 80 min. Bangladesh. ______________________________ Wednesday Sept. 27, 2000 - 7PM Theme: Choice: Dance and religion as the battleground of the struggle for freedom and personal expression Films: Voices of Dissent: A Dance of Passion - Dancing in Pakistan means different things to a classically trained female dancer, a male Kathak dancer, a popular film actress and a mullah. NoorKhan Bawa. 1999. 22 min. Pakistan. Fishers of Men - Adivasis of Chottanagpur plateau have been converting into Christianity for over a century but of late Hindu activists have launched campaigns to bring them 'back'. Ranjan Kamath and Padmavathi Rao. 1997. 117 min. Madhya Pradesh/ India. ______________________________ Friday Sept. 29, 2000 - 7PM Themes: Identity: The evolution of culture among displaced communities Illusion: Surrealism and magic as the vehicles for leaving an imprint Films: A Letter to Samten - Narrated through a 'personal letter' to the main protagonist of the film by the filmmaker in an attempt to understand Bhutanese life left behind by in India. Alex Gabbay. 1999. 25 min. Darjeeling District/India. Pure Chutney - A US-based Indian writer interacts with the South Asian diaspora in Trinidad, its "preoccupation with India" and explores complex matter of identity. Joint Winner of the Second Best Film Award at FSA '99. Sanjeev Chatterjee. 1998. 42 min. Trinidad and Tobago. Listening to Shadows - An exploration of the worlds of the sighted and the blind, a dialogue between the filmmaker and his visually impaired friend. Koushik Sarkar. 1998. 26 min. Gujarat. No One Believes the Professor - A surreal voyage with Orpheus Augustus Marcks, a.k.a. Professor Sahib: a Lahori poet, actor, philosopher, athlete, who walks the line between genius and divine madness. Joint Winner of the Best Film Award in FSA '99. Farjad Nabi. 1999. 25 min. Punjab/Pakistan. Thin Air - With humour and compassion, sometimes turning darkly comic and unsettling, three Bombay magicians are shown as they desperately try to make an imprint on the world. Joint Winner of the Best Film Award at FSA '99. Ashim Alhuwalia. 1998. 42 min. Maharastra/India. Skin Deep - With six first-person narratives the film traces the dynamics of the eternal search for the ideal femininity and how it permeates the self- image of contemporary Indian women. Reena Mohan. 1998. 83 min. India ______________________________ Saturday Sept. 30, 2000 - 1 PM (13:00) Theme: Aurat: Hardship, plight and women's identity in modern South Asia Films: Skin Deep - With six first-person narratives the film traces the dynamics of the eternal search for the ideal femininity and how it permeates the self- image of contemporary Indian women. Reena Mohan. 1998. 83 min. India Jibon (Life) - In Guwahati a mother perseveres as her 12- year-old school-going son comes down with Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy which has no cure. An impossible situation confronted with unfaltering hope. Altaf Mazid. 1998. 56 min. Assam/India. Duhshomoy (A Mother's Lament) - Recreation of events surrounding the pick-up of a 16-year-old garment factory worker by the Dhaka police, who is allegedly gang raped and sent to prison for 'safe custody' where she dies under mysterious circumstances. Yasmine Kabir. 1999. 26 min. Bangladesh. Three Women and a Camera - One retired and two working women photographers seek to contextualise their work as photographers, as women and products of their times. Joint Winner of the Second Best Film Award at FSA '99. Sabeena Gadihoke. 1998. 56 min. India. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Sun Sep 24 11:33:09 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2000 14:33:09 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 1593] NZ Finance Minister Michael Cullen on IMF-WB meeting Message-ID: <000301c025cf$cb39e180$3585a7cb@notoapec> Cullen Ready For IMF And World Bank Meeting Friday, 22 September 2000, 11:26 am Press Release: New Zealand Government The Commonwealth Finance Ministers meeting has been an important preparation for the IMF and World Bank meetings in Prague next week, Finance Minister Dr Michael Cullen said today from Malta ?There is a very strong level of agreement amongst Commonwealth Finance Ministers about the need for changes in the operations of the IMF and World Bank to avoid as far as possible economic crisis and to resolve them when they occur. ?The position adopted by Commonwealth Finance Ministers in Malta is consistent with the voluntary action plan approach steered through the APEC Finance Ministers Meeting by New Zealand. Greater transparency and surveillance and effective standards to those ends need to be developed. ?At the same time, the Commonwealth Finance Ministers have taken a strong line on the need for the process of globalisation to work in the interests of developing countries as well as the developed and in the interests of the poor as well as the rich. ?It was particularly pleasing to see the unanimity on these matters between the developed countries in the Commonwealth, including New Zealand, and the developing countries who form the great majority of Commonwealth nations. What was equally clear was that the developing nations in no way wished to oppose globalisation itself. ?There were also clear calls, strongly backed by New Zealand, for moves towards increasing global free trade to work more effectively in the interests of primary producing countries. Here the interests of New Zealand and developing countries are identical and we will continue to work together in pursuing them. ?Finally, Commonwealth Finance Ministers have agreed to adopt collaborative and cooperative approach to addressing the questions of harmful tax competition and money-laundering. There was deep concern that recent OECD initiatives in these areas had been insufficiently consultative. New Zealand has offered to work with the small Commonwealth countries in the Asian-Pacific on these matters,? Dr Cullen said. During the course of the Commonwealth Finance Ministers meeting, Dr Cullen also had bilateral discussions with Melanie Johnson, UK Economic Secretary and the Malaysian Deputy Minister of Finance, Datuk Dr Haji Shafie Mohd Salleh. From amittal at foodfirst.org Tue Sep 26 10:51:24 2000 From: amittal at foodfirst.org (Anuradha Mittal) Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2000 18:51:24 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1594] COUNTERPOINT ON GE FOOD FROM THE WASHINGTON POST Message-ID: <0.700000824.173626702-951758591-969933084@topica.com> READ THIS POINT-COUNTERPOINT ON GE FOOD FROM THE WASHINGTON POST *********************************************************************** Enough Food for the Whole World by ANURADHA MITTAL Co-Director Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Oakland, Calif. http://www.foodfirst.org Washington Post Friday, September 15, 2000; Page A26 Hassan Adamu's Sept. 11 op-ed column, "We'll Feed Our People as We See Fit," would have us believe that biotechnology provides the only hope of feeding the burgeoning hungry population in the Third World. But biotechnology distracts decisionmakers from the more pressing problems of alleviating hunger and poverty. Our research at Food First shows that there is enough food to feed everyone in this world: 4.5 pounds of food per person, per day, around the world. The problem is not one of production but of access and distribution. Seventy-eight percent of countries reporting child malnourishment export food. A third of the world's 800 million hungry live in my country, India, where the number of the hungry and malnourished has been steadily rising. At the same time India is faced with an unmanageable food glut. >From a food grain surplus of 10 million tons in 1999, the stocks have multiplied to 42 million tons. Instead of distributing the surplus among those who desperately need it, the government either wants to find an export market or release it in the open market. How will biotechnology provide food to those who are desperately in need? Given the high seed cost, and the cost of other inputs that the farmers will have to use, the cost of cultivation will go up and so will the market price, ultimately subjecting more people to hunger and starvation. ***************************************************************** We'll Feed Our People As We See Fit By Hassan Adamu Washignton Post Monday, September 11, 2000; Page A23 It is possible to kill someone with kindness, literally. That could be the result of the well-meaning but extremely misguided attempts by European and North American groups that are advising Africans to be wary of agricultural biotechnology. They claim to have the environment and public health at the core of their opposition, but scientific evidence disproves their claims that enhanced crops are anything but safe. If we take their alarmist warnings to heart, millions of Africans will suffer and possibly die. Agricultural biotechnology, whereby seeds are enhanced to instill herbicide tolerance or provide resistance to insects and disease, holds great promise for Africa and other areas of the world where circumstances such as poverty and poor growing conditions make farming difficult. Fertilizer, herbicides, pesticides, machinery, fuel and other tools that richer nations take for granted as part of their farming regimen are luxuries in poorer countries. Moreover, the soil in tropical climates, or in areas with inhospitable weather, cannot be farmed successfully in the more traditional ways. These circumstances demand unique agricultural solutions, and many have been made available through the advances of biotechnology. To deny desperate, hungry people the means to control their futures by presuming to know what is best for them is not only paternalistic but morally wrong. Certainly, those with fertile lands and an abundance of food have every right to decide how they would like to grow their crops and process their foods. Organic farming, sophisticated methods of distributing food and other approaches are well and good for those who can afford to experiment. Starving people do not have this luxury. They want food and nourishment, not lectures, and we certainly won't allow ourselves to be intimidated by eco-terrorists who destroy test crops and disrupt scientific meetings that strive to reveal the facts. It is wrong and dangerous for a privileged people to presume that they know what is best for everyone. And when this happens, it cannot come as a shock that those who are imposed upon often see this attitude as colonialist. Millions of Africans--far too many of them children--are suffering from malnutrition and hunger. Agricultural biotechnology offers a way to stop the suffering. As Florence Wambugu, one of Africa's leading plant geneticists said recently, "In Africa, GM [genetically modified] food could almost literally weed out poverty." With regard to agricultural biotechnology, Africans are not asking for others to come in and grow our food. We are not asking for others to provide the financial means to establish this system in our countries. We want to come to the table as stakeholders. We know the conditions of our fields. We know the threats, the insects and diseases. We can work as partners to develop the seeds that could build peoples and nations. We do not want to be denied this technology because of a misguided notion that we don't understand the dangers or the future consequences. We understand. We understand that this system must continue to undergo study and careful use. We also understand that agricultural biotechnology has been deemed safe and nutritious by a host of nationally and internationally respected organizations such as the National Research Council, Nuffield Council on Bioethics, World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the American Medical Association and the American Dietetic Association. We will proceed carefully and thoughtfully, but we want to have the opportunity to save the lives of millions of people and change the course of history in many nations. That is our right, and we should not be denied by those with a mistaken idea that they know best how everyone should live or that they have the right to impose their values on us. The harsh reality is that, without the help of agricultural biotechnology, many will not live. ------------- The writer is Nigeria's minister of agricultural and rural development. © 2000 The Washington Post Company Join the fight against hunger. For more information contact foodfirst@foodfirst.org. ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics From aaronj at interchange.ubc.ca Tue Sep 26 15:24:01 2000 From: aaronj at interchange.ubc.ca (Aaron James) Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2000 23:24:01 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1595] Report from China: Producing for Adidas and Nike Message-ID: <3.0.6.32.20000925232401.007aa9f0@pop.interchange.ubc.ca> Attached below is a report from Alice Kwan, of the Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee (HKCIC), on labour conditions in China, in factories producing for Adidas and Nike. Kwan discusses the situation for Chinese garment and footwear workers, the impact of company codes, highlights important aspects of Chinese labor legislation and profiles seven companies producing for Adidas and/or Nike. April 25, 2000 Report from China: Producing for Adidas and Nike by Alice Kwan Introduction China is a so-called 'socialist' country which is supposed to protect the working class all the way, but sweatshops are prevalently found in cities all over the country. Since Deng Xiaoping's open-door policy was launched in 1979, thousands of factories have been established (with foreign investments) in the Chinese mainland. In 1999, there were about 20 million workers in these factories. A large number of the products are exported to the US, Europe and all over the world every year. This brings billions of dollars of trade to China and makes the economic and political elites richer and richer. However, workers are always losers in this game and get very little in reward for their effort. Lives in sweatshops producing for TNCs It is no longer news to reveal that workers in China producing for TNCs are working in sweatshop conditions. Most of them are young women workers who come from peasant families, and are aged 18-25. In order to improve living conditions in rural areas, most of them are forced to work 14 hours (08:00-12:00; 13:00-18:00; 19:00-00:00) a day, seven days a week in the factories. Until they get the first month's wage in the second month (average wage: RMB 300-700 ) they do not know if their hard work is properly rewarded. Although they work all day long, their wages are not enough for their own livelihoods, let alone sending money home. Besides employers often refuse to join social insurance schemes for workers. Wage arrears are not unusual, and some workers have not been paid wages for six months or more. Overtime work is always underrated. Even worse, most of them are forced to work in dangerous conditions. According to a local newspaper, there are at least 50,000 fingers amputated in industrial accidents in China every year. A few factories ridiculously set the safety standard as losing not more than two fingers a month . In violation of laws, windows in many factories are barred and gates are locked during work time. Neglect of occupational health and safety measures threatens the workers' lives everyday. They have nearly no leisure time at all. Some of them only enjoy one day-off per month - on payday. In some factories, for management and security reasons, factory workers are not allowed to go outside in the lunchtime or evening. To a certain extent, they are imprisoned. Furthermore, unlawful fines and punishment are practiced in many factories, for example talking in production lines, not switching off the lights in dormitories, not queuing up for canteens, and so on. More importantly, independent organizing is totally illegal. In extreme cases, workers are only allowed to go to toilets three times a day for not longer than two minutes each time. To prevent workers stealing materials, body searches are conducted whenever workers step out of the factories. Women workers are even checked manually by male guards. Obviously, labor rights in China are not respected. Are Codes of Conduct a panacea? In the wave of consumer campaigns in the North, TNCs cannot escape from the spotlight. They are forced to bear responsibilities for sweatshops in the South. In order to please the consumers, TNCs developed codes of conduct. For some people, the establishment of a code is the final victory. However, such a victory is hollow. Because of the loose monitoring and poor implementation of codes, workers in the South producing for TNCs are still working in very deprived conditions. Most workers in China do not know what a code of conduct is. Even where there is a code, workers are still forced to work extremely long hours and receive very low wages. Most TNC's codes are very similarly focused on working conditions (i.e. working hours, forced overtime, wages, forced labor, and child labor). Not many mention the right of independent organizing and the right to collective bargaining. Both are fundamental and indispensable labor rights. If workers have these rights and can practice them freely, all complaints about working conditions can be resolved through the collective bargaining mechanism. It is paramount for workers to have the freedom to organize themselves. Codes do not help much! On the contrary, TNCs sometimes shift our attention to the working conditions rather than the organizing rights. Surely, it is relatively easy for TNCs to achieve these guarantees on working conditions. Consumers are also easily satisfied with the tiny improvement of working conditions and welcome the apparent merits of TNCs. But, the organizing rights of workers are then forgotten. Some TNCs put the rights of organizing and collective bargaining in their Codes. But when their orders come to China, they say, "Well. We would like our suppliers to comply with our Code, and allow workers to have the right to organize. However, labor organizing is very sensitive in China. We cannot violate their laws. We are so sorry." It is just a device to wash their hands of workers' rights and not keep their promises as stipulated in the Code. Most companies appoint social auditors, labor and human rights NGOs, or church groups to conduct so-called 'independent monitoring'. It is worth investigating how independent and effective such monitoring is, especially for social auditors who make big money in the process. Where does their credibility come from? Are they endorsed by workers? Independent monitoring without worker involvement is not acceptable. How frequent can "independent" outsiders investigate a factory? Nobody realizes the situation better than workers do. They should be involved in the monitoring. It is so important to utilize their investigations and comments. Worker education should be promoted Based on our fieldwork in China, we found that most workers do not know about either the Chinese Labor Laws nor companies' codes of conduct. The Chinese Labor Law is highly recommended for providing comprehensive protection of workers' rights. It is more progressive than those of many developed countries. For example, workers should not work longer than 40 hours a week; overtime should not exceed 36 hours a month; workers are legally entitled to social insurance for retirement, illness or injury, industrial injury or occupational illness, unemployment, and maternity benefits. Poor law enforcement is always disastrous for Chinese workers. In order to empower workers for labor organizing and code monitoring, it is essential to educate them about their basic rights. Unless they are educated about national labor standards, workers cannot practice their rights or express their demands effectively. For sure, workers education is not welcomed by TNCs and their subcontractors. It does not fit in with their game of manipulation. For instance, the Labor Rights in China (LARIC) was invited to take part in the pilot scheme of the UK-based code of conduct called the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI). The project foundered because the subcontracted factory management rejected worker education. Managers were only willing to open their factory for monitoring, which in fact was merely a visit. The impact of such a visit on working conditions is negligible. Demand for workers' education is a difficult and long struggle but it is the burning issue of the moment in China. Codes of Conduct -- a charade manipulated by TNCs It is true that the establishment of codes of conduct was not solely introduced by the TNCs. In the very beginning, TNCs were not always winners and surely did not have overwhelming advantages over the trade unions and NGOs. On the contrary, the latter have kept attacking the TNCs by reporting sweatshops in the South under guarantees of Codes. In the jumble of speed, money, human resources, and media collaboration with TNCs, however, NGOs now find their struggles are harder and harder. TNCs can easily spend millions of dollars to exaggerate their 'good deeds' through different media and pay social auditing companies handsomely to conduct research inside known good factories. On the other hand, NGOs are exhausted tracing the locations of tens of thousands of subcontractors all over the world, made particularly difficult by the TNCs that change their subcontractors at anytime. Without doubt, NGOs are in the adverse situation unless we overcome the manipulation of the TNCs in the game. What is the breakthrough? As mentioned before, struggles for labor rights struggles should include workers. They should be empowered to organize themselves and fight for their rights directly with management. Worker education is one of the essential tools. It should be included in the codes and monitoring systems in China as the top priority. Obviously, it is not a single matter related to workers in China but workers all over the world. In the face of the struggles with giant TNCs, it is urgent to call for international solidarity among the working class, NGOs, and trade unions in the North and the South. It is true that NGOs in the South shifted much attention onto codes in the recent few years. However, codes are not our aims in reality. We have to create our own agenda and no longer follow the existing game manipulated by the TNCs. TNCs can shift their production from one city to another and one country to another. Victory can only be achieved by promoting international solidarity across the borders. For example, workers in different countries should be informed about the consumer campaigns in the North and the labor movements in other countriesin the South. They should have a legal right to organize themselves. Moreover, trade unions and NGOs in the North and South should be linked closely in order to facilitate information exchange, networking, and solidarity movements for workers' rights. Certainly, the consumer campaigns in the North in the past years exerted pressure on the TNCs for the improvement of sweatshop conditions in the South. However, pressure from outside is not enough for the struggles. Workers must also organize themselves to stand up and fight for their rights in the workplace. With the powerful consumer campaigns, worker education and worker involvement in monitoring the codes should be added to our demands. The ultimate elimination of sweatshops in the world can surely be sped up by empowering workers to organize. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------- According to Chinese Labor Law: 1.Working hours in China are 40 hours per week (supposed 8 hr/ day and 5 days/ wk) 2. Working days are Monday through Friday When working on Saturday and Sunday the workers have to be paid overtime rates. In reality however, most of the management will tell the workers that they will only be paid the rate for overtime when they work in the evening. This means that when the workers work from 8 am until 9 pm on a Saturday they will get overtime rate pay from 6 pm until 9 pm. However, this is against the law. 3. Overtime should not exceed 36 hours per month. But most factories fail to comply with the law. Workers are forced to work overtime. When they refuse to work overtime, they will be fined and warned. The rate that has to be paid for overtime is 150% of the normal wage on a weekday evening, 200% on the weekends, and 300% on a public holiday. However, most workers are not fully compensated according to the law. Some of them mentioned: "the management tells us that we are piece rate workers and no overtime bonus should be paid." 4. The minimum wage varies in different cities and provinces. Generally, from RMB 300-450 (1USD= 8.2 RMB). It is important to note that this is the wage for the normal working hours. Hence, when we look at the wages the workers actually get for 14 hours a day and 7 days a week; with about 700-800 RMB a month, the workers are underpaid. Noted during the research: ? Although most of the factories withhold between 20 days and one and a half months wages from workers as a deposit to reduce the turnover rate, this is illegal. From the factory profiles it becomes clear that penalty systems (fines) are used, a lot of unreasonable fines can be found in our notes. The employer has to sign a labor contract with the workers and give them a copy. In fact, copies were not provided to the workers. ? Almost none of the factories provide social security cover, such as pensions, or coverage for illness or injury; industrial injury or occupational illness; unemployment; or maternity leave. They are indifferent about the law and the safety of the workers. Once workers are injured or sometimes even die in industrial accidents, it proves to be very difficult to get the compensation. ? Some workers complained that the quality of the food and the dormitories offered by the factories is very poor. Some of the workers cannot find alternatives and live outside the factories however, because of their limited wages. ? Most workers do not know about codes of conduct. Regarding independent monitoring, workers mentioned that there were many outsiders/foreigners visiting the workplace but no one was talking to the workers themselves. ? There is no independent trade union in China. All the trade unions have to be affiliated to the official trade union, the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), which is controlled by the ruling party. Most of the profiled factories are privately owned. Most have no trade union in the plant. If any union is present, most workers do not know about it or claim that the trade union functions as a social welfare department, organizing events like singing contests and picnics. ? Although some of these factories have many nice facilities (for example, a basketball court, karaoke room, or library), workers claim that they have no time to utilize them due to the long working hours. ? Most of the workers employed in these factories are young migrant women. This is due to gender roles in Chinese families and because employers think female employees are more submissive and easier to control (for example, they believe that women can be more easily forced to work overtime and are unlikely to protest against the management. Most of the dormitories offered by the factories are located next to the factories, making it difficult for workers to refuse overtime.) -------------------------- Aaron James Canada Asia Pacific Resource Network c/o 170 - 111 Victoria Drive Vancouver, British Columbia V5L 4C4 phone (work): 604-255-7346 phone (home): 604-602-1626 fax: 604-255-0971 www.caprn.bc.ca From amittal at foodfirst.org Wed Sep 27 05:48:22 2000 From: amittal at foodfirst.org (Anuradha Mittal) Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 13:48:22 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1596] What's New on Food First Website Message-ID: <0.700000824.859775726-951758591-970001302@topica.com> What's New on Food First's Website Walden Bellow, Food First board member, debates the IMF/World Bank http://www.foodfirst.org/media/ **************************************************************** Leading Scientists Debate the Merits of Biotechnology Read the debate on transgenic crops published in AgBioForum. Miguel Altieri of the University of California at Berkeley and Peter Rosset of Food First/The Institute for Food and Development Policy argue that biotechnology is not the solution to world hunger. Martina McGloughlin of the University of California, Davis, responds with a defense of biotechnology, to which Altieri and Rosset reply: http://www.foodfirst.org/media/news/2000/biotechdebate.html **************************************************************** Oakland -- The twenty-fifth anniversary of Food First , also known as the Institute for Food and Development Policy, was celebrated on September 18, 2000 at the California Ballroom. Attending were co-founders Frances Moore Lappe and Joseph Collins, co-authors of Food First; dozens of current and past staffers, many of whom have gone on to organize other food, hunger, and economic justice related organizations; and hundreds of enthusiastic supporters. http://www.foodfirst.org/media/press/2000/celeb25.html **************************************************************** Hassan Adamu's Sept. 11 op-ed column, "We'll Feed Our People as We See Fit," would have us believe that biotechnology provides the only hope of feeding the burgeoning hungry population in the Third World. But biotechnology distracts decisionmakers from the more pressing problems of alleviating hunger and poverty. http://www.foodfirst.org/media/opeds/2000/9-enough.html **************************************************************** Support Food First's Work https://www.foodfirst.org/join/member.html You can help Food First provide the intellectual leadership to promote an alternative vision of a world that promotes land and liberty, jobs and justice. Donations by individuals like you make it possible for Food First to provide uncompromising, independent analysis of policies that result in unnecessary hunger and environmental degradation. You can make a tax-deductible donation using our secure server at https://www.foodfirst.org/join/member.html or print out the form on the site and mail it with your check or credit card number to Food First, 398 60th Street, Oakland, CA 94618 USA. Working together we can change the world! Visit our website: http://www.foodfirst.org - Explore our extensive resources (updated daily) - Find out about our programs - Join our member supported organization ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25 Years of Fighting for the Right to Feed Oneself 1975 - 2000 For Land & Liberty -- For Jobs & Justice! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join the fight against hunger. For more information contact foodfirst@foodfirst.org. ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics From kevin.li at graduate.hku.hk Thu Sep 28 20:50:09 2000 From: kevin.li at graduate.hku.hk (Kevin Yuk-shing Li) Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2000 19:50:09 +0800 Subject: [asia-apec 1597] Oct. 20th, Seoul Action day Message-ID: <39D33071.B7E35CCB@graduate.hku.hk> FYI... -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [ATTAC INTL] Oct. 20th, Seoul Action day Resent-Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2000 06:33:31 +0200 Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2000 04:32:51 GMT From: "changgeun Lee" Dear Friends, Greetings from Korea, This is Korean People's Action against Investment Treaties and the WTO(KoPA). KoPA is composed of more than 40 social and people's organization including KCTU, Korean Farmers' League. KoPA is organizing a big rally under the title of "Seoul Action Day against Neoliberal Globalization" on the momentum of ASEM(Asia European Meeting), on Oct. 20th. Please distribute the following message widely. Thanks in advance... International Coordinating Team of KoPA ----------------------------------------------------- >From Seattle to Prague.............to Seoul!!!!!!! October 20th!!! The Next Round of the Struggle Against Globalizaton will take Place in Seoul!!! Your solidarity is needed for the 'ASEM 2000 Seoul Day of Action Against Neo-Liberal Globalization'!!!! The progressive sector of Korea is busy preparing for the start of the Asia Europe Meeting, not because of the meaningless rhetoric that will go on inside the venue of the meetings between the state heads, but because of the live voices that will be present in the streets outside of the venue. The preparatory committee of the ASEM 2000 Seoul Day of Action Against Neo-Liberal Globalization consists of the Korean People's Action Against Investment Treaties and the WTO(or KoPA), the People's Rally Committee, and the ASEM 2000 NGO Forum Committee. KoPA, composed of 40 social, labor, and civic organizations including KCTU, KFL, has actively struggled against investment treaties, international financial institutions such as the IMF, and the WTO. The People's Rally Committee is composed of the biggest people's organizations in Korea, including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the Korean Farmer's League(KFL), and the National Union of the Poor. The major civic organizations in Korea make up the ASEM 2000 Social Forum Committee. As the title of the actions suggest, the actions will be a uniform voice of adamant opposition to the world-wide free trade system of modern day capitalism and the 'race towards the bottom' it enforces upon the people of the world. It will be a joint project between the civic, social, and people's movements, bringing together workers, farmers, the poor, students, women, environmentalists, health care activists, unification movement activists and more in the fight against globalization. Why the actions at the ASEM? The reasons are clear: the meeting itself will not reach an agreement that will have to be observed by participating states. However, the meeting itself, and the actions by governments participating in the meetings have made cleat their committment to the furthering of free trade and globalization through various channels. Through empirical observations (President Kim Dae-Jung has made it clear that he plans to continue with re-structuring through the second half of his term as president. Labor Parties and Social Democratic Parties in Europe seem to be on the same path) and through the plans laid out by the previous summit meetings in London and preparatory meetings for the meeting in Seoul. The people of Korea, though we know international opinions vary on the topic, know all to well at what effects the IMF crisis and the forced re-structuring program which followed, have had on the people of Korea and Korean society in general. Increasing dependency on foreign economies and international trends, increasing economic instability, lay-offs, unstable jobs, rise in unemployment, the polarization of wealth, the dismantling of social unity, and an overall decrease in the standards of living, among many others. The past 3 years after the IMF crisis have been an almost constant battle for the socially oppressed of Korea, in defense of labor rights that had been gained through years of struggle. The progressive sector of Korea also realize the importance of continuing with what has become the latest trend of international solidarity in the progressive movement, and plan on using the actions at the meetings to engage in an active dialogue with the people of Korea on just what neo-liberalism has meant to Korea and what alternatives exist. There is much at stake, and clear cut goals in relation to this struggle for the people of Korea as well. The Korean Farmer's League and the KCTU are feeling the pressure from the government's continuing efforts to conclude a bi-lateral investment treaty with the U.S. and Japan. The treaties are filled with clauses similar to the ones in the Multi-lateral Agreement on Investment, defeated by international resistance a couple years ago. The Kim Dae-Jung government is also seeking to commence with plans for the 2nd part of the restructuring of the public sector, and are also planning on further liberalization and opening up of the national economy. The actions during the ASEM meetings will be a cry against the neo-liberal policies of the Kim Dae-Jung government, as well as neo-liberal trends of globalization as a whole. It probably doesn't need to be pointed out that isolation could have devastating effects on the struggle here in Korea. People's organizations and trade unions in Korea know all to well the barbaric tactics the police use to crack down on demonstrations and strikes, and the same could happen to the direct actions at the ASEM meetings. We have already seen in previous struggles in Seattle and Washington what kind of pressure that international support and solidarity can put on the government, especially one which advertises its leader as being the 'human rights president'. This sort of pressure is especially important in Korea, where suppression of demonstrations often turn violent, as seen in the crackdown on the Lotte Hotel workers' strike several months ago. Your interest and solidarity is critical if the actions in Seoul are to succeed. With less than a month left now until the day of the actions in Seoul, we do realize that time is running short on us. It took longer than expected for the progressive sector in Korea to arrive at an agreement on the course and theme of the actions. We are working with a sense of urgency and our doing our best to make up for the late start. We are paying close attention to the developments in Prague, where activists with the same issues and causes as ours will be gathering to demand an end to the destruction and oppression stemming from neo-liberal globalization and the international financial institutions which enforce its policies. Our solidarity and full support to the struggle in Prague! Your struggle is our struggle! More information on the actions can be seen at: http://antiwto.jinbo.net (currently under construction, will reopen in a few days) Regular updates on the preparations for the ASEM action can be heard through the internet broadcasts at: http://cast.jinbo.net/news/yundai.html Contact us at: kopa@jinbo.net Korean People's Action against Investment Treaties and the WTO(KoPA) People's Rally Committee From aaronj at interchange.ubc.ca Sat Sep 30 03:16:43 2000 From: aaronj at interchange.ubc.ca (Aaron James) Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 11:16:43 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1598] Article on GATS forum Message-ID: <3.0.6.32.20000929111643.007b6720@pop.interchange.ubc.ca> Forum Highlights Implications of Services Agreement in the WTO Aaron James Canada Asia Pacific Resource Network www.caprn.bc.ca A little known, but sweeping new trade agreement, the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is the latest threat to the public sector and the ability of governments to regulate in the public interest. Details of this new trade deal were presented at a recent forum held in Vancouver on September 21, organized by Trading Strategies, a coalition of unions and civil society groups. GATS is one of 15 existing agreements from the World Trade Organization, an international body which seeks to eliminate "trade barriers" through privatization and competition. Agreements are designed to restrict governments over areas that impede on matters of "trade". WTO agreements are legally binding, enforced through dispute panels, and backed up with threats of trade sanctions, all of which supercede the power courts and all levels of government within member countries. First negotiated six years ago at the Uruguay Round, GATS is an ambitious and binding set of rules covering the trade of services that currently is being broadened. With the failure to launch a new Millennium Round of WTO trade agreements, much of the agenda from Seattle is being "stuffed" into GATS talks. Because of existing commitments to progressively expand the scope of GATS, it is being targeted as the ideal venue to further achieve the agenda of the WTO. By their nature, services cover a wide scope of labour force activity, ranging from the act of supplying a good, such as retail, gas or energy, to satisfying a public demand, such as schooling or libraries. The agreement covers rules regarding tariffs, but, like the definition of services, it too has broader impacts, extending to not only to regulation of domestic trade, but also to government measures that incidentally affect it. In practical terms, such an agreement would give new powers to challenge government policy that would result in, not a sharp, but a gradual erosion of the public sector. Panelists offered many examples of how GATS threatens to undermine the ability of governments to act in the public interest. Certifying schools, and preferential hiring of Canadian teachers are examples of what would qualify as "barriers to trade" under GATS, as would planning restrictions on the location and size of "big box" retail. The rollback of the public sector could also come from the reclassification of services covered under GATS rules, despite the commitment of the Canadian government to do otherwise. The management of schools, water purification, or janitorial services in hospitals could easily be reclassified as commercial services under GATS. Local writer and activist Ellen Gould noted that the current position Canadian trade officials appear ready to bring to GATS negotiations includes calls for the insertion of prior consultation and least trade restrictive domestic regulation clauses. For Sinclair, the latter of these poses the most serious threat to the public sector, since governments would be open to challenges on the basis that laws, licensing, frameworks and other regulatory measures could be designed differently so as to be less burdensome on the pursuit of business opportunity. Codes for forestry or health and safety standards, for instance, might be challenged as being more burdensome than necessary. As for the former of these, governments could also be challenged under WTO dispute panels for having not consulted with an affected company upon introducing legislation on the delivery of services, such as new public funding for child care. These positions were arrived at with limited consultation and no public debate, highlighting the undemocratic nature of the WTO. The lingering effect, said Gould, is the chill sent on governments for introducing new initiatives on matters affecting thee trade of services. Panelists explained that while the Canadian government has said publicly that health and education will not be covered under GATS, this assurance is inadequate. For one, the broad sweeping scope of GATS offers many avenues for effectively challenging the de-listing of protected public services. In the case of split-run magazines, top Canadian trade officials felt they could design WTO-proof trade legislation to ensure that advertising revenues stayed with Canadian magazines with original Canadian content. The bill was successfully challenged under GATS, and amended, loosing much of its force. Given that delivery of public sector services such as health and education are often hybrids of public/private/non-profit arrangements, Canada may be setting itself for defeat at the WTO dispute panel by cases brought forward on behalf of foreign, private for-profit service providers. Further, Sinclair questioned how Canada can expects to de-list these sectors when it is actively pressuring other countries to open these sectors to foreign competition. Public debate on GATS, urged the panelists, is needed immediately, otherwise, Canadians will be forced three-years from now to accept or reject a hard-fought deal invested with much energy, resources and corporate lobbying. Pressure would be too great to not accept the agreement. Cohen remarked that matters concerning national defence are excluded from the WTO. She argued that a similar carve out should, at the least, be demanded of GATS and the WTO. (The Canada Asia Pacific Resource Network is a non-profit organization that promotes solidarity projects with trade unions and NGOs in the Asia Pacific. A report of the September 7 BC Government Symposium on GATS prepared by British Columbia Teachers Federation's Larry Kuehn is available on the CAPRN website: http://www.caprn.bc.ca/apecmon/lk_gats.html) -------------------------- Aaron James 101 - 1717 Comox Street Vancouver, British Columbia V6G 1P5 phone (work): 604-255-7346 phone (home): 604-602-1626 fax: 604-255-0971 http://members.tripod.com/aaronjeromewestjames