From panap at panap.po.my Mon Jun 1 12:01:22 1998 From: panap at panap.po.my (PAN Asia Pacific) Date: Mon, 01 Jun 1998 12:01:22 Subject: [asia-apec 447] Selected Information on ABAC (1of2) Message-ID: <1526@panap.po.my> Information from the APEC BUSINESS ADVISORY COUNCIL (ABAC) 1. Newsletter (May 18) 2. Report of the ABAC Meeting in Mexico City (February 27 - March 1, 1998 ) 3. List of ABAC Members News from the APEC Business Advisory Council Vol. 1 - May 18, 1998 ABAC, the private sector arm of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation for um, was established by APEC Leaders in 1995 to advise them and Ministers on issues affecting business in the Asia-Pacific region. ABAC comprises u p to three senior business people from each of APEC's 18 member economies. The current chair is Tan Sri Dato' Tajudin Ramli, Executive Chairman of Malaysian Airline System. This is the inaugural edition of the ABAC Elec tronic Newsletter, which reports on recent ABAC activities and will updat ed quarterly. Comments are welcome and should be directed to the contact given above. RECENT ADVOCACY ABAC has called for full participation by APEC economies in the voluntary program to liberalize trade in 15 sectors ahead of the 2010/2020 Bogor deadline. In a March 31 letter to APEC Trade Ministers, Tan Sri Tajudin said ABAC wants to see an inclusive, comprehensive and credible program of liberalization in the 15 industrial and service sectors. Ministers launched the initiative at their November 1997 meeting in Vancouver. In a follow-up move, an ABAC representative reiterated ABAC views on the early voluntary sectoral liberalization (EVSL) initiative to a special meeting of APEC's Committee on Trade and Investment, April 20 in Kuala Lump ur, called to work out the detailed terms of liberalization. ABAC has also forwarded early advice to Trade Ministers on ways to streng then members' 1998 individual action plans due by the Kuala Lumpur APEC M inisterial in November. In another letter to ministers, the Chair urged, as steps to alleviate the regional financial crisis, that financial services be added to the sectors for early liberalization and that APEC economies take action to implement the 1994 Non-Binding Investment Principles. ABAC also urged that action plans incorporate economies' EVSL commitments and be made more transparent and accessible to business. Financial Crisis Task Force Chair Dr. Jeffrey Koo (Chinese Taipei) and Executive Director Dr. Shafiq Sit Abdullah (Malaysia) will present addition al ABAC proposals for responding to the regional financial instability to APEC Finance Ministers at their meeting May 23-24 in Canada. ABAC members will seek political support for their trade-related recommen dations when they brief APEC Trade Ministers at their meeting June 22-23 in Kuching, Malaysia. The top item on ministers' agenda is to finalize agreement on the terms of early liberalization in nine of the 15 agreed sectors. ABAC MEETING IN SYDNEY At their second meeting of 1998, held May 1-3 in Sydney, Australia, Counc il members agreed on additional advocacy steps to be taken in the coming weeks, including plans for seven more letters to APEC Finance and Trade Ministers. Members also met with Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Deputy Prime Minister and Trade Minister Tim Fischer. Among key decision s from the meeting, ABAC: -Finalized proposals, to be presented to Finance Ministers, for restoring private confidence in economies affected by the financial crisis and for channeling working capital to regional SMEs, which have been hardest hit by it; -Planned additional steps to urge Trade Ministers to support strong secto ral liberalization packages; -Finalized a report for Trade Ministers with suggestions for improving their economies' 1998 individual action plans and making them more useful to business; -Set up a Food Task Force to develop the Open Food System proposal, which addresses the need for liberalization along with parallel action in rural development and dissemination of food- related technologies; -Made progress on plans to establish a Partnership for Equitable Growth ( PEG), a new business-led mechanism to enhance public-private collaboration in APEC's economic and technical cooperation ("ecotech") activities; and -Developed preliminary recommendations on electronic commerce (see below) . Members also exchanged views with a larger group of Australian business people May 1 at an APEC Business Forum organized by the Australian ABAC me mbers and attended by DPM Fischer. ABAC ROUNDTABLE ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE A key ABAC initiative for 1998 involves organizing business views and wor king with APEC governments on policy issues related to electronic commerce. As an initial step, ABAC held a Roundtable on E-Commerce April 28 in Hong Kong, China. The conference attracted 150 participants from both business and APEC member governments. They focused on what business and governments want out of e-commerce, regulatory issues, and future developments . See Roundtable presentations at http://www.ABACecomm.org. Based on the results of the Roundtable, ABAC has developed preliminary re commendations on e-commerce that it plans to forward to APEC Finance and Trade Ministers: -The private sector should lead in development of e- commerce; -E-commerce offers great opportunities for SMEs provided there is adequat e training for them; -New laws should not be introduced if existing ones can apply; -Laws and regulations should not commit business to a specific technology or standards; -Policies and regulations should be compatible with existing multilateral agreements, such as in the WTO or ITU; -Governments should lead by example by maximizing use of e- commerce in, for example, government procurement; -Each government should designate one agency as its lead for e-commerce i ssues and centralize all activities under it; -Public-private partnerships will be vital to realizing the potential ben efits of e-commerce; -A mechanism should be established to ensure consumer protection across borders; and -Private and public sectors must make efforts to build confidence in electronic payment systems. APEC BUSINESS SUMMIT Plans are taking shape for the APEC Business Summit to be held in Kuala Lumpur 14-16 November, just before the meeting of APEC Economic Leaders. The high-level conference has the theme of "a new APEC for the new millennium" and is organized by ABAC, the Pacific Basin Economic Council Malaysia Committee, Malaysia's National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperati on, and the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI). The Summit aims to enhance business cooperation among APEC members, promote strategic alliances, and identify new business, investment and technology transfer opportunities. Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad w ill deliver the keynote address to the Summit, and several other APEC Eco nomic Leaders have also been invited to speak. For general information, including about attendance, please contact ABAC Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur (tel: 603-647-1234; fax: 603-637-1120). For info rmation about sponsorship, please contact Rohana Tan Sri Mahmood at PBEC Malaysia (tel: 603-263-6086; fax: 603-263-6087; e-mail: mrohana@pc.jaring .my) or Ms. Jean Wong at ASLI (tel:603-731-7775; fax: 603-731-4758; e-mail: jean@asli.po.my) APEC BUSINESS ADVISORY COUNCIL (ABAC) MEXICO CITY February 27 - March 1, 1998 ABAC Sets Restoring Asian Financial Stability and Progress on Sectoral Trade Liberalization as Top Priority for 1998 APEC Business Advisory Council members met February 27 - March 1 in Mexic o City and agreed on the group's priorities and plans for the current yea r. This was the first ABAC meeting under its new Malaysian Chairman, Tan Sri Dato' Tajudin Ramli, Chairman of Malaysian Airlines System. "ABAC has set an ambitious agenda for a very productive year," noted the Chairman. "We will be using opportunities throughout 1998 to bring business views on regional business and finance issues to the attention of APEC minister s and top government officials". Top priorities agreed by ABAC include: Restoring regional financial stability. ABAC will develop business recomm endations to help restore private sector confidence in Asian economies af fected by the recent financial turmoil and avoid future such crises. Prop osals will be delivered to APEC Finance Ministers and other international groups working on the crisis. ABAC's Financial Crisis Task Force presented various proposals for addressing the instability to the full Mexico meeting. Building support for sectoral trade liberalization. ABAC agreed to use co ntacts with political leaders in their economies to build support for APE C's program of early trade liberalization in 15 industry and service sectors. In an advocacy letter to APEC Trade Ministers, ABAC notes that while the program is voluntary, business believes participation by all economies would best serve APEC's liberalization agenda. Providing business input on electronic commerce issues. As APEC examines electronic commerce issues this year, ABAC plans to give business advice focusing on three aspects: technology (hardware and software), legal and regulatory frameworks, and applications. An ABAC-sponsored business confe rence on e-commerce is tentatively planned for late April in Hong Kong, China. Monitoring APEC action plans. The Council is concerned that action plans should address the situation in member economies affected by the currency crises. In order to facilitate the flow of capital back to the region, A BAC plans to forward a recommendation to APEC Trade Ministers that financ ial services be included as a priority sector for liberalization. ABAC al so renewed its recommendation that APEC's non-binding investment principl es be implemented by member economies. These would provide an open, trans parent and predictable regime to encourage inward investment. The Council will also continue to monitor the action plans, ensuring that business views are presented to APEC Leaders and Ministers in a timely fashion. Launching the Partnership for Equitable Growth (PEG). ABAC recognizes eco nomic and technical cooperation ("ecotech") as its social agenda, represe nting the broader responsibilities of business society. A newly formed ta sk force commenced work in Mexico City to set up the PEG, an organization meant to catalyze business/private sector participation in APEC ecotech activities, in 1998. ABAC proposed the PEG in 1997, and APEC Leaders endo rsed the proposal at their November meeting in Vancouver. Small and medium-sized enterprises In each of these areas ABAC will be developing proposals to advance the interests of SMEs. In particular, members expressed concern about the impact of the financial crisis on smaller companies. he ABAC members in Mexico met on the margins of their meeting with Mexic an President Ernesto Zedillo and were also addressed by Mexican Trade Min ister Dr. Herminio Blanco and Foreign Minister Ms. Rosario Green. ABAC, the business/private sector arm of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, was formed in 1995 to advise APEC Economic Leaders on issues affecting business in the region. The Council issued reports in 1996 and 1997 providing recommendations to the Leaders on a range of trade, investment and economic cooperation issues. ABAC's next meeting will be May 1-3 in Sydney, Australia. From mtachiba at jca.ax.apc.org Mon Jun 1 17:27:56 1998 From: mtachiba at jca.ax.apc.org (Tachibana Masahiko) Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 17:27:56 +0900 Subject: [asia-apec 448] Selected Information on ABAC (2of2) 1/3 Message-ID: <1315400415-12164572@aluminum.chem.saitama-u.ac.jp> The message from panap, having been bounced becauce it was too long, is being sent as separated into three parts. This is the part 1. tattsan --------------------------------------------------------------------- >To: asia-apec@jca.ax.apc.org >Date: Mon, 01 Jun 1998 12:01:38 >Subject: Selected Information on ABAC (2of2) >From: panap@panap.po.my (PAN Asia Pacific) THE APEC BUSINESS ADVISORY COUNCIL as of 21 May 1997 1. AUSTRALIA Imelda Roche, AO is Chairman of Nutri-Metics International Holdings Pty L td, an Australian skin care company spanning 20 countries. She serves on a number of government and community boards including the Trade Policy Ad visory Council (TPAC), Air Services Australia, Australian International E ducation Foundation Council, Business/Higher Education Round Table and Bo nd University Council. She is also Chairman of the World Federation of Di rect Selling Associations. In recognition of her contribution to business and commerce, women's affairs and the community, Mrs Roche was appointed an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 1995 Australia Day Honours List. Michael Jenkins Crouch, AM is Chairman and CEO of Zip Industries (Aust) Pty Ltd, an all Australian company which manufactures filtered drinking wa ter equipment in Australia and South Africa with an operating subsidiary in the United Kingdom. Mr Crouch is a member of the Australian Government Trade Policy Advisory Council and the Australian Pacific Economic Cooper ation Council. Awarded membership of the Order of Australia in 1988, for Services to the Community and Conservation, Mr Crouch serves on the board s of a number of companies and charitable organizations. Married with three children, he lives at Point Piper and Scone, NSW. Malcolm Kinnaird, AO is Chairman of Kinhill Engineers Pty Ltd, an Australian professional engineering company. Mr Kinnaird is the Chairman of Adelaide Brighton Ltd, United Water International Pty Ltd, Perry Engineering Pty Ltd and Pope Electric Motors Pty Limited and serves on the boards of National Electricity Market Management Company Ltd and South Australia Ma riculture Pty Ltd. He is Co-Chairman of the Singapore-Australia Business Alliance Forum, a member of the Australian Committee of the Pacific Econo mic Cooperation Council and a member of the Trade Policy Advisory Council . Mr Kinnaird was made an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia in 1991. 2. BRUNEI DARUSSALAM Timothy Ong Teck Mong, SMB is Managing Director of National Insurance Com pany Berhad of Brunei Darussalam and a director of many other Brunei busi ness interests. He was Chairman of the Brunei Darussalam International Ch amber of Commerce and Industry in 1985 and 1986 and remains an advisor to the Chamber. He serves on a number of government appointed committees in cluding the Council for Industrial Development and Trade chaired by the Minister of Industry and Primary Resources. Mr Ong was Brunei's representa tive to the APEC Eminent Persons Group. Haji Hamdillah H A Wahab, S N B, BLNG Executive Director is a member of m anagement of Brunei Shell Group of Companies and Director of Brunei Shell Funds Sdn Bhd. He is a member of Government Municipal Board, National En vironment Committee, HR Committee and Industrial Development and Trade Council. Since 1994, he is also a Government Advisor to Ketua Kampong of Lumut Village under the Ministry of Home Affairs, a Governor of St Margaret School Board since 1995 and Brunei PBF member in 1994-1995. He was awarded the honorary title "Most Blessed Order of Setia Negara Brunei (SNB) by His Majesty The Sultan of Brunei in 1994. Haji Idris B H Abas, SMB is the founder and Principal of Arkitek Idris, the 1st ISO 9001 accredited firm in Brunei Darussalam for Architectural, Planning and Interior Design Services. Besides holding Directorship and partner of other business interests, he also holds numerous official positions including Government appointed committees and councils as follows: member of the University Council, Universiti Brunei Darussalam; member of Municipal Board (Bandar Seri Begawan); Council member of PUJA (B), Chairman of the Architectural Sub-Committee; Deputy Chairman of National Accreditation Committee of Technical Education; President of National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Brunei Darussalam; and Chairman of numerous business councils. In 1994, His Majesty The Sultan of Brunei bestowed him the title "Most honourable Order of the Crown of Brunei" (SMB) and the Meritorious Medal (PJK) in 1996. 3. CANADA Paul Gobeil, FCA is Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of M$BqU(Jro-Rich elieu Inc., a food company, and Co-Chair of A$BqS(Jospatiale (Canada) Inc. He also sits on the boards of directors of several other organizations, including the National Bank of Canada and l'Ordre des comptables agr$Brk(Js du Q uebec. Mr Gobeil served as Quebec's Minister of International Affairs, Mi nister responsible for administration, and Chairman of Le Conseil du Tr$BqT(J or. He was an executive of some of Canada's leading food retailers, inclu ding Provigo Inc, Loeb Inc and IGA Canada Ltd. He also held a number of c hairmanships in various corporations, including the Royal Trust Company, Hydro Quebec International and Domtar Inc. Mr Gobeil has also been nomina ted as member of the Prime Minister's Council for Asia Pacific. Andrina G. Lever, President Lever Enterprises. Mrs. Lever was originally called to the Bar as a Barrister at Gray's Inn, England and as a barrister and Solicitor in Victoria, Australia. With more than 20 years experience in banking, advertising and finance, she has specialized in consulting to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with respect to corporate finance and managing for growth. She is co-founder and Managing Director of expansion International Advisory Inc., a private consulting firm that specializes in advising companies about expanding beyon their traditional geographic boundaries. Mrs. Lever is also President of Lever Enterprises, which specializes in international commercial development. Mrs. Lever acts as an advisor to major lending institutions with respect to women in business and access to credit for SMEs. From 1995 until 1997, Mrs Lever was President of the Women Entreprenuers of canada and sat on the Board of D irectors of Les Femmes chefs d'Enterprises Mondiales-the International as sociation of Women Entrepreneurs. Mrs. Lever is also founder and President of the Women Entrepreneurs of Canada Foudnation and was one of the founders of the Women Leaders Network of APEC. John S. MacDonald O.C., P. Eng., Chairman, MacDonald Dettwiler. Dr. John MacDonald holds an honours degree in Electrical Engineering from the Univ ersity of British Columbia, and a Masters Degree and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute if Technology. Dr. MacDonald is one of the founders of MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd., and served as President and Chief Executive Officer until September 1982. He is now Chairman of the Board. Dr. MacDonald is active in an advisory capacity to the government, serving as Canada's member of the Eminent Persons Group of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) from 1993 to 1995. In the past, he served as a member of the Science council of canada, the National Research Council, the British Columbia Premier's AdvisoryCouncil on Science and Technology, the National Advisory Board on Science and Techno logy, and was a founding member of the Science council of British Columbi a. He was also a member of the Sectoral Advisory Group on International T rade (Automotive and Aerospace Sector) during the Free Trade Negotiations with the U.S. among his many achievements. Dr. MacDonald is an Officer o f the Order of Canada. 4. CHILE Mario Andrade De Amesti is General Manager of Daewoo Electronics Chile S.A. He is also a member of the board of several Chilean corporations. Prior to his current appointment at Daewoo, Mr Andrade had served in many senior positions in the private sector, including as Managing Director of V TR Telecommunicaciones S A and General Manager and Executive Director of Megavision (Channel 9). Mr Andrade is the Chairman of PBEC-Chile and a me mber of the Board of S.F.F. (Chile). Juan Salazar is presently Corporate General Manager and Senior Vice President for Regional Affairs of BHP. Holding degrees in Political Science, he was also the Chilean Representative to the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) and during the 1994-1995 Chilean SOM to APEC and Special Assistant to the President of Chile in APEC matters. Mr Salazar is author of several books on Pacific Rim Affairs, and, at present, holds several Board posts in Chilean enterprises. Glen Trebilcock is presently President and CEO of INVERCAP S.A., holding company and major shareholder of CAP S.A. He joined CAP in 1963, relinqui shing his position in 1973 and rejoining CAP in 1985. He has held various positions at CAP, including: Assistant to the Vice President of Finance and Comptroller, Advisor to the President and CEO of CAP, Vice-President of New Ventures, President of Abastecimientos CAP S.A., Corporate Executi ve Vice President for Development and Planning CAP S.A., and Member of th e Board of Compa$BJ(Ja Minera del Pacifico S.A. and Terranova S.A. During hi s absence from CAP, Mr Trebilcock held various positions in Brazil: Presi dent of Sugar and Alcohol Plants of the Othon Bezerra de Mello Group, Pre sident for the Rio de Janeiro sector of Veplan Industria Inmobiliaria S.A . (Real Estate Industry). Mr Trebilcock has likewise held teaching positi ons at the Universidad de Chile, Universidad de Santiago and Fundaci$B…O(J Ge tulio Vargas de Rio de Janeiro. 5. PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Wang Lili is General Manager, Credit Management Department, Bank of China. She has served with the Bank of China since 1976 and has held her current position since 1996. She has also held positions in the departments responsible for overseas branches, international capital markets, securities trade and foreign exchange position controls and foreign exchange deali ng, and has worked in the Bank's London branch. A native of Tangshan, Hebei, she holds an MBA in international banking and finance from Nankai Uni versity. Lin Xizhong is the Senior Vice President, China National Metals & Mineral s Import and Export Corporation (MINMETALS). Before taking this responsib ility, he worked in various institutions of MINMETALS in Hong Kong for ov er 13 years, and he is still serving as the Vice-Chairman of the Board at the First Pacific Bank in Hong Kong in which MINMETALS has share-holding . And before that, he had many years of experience as business executive in MINMETALS import and export activities in China. Liu Jiren is the Executive President of NEU-Software Group of China. He i s also the Director of China National Software Engineering Research Cente r; the Vice President of Northeast University, which is one of the most f amous universities in China. Dr Liu is not only a successful manager but also a knowledgeable scholar. Many of his essays and achievements in Science have gained high opinion by people all over the world. NEU-Software group is now becoming a first-rate enterprise in China. 6. HONG KONG Victor K Fung Kwok-king, CBE is Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Developme nt Council, the statutory board responsible for the promotion of Hong Kon g's external trade. He is also Chairman of the Hong Kong/European Union E conomic Co-operation Committee. In the private sector, Dr Fung is the Cha irman of Prudential Asia Investments Ltd, the Asian investment arm of the Prudential Insurance Company of America, and of the Li & Fung Group, a leading Hong Kong based regional trading company. He is also Director of H ong Kong Telecom, Orient Overseas (International) Limited and Kerry Prope rties Ltd. In 1995, Dr Fung was voted Businessman of the Year in Hong Kon g and in 1997, he had conferred upon him an Honourary Doctorate Degree of Laws by the University of Hong Kong. Sir Gordon Wu Ying-Sheung,, KCMG is Chairman and Managing Director of Hop ewell Holdings Ltd, one of the largest property development and infrastructure groups in Hong Kong. Mr Wu has a wealth of experience in developing infrastructure projects, including power stations in the People's Republic of China, the Philippines, Indonesia and Pakistan; highway projects in the People's Republic of China and an elevated rail and road project in Thailand. Sir Gordon is a member of the International Finance Corporation 's Business Advisory Council. Victor Lo Chung-Wing, OBE, JP (Hong Kong) is Deputy Chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries and Chairman of the Hong Kong Electronics I ndustry Council. He is also Council Member of the Hong Kong Trade Develop ment Council, the Industry & Technology Development Council and the Hong Kong/Japan Business Cooperation Committee. He received the Young Industri alist Award in 1989 and was made an OBE in 1996. He is the Chairman and C hief Executive of the Hong Kong listed Gold Peak Group, an Asian multinational electrical and electronic manufacturing group with three subsidiari es listed in Singapore. The group has major operations in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and Australia, including jointventures with Philips, Toshiba, General Electric and Clipsal. ______________________________________________________________________ TACHIBANA Masahiko Dept.Chem.,Saitama Univ. Phone:+81-48-858-3388 Email:mtachiba@chem.saitama-u.ac.jp Fax:+81-48-858-3700 ***** I say NO to "Touchou Houan" or WIRETAPPING BILL ***** From mtachiba at jca.ax.apc.org Mon Jun 1 17:28:03 1998 From: mtachiba at jca.ax.apc.org (Tachibana Masahiko) Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 17:28:03 +0900 Subject: [asia-apec 449] Selected Information on ABAC (2of2) 2/3 Message-ID: <1315400407-12165049@aluminum.chem.saitama-u.ac.jp> The message from panap, having been bounced becauce it was too long, is being sent as separated into three parts. This is the part 2. tattsan --------------------------------------------------------------------- >To: asia-apec@jca.ax.apc.org >Date: Mon, 01 Jun 1998 12:01:38 >Subject: Selected Information on ABAC (2of2) >From: panap@panap.po.my (PAN Asia Pacific) 7. INDONESIA Bustanil Arifin is President of PT PP Berdikari, a state-owned company, a nd also Chairman of the Board of several private companies operating in a gribusiness, trading and services. Previously, he served for 20 years as Minister of Cooperatives and Head of National Foods Agency of the Republi c of Indonesia. He has developed cooperatives and has been actively invol ved in the rice self-sufficiency and the economic stabilization programme s. Mr Arifin is the founder of the Indonesian Institute of Management Dev elopment, Indonesia's premier graduate management school. He is also the founder of the Indonesian Institute of Cooperatives, and chairman and tre asurer of several social foundations. In his diplomatic career, he has se rved as Consul General of Indonesia in New York. Abdul Rachman Ramly is Chairman of PT Astra International, a diversified public company with automotive, financial services and agro-industry as i ts core businesses. Previously, he was President and Chief Executive Offi cer, Indonesian National Oil Company (PT Pertamina) and President and Chi ef Executive Officer, State Tin Corporation (PT Timah). In his diplomatic career, Mr Ramly served as the Indonesian Ambassador to the United States, Consul General in New York and Hong Kong, and Deputy Chief of Mission of the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore. In his military career, prior to retiring as Major General, he served in numerous army commands. Muchtar Mandala is President and CEO of Bank Duta, a public listed bank and one of the largest banks in Indonesia. He is also Vice President of th e Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN Indonesia) in charge of Banking, Finance and Monetary Affairs. Previously, Mr Mandala was Pre sident and CEO of the Indonesian Cooperative Bank (Bank Bukopin) and Secr etary General of The Association of the Indonesian Private Banks (Perbanas). Currently, he is also Chairman of IBJ-Indonesia Bank, Vice-Chairman o f Bank Bukopin, Chairman of Bank Muamalat Indonesia and Chairman of Rabo Finance Indonesia. 8. JAPAN Toru Kusukawa is Chairman of the Board of Counselors of Fuji research Ins titute Corporation. He joined the Fuji Bank. Ltd. In 1950 after graduatin g from the Faculty of law, Tokyo University. During his career at the Bank he served in various positions including overseas assignemnts in London and Dusseldorf. He was elected to the Bank's Board in 1976, became Manag ing Director in 1979 and served as Deputy President from 1981 to 1991. Mr . Kusukawa left the bank in 1991 to become chairman of Fuji Research Inst itute Corporation, which is an affiliate of Fuji bank. He currently chair s the Board of Counselors at the Institute. Mr. Kusukawa ia a statutory a uditor of Coca-Cola (Japan) Co. Ltd., and a director of Fuji-Wolfensohn International, New York. He is a member of the Securities and Exchange Cou ncil of the japanese Ministry of Finance, Co-Chairman of the Japan-Wester n Americas Association and Co-Chairman of the International Dialogue Prom otion Group of the Keizai Koho Center, the public relations arm of Keidan ren (Japan federation of Economic Organizations). He also serves on the b oards of various academic institutions and non-profit organizations. Masayuki Matsushita is currently Executive Vice President of Overseas Operations and International Relations and Member of the Board, Matsushita E lectrical Industrial Co., Ltd. He graduated from the Department of Econom ics of Keio University in 1968. He started his business career in 1968 an d entered Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. And a year's study at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In November 1996, h e was appointed as Assistant General Manager of Special Products Departme nt of Matsushita Electric Corporation of America. He was President of Mat sushita Distribution and Warehousing Co., Ltd. In June 1978. On October 1 981 he also served as Director of Washing Machine Division, Matsushita El ectric Industrial Co., Ltd. and sat in also as Member of the Board in cha rge of Auditing. Kenzo Nakagawa is President of Showa Plastics Co, Ltd, a plastic moulding manufacturer of electronic and audio-visual components, as well as a Cha irman of 15 subsidiary companies out of Japan. He also serves as Vice-Cha irman, International Committee, OSAKA Chamber of Commerce and Industry; V ice-Chairman, Committee on Small and Medium-Size Enterprises of Kansai Ke izai Doyukai (Kansai Association of Corporate Executives); International Committee of All Japan Plastic Products Industry Association and as Execu tive Director, Association for Rational Administration (Osaka) Incorporat ion. 9. REPUBLIC OF KOREA Jae-Hyun Hyun is Chairman of Tong Yang Group, a diversified business cong lomerate of Korea. With its strong foundation in the manufacturing of cem ent, home appliances, and confectionery goods, Tong Yang Group also provi des a full line of financial such as securities, life insurance and merch ant banking. He also serves as Vice Chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), President of the Korea Go (Oriental Chess) Association and President of the Korea Stanford Alumni Association. He is also a memb er of the Seoul Bar Association and the Advisory Council for the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. Joo-Chai Kim graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Ph. D. in Chemical Engineering. He is presently Senior Advisor of Anam Telecom C o., Ltd. In 1974 as Research Engineer and Senior Research Engineer in E.I . Dupont de Nemours Inc., U.S.A. He was a Technical Advisor of Anam Indus trial Co., Ltd. in 1976 , and President of Anam Industrial Co., Ltd. and Electronics Co., Ltd. until 1992. He is also currently a Vice-Chairman of Anam Group & Chairman of Anam Telecom Co., Ltd. Jay Joon Yoon graduated from Standford University with a degree in M.S., Industrial Engineering. He is President of CADLAND, Inc. and Chairman of Korea Geographic Information Industries Cooperative. President of DASAN S ystem, Inc., Korea from 1984 - 1986. Consultant of Systems Control Inc., USA in 1983. As part of his accomplishments, Mr. Jay Joon Yoon wrote seve ral articles which was published & distributed. To mention a few : In Inc reasing Economic Opportunities by Sharing Resources Information on the In ternet, this was presented at the 24th ISBC, Taipei, Republic of China in November 16-19, 1997. He also made a paper on Economic Evaluation of for ced-Cooled HPOF Transmission Systems, which was published for distributio n in 1981. And presented a paper on Simulation-Based Load Synthesis Metho dology for Evaluation Load-Management Programs which was presented at the IEEE Summer Power meeting held in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 1980. 10. MALAYSIA Tan Sri Dato' Francis Yeoh Sock Ping is Managing Director of YTL Corporat ion Berhad, one of the largest infrastructure development groups in Malay sia. Tan Sri Francis also serves as Council Member, Malaysia Business Cou ncil (MBC); Committee Member (Malaysia), Pacific Basin Economic Council ( PBEC); Board Member, Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technol ogy (MIGHT); Board Member, Commonwealth PARTNERSHIP for Technology Manage ment (CPTM); Committee Member, Malaysian South-South Association (MASSA); Vice President, Federation of Public Listed Companies Malaysia, and Inte rnational Council Member, The Asia Society. Tan Sri Nik Mohamed Yaacob is Group Chief Executive of Sime Darby Berhad, one of Southeast Asia's leading multinational conglomerates, currently i nvolved in manufacturing, heavy equipment and motor vehicle distribution, property development, insurance and financial services, oil and gas, and power generation. Tan Sri Nik Mohamed sits on the Boards of Sime Darby B erhad and its public listed subsidiaries, Standard and Industrial Researc h Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM), PNB Equity Resource Corporation Sdn Bhd and also serves as member of the National Council for Scientific Research & Development, National Coordinating Committee on Emerging Multilateral Trade Issues, and the APEC Business Advisory Council. Tan Sri Dato' Tajudin Ramli is Chairman of the APEC Business Advisory Cou ncil and has business interests in transportation, telecommunications and tourism. He is Chairman and Chief Executive of Malaysia Airlines, Malays ia's national carrier, as well as of Malaysian Helicopter Services Berhad , another public listed company. He is also Chairman and Chief Executive of Technology Resources Industries Berhad, a public listed company whose wholly-owned subsidiary in Malaysia, CELCOM, is the largest cellular phon e operator in Southeast Asia and provides other telecommunications servic es. Through a private company, he is involved in development of resort pr operties and golf clubs in Malaysia and other countries. 11. MEXICO Tomas Gonz$BaM(Jez Sada is the Chairman of the Board and chief Executive Offi cer of Grupo CYDSA, SA, a company engaged in manufacturing and marketing of Fibers and Textile Products, Chemicals and Plastics, Flexible Packagin g Solutions, as well as in designing and constructing Water Treatment Pla nts and providing Integrated Environmental Services. Mr Gonz$BaM(Jez-Sada als o serves as the Chairman of Universidad Regiomontana, a private universit y; and the Mexico-Japan Business Committee within CEMAI (Mexican Business Association for International Affairs). He is a member of the Internatio nal Trade Negotiations Advisory Council of the Mexican Commerce Ministry and an active board member of various corporations such as Vitro Sociedad An$B…O(Jima and Regio Empresas; financial institutions such as Grupo Financi ero Serfin and Instituto ISERFIN; and community service organizations suc h as Fundaci$B…O(J Mart$ByO(Jez Sada, C$BaS(Jitas de Monterrey, Museo de Arte Contemp or$BaO(Jeo de Monterrey and Museo de Monterrey. Jose Luis Guerrero (information forthcoming) Javier Prieto de la Fuente (information forthcoming) ______________________________________________________________________ TACHIBANA Masahiko Dept.Chem.,Saitama Univ. Phone:+81-48-858-3388 Email:mtachiba@chem.saitama-u.ac.jp Fax:+81-48-858-3700 ***** I say NO to "Touchou Houan" or WIRETAPPING BILL ***** From mtachiba at jca.ax.apc.org Mon Jun 1 17:28:10 1998 From: mtachiba at jca.ax.apc.org (Tachibana Masahiko) Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 17:28:10 +0900 Subject: [asia-apec 450] Selected Information on ABAC (2of2) 3/3 Message-ID: <1315400400-12165487@aluminum.chem.saitama-u.ac.jp> The message from panap, having been bounced becauce it was too long, is being sent as separated into three parts. This is the part 3. tattsan --------------------------------------------------------------------- >To: asia-apec@jca.ax.apc.org >Date: Mon, 01 Jun 1998 12:01:38 >Subject: Selected Information on ABAC (2of2) >From: panap@panap.po.my (PAN Asia Pacific) 12. NEW ZEALAND Rosanne Meo,, OBE is Chairman of Television New Zealand and of AMP New Ze aland; a Company Director of the Ports of Auckland and Mercury Energy. Mr s Meo was formerly President of the New Zealand Employers' Federation; sh e is a current member of the New Zealand Business Roundtable and the Pres ident of the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra. Kerry McDonald, is Managing Director, Comalco New Zealand Limited, Chairm an of the Bank of New Zealand, past Chairman of the New Zealand Executive Committee, Australia New Zealand Business Council, Chairman of the Japan New Zealand Business Council, Deputy Chairman of the New Zealand Institu te of Economic Research and Chairman of the Executive Committee, Kakapo R ecovery Project. Philip Burdon is widely respected as being one of New Zealand's most succ essful businessmen and distinguished politicians. As Minister for Trade N egotiations, Commerce and State-Owned Enterprises, he has played a leadin g role in New Zealand's remarkable economic reforms of the last decade. S pecifically, he has led New Zealand's successful negotiating efforts thro ugh to the conclusion of the Uruguay Round, and has played a significant role in APEC and has been actively involved in other regional fora. He re tired from politics in October 1996 to return to the private sector. He i s Chairman of the Asia 2000 Foundation which aims to strengthen New Zeala nd's links with Asia in both the business sector and the wider New Zealan d community. 13. PAPUA NEW GUINEA Wayne Kenneth Golding, OBE is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Tan ubada Dairy Products Pty Ltd, Hohola Soft Drinks Pty Ltd, Pacific Product s Pty Ltd, Kina Securities Group of companies and Director of Canadian listed mining company Indo Pacific Resources Ltd. The group is involved in agriculture, food production, banking, sharebrokerage, and mining. Mr Gol ding is the Chairman (founding) of the Manufacturers Council of Papua New Guinea (formally Chamber of Manufacturers) and holds public office posit ions in the Food and Vegetable Advisory Board (Chairman), Fresh Produce D evelopment Co-operation Pty Ltd (Director), and is a member of various co mmittees, including the World Trade Organization, the National Economic D evelopment Forum and various other Government Statutory Bodies. Mr Goldin g is also Commissioner in the National Capital District Provincial Govern ment. 14. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES Roberto R Romulo is Chairman of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co mpany. He is also the Chairman, Carlos P Romulo Foundation for Peace and Development; Chairman, Equitable CardNetwork, Inc; Vice-Chairman, San Mig uel International; Member, F E Zuellig Supervisory Board; Chairman, Phili ppine-British Business Council; Chairman, Philippine-Thailand Business Co uncil; Chairman, APEC Foundation of the Philippines; and, Chairman (1997- 1999), Pacific Economic Cooperation Council. Mr Romulo was Foreign Affair s Secretary of the Republic of the Philippines from 1992 to 1995 and Amba ssador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Communities from 1989 to 1 992. He has been decorated by the governments of Belgium, France, Spain, Thailand and the Philippines. Benigno N Ricafort is Chairman of Naturecraft Industries Corporations, Ma nagement Centre and Resource Group Inc., Furniture and Accessories Barn I nc., Wemberg International, Inc; Vice-Chairman, Rufina Development Corpor ation, Monetary Finance and Investment Corporation; Director, Clark Devel opment Corporation AMERASIA Finance and Investments Corp. He is also President, Philippine Network of Small and Medium Enterprises; Vice-President -Director and National Chairman, SME Development, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Director, Small Enterprise Development Foundatio n. Mr Ricafort is the 1996 Chairman, Organizing Committee ASIA Pacific Bu siness Network (APB-Net III). Jose Luis U Yulo, Jr is the President/CEO of the Philippine Stock Exchang e, Inc and the immediate past President/CEO of the Philippine Internation al Trading Corporation (PITC), trading arm of the Philippine government a nd of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Concurrently, he i s also Chairman of Unitrust Development Bank; Chairman of Philippine Exhi bits and Themesparks Corporation; President of Centrex/Octanorm Corporati on and Founding Vice President of the Asia Pacific Countertrade Associati on (APCA) based in Singapore; Chairman of the International Association o f State Trading Organizations (ASTRO) based in Slovenia and Geneva and th e Honorary Consul of the Republic of Slovenia to the Philippines. 15. SINGAPORE Lim Ho-Kee started his business career as a Planning Analyst with Shell E astern (Singapore). He then entered the banking sector in 1970 as head of the International Division of the Development Bank of Singapore. From 19 75 to 1981, he held several management positions with Morgan Guaranty Tru st in Singapore, including Managing Director of the Merchant Bank and Bra nch Treasurer. From 1981 - 1983, he worked with Overseas Union Bank in Si ngapore which included an eighteen-month secondment to the Monetary Autho rity of Singapore as its Deputy Managing Director. Mr. Lim joined Union B ank of Switzerland (UBS) as Branch Manager, Singapore and Regional Treasu rer, Far East in November 1984. In July 1990, he became Executive Vice Pr esident - East Asia. In this position, he has the overall responsibility for managing and expanding UBS' business in the region spanning the Peopl e's Republic of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. With a global reorganization of the Bank on July 1, 1991, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer, East Asia and a Member of the Enl arged Group Executive board, the first non-Swiss to be appointed to the b oard. Remaining responsible for the same area of operation, Mr. Lim was appointed Executive Vice President effective Jan 01, 1993. He was made Cha irman, Region East Asia in February 1997 in recognition of his contributi ons to the UBS Group and in particular to his development of the UBS fran chise in East Asia. Mr. Lim sits on the Board of a number of private and public companies, one of which is Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (Sing apore Telecom). He holds the position of Director of Singapore Telecom si nce 1986 and took an active role in the statutory board's successful priv atization in 1993. He is also Chairman of its Finance & Investment Commit tee. Alex Chan was appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Yeo Hiap Seng Group in March 1995. Prior to this, Mr Chan was with He wlett Packard Singapore (Pte) Ltd for 18 years, last holding the appointm ent of Managing Director of Hewlett Packard South-East Asia Region from 1 991 to 1995. Mr Chan is on the board of directors of several statutory bo ards and public organizations, including the Singapore Sports Council, th e Board of Governors of the Civil Service College and the National Produc tivity and Quality Council as well as being the Chairman of the National Committee on Smoking Control, the Management Board of the Centre for Wire less Communications (National Science and Technology Board) and Economy Restructuring Committee of the Productivity & Standards Board. BG Boey Tak Hap was appointed as President & CEO of Singapore Power (SP) in October 1995. Also serving as a Director of the SP Board, BG Boey lead s the integrated utility group, one of Singapore's largest corporations a nd a key infrastructure provider. He started his career with the Ministry of Defence in 1971 when he was awarded the Singapore Armed Forces Overse as Scholarship. He was appointed Chief of Army in 1988. In 1990, he joine d the Public Utilities Board and assumed position of Chief Executive of P UB in February 1995. He also serves as a Director on various other Boards including Keppel Finance Ltd and Wing Tai Asia. 16. CHINESE TAIPEI Jeffrey Len-Song Koo is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Chinatrus t Commercial Bank in Taiwan, New York, and California. Together with his uncle, Dr C. F. Koo, he is co-founder of the Koos Group, a diversified ho lding company whose businesses span the petrochemical, high technology, t elecommunication, resort, and financial services industries. Dr Jeffrey Koo is Chairman of the Chinese Taipei Member Committee in the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council and of the Euro-Asia Trade Organization in Taiwa n. Dr Koo is also Chairman of Visa International, Asia-Pacific Region and of the Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce. Henry C S Kao is President of I-Mei Foods Co. Ltd., and Fu Mei Co. Ltd. H e also serves as Chairman of An Hsin Real-Estate Management Inc.; Board Director of Dah An Commercial Bank; Vice-Chairman of Taiwan-Australian Business Council; Ex ecutive Supervisor of Importers and Exporters Association of Taipei; Dire ctor of Marketing Communications Executives International; Executive Dire ctor of Taiwan Confectionery, Biscuit and Flour Food Industry Association ; and Executive Director of Taiwan Chainstore Association. Nelson An-ping Chang is President and Director of Chia Hsin Cement Corpor ation. He is also CEO of China Securities Co., Ltd. and of KG Investments Asia Ltd. and Vice Chairman of China Management Systems Corporation. He is a director or supervisor of several other companies in Chinese Taipei. He holds an MBA from New York University. A native of Taipei, he is also Executive Director of the Chinese National Association of Industry and C ommerce, Vice Chair of the Chinese Taipei Pacific Economic Cooperation Co mmittee, Vice Chair of the Chinese Taipei Member Committee of the Pacific Basin Economic Council, and is affiliated with various other civic and business groups. 17. THAILAND Vachara Phanchet is Executive Vice President of MMC Sittipol Co Ltd, as o ne of the largest automakers in ASEAN, manufacturing, distributing, and g lobally exporting Mitsubishi automobiles from Thailand. He also serves as Chairman and CEO in several other affiliated and related group companies , as well as Honorary Deputy Secretary-General of the Thai Chamber of Com merce. Twatchai Yongkittikul is Secretary-General of The Thai Bankers' Associati on. He is also Director of the Thailand Development Research Institute, I ndependent Director of Capital Nomura Securities Public Company, Director of Thai Rating and Information Service Company Ltd. In the public sector , he serves as a member of the Land Traffic Management Committee, and of the Civil Service Commission. Dr Twatchai has taught at the National Inst itute of Development Administration, where he also served as Dean of the School of Development Economics and Vice Rector for Academic Affairs. He was a member of the Senate from 1992-1996. Viroj Phutrakul is the Vice President of the Federation of Thai Industrie s. He is the Executive Chairman of Boonrawd Asia Co, Ltd, an investment h olding company having stakes in several business areas including real est ate development and the distribution and manufacture of non-alcoholic bev erages and food products. In 1996, Mr Phutrakul received a "Marketing Hal l of Fame" award from the Marketing Association of Thailand. Apart from h is high ranking positions in the business field, Mr Phutrakul is a member of the Thai Senate and serves as a Chair Professor at the Chulalongkorn University. 18. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Susan Corrales-Diaz is President and Chief Executive Officer of Systems I ntegrated, a world-wide provider of systems for automated control of elec tric, telecommunications and water systems. Ms Corrales-Diaz serves on th e Executive Board of the Certified Development Corporation, chartered by the Small Business Administration, to provide financial support to Small and Medium Enterprises (SME's). She is a member of the President's Export Council (of which she chairs the Trade Promotion Subcommittee) and on th e Board of Directors of the Southern California District Export Council. She also serves on Boards for: California Chamber of Commerce; Small Busi ness Exporter Association; Orange County World Trade Center; and Southern California Foreign Trade Association. John F. Smith, Jr became Chairman of the General Motors Board of Director s on 01 January 1996. He is also chief executive officer and president of GM. Additionally, he is a member of the General Motors Finance Committee and he chairs GM's President's Council as well as GM's Global Strategy B oard. He is also on the boards of Hughes Electronics (HE) Corporation and General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC). Mr Smith is a member of th e board of directors and executive committee of Detroit Renaissance, the Economic Club of Detroit, the American Automobile Manufacturers Associati on and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center as well as on the board of trustees of the United Way of Southeastern Michigan. He is also presi dent of the Beta Gamma Sigma's Directors' Table. Mr Smith is also a membe r of The Proctor & Gamble Company board of directors, and is a Co-Chairma n of the Business Roundtable, The Business Council, the U.S.-Japan Busine ss Council, and the American Society of Corporate Executives. J. Gary Burkhead is Vice Chairman of FMR Corporation, the parent company of Fidelity Investments, the largest mutual fund company in the United St ates, and President of Fidelity Personal Investments and Brokerage Group. He has worked with Fidelity since 1983. Prior to that, he was Executive Vice President of Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States a nd had been Director of Research and Member of the Board of Smith Barney. He is a Member of the Board of Directors of the New York Stock Exchange and a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts. He holds an MB A in finance from Harvard University. ______________________________________________________________________ TACHIBANA Masahiko Dept.Chem.,Saitama Univ. Phone:+81-48-858-3388 Email:mtachiba@chem.saitama-u.ac.jp Fax:+81-48-858-3700 ***** I say NO to "Touchou Houan" or WIRETAPPING BILL ***** From panap at panap.po.my Tue Jun 2 15:40:00 1998 From: panap at panap.po.my (PAN Asia Pacific) Date: Tue, 02 Jun 1998 15:40:00 Subject: [asia-apec 451] Paper on APEC and Infrastructure Development Message-ID: <1565@panap.po.my> If anyone is interested in a paper I've written on APEC and Infrastructure Development, send me an email (directly, not through the listserv) and I will send it to you as an attachment. Devlin Kuyek PAN-AP From mbernard at YorkU.CA Tue Jun 2 23:09:04 1998 From: mbernard at YorkU.CA (mbernard@YorkU.CA) Date: Tue, 02 Jun 1998 10:09:04 -0400 Subject: [asia-apec 452] Re: Paper on APEC and Infrastructure Development In-Reply-To: <1565@panap.po.my> Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.19980602100904.006a3a64@postoffice.yorku.ca> I'd appreciate it if you could forward me a copy of the APEC paper. Thanks, Mitchell Bernard * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Mitchell Bernard Department of Political Science York University 4700 Keele St. North York, Ontario M3J 1P3 From potter at law.ubc.ca Wed Jun 3 01:37:43 1998 From: potter at law.ubc.ca (Pitman Potter) Date: Tue, 02 Jun 1998 09:37:43 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 453] Paper on APEC and InfrastructureDevelopment -Reply Message-ID: An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: not available Url: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/asia-apec/attachments/19980602/11e08b02/attachment.txt From lbyster at igc.apc.org Wed Jun 3 01:01:09 1998 From: lbyster at igc.apc.org (Leslie B) Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 09:01:09 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [asia-apec 454] APEC/High-tech Message-ID: <2.2.16.19980602075745.302732e0@pop.igc.org> I hope someone can help me remember. I thought I heard of a paper that looked at the high-tech development and APEC. Does anyone know if this is true, or can point me in the right direction? Leslie Byster From apfischer at igc.apc.org Wed Jun 3 05:06:28 1998 From: apfischer at igc.apc.org (a. paige fischer) Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 13:06:28 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [asia-apec 455] SIGN ON to Stop APEC From Endangering Forests Message-ID: <2.2.16.19980602132933.40674c66@pop.igc.org> Dear friends, >From June 18 - 22, APEC Leaders will meet in Malaysia to finalize a proposal to liberalize trade in forest products. The goal of this plan -- called Early Voluntary Sectoral Liberalization (EVSL) -- is to make it cheaper and easier for corporations to harvest and sell more wood on the Pacific Rim. The plan will eliminate environmental and other regulations, making our forests more vulnerable to overcutting, disease and mismanagement that ever before. Unless we can intervene now, APEC Leaders will approve the liberalization plan later this month. Please sign your organization on to this letter asking the U.S. Vice President Al Gore to stop APEC's plan to liberalize forest trade on the Pacific Rim before it's too late. Simply reply to this message with your name, title, organization, and location (city, country). For the Forests! Paige Fischer Pacific Environment and Resources Center (PERC) Sausalito, California, DRAFT * * * * *DRAFT * * * * * DRAFT* * * * * DRAFT * * * * *DRAFT June 8, 1998 The Honorable Albert Gore, Jr. Vice President of the United States The White House Washington D.C. 20001 Dear Mr. Vice President, We undersigned # organizations, representing millions of citizens concerned about the global environment, write to express our serious reservations about a current US Trade Representative (USTR) initiative to liberalize trade in forest products within the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). If carried out as currently planned, APEC's Early Voluntary Sectoral Liberalization (EVSL) for Forest Products will put Pacific Rim forests in jeopardy. We urge you to intervene before APEC Leaders approve the final work plan and begin implementing it at the June 18-23, 1998 Senior Officials Meeting in Malaysia. We do not believe that all liberalization of trade in the forest products sector is bad for the environment. For example, the Clinton Administration's proposal to eliminate US Forest Service forest road building subsidies will likely result in fewer destructive roads in pristine roadless areas. However, we find USTR's aggressive attempts to liberalize forest products trade without accounting for and protecting against potential negative environmental and social consequences of elimination of specific tariff and non-tariff measure to be reckless and deeply troubling. Many environmental groups have called on the USTR to halt its all-or- nothing advance toward liberalizing the forest products sector in APEC until environmental and social consequences are identified and safeguards are put into place. On March 25, 1998, 115 environmental organizations sent a letter to Ms. Charlene Barshefsky, U.S. Trade Representative, expressing our concerns. Unfortunately, Ms. Barshefsky has not provided the groups a response. On April 21, 1998, several national environmental organizations expressed many of the same concerns in testimony before the International Trade Commission, which is conducting a study for USTR about potential impacts of APEC EVSLs. However, at the request of Ms. Barshefsky, the results of this study will be concealed from the public. Pacific Rim forests under APEC's influence comprise some of the most ecologically important in the world. APEC countries are home to 63% of the world's remaining "Frontier Forests," which are defined as large relatively intact primary forest ecosystems that provide habitat to rare and endangered species, sustenance to communities, and carbon sinks that mitigate against global climate change. From the ancient temperate forests of the US Pacific Northwest and Chile, to the tropical moist forests of South East Asia, these ecosystems are threatened by the combined forces of increasing production and consumption of wood products that would result from a poorly executed liberalization of this sector. Pacific Rim logging -- to satisfy the world's increasing demand for wood and paper products -- is expected to expand dramatically in the coming decade. Industry and intergovernmental projections, including those of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), indicate that consumption of paper and paperboard products world-wide will rise as much as 70% to 80% over 1990 levels by the year 2010, the bulk of which is expected to occur on the Pacific Rim. As currently envisioned, APEC trade liberalization in the forest products sector will exacerbated growing consumption and production of forest products on Pacific Rim forests. According to materials provided by the American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA; enclosed), "The wood and paper sectors in the Asia-Pacific region are experiencing dynamic growth and are expected to continue to boom in the next decade." This AF&PA material boasts that production of paper and paper board production increased dramatically in the European Union, the US and Canada following the elimination of tariffs through other trade bodies. A US Department of Agriculture study (enclosed) also indicates that an increased level of timber extracted from ecologically sensitive Pacific Northwest old growth forests would result following the elimination of restrictions on unprocessed logs from public lands. The APEC Forest Products EVSL also could weaken many regulations that are in place to protect forests. These regulations include sanitary and phytosanitary rules on imports that protect forests against exotic pests and restrictions on exports of unprocessed logs. Based on the biosecurity risks posed by invasive species to Pacific Northwest forests, environmental organizations have obtained a Federal Court injunction against the issuance of new permits to import unprocessed logs from Siberia (Russian Far East), New Zealand and Chile. Chile is attempting to intervene in this lawsuit on the grounds that the injunction is a barrier to free trade, and New Zealand has recently stated its intention to use the APEC EVSL process to undermine this important environmental protection regime. During the 50th Anniversary celebration of the international trading system in Geneva, President Clinton spoke to the importance of transparency in trade policy and also said, "[W]e must do more to ensure that spirited economic competition among nations never becomes a race to the bottom -- in environmental protection, consumer protections, or labor standards. We should be leveling up, not leveling down." The President's words offered environmentalists new hope of a fresh start toward an environmentally responsible trade policy. On April 1994, when you signed the Uruguay Round agreement in Marrakesh, Morocco, you stated, "...environmental protection is not a 'maybe,' it is a 'must.' And by working aggressively to improve the environment along with global trade, we will succeed." Your commitment to integrating environmental protection into trade regimes is extremely important if areas of global ecological significance, such as Pacific Rim forests, are to survive through the next century. We are ready to work with the Clinton Administration to make these words a reality. But by refusing to acknowledge any potential negative environmental impacts of the APEC Forest Products EVSL, USTR's actions flatly contradict the President's new commitments. We call upon you to intervene to halt USTR's pursuit of APEC forest products trade liberalization until the agency: 1) Conducts an Environmental Impact Assessment for each tariff and non-tariff measure it seeks to eliminate; 2) Engages a broad spectrum of civil society in all discussions of forest trade liberalization; 3) Postpones all work on the APEC Forest Sector EVSL until all environmental impacts have been proven negligible and the public -- including independent forest ecologists and community leaders -- have been fully informed. We would like to request a meeting with your staff to discuss potential remedies to this situation. Doug Norlen is available at (202) 785-8700 to coordinate environmental organization participation in this meeting. Thank you for your attention in this matter. Sincerely, A. Paige Fischer, APEC Issues Coordinator, Pacific Environment and Resources Center, Sausalito, California Douglas Norlen, Policy Advisor, Pacific Environment and Resources Center, Sausalito, California * * * * *THIS IS A DRAFT DOCUMENT UNTIL FORMALLY SUBMITTED WITH ALL SIGNATURES TO THE WHITE HOUSE* * * * * * From LZarsky at nautilus.org Wed Jun 3 07:41:11 1998 From: LZarsky at nautilus.org (Lyuba Zarsky, Co-Director) Date: Tue, 02 Jun 1998 15:41:11 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 456] Re: SIGN ON to Stop APEC From Endangering Forests Message-ID: <3.0.32.19980602154110.007d4d40@nautilus.org> Lyuba Zarsky CoDirector Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainable Development Berkeley, California At 01:06 PM 6/2/98 -0700, you wrote: >Dear friends, > >From June 18 - 22, APEC Leaders will meet in Malaysia to >finalize a proposal to liberalize trade in forest products. > >The goal of this plan -- called Early Voluntary Sectoral >Liberalization (EVSL) -- is to make it cheaper and easier >for corporations to harvest and sell more wood on the Pacific Rim. >The plan will eliminate environmental and other regulations, >making our forests more vulnerable to overcutting, disease >and mismanagement that ever before. > >Unless we can intervene now, APEC Leaders will approve the >liberalization plan later this month. > >Please sign your organization on to this letter asking the U.S. >Vice President Al Gore to stop APEC's plan to liberalize forest >trade on the Pacific Rim before it's too late. > >Simply reply to this message with your name, title, organization, >and location (city, country). > >For the Forests! > >Paige Fischer >Pacific Environment and Resources Center (PERC) >Sausalito, California, > >DRAFT * * * * *DRAFT * * * * * DRAFT* * * * * DRAFT * * * * *DRAFT >June 8, 1998 > >The Honorable Albert Gore, Jr. >Vice President of the United States >The White House >Washington D.C. 20001 > >Dear Mr. Vice President, > >We undersigned # organizations, representing millions of citizens >concerned about the global environment, write to express our serious >reservations about a current US Trade Representative (USTR) initiative >to liberalize trade in forest products within the Asia Pacific Economic >Cooperation (APEC). If carried out as currently planned, APEC's Early >Voluntary Sectoral Liberalization (EVSL) for Forest Products will put >Pacific Rim forests in jeopardy. We urge you to intervene before APEC >Leaders approve the final work plan and begin implementing it at the >June 18-23, 1998 Senior Officials Meeting in Malaysia. > >We do not believe that all liberalization of trade in the forest >products sector is bad for the environment. For example, the Clinton >Administration's proposal to eliminate US Forest Service forest road >building subsidies will likely result in fewer destructive roads in >pristine roadless areas. However, we find USTR's aggressive attempts >to liberalize forest products trade without accounting for and >protecting against potential negative environmental and social >consequences of elimination of specific tariff and non-tariff measure >to be reckless and deeply troubling. > >Many environmental groups have called on the USTR to halt its all-or- >nothing advance toward liberalizing the forest products sector in APEC >until environmental and social consequences are identified and safeguards >are put into place. On March 25, 1998, 115 environmental organizations >sent a letter to Ms. Charlene Barshefsky, U.S. Trade Representative, >expressing our concerns. Unfortunately, Ms. Barshefsky has not provided >the groups a response. On April 21, 1998, several national environmental >organizations expressed many of the same concerns in testimony before the >International Trade Commission, which is conducting a study for USTR >about potential impacts of APEC EVSLs. However, at the request of Ms. >Barshefsky, the results of this study will be concealed from the public. > >Pacific Rim forests under APEC's influence comprise some of the most >ecologically important in the world. APEC countries are home to 63% >of the world's remaining "Frontier Forests," which are defined as large >relatively intact primary forest ecosystems that provide habitat to rare >and endangered species, sustenance to communities, and carbon sinks that >mitigate against global climate change. From the ancient temperate >forests of the US Pacific Northwest and Chile, to the tropical moist >forests of South East Asia, these ecosystems are threatened by the >combined forces of increasing production and consumption of wood >products that would result from a poorly executed liberalization of >this sector. > >Pacific Rim logging -- to satisfy the world's increasing demand for >wood and paper products -- is expected to expand dramatically in the >coming decade. Industry and intergovernmental projections, including >those of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), indicate that >consumption of paper and paperboard products world-wide will rise as >much as 70% to 80% over 1990 levels by the year 2010, the bulk of >which is expected to occur on the Pacific Rim. > >As currently envisioned, APEC trade liberalization in the forest products >sector will exacerbated growing consumption and production of forest >products on Pacific Rim forests. According to materials provided by the >American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA; enclosed), "The wood and >paper sectors in the Asia-Pacific region are experiencing dynamic growth >and are expected to continue to boom in the next decade." This AF&PA >material boasts that production of paper and paper board production >increased dramatically in the European Union, the US and Canada following >the elimination of tariffs through other trade bodies. A US Department >of Agriculture study (enclosed) also indicates that an increased level >of timber extracted from ecologically sensitive Pacific Northwest old >growth forests would result following the elimination of restrictions >on unprocessed logs from public lands. > >The APEC Forest Products EVSL also could weaken many regulations that >are in place to protect forests. These regulations include sanitary >and phytosanitary rules on imports that protect forests against exotic >pests and restrictions on exports of unprocessed logs. Based on the >biosecurity risks posed by invasive species to Pacific Northwest forests, >environmental organizations have obtained a Federal Court injunction >against the issuance of new permits to import unprocessed logs from >Siberia (Russian Far East), New Zealand and Chile. Chile is attempting >to intervene in this lawsuit on the grounds that the injunction is a >barrier to free trade, and New Zealand has recently stated its intention >to use the APEC EVSL process to undermine this important environmental >protection regime. > >During the 50th Anniversary celebration of the international trading >system in Geneva, President Clinton spoke to the importance of >transparency in trade policy and also said, "[W]e must do more to ensure >that spirited economic competition among nations never becomes a race >to the bottom -- in environmental protection, consumer protections, or >labor standards. We should be leveling up, not leveling down." The >President's words offered environmentalists new hope of a fresh start >toward an environmentally responsible trade policy. > >On April 1994, when you signed the Uruguay Round agreement in Marrakesh, >Morocco, you stated, "...environmental protection is not a 'maybe,' it is >a 'must.' And by working aggressively to improve the environment along >with global trade, we will succeed." Your commitment to integrating >environmental protection into trade regimes is extremely important if >areas of global ecological significance, such as Pacific Rim forests, >are to survive through the next century. > >We are ready to work with the Clinton Administration to make these words >a reality. But by refusing to acknowledge any potential negative >environmental impacts of the APEC Forest Products EVSL, USTR's actions >flatly contradict the President's new commitments. We call upon you to >intervene to halt USTR's pursuit of APEC forest products trade >liberalization until the agency: > >1) Conducts an Environmental Impact Assessment for each tariff and >non-tariff measure it seeks to eliminate; > >2) Engages a broad spectrum of civil society in all discussions of >forest trade liberalization; > >3) Postpones all work on the APEC Forest Sector EVSL until all >environmental impacts have been proven negligible and the public >-- including independent forest ecologists and community leaders -- >have been fully informed. > >We would like to request a meeting with your staff to discuss potential >remedies to this situation. Doug Norlen is available at (202) 785-8700 >to coordinate environmental organization participation in this meeting. > >Thank you for your attention in this matter. > >Sincerely, > >A. Paige Fischer, APEC Issues Coordinator, Pacific Environment and Resources >Center, Sausalito, California > >Douglas Norlen, Policy Advisor, Pacific Environment and Resources Center, >Sausalito, California > >* * * * *THIS IS A DRAFT DOCUMENT UNTIL FORMALLY SUBMITTED WITH ALL >SIGNATURES TO THE WHITE HOUSE* * * * * * > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lyuba Zarsky Director Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainable Development ph:+1 510.204.9296 fax:+1 510.204.9298 e-mail: lzarsky@nautilus.org http://www.nautilus.org From 103611.663 at compuserve.com Wed Jun 3 10:55:06 1998 From: 103611.663 at compuserve.com (Catherine Coumans) Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 21:55:06 -0400 Subject: [asia-apec 457] SIGN ON to Stop APEC From Endangering Forests Message-ID: <199806022155_MC2-3EFE-2938@compuserve.com> Catherine Coumans, Ph.D. Calancan Bay Villagers Support Coalition London, Ontario Canada From panap at panap.po.my Wed Jun 3 16:22:18 1998 From: panap at panap.po.my (PAN Asia Pacific) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 1998 16:22:18 Subject: [asia-apec 458] Peoples' Assembly Contact List Message-ID: <1582@panap.po.my> Malaysian Contact List for the Asia-Pacific Peoples' Assembly (APPA) (note: Most issue/sector forums have more than one local host organization. This list is not complete; it is only intended to enable groups and individuals to contact issue/sector forums of interest) Secretariat: Coordinators- Cynthia Gabriel appasec@tm.net.my Devlin Kuyek panap@panap.po.my Workers: Tian Chua (Labour Resource Centre) lrc@tm.net.my Consumers: Abdul Rahman (Perak Consumers' Association) pkca@po.jaring.my Women: Sarojeni Rengam (Pesticide Action Network- Asia and the Pacific) panap@panap.po.my Migrants: Irene Fernandez (Tenaganita) mindcaram@hotmail.com Youth: Yap Swee Seng (Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall) ssyap@founder.net.my Indigenous People: Wong Meng Chuo (Ideal Time) fax: 608-4329695 or Janme Lasimbang (Partners in Community Organizing) pacos@tm.net.my Urban Poor: Abdul Rahim Ishak (Parti Rakyat Malaysia) prm@po.jaring.my Human Rights: Premesh Chandran (Suara rakyat Malaysia) wkpeng@pc.jaring.my Militarization: Premesh Chandran (SUARAM) wkpeng@pc.jaring.my Sustainable Consumption: Michael Chai (Consumers International- AP) ciroap@pc.jaring.my Environment and Sustainable Development (no confirmed local host as of yet) Food Security and Agriculture: Devlin Kuyek (Pesticide Action Network- AP) panap@panap.po.my Media: Anil Netto and Francis Loh (Aliran) kwloh@pc.jaring.my Privatization and Financial Deregulation: Charles Santiago (Stamford College) nov1@tm.net.my Others: Strategies for Peasant Movements: Lu Baylosis (KMP) lualhati@philonline.com From panap at panap.po.my Wed Jun 3 16:43:11 1998 From: panap at panap.po.my (PAN Asia Pacific) Date: Wed, 03 Jun 1998 16:43:11 Subject: [asia-apec 459] Mahatir Attacks Liberalization Message-ID: <1585@panap.po.my> Give solutions Find remedies to currency crisis, Mahathir tells financial experts By Lim Chye Khim (The Star, June 3 1998, p.1) TOKYO: Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad said financial experts should stop blaming Asian governments for the currency crisis and help reform the international financial system. The Prime Minister said the experts should help work on reforms to minimise exchange rate volatility and curtail currency speculation. "Our task is to focus on the remedies, the things which must be done if we are to revitalise ourselves, if we are to ensure the revitalisation of Asia," he said in a keynote address at the Fifth Symposium of the Institute for International Monetary Affairs (IIMA) here yesterday. Describing the present system as "messy, unreliable and destructive", Dr Mahathir said: "I believe the time has come to deal with the entire issue of reform of the international financial system to ensure currency stability and contain the activities of those who buy and sell money for no other purpose than to make profits." Touching on the volatility of the Indonesian rupiah, which at one time was devalued by more than 600% and then recovered by 200% within a few days, he asked: "What indeed is the worth of a nation if suddenly someone can devalue and even bankrupt it? "If currencies can be made useless so easily, what is the point in a country issuing its own money?" It had been said that currency would strengthen if confidence was restored, said Dr Mahathir, but there was no certainty as to what would bring back confidence. "There was a lot of talk about market forces. But who constitutes market forces and how do market forces determine what value to give to each act of a government or an economy under attack?" Dr Mahathir said that devaluation or revaluation were not the answers to the world's economic problems. "Improvements in productivity are, and such improvements can be achieved through greater skills, better managaement and continuous technological improvements," he said. On globalisation, he said that so far, the advantages seemed to accrue only to the rich. Dr Mahathir said the only way Malaysia could overcome the instability in the exchange rate and rebuild the economy was to do away with currency in trade as much as possible. "We will revert to bartering. We will want to balance our trade with countries which have a trade surplus with us and Japan is the country with the biggest trade surplus. "Where we have to pay, we will pay in the currency of the trading partner concerned." On Asean, he said the grouping had agreed that trade between them should be enhanced as the devaluation of their currencies was approximately at the same rate. Hitting out at theorists who "had never run any country, much less help it grow," Dr Mahathir said that the economies of East Asia would grow again, if left to themselves. As an example, he said that in the World Competitive Year Book issued by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), most of the economies which had been so severely hit since the IMD issued its 1997 report had scored highly based on its 224 criteria, or fundamental factors. Similarly, he said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had a very good impression of Malaysia a year ago. "Just two weeks before the July 2 'currency hurricane' struck, IMF managing director Michael Camdessus was handing bouquets to Malaysia for its sound economic management, our superb economic fundamentals," he added. He said it was so easy for some analysts to slip into the view that currency movements were purely the function of fundamentals, adding that "the market fundamentalists tell us this is so with incredibly sincere conviction, however loudly the speculators chuckle all the way to the bank. "The truth is the currencies plummeted even though our fundamentals were strong. The truth is that, ipso facto , the fall of our currencies was not a function of our basic fundamentals." Dr Mahathir said it would be sad commentary on the ability of the world's financial and economic experts if they could not come up with new proposals on a new international financial system. "Their habit of merely trying to explain the present turmoil as being due to bad practices by the governments concerned sounds too much like an apology and a defence of currency traders." From panap at panap.po.my Fri Jun 5 16:05:11 1998 From: panap at panap.po.my (PAN Asia Pacific) Date: Fri, 05 Jun 1998 16:05:11 Subject: [asia-apec 460] APEC: The PBEC meeting Message-ID: <1641@panap.po.my> SUNS #4220 Thursday 28 May 1998 south-north development monitor SUNS [Email Edition] eighteenth year 4220 thursday 28 may 1998 Trade: APEC entrepreneurs back financial globalisation! Santiago, May 26 (IPS/Gustavo Gonzalez) -- Representatives of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum (APEC) came out in favour of financial globalisation despite the current crisis in stock and currency exchanges, supporting ongoing market liberalisation. The crisis amongst the Asian Tigers, and particularly in Indonesia, is one of the main topics on the agenda of the Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC) meeting which would end Wednesday. PBEC represents more than 1,000 business groups of the 20 APEC economies (Australia, Canada, South Korea, Chile, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Fiji, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Thailand, Taiwan and the United States). The analyses and resolutions of this forum will be considered in the up coming annual summit of APEC leaders, planned for November this year in Kuala Lumpur, where the progress of the trade liberalisation process in the area will be discussed. Executives of Asian, US and Oceanian companies meeting in Santiago agreed it would be counterproductive to try and put the brakes on globalisation of the financial markets as a measure to counteract the crisis in Southeast Asia. For the entrepreneurs, the way out of the current stock and currency exchange, political and social problems of Indonesia and other countries of the region is, precisely, to recover their investment capacity by attracting new capital. Working from this basis, the PBEC forum reiterated its condemnation of all types of protectionism, with criticism of health and safety barriers on trade in foodstuffs and also of environmental and labour norms which impose conditions on the circulation of capital and goods. The liberalisation of new sectors, like telecommunications, was one of the central questions tackled in the first workshop, with suggestions of how to guarantee competition by blocking forms of monopolisation. Entrepreneurial backing for economic liberalisation was also made clear in the discussion of privatisation, considered not only as an instrument to attract investments, but also to contribute to trade liberalisation. Chile's President Eduardo Frei, inaugurated the meeting Monday stating the crisis in Southeast Asia must not lead to procrastination on the creation of an Asia-Pacific free trade area in the early years of next century. Frei said the process of gradual and liberalisation by sector agreed by the APEC governors is already behind schedule - the initial aim was to liberalise the markets between 2010 and 2020, but it is now suggested this process be delayed. "In our opinion such an unhappy backward step would be highly negative, as this would seriously damage the credibility of this forum," said the Chilean leader. The Asia-Pacific free trade area would be the biggest free market in the world, not only in terms of population, but also in contribution to the world product and the volume of exchange. The economic potential of the vast Pacific Basin should be one of the main motors for reinforcing the economic globalisation process, without allowing for this to be beaten by the current crisis in Southeast Asia, concluded the meeting. Filipino banker Octavio Espiritu said the difficulties faced by some countries do not provide enough foundations for turning back the financial globalisation process, as this has simple and plentiful benefits. Bruce Galloway, of the Royal Bank of Canada, declared he also supported the financial liberalisation of foreign funds, with the precondition that the countries must liberalise their internal financial systems. The Canadian banker advocated flexibilisation of the exchange rates, within a framework of strict regulations and supervision impeding disproportionate increases in interest rates due to the difficulties this creates. Gong Haocheng, of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, said investments must be attracted to guarantee the economic development of the countries, which must in turn work towards adequate control of their foreign debt. From panap at panap.po.my Fri Jun 5 16:01:58 1998 From: panap at panap.po.my (PAN Asia Pacific) Date: Fri, 05 Jun 1998 16:01:58 Subject: [asia-apec 461] Mexican complaint against US apple-growers Message-ID: <1640@panap.po.my> SUNS #4221 Friday 29 May 1998 south-north development monitor SUNS [Email Edition] eighteenth year 4221 friday 29 may 1998 Labour: Mexicans file complaint against US apple-growers Washington, May 27 (IPS/Jim Lobe) -- A coalition of Mexican trade unions and farm-workers Wednesday filed a broad complaint in accordance with labour agreement of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), charging that the Washington State apple industry failed to protect workers' rights. It called on the Mexican government to pursue arbitration under the North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation (NAALC), the side agreement intended to advance worker rights in all three NAFTA signatories - Canada, Mexico, and the United States. This the 11th case filed with NAALC since it took effect Jan 1, 1994. Nine of the 10 earlier complaints involved alleged failures by Mexico to enforce its labour laws and were brought by US or Canadian parties. This latest case added "more balance" to the NAALC process, according to Pharis Harvey, director of the Washington-based International Labour Rights Fund (ILFR), which has been a petitioner in several other NAALC cases. "Mexico is not the only country in North America where workers' rights are violated." The new case covers various aspects and is a sweeping one brought to the NAALC so far, according to the ILFR's general counsel, Terry Collingsworth. The case is being brought against an entire industry which is alleged to have violated seven of the 11 basic labour principles which NAALC was established to protect. The petitioners include the Mexican National Workers' Union, the Authentic Labour Front, and the Democratic Farmworkers Front. They alleged that the mainly Mexican migrant workers, who labour in Washington State's abundant apple orchards, are denied rights to organise, collective bargaining, minimum labour standards, non-discrimination in employment, job safety and health, workers' compensation, and migrant worker protection. "This case could provide the most comprehensive test of the effectiveness of NAFTA's labour side agreement," said Collingsworth, who helped prepare the petition. More than 60,000 workers toil in the orchards and warehouses of what is the world's largest apple-producing industry. Most are Spanish-speaking, and many do not have US work permits. Fear of deportation haunts may of these workers and their families in farming communities where undocumented parents live with documented children, married couple are sometimes half legal, and few extended families are far removed from illegal immigration status. Union activists maintain the apple industry long has exploited this situation by using the fear of deportation to intimidate workers into not joining a union or pushing for improvement in their working conditions and wages. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters tried to unionise the field and warehouse workers over the past two years but have not succeeded so far in their efforts. Its campaign drew strong support from the biggest labour confederation, the AFL-CIO, and is viewed as a major test for the future of labour organising in the United States. Last January, however, the union suffered a significant reverse when workers at two of the state's largest apple warehouses voted against joining the Teamsters by a relatively narrow margins. Teamster attorneys filed complaints with the federal government's National Labour Relations Board (NLRB), calling the votes illegal due to the alleged use of threats and intimidation by the companies' management. The Seattle office of the NLRB last week issued a preliminary ruling in which they found merit in some of the Teamsters' charges and sent the case to an administrative court. The complaint declared there were frequent safety violations and chemical hazards in packing and shipping plants, while orchard workers are exposed to toxic pesticides. Federal and state health and safety officials, according to the complaint have not been effective in enforcing relevant laws. In addition, the complaint pointed to what it calls "severe" budget cuts affecting both the NLRB and OSHA which made it impossible to enforce workers' rights. The Seattle regional NLRB office, for example, has only two spanish-speaking attorneys serving Washington State where the largest minority population group Hispanic. The complaint also argued that NLRB should have granted the union's request to order the companies to recognise the Teamsters and reach a collective bargaining agreement precisely because the intimidating effects of the employer's efforts to thwart a successful organising campaign destroys any possibility of a fair election in the future. In that respect, it contends, deficiencies, delays and weak remedies provided by US labour law do not adequately protect freedom of association and the right to organise. The complaint said US law discriminated unfairly against migrant workers in a range of social benefits. In Washington State, for example, migrant workers were given lower benefits under workers compensation scheme than resident workers. The complaint, according to Harvey, marked "an important step for scrutinising labour law enforcement in the United States, where there are severe problems of discrimination against workers who try to form unions and where migrant workers face widespread labour and human rights violation." Mexico's National Administrative Office, which receives complaints, will now review the case and issue a written report "within a reasonable period." It may then launch consultations among the NAALC country secretaries of labour after which a committee of outside experts may be convened. They may recommend arbitration which could lead to fines against the US government or the loss of NAFTA benefits for the Washington State apple industry. From gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz Mon Jun 8 12:50:54 1998 From: gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (Gatt Watchdog) Date: Mon, 08 Jun 1998 15:50:54 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 462] APEC 1999 - It's Not Worth It Message-ID: APEC 1999 - It's Not Worth It - Aziz Choudry Organisation has already begun to expose and oppose the APEC 1999 offensive on Aotearoa/New Zealand. Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Rotorua are all to host APEC meetings throughout 1999, culminating in the APEC Summit in Auckland in September next year. The government announced in March that it has budgeted expenditure of $50 million for the summit - including $18.11 million for security alone. It is a very expensive pre-election photo opportunity which will be shouldered by the taxpayer and in particular, the people of the Auckland region. Since the 1994 APEC Summit in Indonesia, the Aotearoa/New Zealand APEC Monitoring Group has been involved with ongoing monitoring, research, education and media work on the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, and the implications of its agenda for Aotearoa and other APEC member countries. The group launched the first phase of its education campaign specifically leading up to next year's hosting of the APEC process, entitled: "APEC: It's not worth it!" and calling on the government to withdraw its invitation to host the meetings. We have also produced a leaflet: "APEC + MAI = Corporate Rule" which we encourage people to copy and distribute to friends, family and mailing lists. Members of the Aotearoa/New Zealand APEC Monitoring Group have attended alternative meetings on APEC in Jakarta (1994), Osaka/Kyoto (1995), Manila (1996), Vancouver (1997) as well as monitoring the official APEC meetings themselves and their impact on the cities that have hosted the events. We have worked closely with organisations like GATT Watchdog (the Monitoring Group is a member of the GATT Watchdog group), the New Zealand Trade Union Federation (TUF), and Corso. Previous APEC Summits have caused massive disruption to the lives of those living in the cities that have hosted them. They have shut down huge areas of cities, and the Summits have been accompanied by "clean-ups" and "crackdowns" aimed to present a false image of the host country to the international entourages that attend. In the Philippines, this included the wholesale demolition of squatter communities and the forced relocation of countless thousands of poor Manila dwellers, so that President Ramos could hide the visible effects of the Philippines 2000 development model from view. In all cases it has involved appalling traffic delays, poor returns for many local businesses because of the militarisation of the areas around the meetings, and human rights abuses, including the suppression of domestic opposition to APEC. The major emphasis of the work of the next year will be education. Growing awareness of the threat to the peoples of Aotearoa from the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), and the continued opposition to the New Right agenda which has been imposed on us by successive governments provides a solid platform on which to build opposition to APEC 1999. The campaign challenges New Zealand's hosting of APEC next year in the broader context of domestic and international moves to remove barriers to free trade and investment in the interests of transnational corporations and the other major economic powers in the global economy. Much groundwork on APEC has already been laid in recent years by the Monitoring Group, GATT Watchdog, Corso, TUF and others at a local, national and international level including the publication of resources, public meetings and speaking tours, media work, resourcing and lobbying MPs and local body politicians, resourcing and supporting unions, tangata whenua, unemployed, women, and a range of organisations and individuals on the issue, and organising the 1996 Trading With Our Lives alternative forum on free trade held just prior to the APEC Trade Ministers Meeting. We want to reach as many people in as many sectors of society as possible. The official APEC/government hype machine will be cranking out all sorts of claims about the benefits of trade and investment liberalisation. We need to be prepared to expose and oppose this hype. Anyone who can help feed out the material that is already available, and future leaflets, fact sheets and other resources should get in touch with us at PO Box 1905, Christchurch. There are plans to hold a conference to expose and oppose the free market free trade economic agenda and its impact on Aotearoa in September 1999 in Auckland. This will have a strong focus on linking domestic issues - the "New Zealand Experiment", the new right agenda, and sovereignty issues - and those in the Pacific - with the global push towards economic liberalisation promoted by forums like APEC. Dates for 1999 APEC Meetings - so far: Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) I and related meetings - Wellington, 1-9 February SOM II and related meetings - Christchurch, 29 April - 7 May Trade Ministers Meeting - Auckland, 28-30 June SOM III - Rotorua, 5-13 August Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministers Meeting - Auckland, 9-10 September Leaders Summit - Auckland, 13 September Contact: Aotearoa/NZ APEC Monitoring Group Box 1905 Christchurch, AOTEAROA (New Zealand) Phone 64 3 3662803 Fax 64 3 3668035 Email: gattwd@corso.ch.planet.gen.nz From 103611.663 at compuserve.com Tue Jun 9 02:02:27 1998 From: 103611.663 at compuserve.com (Catherine Coumans) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 13:02:27 -0400 Subject: [asia-apec 463] Chinese in Indonesia Message-ID: <199806081304_MC2-3F80-1E8E@compuserve.com> >From: David Tan Tuan Heng >Subject: Riot in Medan > >We've had actually been thru hell these few days and in the second day of >the riot , the looters and robbers came within 1 km from my house and >everyone was so scared ! You see the scale of the riot was so big that >the authority just couldn't cope with it for the first few days and on top >of that , having to adhere to the 'principles' of Human Rights , they >couldn't do any harm to the rioters which were in fact out not to demonstrate >with the students but to rob and loot - they could only fire warning shots >>in the air ...so the rioters went on their rampage as if no police and >>army >>were present , by first breaking down locked doors of >>shophouses and then started looting and in some bad cases after >>looting they set fire to us poor Chinese's houses !!In almost all areas >>, >>the youths of 12 - 14 year olds would started to stone and then forced >>open >>doors with crowbars and what-nots and when they succeeded , >>women(grandmothers too)and children as young as 5-6 years old will come >>for >>the spoil(these are confirmed , I don't >>make them up for dramatisation).For your information ,there were many >>gruesome facts of gross abuses of Human Rights on us Chinese which the >>western media we see are trying to cover up so as not to marr the >>glorification of the so-called student movement , 99% of property >>destroyed >>belong to Chinese and in some cases mob stood >>outside houses banging away at doors to demand that owners came out and >>when the owners didn't they started the burning and that resulted in one >>13 >>year old Chinese girl being burnt to death but of course you'll never >>hear >>it from the media here or otherwise. This is what I can confirm right >>now >>in Medan and in others immediate areas of the city and other small towns >> >>I'm sure more >>gruesome cases will surely surface later. We even had several confirmed >>cases of rapes when they came at night - sometimes late at night , >>otherwise mid-nite or even 3 a.m. in the morning ! Many western media >>portrait these bastards as the poor and hungry ones but I don't see any >>shortage of food or anything In this natural resouce rich North Sumatera >> >>province and don't you know that >>many sold the goods in the side streets afterwards - sacks of rice as >>cheap >>as 1/2 the original price(we're beginning to experience shortage of >>it)and >>televisions for a fraction of the listed price ! Have you ever seen the >>hungry in any part of this world loot and rob shophouses and sold the >>loots >>afterwards ..in Africa and other parts of poor Asia ? If they worry >>about >>their stomachs , how come they burn afterwards , for what purpose if not >> >>racial discrimination ? As a result of these enormous pressures on us >>who have been abandoned by our own protectors we paid tax to , we were >>forced to form groups of vigilantes patroling our own neighbourhood and >>in >>some cases there were clashes with these bastard resulting in bloody >>casualties on both sides but as a result of these vigilant acts , we >>Medan >>Chinese had prevented worse violence on us but we have to give credits >>to >>the reinforcements of special army units from Jawa who were really >>professional and were ordered to deal harshly with these bastards. Sadly >> >>the authority seems to always make us difficult and one example was to >>issue a warning to us Chinese that we are not allowed to carry any sharp >> >>objects such as swords, spears , hatchets etc. and upon seeing them will >>be >>confiscated which >>left us with blunt objects such as baseball bats , hockey sticks and so >>on.These vigilants acts in some cases provoke revenge >>attacks and in one case , as I have told you before , they came out at >>night where they hid in a very co-ordinated way to attack at about 3 >>a.m. >>in the morning , obviously someone(political or otherwise)must have >>co-ordinated it !! So yours truly had to switch weapons from a samurai >>katana to only a hockey stick , >>how's that for your vigilante friend , huh? You see in Medan every >>Chinese >>stood up regardless of how much savings you had before in the banks - >>from >>the poorest to some conglomerate quality ones (no joke !!) and you know >>what ,it actually made us feel proud to be able to stick together and in >>a >>sense it lessen the fear in each of us have inside us !! >> >>Never have this phenomena happened before for us overseas Chinese here >>whoI'm sure you know pretty well we're always the target of their fury >>at >>any problem/s , WE WERE THE TRADITIONAL SCAPEGOATS since the beginning >>of >>the formation of this republic!! Peter , do me a favour if you can , if >>you >>care for justice , spread the >>words around about our sufferings here let the world know or at least >>your >>friends preferrably Chinese ones and if you want to read more about the >>riot you can access http://www.huaren.org/ and my suggestions is , DO >>recommend them to any of your friends who care about these injustices >>that >>had befallen us here !!! Thanks and regards. > > Best Regards > Herbert Wong > > David........ :-) > > From panap at panap.po.my Wed Jun 10 19:17:02 1998 From: panap at panap.po.my (PAN Asia Pacific) Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 19:17:02 Subject: [asia-apec 464] Alternative Security Conference Message-ID: <1698@panap.po.my> Security Conference Focus on the Global South, Alternative Security Program Focus on the Global South will host an international conference on the theme "Alternative Regional Security; Asia=92s Prospects and Dilemmas." The dates of the conference roughly parallel the ASEAN Regional Forum Meeting, July 22-24, 1998. The site will be at University of the Philippines in Manila. THE SUBJECT OF SECURITY What is security? The debate between the traditionalists and those who would broaden the meaning of the term =91security=92 is fairly well known. Traditionalists prefer clarity in the discipline so that it refers only to the nation-state and its external threats associated with war and violence. Geopolitics and Realpolitik dominate the analysis, the policy and the practice. But after the Cold War and with the onset of Globalisation, an increasing number of progressive scholars, activists and policy makers have begun to realise the limitations of such a traditionalist and ultimately militarist viewpoint. They argue that threats to security above and below the nation state inclusive of, but not limited to, the threat of armed conflict must be the basis on which to think about security. Furthermore, they note that ironically, military policy has often wrought direct harm to women, to families, and to local populations, as in the case of Okinawa. In short, to understand security, one must understand the sources of insecurity. The word "security" holds different meanings for different groups. Let us examine just a few examples to illustrate. In developing countries, where leadership can be highly personalised particularly in Asia, security has meant the maintenance and protection of status quo power structures. Internal opposition has been considered a security threat as a matter of definition, even when representing large segments of the population, as in the case of Burma. In contrast, ethnic minorities and the poor may see security as freedom from indiscriminate oppression and aggression, preservation of fundamental rights, freedom from destitute poverty, and protection of a minimum social welfare net. This perspective also emphasises the importance of environmental security or the vital preservation of certain cultural values or traditions that are perceived as being uprooted. =91Security=92 has become "fragmented" in the traditionalist=92s lexicon a= nd "liberated" in the progressive interpretation. It is clear that competing visions of security abound. What we must also realise is that security is a socially and politically constructed framework. Indeed, why something even becomes a "security" issue from its usual level of politicisation is a challenging question. Real threats and perceived threats are not always the same. Ultimately, things become a security issue when they are talked about as such by wielders of power. This has drastic consequences for a region where political structures often ignore the voices of the poor, the oppressed and the marginalised. To be sure, the challenge of an alternative security framework should not be limited to engaging in a debate about priorities in the international security agenda. Ultimately, to argue that governments and militaries should be putting "the poor" on top of their security agenda is unlikely and undesired. A tug of war for positioning in the narrow framework of geopolitical regional security as it stands today will more likely result in disappointment than substantive change. The challenge is to shift the discourse, that is to rethink not only what should be on the security agenda, but to reconsider how the framework is structured, how decisions are implemented, and explore the opportunity for new actors to play new roles. It is to critically engage the current power structure at the policy level, and to offer concrete alternatives to the present regional security paradigm. SECURITY IN ASIA Recent events show the range and complexity of security issues in Asia. Nuclear explosions in South Asia have ignited an arms race many believed ended with the Cold War. But less traditional threats abound. The Asian financial crisis has demoted several Asian economies from the status of "tiger" to beggar causing enormous changes in places like Indonesia. The crisis has already had deep social implications in the agricultural and labour sectors, as well as the mainstream business sectors. This event demonstrates several points. First, security is inter-related to notions of gender, human rights, democratisation, and sustainable development. While inter-state rivalry still endures, it is only one of several security threats to the region. In addition, as the crisis in Asia is fundamentally a crisis of globalisation, there must be strong links made between globalisation and security. As Dr. Richard Falk, keynote speaker of last year=92s conference argues: [Globalisation] has, for one thing, undermined many aspects of cultural identity through the dissemination of a consumerist ethos, and it has jeopardized the world by allowing global economic integration and protection of vulnerable societies, groups, and individuals. There exists very little regulation compared with the degree to which market forces have been regulated in most constitutional democracies. Further, the trend toward privatization of politics and economics has added great dangers to the global environment and it has increased insensitivity by government to human suffering resulting from poverty, genocidal behavior and severe abuses of human rights. (from Peace and Policy, p6, Toda Institute, Summer, 1997) Aside from the insecurity the financial crisis has forced on women, children, workers, immigrants, and other marginalised groups, it also has the potential to trigger regional violence. The Economist notes "From Japan and South Korea to Malaysia and Indonesia, mounting bankruptcies, growing unemployment and rising inflation are adding new faultlines to old fractures. In such a fragile region, economic self-confidence may not be the only casualty. The region=92s political and military stability is also at risk." (Economist, "East Asia=92s New Faultlines" p13, March 14, 1998). The Economist lists the top ten flashpoints in Asia 1. Four Kurile Islands, occupied by Russia, claimed by Japan. 2. North Korea, isolated, hungry and still technically at war with South Korea. 3. Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands, subject to rival claims by China, Taiwan, and Japan. 4. Taiwan, considered a rebel province by China since the Kuomintang fled there after losing the civil war in 1949. 5. Burma, controlled by a military junta which has ignored the results of a 1990 election. 6. Cambodia, led by Hun Sen, who seized power from his co-prime minister, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, in a bloody coup last July. 7. Spratly Islands variously claimed by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Brunei. 8. Mindanao, which Muslim rebels are still fighting to bring to independence from the Philippines, despite a recent peace treaty. 9. East Timor, a former Portuguese colony invaded by Indonesia in 1975 and heavily repressed. 10. Bougainville, seeking independence from Papua New Guinea. There are literally dozens of other festering inter-state and intra-state conflicts in the region including the renewed fight for Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Many are over natural resources, self determination, human rights, and democracy. A few are still along historical and ideological faultlines. Some are varying combinations of all of these. In this sense, there is a chicken-and-egg dialectic between a people-centred security and geopolitical security. It is these tensions, complexities and contradictions that members of civil society and policy makers must grapple with. THE PROCESS A conference is a process as well as an event. With this in mind Focus aims to hold its second conference on Asia Pacific Security Systems. The first meeting, held in Bangkok in 1997, stemmed from the growing realisation that the present regional security system in Asia Pacific is both fragile and incomplete. From a traditional perspective, balance-of-power politics, Western fuelled arms races and a unilateral US presence are the main structures. Panellists discussed what the structures appropriate for a post-Cold War, New World Order in Asia are might look like. Conference participants noted that the concept of security has changed from focussing only on nation-states to a broader concept that includes gender, environmental, economic and cultural issues. In this spirit, the conference formed the Alternative Security Network, a mix of scholars, activists and policy specialists with expertise in Asia Pacific issues. This network acts as an advisory body to the FOCUS Alternative Security Program as well as acting as a critical voice in regional security issues. In light of the tumultuous events in Asia these past several months, the rationale for a conference on security is pressing. While the effects of this crisis have been staggering to the people in the region, it has also presented groups with opportunity. Mainstream institutions are starting to reconsider the status quo on concepts such as sovereignty, non-intervention, legitimacy, unilateralism, economic development models, and the relationship between regional and global institutions. In this light, it is crucial that a security conference take into strong consideration, the nexus of politics, economics, and security, that is so unavoidable today. For more information, please write to E.Kimura@focusweb.org and write Alternative Security Conference in the subject line. Focus on the Global South (FOCUS) c/o CUSRI, Chulalongkorn University Bangkok 10330 THAILAND Tel: 662 218 7363/7364/7365 Fax: 662 255 9976 Web Page http://www.focusweb.org Staff email addresses: ---------------------- Walden Bello W.Bello@focusweb.org Kamal Malhotra K.Malhotra@focusweb.org Chanida Chanyapate Bamford C.Bamford@focusweb.org Junya Prompiam J.Prompiam@focusweb.org Nicola Bullard N.Bullard@focusweb.org Joy Obando Joy@focusweb.org Ehito Kimura E.Kimura@focusweb.org Focus Administration admin@focusweb.org ______________________________________________________ From gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz Fri Jun 12 13:39:57 1998 From: gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (Gatt Watchdog) Date: Fri, 12 Jun 1998 16:39:57 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 465] Re: BOMBINGS IN CHIAPAS! STOP THE WAR! In-Reply-To: <1314523731-12200214@mail.agp.org> Message-ID: >From pga@agp.org Fri Jun 12 11:44:25 1998 Received: by corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (1.65/waf) via UUCP; Fri, 12 Jun 98 12:44:41 +1200 for gattwd Received: from mail.agp.org ([195.61.41.2]) by tofu.ch.planet.gen.nz (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id LAA23551 for ; Fri, 12 Jun 1998 11:44:25 +1200 (NZST) From: pga@agp.org Received: from mp1-c81-p5.span.ch (144.85.81.5) by mail.agp.org with SMTP (Eudora Internet Mail Server 1.2); Thu, 11 Jun 1998 20:59:25 +0200 X-Sender: playfair@mail.asta.rwth-aachen.de X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Version 1.4.4 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Priority: 1 (Highest) To: @corso.ch.planet.gen.nz Subject: BOMBINGS IN CHIAPAS! STOP THE WAR! Date: Thu, 11 Jun 1998 20:59:25 +0200 Message-ID: <1314523731-12200214@mail.agp.org> *please distribute this message NOW as widely as possible* *Summary*: Since the early morning of the 10th of June, hundreds of soldiers, policemen and paramilitaries have entered San Juan de la Libertad and other communities in Chiapas, to attack the support basis of the Zapatista army (EZLN). They have bombed the communities, massacred the population, burned the houses, arrested and tortured large groups of people, etc. The army shows intentions to extend its operations to other communities. This could be the last straw that would ignite an open war in Chiapas, in the anniversary of the student massacre done by the army in Mexico DF on the 10th of June 1971. Only a quick and effective intervention from the international civil society (occupying Mexican embassies, writing protest letters, organising demonstrations, etc) can stop this criminal assault of the army, which is aimed at forcing the EZLN to defend the Zapatista communities, giving the army a pretext to launch a generalised military attack against all the Zapatistas. ************************************** URGENT: STOP THE WAR!=20 Mexico City, June 10, 1998=20 To the committees, collectives, groups, political parties and social organizations in solidarity with the zapatista communities:=20 To the national and international press:=20 The serious events which occurred today, June 10, in the municipality of San Juan de la Libertad, demonstrate that the federal government has embarked, openly, on the road to war and repression.=20 This event represents the attack of the greatest magnitude that the government has carried out against the indigenous communities in Chiapas since the Acteal massacre, and announces a new phase in the escalation of the war on the part of the government. It also represents the cynical response of the Mexican government to the Conai's decision to dissolve itself, at the same time it deepens its attacks against the zapatista bases of support, instead of seeking new paths to dialogue and to the installation of the mediators necessary for that.=20 The police-military incursion which, seemingly, produced a confrontation of unknown dimensions, is an act of provocation which tries to force EZLN compa=F1eros to defend the zapatista communities. In this way they hope to find a pretext for declaring that the EZLN has attacked the government, and to launch a military offensive against them.=20 Because of this, we call on international civil society, on political and social organizations, on committees and collectives in solidarity with Chiapas, to realize that the incidents in San Juan de la Libertad are not just one more incident, but rather the spark that can burn down the country.= =20 The International Commission of the Zapatista Front of National Liberation (We include the communiques of the autonomous municipality of San Juan de la Libertad, and statements of NGOs in San Cristobal de las Casas.) ------------------------------------------------------------- SAN JUAN DE LA LIBERTAD (previously, EL BOSQUE) CHIAPAS, June 10, 1998=20 TO PUBLIC OPINION TO THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PRESS TO THE PEOPLE OF MEXICO TO ALL HUMAN RIGHTS' ORGANIZATIONS TO NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CIVIL SOCIETY=20 We, the representatives of the communities of the Municipality of San Juan de Libertad, denounce in front of public opinion, in front of the Nation and in front of the world, the wave of violence and oppression in which we are living in our municipality at this moment, ordered by the Government of Roberto Albores Guill=E9n and Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Le=F3n. As of= yesterday and last night, hundreds of public security forces, federal and judicial soldiers, and even paramilitary groups, have entered into the municipal seat, and into several communities, to attack the support bases of the EZLN and the Autonomous Municipal Council.=20 Since last night many public security forces and federal and judicial soldiers have entered the community of Uni=F3n Progreso, at this moment they have occupied the town and are destroying houses, all belongings and are persecuting the residents . . .=20 In the community of Chabajebal, many public security forces and federal soldiers entered, firing weapons, and now there are several dead and wounded zapatista bases of support.=20 At this moment , many soldiers and public security forces are mobilizing by land and air, to continue entering the communities and capture the EZLN bases of support.=20 We are living at this moment in a situation of terror and persecution in our municipality, but there is also a great military threat to other municipalities in the highlands of Chiapas; what we are seeing here at this moment is going to make it difficult to avoid a clash or some confrontation with the zapatistas.=20 Because of all of this, we urgently request the intervention of human rights' organizations, national and international, and the presence of the International Red Cross, the Center for Human Rights Fray Bartolom=E9 de Las Casas, and national and international civil society, to intervene in order to stop this war and persecution, unleashed and provoked by the Government of Chiapas, by Roberto Albores Guill=E9n, and by the federal government of Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Le=F3n against the indigenous peoples of Chiapas,= who are fighting for their rights and to defend their dignity as a people.=20 We ask the media to come to these places we mentioned in order to bear witness and to speak the truth of these events.=20 SINCERELY=20 REPRESENTATIVES OF THE COMMUNITIES AND AUTONOMOUS MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF SAN JUAN DE LA LIBERTAD (previously, EL BOSQUE), CHIAPAS, MEXICO ____________________________________________ DENUNCIATION BY THE ZAPATISTA BASES OF SUPPORT OF THE AUTONOMOUS MUNICIPALITY OF SAN JUAN DE LA LIBERTAD=20 June 10, 1998=20 TO THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PRESS TO NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS' ORGANIZATIONS TO STATE, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC OPINION=20 The support bases of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) are broadcasting through radio station XEWM, with headquarters in the city of San Crist=F3bal de Las Casas, Chiapas, in order to transmit before public opinion the following terrible events that occurred on June 10, 1998, and which are the following:=20 a) At 3 AM on the morning of June 10, 1998, forces from the State Public Security, State and Federal Judicial Police, together with PRI militants from the municipal seat, took over the office of the President of the Autonomous Municipality of San Juan de la Libertad, all of those who were standing guard at that office were intimidated, beaten, tortured and then they were taken to the Cerro Hueco jail.=20 b) At 4 AM on the morning of June 10, 1998, elements of State Public Security, State and Federal Judicial Police and federal soldiers attacked the community of Chabajeval, municipality of San Juan de la Libertad, massacring innocent families, and, in addition, helicopters were participating in the massacre from the air, dropping bombs in order to destroy the houses in that community.=20 c) At 4:30 AM, on June 10 of this year, elements of State Public Security, State and Federal Judicial Police surrounded and attacked the community of Uni=F3n Progreso, municipality of San Juan de la Libertad, Chiapas; as of= this moment there are deaths and many disappeared, and two helicopters were participating in this repression.=20 d) At almost the same time on the morning of June 10 of this year, elements of State Public Security, State and Federal judicial police, attempted to enter the community of Obreg=F3n, municipality of San Juan de la Libertad, with the intention of attacking the community, but the people were able to block the road in a peaceful manner so that the repressors could not gain access. Upon seeing that they could not enter, the repressors warned that they would return to attack the community.=20 THE SUPPORT BASES OF THE ZAPATISTA ARMY OF NATIONAL LIBERATION (EZLN), ON JUNE 10, 1998=20 _____________________________________ DECLARATION OF SOCIAL AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS OF SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, CHIAPAS=20 CHIAPAS, June 10, 1998=20 TO PUBLIC OPINION TO THE GENERAL PRESS TO CIVIL SOCIETY=20 Today, June 10, 1998, we remember that only civil society, that is to say, we, can stop the Federal government's strategy of war and achieve profound changes in Chiapas and in the nation.=20 We remember the young students who, on June 10, 1971, were assassinated in Mexico City by the paramilitary group "The Falcons," for the sole crime of defending their rights.=20 Today we also remember the call made by the EZLN at the first National Democratic Convention for dialogue with civil society and to stop the incipient attacks of the Federal government against the indigenous communities of Chiapas.=20 Today, June 10, 1998, the Federal and State governments are again carrying out a police and military operation against the mountain communities and the autonomous municipal center of San Juan de la Libertad.=20 We call to all social and political organizations, and to civil society in general, so that we may stop this new wave of violence that the Federal and State governments are carrying out.=20 SINCERELY=20 BACOSAM CIAM ENLACE CIVIL, AC FOCA FZLN KINL ANTZETIK From gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz Fri Jun 12 13:40:44 1998 From: gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (Gatt Watchdog) Date: Fri, 12 Jun 1998 16:40:44 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 466] NZ links with Peru discussed Message-ID: NZ links with Peru discussed Wellington - A free-trade approach and open-skies air services have been discussed by Prime Minister Jenny Shipley and Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori in Wellington. They said yesterday that they had agreed to consider how the young trade relationship between New Zealand and Peru could be further developed. A key aspect of Peru's efforts to gain closer ties with the Asia-Pacific region is its intention to join the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum from next year. New Zealand is to chair Apec in 1999. "Peru's record of successful reform - and your experience as a leader prepared to take difficult decisions when necessary - will provide a valuable contribution to Apec's work," Mrs Shipley said in a State lunch at the Beehive. An open-skies agreement between the two countries could lead to more tourism. - NZPA (The Press, Christchurch, 12/06/98) From panap at panap.po.my Mon Jun 15 17:18:43 1998 From: panap at panap.po.my (PAN Asia Pacific) Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 17:18:43 Subject: [asia-apec 467] Hungry peasants block Mindanao highway Message-ID: <1745@panap.po.my> FORWARDED MAIL ------- From: kmp@info.com.ph Date: 14 Jun 98 Philippine Daily Inquirer 14 June 1998 DROUGHT PROTEST Farmers barricade Kidapawan highway KIDAPAWAN CITY--Drought-affected farmers early Friday barricaded the national highway leading to the warehouse of the National Food Authority, blocking transportation for at least three hours.=20 Starting at around 4:30 a.m. some 5,000 farmers formed a human barricade along the highway. Some passengers had to walk about 500 meters to take a ride in vehicles stranded at the other end.=20 Some of the stranded passengers were government employees who were dressed in their "Centennial attire" for an activity at the provincial capitol. They had to walk through the muddy portion of the road.=20 Governor-elect Emmanuel Pi=F1ol was able to convince the farmers to dismantle the barricade, assuring them that acting Gov. Agnes Amador would arrive at the picket line for a dialogue.=20 Hours after the assurance was given, Amador arrived and held a dialogue facilitated by Bishop Romulo Valles of the Diocese of Kidapawan.=20 The farmers, belonging to the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, are demanding that government provide them two sacks of rice per family for four months, seeds and farm inputs.=20 But Amador said they could not give the farmers' demand, saying the provincial government has only 3,000 sacks of rice for the province's 18= towns.=20 Amador said officials have initially agreed to allocate 1,632 sacks of rice for the protesters, who represent only 11 towns.=20 The protesters also agreed to temporarily lift the picket, but warned they will return if government failed to deliver its promise.=20 Fr. Ronilo Villamor of the Diocese of Kidapawan said he cannot understand why government cannot attend to the emergency needs of the farmers when it can well afford to spend several millions of pesos for a grand Centennial celebration.=20 "I feel it is not valid for the government to say it cannot solve the problem of the farmers when it has enough budget for unnecessary fanfare and fireworks,'' Villamor said.=20 "This is an insult to thousands of farmers and lumads who are starving in the cold while the government is enjoying a grand celebration. What a shame!," Villamor added. By Larry C. Agpalo, Charlie C. Se&ntide;ase and Jowel F. Canuday, PDI Mindanao Bureau =20 From gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz Sun Jun 7 11:59:12 1998 From: gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (Gatt Watchdog) Date: Sun, 07 Jun 1998 14:59:12 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 468] Re: Fwd: Re: Action Alert (fwd) In-Reply-To: <19980616223432.13293.qmail@hotmail.com> Message-ID: >From ch_aa@hotmail.com Wed Jun 17 10:08:51 1998 Received: by corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (1.65/waf) via UUCP; Sun, 07 Jun 98 10:39:38 +1200 for gattwd Received: from hotmail.com (f36.hotmail.com [207.82.250.47]) by tofu.ch.planet.gen.nz (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id KAA29541 for ; Wed, 17 Jun 1998 10:08:51 +1200 (NZST) Received: (qmail 13294 invoked by uid 0); 16 Jun 1998 22:34:32 -0000 Message-ID: <19980616223432.13293.qmail@hotmail.com> Received: from 132.181.30.25 by www.hotmail.com with HTTP; Tue, 16 Jun 1998 15:34:28 PDT X-Originating-IP: [132.181.30.25] From: "Aziz Choudry" To: shniad@sfu.ca, cw.smith@auckland.ac.nz, pma@xtra.co.nz Cc: gattwd@corso.ch.planet.gen.nz Subject: Fwd: Re: Action Alert (fwd) Content-Type: text/plain Date: Tue, 16 Jun 1998 15:34:28 PDT > >BOMBING IN CHIAPAS - STOP THE WAR > >Since 3 a.m. on 10th June, hundreds of security servicemen, federal >soldiers, police and paramilitary groups have poured into San Juan de la >Libertad and other communities to attack the EZLN=92s supporters. Since th= >en >there have been aerial bombardments, massacres, homes burned, mass >detentions, torture and similar atrocities. The army seems to intend to >extend its operations to other communities. This could be the final spark >for open war in Chiapas, on the day of the anniversary of the massacre of >students by the army in Mexico on 10th June 1971. The only thing that can >stop this criminal offensive of the army (which aims to force the EZLN to >come out and defend the zapatista communities, and so give a pretext for >declaring that the EZLN has attacked the government so they can launch a >military offensive against it) is a speedy and effective intervention by >international civil society: occupation of Mexican embassies, letters of >protest, demonstrations etc. =20 > >URGENT: HALT THE WAR! > >To all committees, groups, political parties and organisations that act in >solidarity with the zapatista communities >To the nationals and international press: > >The serious events that took place today, 10th June in the town of San Juan >de la Libertad show that the federal government has openly opted for war >and repression. This represents the most concerted attack by the >government against the indigenous communities of Chiapas since the massacre >of Acteal and announces a new phase in the escalation of the war by the >government. It is also the cynical response to the decision by CONAI to >dissolve itself, since it deepens the aggression against the zapatista >supporters instead of looking for new routes into dialogue or to set up the >necessary mediation for it. > >The police and military invasion is an act of provocation, which hopes to >force the EZLN comrades to defend the zapatista communities, and seems to >have caused a confrontation, the size of which we do not yet know. They >hope thus to get a pretext to declare that the EZLN has attacked the >government so they can launch a military offensive against it. > >We call on international civil society, on political and social >organisations, on those working in solidarity with Chiapas, to understand >that what is happening in San Juan de la Libertad is not just another >incident but could be the spark that could set fire to the country. > >We call on you to organise all and any type of action to demonstrate your >opposition to this offensive and call for peace in Chiapas and Mexico. =20 > >International commission of the FZLN. >---------------------------------------------------------------------------= >--- >----------------- >SAN JUAN DE LA LIBERTAD (ANTES EL BOSQUE) > >Chiapas 10th June 1998 > >TO PUBLIC OPINION >TO THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PRESS >TO THE PEOPLE OF MEXICO >TO ALL HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS >TO NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CIVIL SOCIETY > >We, the representatives of the communities of the town of San Juan de la >Libertad, wish to denounce to public opinion, the nation and the world the >wave of violence and persecution that we are currently suffering in our >town, ordered by the government of Roberto Albores Guillen and Ernesto >Zedillo Ponce de Leon. Since yesterday and last nigh, hundreds of security >service personnel, federal soldiers, police and paramilitary groups have >netered the town centre and various communities to attack areas which >support the EZLN and the Autonomous Town Council. > >Many security service people, federal soldiers and police entered the >community of Union Progreso last night and have now occupied the town and >are destroying homes and belongings and persecuting the residents=85 >In the community of Chabajebal, many security services and federal soldiers >entered firing guns and various people from these areas, which support the >zapatistas have been killed and wounded. >These soldiers and security forces are moving in by air and land, and >intend to to enter more communities and capture more areas that have >supported the EZLN. Our town is now terrorised and persecuted, but also >other towns in the heights of Chiapas are getting lots of threats from the >military. All this makes it difficult to avoid some clash or confrontation >with the zapatistas. =20 > >For all these reasons,we are urgently requesting the intervention of >international and national human rights organisations, and the presence of >the International Red Cross, to intervene and stop this war and the >persecution now unleashed and provoked by the government of Chiapas,=20 >Roberto Albores Guillen and the federal government of Ernesto Zedillo Ponce >de Leon, against the indigenous peoples of Chiapas who are fighting for >their rights and to defend their dignity as a people. =20 > >We also ask the media to come to the areas mentioned to bear witness and >tell the truth about the events. =20 >---------------------------------------------------------------------------= >--- >------------------------- >FROM THE ZAPATISTA SUPPORT GROUPS IN THE AUTONOMOUS TOWN OF SAN JUAN DE LA >LIBERTAD > >10 June 1998 > >This is the text of a report to radio XEWM in San Cristobal de las Casas. > >a) at about 3 a.m., forces from the security services, the state police >and the federal army together with supporters of the PRI took over the seat >of the presidency of the autonomous town of San Juan. All those guarding >it were intimidated, beaten and tortured and then taken to the prison of >Cerro Hueco. =20 >b) at about 4 a.m. forces from the security services, the state and >federal police and the federal army attacked the community of Chabajeval, >part of S Juan de la Libertad, killing innocent families. Helicopters also >participated in the massacre, dropping bombs to destroy the homes within >the community. >c) at about 4:30 a.m. forces from the security services and the state and >federal police laid seige to and attacked the community of Union Progreso >in S Juan. Some people were killed and many have disappeared: two >helicopters also participated in this repression. =20 >d) at almost the same time in the morning, forces from the security >services and the state and federal police tried to enter the community of >Obregon in S Juan, to attack the community, but the residents put up a >peaceful blockade of the highway so that the repressive forces could not >enter. When they realised they could not get in, they said they would be >returning to attack the community later. =20 > >Also attached is a statement from the social organisations and NGOs of San >Cristobal including BACOSAN, CIAM, ENLACE CIVIL A.C., FOCA, FZLN and KINAL >ANTZETIK to remember the anniversary of the student massacre, and the >EZLN=92s call for dialogue with civil society to hold back the government= >=92s >attack on indigenous communities. =20 >"only civil society, that is to say, ourselves, can hold back the war >strategy of the federal government and achieve deep changes in Ciapas and >the country as a whole" >---------------------------------------------------------------------------= >--- >---------------------------- > >Reynaldo Mariqueo >Secretario General >Mapuche International Link >=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= >=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D > >Mapuche International Link >6 Lodge Street, Bristol BS1 5LR, >England. >E-mail: Mapulink@aol.com >Page: http://members.aol.com/mapulink > >=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= >=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D > =20 > > >To have your name removed from this list send a message to: >Mailto:dharry@niec.net > > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com From gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz Sun Jun 7 12:17:47 1998 From: gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (Gatt Watchdog) Date: Sun, 07 Jun 1998 15:17:47 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 469] Re: Urgent Appeal from Ontario Federation of Labour In-Reply-To: <3.0.5.32.19980616112757.007c82c0@popserver.sfu.ca> Message-ID: >From owner-sid-l@rm-rstar.sfu.ca Wed Jun 17 06:13:56 1998 Received: by corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (1.65/waf) via UUCP; Sun, 07 Jun 98 09:46:02 +1200 for gattwd Received: from rm-rstar.sfu.ca (root@rm-rstar.sfu.ca [142.58.120.21]) by tofu.ch.planet.gen.nz (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id GAA28051 for ; Wed, 17 Jun 1998 06:13:56 +1200 (NZST) Received: from Sympatico.bctel.ca (nwmr01m04-216.bctel.ca [207.102.215.216]) by rm-rstar.sfu.ca (8.8.7/8.8.7/SFU-4.0H) with SMTP id LAA01605; Tue, 16 Jun 1998 11:28:14 -0700 (PDT) Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19980616112757.007c82c0@popserver.sfu.ca> X-Sender: shniad@popserver.sfu.ca X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Light Version 3.0.5 (32) Date: Tue, 16 Jun 1998 11:27:57 -0700 To: ccpa@policyalternatives.ca From: Sid Shniad Subject: Urgent Appeal from Ontario Federation of Labour Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >Date: Tue, 16 Jun 1998 09:47:20 -0400 > >URGENT APPEAL FROM ONTARIO FEDERATION OF LABOUR >(please forward to your contacts) > >From: Chris Schenk > >STOP PROPOSED ANTI-LABOUR LEGISLATION >URGENT APPEAL BY THE ONTARIO FEDERATION OF LABOUR > >Over the course of the last several weeks, the Harris Conservative >government in Ontario has tabled two new anti-labour Bills. Both Bill 22 & >31 propose measures which the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) >believes are anti-labour in the extreme and in certain cases violate the >basic democratic right of freedom of association. We are asking for your >help in stopping these attacks on labour rights in Ontario. We are >urging you to send a message immediately to the Premier of Ontario as the >legislation may well be given final reading in the next few days. > >Bill 22 concerns the Act to Prevent Unionization with Respect to Community >Participation under the Ontario Works Act, 1997. It requires welfare >recipients to be engaged in workfare programs which in many >cases will involve being employed in private and public sector workplaces >alongside unionized and non-unionized employees in order to maintain their >eligibility benefits. > >The government previously denied workfare participants the protection of >Ontario's Employment Standards Act which provides minimum employment >benefits. Now, under Bill 22 participants are denied the right to join a >union and to be covered by a collective agreement under Ontario's Labour >Relations Act. > >Bill 31, with the Orwellian name of Economic Development and Workplace >Democracy Act, goes even further in its anti-labour impacts. It eliminates >entirely the power of the Ontario Labour Relations Board >(OLRB) to grant certification to a union without a vote where the employer's >contravention of the Act is such that the true wishes of the employees would >not be reflected in a further representation vote. > >A further amendment that will also have a chilling effect on organizing can >be seen in the curtailing of interim orders which allow the OLRB to >reinstate employees, fired during an organizing drive, on an interim >basis pending a full hearing. > >Whether or not 40% or more of the individuals in a proposed bargaining unit >appear to be members of the union (by signing union membership cards) at the >time of a certification, application can, under the >proposed amendments, be subject to employer initiated litigation. The >objective seems to be to further drag out the process and increase union >costs. > >Further amendments to the construction industry provisions of the Act will >terminate existing bargaining rights amongst so-called non-construction >employers even where such an employer employs construction employees in >construction work. Further, the Act will allow for "project agreements" in >order to permit employers to force concessions on trade unions on a >project-by- project basis. > >Full details on Bill 31 are available at the OFL web page listed below. > >Given the government's attempts to railroad these Bills through the >Legislature in a matter of weeks without any consultations or hearings, the >OFL urgently requests messages of protest. > >Messages should be sent to Premier Mike Harris, e-mail webprem@gov.on.ca or >through http://www.gov.on.ca. > >It is important to send copies to the Ontario Federation of Labour, e-mail >info@ofl-fto.on.ca or through >http://www.ofl-fto.on.ca. You can alternatively mail your views to the >Ontario Federation of Labour, c/o of Chris Schenk , Research Director, at >15 Gervais Drive, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M3C 1Y8. Phone: (416) >441-2731. Fax: (416) 441-1893. > >Please pass this appeal to all of your contacts. From gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz Sun Jun 7 13:07:39 1998 From: gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (Gatt Watchdog) Date: Sun, 07 Jun 1998 16:07:39 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 470] APEC 99 - NZ may let guards be armed Message-ID: >From the New Zealand Herald, Auckland, April 25-26, 1998 NZ may let guards be armed Gun rules may be relaxed for the 1999 Apec summit, says John Andrews Foreign agents may be given special permission to import state-of-the-art weapons to protect world leaders at the Apec meeting in Auckland next year. After quiet diplomatic pressure on the Government, Parliament is expected to consider amending New Zealand's strict gun-import laws before the 21-nation Apec summit in September 1999. The need for change to our no-guns policy has grown as overseas agencies plan security measures for heads of state - including Bill Clinton, Jiang Zemin, Boris Yeltsin and Ryutaro Hashimoto - during the summit. The bodyguards will join armed New Zealand police, including some being specially trained for what will be this country's biggest single security exercise. Adding to the security issues surrounding Apec is a desire by New Zealand to encourage the "big four" to arrive early or extend their stay in this country for special summits and bilateral talks with the Prime Minister, Jenny Shipley. That means the security hot zone may last for weeks rather than the days immediately surrounding the Apec meeting. The relaxation of the gun policy contrasts with measures that prevailed during the 1995 Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Auckland. Then, foreign secret-service agents had to hand in their weaponry at Auckland Airport to comply with New Zealand's Arms Act. But foreign security officials find it unacceptable for the likes of President Clinton to be protected without sidearms. Rather than compromise top-level attendance at the Apec summit, the Government is expected to ease the rules and allow foreign officers to carry semi-automatic pistols or revolvers. The Apec security coordinator, Jim Butterworth, confirmed that police and Government officials were reviewing the policy. But it is believed very few of the hundreds of foreign protection agents will carry sidearms while on duty. Some agencies are understood to use the 9mm semi-automatic Glock-model pistol with 17-round magazine. It fires hollow-nosed bullets which combine substantial stopping power and accuracy. The Americans regard 9mm Sig-model pistols as even more accurate than the Glock. Police security planners do not believe submachine guns are needed, and it is expected that agents will be told not to bring them - though they are probably able to get heavier weapons in a hurry for any perceived threat, anyway. Under the terms of the Crimes (Internationally Protected Persons and Hostages) Act 1980, New Zealand police are charged with primary responsibility for protecting foreign heads of state. An unspecified number of local police will have extra training in the use of Glock pistols. But Aucklanders are unlikely to notice anything much of weapons other than New Zealand marksmen at strategic vantage points. From gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz Sun Jun 7 13:42:16 1998 From: gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (Gatt Watchdog) Date: Sun, 07 Jun 1998 16:42:16 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 471] Re: apec-L: NZ/APEC - Police prepare for top security In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <65NPqe1w165w@corso.ch.planet.gen.nz> >From owner-apecforum-l@netserver.web.net Mon Apr 27 09:56:03 1998 Received: by corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (1.65/waf) via UUCP; Mon, 27 Apr 98 10:35:54 +1200 for gattwd Received: from netserver.web.net (netserver.web.net [192.139.37.22]) by tofu.ch.planet.gen.nz (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id JAA02698 for ; Mon, 27 Apr 1998 09:56:03 +1200 (NZST) Received: by netserver.web.net via sendmail with stdio id for apecforum-l-outgoing; Sun, 26 Apr 1998 17:52:30 -0400 (EDT) (Smail-3.2 1996-Jul-4 #1 built 1996-Oct-8) Received: from tofu.ch.planet.gen.nz(really [202.37.112.1]) by netserver.web.net via sendmail with esmtp id for ; Sun, 26 Apr 1998 17:52:21 -0400 (EDT) (Smail-3.2 1996-Jul-4 #1 built 1996-Oct-8) Received: (from uucp@localhost) by tofu.ch.planet.gen.nz (8.8.5/8.8.5) with UUCP id JAA02657 for apecforum-l@list.web.net; Mon, 27 Apr 1998 09:40:49 +1200 (NZST) Received: by corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (1.65/waf) via UUCP; Mon, 27 Apr 98 09:41:27 +1200 for apecforum-l@list.web.net To: apecforum-l@netserver.web.net, cafca@chch.planet.org.nz Cc: shniad@sfu.ca, alarm@hk.super.net Subject: apec-L: NZ/APEC - Police prepare for top security From: gattwd@corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (Gatt Watchdog) Comments: Gatt Watchdog Message-ID: Date: Mon, 27 Apr 98 09:31:56 +1200 Organization: PlaNet Gaia Otautahi Sender: owner-apecforum-l@netserver.web.net Precedence: bulk Reply-To: apecforum-l@netserver.web.net Sunday Star-Times 26/4/98 Police prepare for top security by Simon Jones International intelligence agencies are meeting with New Zealand police to identify terrorist risks in the run up to next year's APEC conference. Security forces from America have already made visits in preparation for next September's conference when 22 world leaders, including US President Bill Clinton, converge on Auckland. "It will be the biggest police operation ever launched in New Zealand," said Senior Sergeant Steve Neild, head of Auckland Airport Police who has been handed the role of looking after the diplomats. "We will have the most powerful people in the world here and one of the biggest problems for us is the sheer size of it. We have to be prepared for every eventuality." Mr Neild denied that police are being trained by agencies such as the CIA; instead they are working closely with them. They will want extra assurances because of New Zealand's stance that foreign security service agents should not carry arms. The cots of policing the conference is estimated at [NZ $] $10 million. Mr Neild has been in charge of airport policing since last September. During that time he has dealt with a false threat from a psychiatric patient claiming to have hijacked a plane, as well as calling in a bomb squad after discovering a grenade. However, it turned out to be an ornament meant as a present. He said the main part of airport police work was dealing with illegal immigrants as well as arresting people smuggling drugs. There was a notable rise in people trying to bring in steroids. Posted by GATT Watchdog, 27/4/98 From panap at panap.po.my Wed Jun 17 16:05:42 1998 From: panap at panap.po.my (PAN Asia Pacific) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 1998 16:05:42 Subject: [asia-apec 472] Peasant Forum at APPA Message-ID: <1769@panap.po.my> FORWARDED MAIL ------- From: kmp@info.com.ph 1998 PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY ON APEC Peasant Forum: Throwing Off the Yoke of Imperialist Globalization November 11 - 12, 1998 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Concept The 1998 APEC Leaders Summit will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on November 18-19. The Malaysian non-governmental organizations will convene a parallel People's Assembly to be held on November 8-14. Its theme is: Confronting Globalization, Reasserting Our Rights. The Assembly is divided into three major components: 3rd International Women's Conference; Sector- and Issue-Fora or Workshops; and Plenary sessions. November 15 is reserved for an anti-APEC mass action. The Peasant Forum: Throwing Off the Yoke of Imperialist Globalization will be one of the sector-fora to be held on November 11-12. It is sponsored by KMP (Philippine Peasant Movement), Asian Peasant Forum of the AIWPS (Anti-Imperialist World Peasant Summit), APWN (Asian Peasant Women Network), Amihan (Philippine federation of peasant women associations) and Pamalakaya (Philippine federation of fisherfolk organizations). KMP will act as the Peasant Forum's secretariat. It will be attended by peasant and fisherfolk leaders and advocates from the different APEC-member countries who will discuss in plenary sessions and workshops strategies which have proven effective in the struggle that the peasant movements are waging against monopoly capitalist globalization being pushed by the US, Japan, EU and the multinational/transnational corporations (MNCs/TNCs) aided by instrumentalities such as the IMF/WB/WTO/APEC, the client states of the imperialist powers and the local ruling elite like the big landlords and big business.=20 Objectives To learn from the sharing of effective strategies against imperialist globalization and adopt them in the national struggles against monopoly capitalist exploitation of the peasantry and fisherfolk. To expand and consolidate the Asian and global network of peasant and fisherfolk organizations which were started by the AIWPS, APWN and the People's Campaign Against Imperialist Globalization. To pinpoint and coordinate specific and issue-based international peasant campaigns as part of the over-all People's Campaign Against Imperialist Globalization. Programme=20 Day 0 (Nov. 10) Registration Day 1 (Nov. 11) Opening=20 Keynote Address by Ka Rafael Mariano, KMP Chairperson Sharing by peasant movement leaders from APEC-member countries in =B7 Latin America =B7 South Asia =B7 South-East Asia =B7 East Asia Workshops where participants will be divided into smaller groups to discuss the major impact of globalization in their (global) regions; the strategies/alternatives which they have found effective in resisting the onslaught of globalization; issues of immediate concern which need international campaign support; and plans for the proposed international campaign. Day 2 (Nov. 12) Plenary Session =B7 Workshop reports and resolutions =B7 Adoption of Peasant Forum statement to be presented to the People's Assembly plenary session Closing=20 Solidarity Activities Those who plan to attend the People's Assembly and the Peasant Forum can write to KMP (Attn: Lu Baylosis, Secretariat) Or KMP National Office (Attn: Lu Baylosis) 69 Maayusin corner Malambing Streets UP Village, Diliman, Quezon City 1100 Philippines =20 Submitted by: Ka Rafael Mariano, KMP Chairperson Head, KMP Delegation From isecuk at pop.gn.apc.org Thu Jun 18 02:30:48 1998 From: isecuk at pop.gn.apc.org (isec) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 1998 17:30:48 +0000 Subject: [asia-apec 473] Attn: Lu Baylosis Message-ID: Dear Lu, I would be very intersted to receive more information on this gathering and details on registration. Thank you very much! Julian Oram International Society for Ecology and Culture (ISEC) Apple Barn Week, Dartington Devon, TQ9 6JP England From apfischer at igc.apc.org Thu Jun 18 08:51:36 1998 From: apfischer at igc.apc.org (a. paige fischer) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 1998 16:51:36 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [asia-apec 474] APEC SOM III and Trade Ministerial Message-ID: <2.2.16.19980617171502.486f118e@pop.igc.org> Is anyone in Malaysia going to monitor the APEC Trade Ministerial and Senior Official Meetings taking place from June 18 - 22? Does anyone on this list know how to find out what takes place during and the outcome of these meetings, besides calling our trade reps? I would like to find out what is happening with APEC's Early Voluntary Sectoral Liberalization (EVSL) plan for forests. Any information would be much appreciated! Thanks, A. Paige Fischer Pacific Environment and Resources Center Sausalito, CA 94965 perc@igc.org From panap at panap.po.my Thu Jun 18 13:23:54 1998 From: panap at panap.po.my (PAN Asia Pacific) Date: Thu, 18 Jun 1998 13:23:54 Subject: [asia-apec 475] Re: APEC SOM III and Trade Ministerial Message-ID: <1785@panap.po.my> In response to Paige Fisher's email: >Is anyone in Malaysia going to monitor the APEC Trade Ministerial >and Senior Official Meetings taking place from June 18 - 22? > Currently, we (the Malaysian APPA groups) are trying to contact APEC government delegations to arrange for meetings. So far, we have only made arrangements to meet with members of the Canadian delegation. The Canadians, however, would not meet with us in Kuching (where the Trade Ministerial and SOM II are taking place) because of hostility expressed by the Malaysian government towards the Peoples' Assembly. I will post whatever information we receive to the list. >Does anyone on this list know how to find out what takes place >during and the outcome of these meetings, besides calling >our trade reps? You can find reports on the APEC webpage but not all are there. I have been trying for months to get a report from SOM I and the Agriculture Working Groups off of the Canadian government. APEC's new policy on transparency was supposed to make all reports accessible to the public. You may want to try contacting the APEC Secretariat. Devlin From panap at panap.po.my Thu Jun 18 13:05:01 1998 From: panap at panap.po.my (PAN Asia Pacific) Date: Thu, 18 Jun 1998 13:05:01 Subject: [asia-apec 476] Contact List for APPA Local Hosts Message-ID: <1784@panap.po.my> Malaysian Contact List for the Asia-Pacific Peoples' Assembly (APPA) (note: Most issue/sector forums have more than one local host organization. This list is not complete; it is only intended to enable groups and individuals to contact issue/sector forums of interest) Secretariat: Coordinators- Cynthia Gabriel appasec@tm.net.my tel/fax: 603-2836245 Devlin Kuyek panap@panap.po.my tel: 604-6570271 fax: 604-6577445 Workers: Tian Chua (Labour Resource Centre) lrc@tm.net.my tel/fax: 603-2836245 Consumers: Abdul Rahman (Perak Consumers' Association) pkca@po.jaring.my tel: 605-2534058 fax: 605-2426749 Women: Sarojeni Rengam (Pesticide Action Network- Asia and the Pacific) panap@panap.po.my tel: 604-6570271 fax: 604-6577445 Migrants: Irene Fernandez (Tenaganita) mindcaram@hotmail.com tel: 603-2913691 fax: 603-2913681 Youth: Yap Swee Seng (Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall) y2265@pc.jaring.my tel/fax: 603-2836245 Indigenous People: Wong Meng Chuo (Ideal Time) tel: 608-4320411 fax: 608-4329695 or Janme Lasimbang (Partners in Community Organizing) pacos@tm.net.my tel/fax: 608-8718669 Urban Poor: Abdul Rahim Ishak (Parti Rakyat Malaysia) prm@po.jaring.my tel: 603-7744531 fax: 603-7752370 Human Rights: Premesh Chandran (Suara rakyat Malaysia) wkpeng@pc.jaring.my tel: 603-7943525 fax: 603-7943526 Militarization: Premesh Chandran (SUARAM) (same as above) Environment and Sustainable Development: Michael Chai (Consumers International- AP) ciroap@pc.jaring.my tel: 604-2291396 fax: 604-2286506 Food Security and Agriculture: Devlin Kuyek (Pesticide Action Network- AP) panap@panap.po.my tel: 604-6570271 fax: 604-6577445 Media: Anil Netto and Francis Loh (Aliran) kwloh@pc.jaring.my tel: 604-6415785 fax: 604-6415785 Privatization and Financial Deregulation: Charles Santiago (Stamford College) nov1@tm.net.my tel: 603-7563188 ext.150 fax: 603-7584705 Others: Strategies for Peasant Movements: Lu Baylosis (KMP) lualhati@philonline.com From panap at panap.po.my Thu Jun 18 12:01:57 1998 From: panap at panap.po.my (PAN Asia Pacific) Date: Thu, 18 Jun 1998 12:01:57 Subject: [asia-apec 477] Philippine peasant centennial protest (fwd) Message-ID: <1779@panap.po.my> FORWARDED MAIL ------- From: kmp@info.com.ph Date: 17 Jun 98 KMP warns Estrada against foreigners owning agri land=20 By Ernesto Generoso Manila Newsfeatures and Commentaries Philippine Tribune=20 16 June 1998 =09 MANILA (MNC) - Militant peasant groups have issued a warning to President-elect Joseph Estrada not to encourage Charter changes that will allow foreigners to own lands in the Philippines. Rafael Mariano, chair of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), lambasted the allegedly empty claims of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) of the supposed 4.6 million hectares titled to three million peasants in the 10 years existence of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program= (CARP). In the last 25 years , the only 1.4 million hectares are private lands tokenly transferred to tenants. The rest are leasehold or non-land transfer schemes and reforestation contracts of public lands leased out by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Mariano said. Of that 1.4 million, many are still being repossessed by landlords in cases crawling in the courts, quasi-judicial and administrative bodies, but booked by the DAR to produce impressive figures, he added. Mariano also criticized Estrada for encouraging foreign ownership of land when there are presently 11 million landless peasants. =20 Erap wants to outdo Ramos on merely leasing to foreign investors for 75 years as decreed by Republic Act 7652, he said. Erap wants a total sellout that would make the Garchitorena scandal and many other CARP-inspired land scams look petty. Another militant women's group also condemned the CARP for alleged historical injustices to peasants comprising 70 percent of Filipinos. Zen Soriano of Amihan, a national federation of women peasant groups, bluntly stated that the sole centennial gift of the Ramos administration to the peasants is the further confiscation of lands in favor of landlords who got rich with lands rewarded for loyalty to American interests. Soriano pointed out that when the US invaded the Philippines at the turn of the century, only .8 percent of the population owned 35 percent of the total farm area. Today , only .54 percent of the population own 48 percent of the total agricultural lands. =20 The KMP said 3,000 peasants, trade unionists and church supporters from Southern Tagalog region will conduct mass protests, starting at the Malolos Barasoain Church and the Redemptorist Church in Pasay. A march to Malacanang will be held on the 10th anniversary of CARP. Some 6,000 Mindanao peasants, who stormed the Kidapawan City, North Cotabato warehouse of the National Food Authority last May, will regroup to demand the distribution of tenanted lands and the release of food promised to families affected by the El Ni=F1o drought. Local chapters of the KMP, Amihan and Pamalakaya will picket agency officesand local governments in Calapan (Mindoro Oriental), Mamburao (Mindoro Occidental ), Lucena City , Gumaca, Infanta, Catanauan (Quezon), Sultan Kudarat, Iloilo City and other urban centers. Manila Newsfeatures and Commentaries From gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz Fri Jun 12 08:30:35 1998 From: gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (Gatt Watchdog) Date: Fri, 12 Jun 1998 11:30:35 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 478] Re: Mail failure In-Reply-To: <3.0.5.32.19980619151755.007d3550@popserver.sfu.ca> Message-ID: >From owner-sid-l@rm-rstar.sfu.ca Sat Jun 20 10:20:57 1998 Received: by corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (1.65/waf) via UUCP; Wed, 10 Jun 98 11:27:52 +1200 for gattwd Received: from rm-rstar.sfu.ca (root@rm-rstar.sfu.ca [142.58.120.21]) by tofu.ch.planet.gen.nz (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id KAA13652 for ; Sat, 20 Jun 1998 10:20:57 +1200 (NZST) Received: from Sympatico.bctel.ca (nwmr01m01-84.bctel.ca [209.52.116.84]) by rm-rstar.sfu.ca (8.8.7/8.8.7/SFU-4.0H) with SMTP id OAA01893; Fri, 19 Jun 1998 14:58:53 -0700 (PDT) Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19980619151755.007d3550@popserver.sfu.ca> X-Sender: shniad@popserver.sfu.ca X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Light Version 3.0.5 (32) Date: Fri, 19 Jun 1998 15:17:55 -0700 To: ccpa@policyalternatives.ca From: Sid Shniad Subject: Mail failure Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >>Date: Thu, 18 Jun 1998 10:19:35 -0400 >>To: fol-l@tao.ca >>From: fol@tao.ca >>Subject: Daishowa Boycott did its job >> >>June 18, 1998 >>The Toronto Star >> >>By Naomi Klein >> >> Daishowa boycott did its job >> >> >> It is clear that Kevin Thomas can't quite >> believe his eyes. >> >> He is holding a map, which arrived by fax >> from forestry giant Daishowa just moments >> ago. The map is of a 10,000 square >> kilometre area in northern Alberta >> representing territory claimed by the >> Lubicon Cree. The area is at the centre of >> a fierce land-claim dispute for which the >> federal government has failed to negotiate >> a settlement in 65 years. >> >> Attached to the map is a letter from the >> president of Daishowa pledging ``not to >> harvest or purchase timber'' in the >> contested area until the land claim is >> resolved. This is what Thomas and his >> colleagues in Friends of the Lubicon have >> been demanding for seven years. They got >> it last week. >> >> Up until then, Daishowa had insisted on >> its right to log the area based on an >> agreement it had with the government of >> Alberta, though it did put its operations >> on hold. The Lubicon argued that the >> province had no right to auction off >> natural resources which were not its to >> sell. >> >> In 1991, the Friends called for a boycott >> of Daishowa products. Since Daishowa >> doesn't sell directly to the public but >> rather supplies paper goods to large >> companies, the Friends couldn't take its >> case directly to the people. Instead, it >> traced Daishowa's paper bags to several >> high-profile buyers, including Pizza Pizza >> and Woolworth's. Unlike Daishowa, brand >> image and customer relations are of >> central importance to these companies. >> >> Daishowa took the Friends to court, >> claiming the boycott was unlawful and had >> cost it $14 million in lost revenue. But >> on April 14, an Ontario Court judge ruled >> in favour of the activists. After the >> ruling, the Friends vowed to bring back >> the boycott with renewed force, unless >> Daishowa pledged to stay off the disputed >> land, which brings us back to the fax. >> >> The Lubicon's victory should serve as a >> warning to all other faceless >> resource-based corporations which have >> been able to conduct their operations in >> relative secrecy. Mines and clear-cutting >> programs may attract the ire of >> environmentalists and Native bands, but we >> all know how unresponsive logging and >> mining giants can be to those concerns - >> even when people are literally lying down >> in front of their bulldozers. >> >> And why should the companies care? They >> deal exclusively with governments and >> corporate clients which transform raw >> resources into consumer goods. Since they >> don't sell to the public, they don't have >> to worry about their public image - which >> is precisely why violent clashes in remote >> areas of the wilderness are so common. >> >> Up until now, it's been the big brand >> names which have had to worry about >> consumer campaigns. Nike has been scarred >> by sweatshop scandals and Shell oil - >> which stamps its name on the commodity it >> extracts - continues to face international >> outrage over the environmental and human >> rights abuses its drilling has caused on >> Ogoni land in Nigeria. >> >> The timing of the Lubicon's breakthrough >> couldn't be better. Every week there are >> more horrifying reports about Canadian >> mining companies utterly failing to >> respect the heath, safety and sovereignty >> of peoples around the world - from the >> Philippines, to Spain, to Indonesia to >> Kyrgyzstan to our own Voisey's Bay. >> >> The Friends of the Lubicon's boycott >> demonstrates that even natural resource >> companies will not be exempt from the >> mounting calls for corporate >> accountability. Investigative activists >> can track their resources' progression >> through the economy until the point where >> they turn into consumer goods and public >> pressure can be applied. This point may be >> when nickel turns into batteries, old >> growth wood into furniture, gold into >> jewelry - the possibilities are limitless. >> >> All along, Daishowa has claimed it was >> being unfairly targeted because the >> dispute was between the band and >> government. In many ways, that is >> absolutely true. Since the Lubicon applied >> for a land settlement in 1933, the federal >> government - though conceding to the >> band's right to a reserve - has refused to >> negotiate in good faith. In the meantime, >> resource extraction has caused massive >> damage to the ecosystem and the Lubicon >> way of life. >> >> The targeting of a corporation was an act >> of desperation. ``The government was never >> going to settle so long as the Lubicon >> people were the only ones suffering - the >> only ones unable to carry on with business >> as usual,'' says Thomas. >> >> Now that Daishowa's multi-million-dollar >> operations in the area are directly linked >> to a resolution of the land claim, the >> Lubicon have some very influential company >> in their long wait. >> >> ------------------- >> >> Naomi Klein's column appears on Thursdays. >> >> >> >> > > From gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz Fri Jun 12 08:46:39 1998 From: gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (Gatt Watchdog) Date: Fri, 12 Jun 1998 11:46:39 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 479] Re: 1493 DEVELOPMENT: Donors refuse aid to PNG over 'poor record' In-Reply-To: <358E2C71.498A@usp.ac.fj> Message-ID: >From null@maneaba.pactok.net Mon Jun 22 10:04:42 1998 Received: by corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (1.65/waf) via UUCP; Fri, 12 Jun 98 10:23:50 +1200 for gattwd Received: from maneaba.pactok.net (pactok.lnk.telstra.net [139.130.37.212]) by tofu.ch.planet.gen.nz (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id KAA25730 for ; Mon, 22 Jun 1998 10:04:42 +1200 (NZST) Received: from [144.120.8.4] by maneaba.pactok.net (NTList 3.02.13) id sa077992; Mon, 22 Jun 1998 08:01:54 +1000 Received: from teri.usp.ac.fj by usp.ac.fj (PMDF V5.1-10 #7756) with SMTP id <01IYJ7C92BGO8Y58K9@usp.ac.fj> for nius@pactok.net.AU; Mon, 22 Jun 1998 10:03:14 +1200 Received: from [144.120.10.232] by teri.usp.ac.fj (5.65v3.2/1.1.10.5/19Nov97-1014AM) id AA17617; Mon, 22 Jun 1998 10:00:00 +1200 Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 10:05:36 +0000 From: David Robie Subject: 1493 DEVELOPMENT: Donors refuse aid to PNG over 'poor record' To: Nius Reply-to: robie_d@usp.ac.fj Message-id: <358E2C71.498A@usp.ac.fj> Organization: Journalism, University of the South Pacific MIME-version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.04 (Macintosh; I; PPC) Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit X-Info: The Papua Niugini Nius X-Unsubscribe: to leave this list send 'leave nius' to listserver@pactok.net X-ListMember: gattwd@corso.ch.planet.gen.nz [nius@maneaba.pactok.net] Title -- 1493 DEVELOPMENT: Donors refuse aid to PNG over 'poor record' Date -- 22 June 1998 Byline -- Neville Togarewa Origin -- Pasifik Nius Source -- The National (PNG), 22/6/98 Copyright -- The National Status -- Unabridged ----------------- DONORS REFUSE AID DUE TO POOR RECORD, SAYS SKATE PORT MORESBY: Foreign donors were refusing to give aid to Papua New Guinea because of its poor usage record, Prime Minister Bill Skate has said, the National reports Mr Skate said the country - through the Government and the bureaucracy - had failed to meet its obligations as a recipient. Addressing senior public servants at the launch of the corporate plan for the department of Prime Minister and National Executive Council at Parliament House here last week, he also said the public service had failed very badly to implement Cabinet decisions and Public Investment Program. "As far as implementation of Government policy and development programs are concerned, the message is the same. Less than 30 per cent of NEC decisions have been implemented," he said. "The PIP is not being implemented and donors are starting to stop giving aid to Papua New Guinea because we are not able to meet our obligations." Mr Skate directed departmental heads and chief executives of public corporations to help draft what he described as a "national development charter" which would be a blueprint for the 1999 budget and PIP. He said he wanted the charter prepared by the end of July. "I want to then consult with provincial governors, churches, NGOs and the private sector so that they can give their ideas. I also want to sit with the leader of the Opposition and get his views. This national policy direction will then form the basis of the 1999 budget and PIP," said Mr Skate. He said the charter should reflect the vision of the four million Papua New Guineans and the nation, adding: "Whether I continue as Prime Minister or the Government changes, it should not affect our people's and our country's progress." The Prime Minister also warned that if departmental heads failed to submit their corporate plans by the end of July, they would be terminated. Corporate plans were necessary to streamline the public service, save costs and provide timely and efficient services to the people, he said. "Despite previous retrenchments, the public service numbers have increased and the wage bill has also increased," said Mr Skate. "Cabinet directed that departments should prepare their three-year rolling corporate plans by April 30. Most departmental heads have not complied. Why? The message is clear. If the corporate plans are not submitted, please resign before you are terminated. "Many departments have been restructured and are still being restructured (but) efficiency has not improved and delivery of services has weakened. I am not here to attack the public service. My intention is to raise basic issues and a reality we must all face together." "The challenge for all of us is to ask ourselves critical and basic questions. That is why Cabinet has asked for departmental heads to prepare their corporate plans. "We must all start asking questions like what functions Government and your agency should really be focusing on? Where do you and I expect to see our sector and our country in 24 months, in five years and in 10 years? Given the limited money, human and other resources we have, how much can we realistically achieve? "This is the first step of my Government's strategy to start preparing a national vision and development plan for our country." +++niuswire This document is for educational and personal use only. Recipients should seek permission from the copyright source before reprinting. PASIFIK NIUS service is provided by the niusedita via the Journalism Program, University of the South Pacific. Please acknowledge Pasifik Nius: niusedita@pactok.net.au http://www.usp.ac.fj/www/usp/soh/journ/nius/index.html From gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz Fri Jun 12 08:50:52 1998 From: gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (Gatt Watchdog) Date: Fri, 12 Jun 1998 11:50:52 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 480] Re: URGENT ACTION ! JABILUKA / KAKADU In-Reply-To: <3.0.1.32.19980622102136.00694afc@pop3.xtra.co.nz> Message-ID: >From pma@xtra.co.nz Mon Jun 22 10:24:09 1998 Received: by corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (1.65/waf) via UUCP; Fri, 12 Jun 98 11:35:31 +1200 for gattwd Received: from cyclops.xtra.co.nz (cyclops.xtra.co.nz [202.27.184.96]) by tofu.ch.planet.gen.nz (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id KAA25763; Mon, 22 Jun 1998 10:24:09 +1200 (NZST) Received: from edwina (p12-m8-wn4.dialup.xtra.co.nz [202.27.181.204]) by cyclops.xtra.co.nz (8.8.8/8.8.8) with SMTP id KAA17650; Mon, 22 Jun 1998 10:23:02 +1200 (NZST) Message-Id: <3.0.1.32.19980622102136.00694afc@pop3.xtra.co.nz> X-Sender: pma@pop3.xtra.co.nz X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 3.0.1 (32) Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 10:21:36 +1200 To: pma@xtra.co.nz From: PMA Subject: URGENT ACTION ! JABILUKA / KAKADU Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Kia ora, we have been asked to pass this on to you all, if you intend doing something about it, please do so TODAY as it has to reach Paris before 22 June. The message is in three parts - the first an explanation of what it is about, the second is suggested text for your fax, the third is a copy of a fax sent by John Hallam (FoE Sydney) in case you need more ideas .... please feel free to send on to your lists, apologies for those who receive it more than once. ********************************************************* "To all international and Australian domestic conservation, indigenous and anti-nuclear groups": "URGENT! JABILUKA WORLD HERITAGE ALERT If you have not already done so, PLEASE FAX WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE NOW!" "This campaign is attempting to stop the development of a uranium mine and mill in a mineral lease enclave within the Kakadu World Heritage Site in Australia." "Please FAX the Chair of the World Heritage Committee BEFORE 22nd JUNE" [ GMT] ------ Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date: Sat, 20 Jun 1998 12:57:23 +1000 From: FoE Sydney - Nuclear Campaign Subject: JABILUKA AND WORLD HERITAGE. John Hallam Friends of the Earth Sydney, Suite 15, 1st Floor, 104 Bathurst Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000. Fax(61)(2)9283-2005 ph(61)(2)9283-2006. nonukes@foesyd.org.au http://www.peg.apc.org/~foesydney/ The Traditional Owners of the Jabiluka site, the mirrar Gundjehmi people, now have a web- site whose address is http://www.green.net.au/gundjehmi NOTE NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS, nonukes@foesyd.org.au URGENT! JABILUKA WORLD HERITAGE ALERT PLEASE FAX WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE NOW! DEAR PEOPLE, IF YOU HAVE ALREADY SEEN AND ACTED ON THIS MESSAGE AS MANY PEOPLE NOW HAVE, OUR HEARTFELT THANKS. IF YOU ARE SPAMMED BY JABILUKA STUFF PRESS DELETE NOW. BUT WE'D RATHER YOU DIDN'T. OTHERWISE, YOU CAN BE OF ASSISTANCE IN SAVING THE PRICELESS WORLD HERITAGE KAKADU NATIONAL PARK FROM BECOMING HOME TO THE JABILUKA URANIUM MINE. FRIENDS OF THE EARTH SYDNEY AUSTRALIA AND THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY WOULD LIKE ALL FOE GROUPS TO FAX THE WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE IN PARIS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, ASKING THE WHC TO PLACE THE KAKADU NATIONAL PARK ON THE LIST OF 'WORLD HERITAGE IN DANGER', BECAUSE OF THE THREAT POSED BY THE JABILUKA URANIUM MINE. THE ABORIGINAL TRADITIONAL OWNERS OF THE JABILUKA URANIUM MINE SITE IN THE WORLD HERITAGE KAKADU NATIONAL PARK LEAVE AUSTRALIA *TODAY* FOR A MEETING OF THE WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE OF UNESCO IN PARIS ON *MONDAY.* ALEC MARR OF THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY AND TRADITIONAL OWNER YVONNE MARGARULA AND JACQUI KATONA WILL BE ATTENDING WHC MEETINGS IN PARIS ON MONDAY. UNLESS THE WHC RECIEVES ENOUGH CORRESPONDENCE TO INDICATE CONCERN ON THIS MATTER, THERE IS A CHANCE THAT THEY WON'T EVEN GET INTO THE MEETING. THERE IS STILL TIME TO FAX THE WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE. ITS NUMBER IS +33-1-456-85570, +33-1-430-660-35. (First number is better) IT IS UTTERLY CRUCIAL TO DELUGE THE WHC IN PARIS WITH FAXES ASKING THEM TO PLACE KAKADU ON THE LIST OF 'WORLD HERITAGE IN DANGER'. JOHN HALLAM FRIENDS OF THE EARTH SYDNEY. (And Julie Mc Guinnes and Alec Marr Wilderness Society). URGENT URGENT URGENT URGENT URGENT To all international and Australian domestic conservation, indigenous and anti-nuclear groups: Australian NGOs working on an indigenous/conservation/anti-nuclear campaign seek your assistance. This campaign is attempting to stop the development of a uranium mine and mill in a mineral lease enclave within the Kakadu World Heritage Site in Australia. Please FAX the Chair of the World Heritage Committee BEFORE 22nd JUNE 1998 seeking the inscription of the Kakadu World Heritage Site (as they call it) to the 'World Heritage in Danger' List. It is most important that the fax goes before this date, as this is when the Committee is next meeting. A pro-forma letter follows. Please put this letter on YOUR GROUP'S LETTERHEAD and fax to Paris as detailed below. Please fax rather than email, as the World Heritage Committee does not recognise email as official correspondence. Fax Number is 33-1-456-85570 (33=France; 1=Paris). >From Australia the full number is 0015 33 1 456 85570 PLEASE take time to send this fax - it will be crucial to the Traditional Owners likelihood of success. Thanks for your help, Julie McGuiness (The Wilderness Society) for the Jabiluka Alliance, Australia 61 2 6249 6491 (ph) 61 2 6249 1002 (fax) ************************************************************ ATTENTION: Professor Fransesco Francioni Chair World Heritage Committee The World Heritage Centre UNESCO 7 Place de Fontenoy 75 352 PARIS FRANCE 07SP FAX: 33-1-456-85570 CC: Berndt von Droste Director World Heritage Centre (same fax no.) 17 June 1998 We are writing to you regarding the 'Jabiluka' uranium mine, a mineral lease enclave within the Kakadu World Heritage Area, Australia, where construction commenced on 15 June 1998. We wish to request that the World Heritage Committee place the Kakadu World Heritage Site on the 'World Heritage in Danger' List. The Jabiluka uranium deposit is located on Mirrar Gundjehmi land. The traditional owners have had a continuous presence in Kakadu for at least 40,000 years. The Mirrar Gundjehmi are the legal title holders to the Jabiluka mineral lease, as recognised by the Northern Territory Land Rights Act. The project is unequivocally opposed by the Mirrar Gundjehmi and their senior clan leader, Yvonne Margarula. The Kakadu World Heritage Site was inscribed on the World Heritage List for both its cultural and natural attributes. The current Jabiluka uranium mining and milling proposal will mean 159 hectares of the mineral lease will be cleared. It will also mean 20 million tonnes of radioactive waste will have to be disposed of at the Jabiluka mineral lease, which is ecologically part of the Kakadu World Heritage Site (even though it has been excluded administratively from the World Heritage Site). Waste material from the site will remain radioactive for upwards of 230-300,000 years. In January of this year, the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning the Jabiluka project and calling on the Australian Government to stop it. The Australian Senate (controlled by non-Government parties) has also passed resolutions condemning the project. The Traditional Owners, combined with environment groups, have led the campaign against the mine, along with church groups and thousands of concerned individuals in Australia and overseas. We consider that the Jabiluka uranium mine and milling proposal is a development that is incompatible with World Heritage values of the Kakadu World Heritage Site. We therefore call on the World Heritage Committee to list it as 'World Heritage in Danger'. Yours sincerely, ************************************************************* ATTN PROFESSOR FRANCESCO FRANCIONI CHAIR WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE THE WORLD HERITAGE CENTRE UNESCO 7 PLACE DE FONTENOY 75-352 PARIS FRANCE 07SP cc Berndt Von Droste Director World Heritage Centre 0015-33-1-456-85570. Dear World Heritage Committee, I am writing to you as the coordinator of a letter sent by about 20 Australian and International environment groups on 16/8/97. These groups included Friends of the Earth Australia, Friends of the Earth International, Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland, The Society for Threatened Peoples, The Australian Conservation Foundation, The Environment Centre of the Northern Territory, The Conservation Council of South Australia, and a large number of other groups. These groups argued that because of the possibility of uranium being mined at the Jabiluka site in Kakadu National Park, Kakadu should be listed as 'World Heritage in Danger'. Since that time, the European Parliament has passed a resolution calling on the Australian Government not to proceed with the Jabiluka uranium project, and the Australian Senate has passed resolutions calling on the Government not to proceed with the project. At the same time, the company that proposes to mine uranium at the Jabiluka site has proceeded with an environmental impact statement, and is now entering the preliminary stages of construction. This has occurred without adequate evaluation of the mining option involved, the 'Jabiluka Milling Option', which is only now being subjected to a less than full environmental assessment known as a 'Public Environmental report' (P.E.R.) The Aboriginal Traditional Owners of Jabiluka, who have title to the land of the mine site, have expressed their strong opposition to the Jabiluka project consistently and forcefully. The Jabiluka deposit is located on Mirrar Gundjehmi land, and these people have had a continuous presence in Kakadu for the last 40,000 years. The Kakadu National Park was inscribed on the World Heritage List on two cultural criteria and on three natural criteria. These values will be severely compromised if mining proceeds, if not in the immediate term then over the longer term. The cultural values of the park are in part the result of the continuous presence of the Mirrar-Gundjehmi aboriginal people, who say their society will be very adversely affected by mining. Mining will mean the accumulation of some 20 million tonnes of radioactive tailings, much of which will have to be disposed of either in conventional surface tailings impoundments or in below-grade repositories. The half- lives of the materials in question mean that it is necessary to contain them reliably for about 300,000 years. Tailings repositories are generally not designed to last for longer than 200-1000 years, and planning horizons generally do not extend longer than this. The mining of uranium at Jabiluka is a development that is entirely incompatible with the precious World Heritage values of Kakadu National Park. We therefore reiterate our call made last year, that you place Kakadu National Park on the list of World Heritage properties in danger. John Hallam, FoE Sydney. Please Acknowledge Receipt. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Peace Movement Aotearoa PO Box 9314, Wellington, Aotearoa / New Zealand tel +64 4 382 8129, fax +64 4 382 8173, http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/ the national networking group for peace people <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> From gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz Fri Jun 12 10:33:10 1998 From: gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (Gatt Watchdog) Date: Fri, 12 Jun 1998 13:33:10 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 481] Leather Jackets and a Liars Scrawl - APEC 97 Message-ID: Leather Jackets And A Liars Scrawl - APEC 1997, by Aziz Choudry >From The Big Picture, Issue 13, February 1998 (Subscriptions = $15/year from GATT Watchdog, PO Box 1905, Christchurch, Aotearoa (NZ) It rains a lot in Vancouver, but that didn't account for the clouds that cast long shadows over the November 1997 APEC Summit. It was the gloomiest APEC meeting since the first Leaders Summit in Seattle in 1993. The push to further trade and investment liberalisation was dwarfed by concerns about the Asian economic crisis which threatened to derail this agenda. The APEC Summit was touted as the crowning glory in Canada's Year of the Asia-Pacific, as 1997 was called. But let's face it. Vancouver was a fizzer. APEC was supposed to be a showcase for the Asian miracle, not a meltdown. The dominant reaction within APEC to the crisis was as predictable, unsatisfying and formularised as a Celine Dion CD. The main message to be conveyed was that the APEC leaders were in control. "We remain convinced that open markets bring significant benefits and we will continue to pursue trade and investment liberalisation that fosters future growth" stated the final Leaders Communique. Assurances of stability and economic soundness aplenty were made to soothe the market and calm rising economic panic. Offstage all kinds of scrambling was going on as economies, currencies, businesses, and banks tumbled like dominoes. It was dramatic stuff. South Korea, the world's 11th largest economy, and newest entrant to the OECD "rich nations' club", announced that it was seeking an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout only a couple of days before the Leaders Summit. Then Yamaichi Securities, Japan's 4th largest investment broker collapsed, soon after the closure of one of Japan's top 20 banks, Hokkaido Takushoku. Meanwhile forest fires in Borneo and Sumatra flared up again... and the effects of the crisis on ordinary people's lives rarely rated a mention. Very Serious 'Glitches' There was denial. Bill Clinton at first called it "a few little glitches in the road"; he soon revised this - "we need to take this very seriously, and...work very hard." The meltdown became "new challenges requiring new responses" in APECspeak. There was disagreement - Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad stood firm in his criticism of unregulated currency markets and scepticism of western free market orthodox economic thinking. Outside the official meetings, many APEC critics pointed to the turmoil in countries which had earlier been held up as proof of the superiority of open economies and the free market and said "told you so". Filipino academic Walden Bello described the crisis as probably the most significant economic development since the unravelling of Soviet socialism. The Peoples Summit on APEC (one of the 'alternative' summits) stated that "[f]inancial deregulation by governments allowed massive profiteering by international speculators and brought down the Mexican peso, leaving job loss, lowered wages and greater impoverishment in its wake. The recent Asian financial crisis is wreaking the same havoc on the so-called "tiger economies", and now threatens the whole neo-liberal paradigm". There were new opportunities. The crisis, and the prescribed tough medicine in the form of strict IMF conditions, provided a way to open up Asian currency and finance markets to foreign (especially US) capital earlier than voluntary, non-binding APEC commitments could. Former US Trade Representative Mickey Kantor meant what he said a few years earlier: "We will use every tool at our disposal...to open up markets around the world". And there was reluctance. Some Asian countries unsuccessfully lobbied for the creation of an APEC stabilisation fund, saying that the IMF did not understand the region, and that an IMF bailout would interfere with their financial sovereignty. The bailout, like APEC, the WTO, NAFTA and the MAI is a power tool for transnational corporations and the world's major economic powers to ratchet down any programmes or policies which get in the way of profit margins. APEC was never likely to take a long hard look at the dangers of currency speculation, deregulated currency markets, overdependence on foreign capital, and the weaknesses of an export-led economic development model which led to the crisis in the first place. It only really had one way to react - calling for more of the same, more free capital flows, more deregulation of the financial markets, more free trade. Some even dared to suggest that Asian economies need and deserve the crisis so they could liberalise. I love my leather jacket The APEC summit and the activities of the "great leaders" echoed Nero fiddling while Rome burned. Clinton and (Canadian Prime Minister) Jean Chretien went for a round of bilateral golfing in the pouring rain. The leaders posed for their annual ritualistic photo - this year in denim shirts and leather bomber jackets embroidered with their names - waving cheerily to the cameras. Meanwhile East Timorese Nobel Laureate, Jose Ramos-Horta warned the Peoples Summit that "[w]hen a group of leaders meets and ignores the choking clouds of forest fires, the misery of the poor who lost their savings and their jobs, indifferent to the armies of peasants and workers expelled from their land, the labour leaders, students and activists imprisoned because of their opinions, then it is courting revolution". Other things weren't going too well for APEC. Ousted New Zealand PM was not the only lameduck APEC Leader at Vancouver. Questions about the Clinton administration's credibility on trade issues had been raised after it became clear in October that Congress would not give the President "fast-track" authority to negotiate new trade agreements - beginning with the expansion of NAFTA to include Chile. Many saw this as symptomatic of US public opposition to the effects of globalisation. Meanwhile, midway through 1997, the Australian government had deferred proposals to slash tariffs in its sensitive auto, textile, clothing and footwear sectors. Even employers and manufacturers in New Zealand, predicting that tariff cuts would spell the end of a number of local industries opposed government moves to unilaterally abolish all tariffs well ahead of the APEC 2010 target date. Great Power, Junkie Minds? Within walking distance of the harbourfront Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre, where much of the official APEC programme took place, is Downtown Eastside, the poorest postal code per capita in Canada. The city's oldest neighbourhood is also a vibrant community with a long history of political struggle. To the Canadian government, Vancouver's urban poor were merely disposable objects in the city's bid for world-class status. Prior to APEC there were police "clean-ups" in the area to try and get at least some of the city's estimated 27,000 homeless people off the streets and out of sight before the APEC circus rolled in. Since a 1994 study of drug use, there have been over 1000 deaths in the Eastside from drug overdoses. Vancouver is projected to have the highest HIV infection rate in the developed world - its intravenous drug users already have the highest prevalence of the disease in North America, according to a 1996 study. The very visible urban poverty was a reminder that the richest fifth of the Canadian population gets 14 times as much income as the poorest fifth. Between 1994 and 1998 the Canadian government will have cut CDN $7 billion in federal funding to provinces for welfare, education and health to reduce its deficits. The 1998/9 government spending on social programmes will be the lowest in proportion to GDP since World War II. Perhaps this is what the cliched rhetoric of "sustainable growth and equitable development" in the APEC meetings really means. APEC Summit, Militarised Zone Across town, no expense was spared to provide security for the Asia-Pacific's economic power junkies, especially the 70 VIPs attending the meetings. Aucklanders take special note! Some 3000 RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police), and Vancouver Police Department officers were backed up by around 1000 military personnel, hundreds of local reservists, and an unspecified number of CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) operatives. It was a good week to play spyspotting. Bill Clinton brought with him some - if not all - of the President's men - about 200 Secret Service agents. Canada's government allowed about 40 security officers from 7 countries in as supernumerary officers, able to bear arms, from the USA, Japan, Indonesia, Korea, China and two other countries. Navy and RCMP divers searched and patrolled the harbour. Concrete barriers blocked off the area around the "secure zone" of the Convention Centre and Pan-Pacific Hotel. Police snipers watched from surrounding rooftops. Thousands of manhole covers were welded shut in the vicinity. A local radio station asked for new words to fit the APEC acronym: someone suggested 'All Parking Evaporates Citywide'. The impact on the downtown business district was described as "devastating". And the media complained that press restrictions at APEC made it very closed off, that information presented at briefings was very controlled, and access very difficult. Costing The Earth Despite assurances that APEC '97 would be a modest affair, the costings told another story. Estimates put the total price of the APEC Summit at CDN $57.4 million, including around $15 million for security alone. Besides the federal government, $5 million came from the province of BC, and $1.5 million from the city coffers. The most heavily sponsored intergovernmental event in modern Canadian history drew $9.1 million from 67 corporations, eager to do business and get some exposure. A Tourism Vancouver study, expecting larger numbers than the actual figure of around 4700 delegates and 2700 media, put economic spinoffs from the meetings at $23 million in visitor spending, taxes and wages. Guess who ends up paying for the massive shortfall... Then ask why the New Zealand Government plans a repeat performance in Auckland in September 1999! Lacklustre APEC The National Business Review warned: "Forget Apec gains - it's down to survival" (28/11/97). What did the meetings achieve? According to some, it was that APEC leaders technically maintained committed to trade liberalisation. Canada tried to take credit for getting some trade liberalisation measures pushed through in the face of crisis. Like many other APEC meetings, it was determined that it was a success because it wasn't a complete and utter failure. Such is APEC's logic. Business Interests Unimpressed Fred Bergsten, ardent free trader, former head of the APEC Eminent Persons Group and current Director of the Institute of International Economics criticised APEC's lacklustre performance. He called for more concrete deals and the need to send strong signals to international markets, grumbling that APEC had not "taken the kind of decisive action that's necessary if the current situation is to be dealt with". The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), in its second report to the Economic Leaders criticised the lack of action on the recommendations it had made in 1996, and in implementing last year's Manila Action Plan for APEC (MAPA) which outlines APEC economies' commitments. "Most economies did not go significantly beyond their Uruguay Round commitments", it wrote. Leaders of corporations from 20 Asia-Pacific countries had met at the resort of Whistler for a 3-day PBEC (Pacific Basin Economic Council) conference and also called for urgent action to remove all forest products tariffs and "trade distorting subsidies". A major CEO Summit, attended by 250 CEOs from the region, hosted by the BCNI (Business Council on National Issues - Canada's version of the Business Round Table), featured meetings with trade and foreign ministers, as well as addresses by Jean Chretien, Ernesto Zedillo, Tung Chee Hwa, John Howard, Jiang Zemin, and Mahathir Mohamad. Here, arguably, was where much of APEC's driving force gathered. Sensitive Sectors By Vancouver, 9 sectors were chosen for early voluntary liberalisation, supposedly starting in 1999. These comprise the sensitive areas of fish, fish products and forest products, as well as medical equipment and instruments, environmental goods and services, the energy sector, telecommunications and mutual recognition arrangement, toys, gems, jewellery and chemicals. The Leaders instructed their Trade Ministers to finalise detailed targets and timelines by their June 1998 meeting. A further 6 sectors were to be considered for additional action this year. Hardly spectacular stuff... Fish And Forests Canada tried to sell the fish/forest tariff (and other barriers) elimination plan as the key to declaring the summit a success. But at Ministerial briefings, Japan, Korea, Mexico and Chile all indicated their intentions to opt out of liberalisation of these sectors. Japan and Korea experienced major political crises in 1993 when they agreed to ease trade restrictions on rice. Fish and forests are the sectors the New Zealand government is most interested in - and our two main trading partners in Asia (Japan and Korea together take nearly 60% of New Zealand logs, timber and pulp exports between them) won't play ball. Instead of "concrete" actions, there were flimsy commitments. It had been bad enough that exports from countries whose currencies like the ringgit, the baht and the won were in freefall were likely to cost much less in countries whose currencies were not - and that exports into these weak-currency countries would cost much more - prompting fears that those in the economies with stronger currencies would resist further liberalisation with the spectre of floods of cheaper imports on their way. The Leaders Summit strongly endorsed the Manila framework proposal for an IMF bailout package, urging APEC to take a key role in stabilising financial markets, deregulating financial markets, and developing capital markets throughout the region, envisaging a close working relationship with the IMF, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank in further work in this area. This seemed to herald a stronger future role in APEC for central bankers and finance ministers. Three new members were accepted into the APEC fold. Vietnam, Russia, and Peru will all attend the 1999 APEC meetings, but a ten-year moratorium has been imposed on further membership. Giving Business A Helping Hand Business facilitation - cutting "red tape" got some focus with the endorsement of "The Blueprint for APEC Customs Modernization" as a model to simplify and harmonise customs clearances by 2000. Business leaders continued to lobby for visaless travel for businesspeople around the region, and the CEO Summit was exhorted to keep up pressure for freer trade because entrepeneurs are more "action-oriented" than government bureaucrats! As for the third main "pillar" of APEC, economic and technical cooperation, and with ABAC estimating that $1.5 trillion will be needed for infrastructure projects between now and 2004, the Leaders Summit endorsed greater public-private sector cooperation, arguing that there is a strong link between macroeconomic stability and infrastructure development. Many companies eyed up potential opportunities to get into largescale infrastructure-building, whether it be in roads, airports, telecommunications, constructing power plants, building dams or a host of other profitable activities in hitherto hard-to-access economies. Mahathir On The Offensive The US strategy of using APEC as a springboard to give momentum to upcoming World Trade Organisation negotiations and to push the 132-member WTO along was not a big success either. APEC's endorsement of the WTO financial services pact, to be concluded on December 12, was somewhat muted. Malaysia once again expressed strong reluctance to follow the freemarketeers blindly. Mahathir's speech at the CEO Summit warned that "[t]he pendulum [market forces] is in danger of swinging too far". "Self-interest is what moves market forces - and self-interest is not far divorced from greed". He asked: "How can they do this and destroy the economies of so many countries and the livelihood of so many millions of people? The answer is the free market. The free market allows them to do this. It is too bad that countries and people have to suffer and pay a heavy price. but that is the way a free market works. Market forces cannot be interfered with. It is sacrosanct." With Malaysia hosting this year's APEC process, some feel that 1998 could be a crunch year for the forum. In October Malaysia had increased its tariffs on construction equipment and other items. At December's WTO Financial Services Meeting, it dug in its heels and refused to totally open up its insurance market much to the USA's annoyance. Both pro- and some avowedly anti-APEC voices talked of opportunities to export Canada's values with its goods and services, and of using Canada's reputation for "integrity and fairness" to pressure those APEC (read 'Asian') economies with 'poor human rights records' to change. Asian leaders, some said, just need exposure to Western-style democracy... Stage-Managed Anti-APEC Summit On the sidelines was the government-sanctioned Peoples Summit on APEC, with the Walk (not march) for Global Justice which attracted several thousand people. The provincial and federal government funding for the meeting which represented the acceptable face of "opposition" to APEC was clearly designed to blunt criticism of the APEC process. Much of it was stage-managed by Canadian government-funded "NGOs" like the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, who sought a seat at the APEC table for "civil society" - i.e. those NGO and union bureaucrats who believe APEC can have a caring human face. Meanwhile Canada's government tried to make much of its emphasis on "involving" youth and women in APEC. The first APEC Ministerial Meeting on women was timetabled for Manila this year. The highlight of the meeting of youth - "the leaders of the future" - was described as a "walk-by of the Youth Communications Centre by Leaders as they walk from their agenda meeting to the family photo". Women and youth exist only as entrepeneurs or human resources according to APEC. Attacking the Critics Another way that the Canadian government sought to involve youth and women in APEC was to pepperspray and arrest those who dared to challenge its agenda. An organiser for the APEC Alert Network, Jaggi Singh, was nabbed by plainclothes police and bundled into an unmarked car which took off at high speed, in a clearly political move to get him out of the way, during a panel session on globalisation and corporate rule at which I was speaking, on the University of British Columbia campus, the day before the APEC Leaders Summit was scheduled to be held there. Meanwhile dozens of students had set up a tent city on campus to protest the presence of the APEC Leaders Summit, and promised to "crash the Summit". Next day, a crowd of about 2000 protesters was set upon by police with pepper spray. Some Canadian media people were sprayed - which probably helped to spread the sense of outrage at the police heavy handedness. This went far beyond securing the safety of the leaders. It was aimed at sparing them any embarrassment. About 50 arrests occurred, 4 Indonesian security staff included - two of whom were monitoring the crowd (many of whom shouted anti-Indonesian slogans), and two were caught on a hotel roof setting up electronics equipment. Don't Mention The War... In many of the alternative meetings, the individuals and organisations which berated the populist demons - Suharto and Jiang Zemin were singled out for special attention - were curiously silent and dispassionate about events closer by. To me the assumptions and insistence that the Canadian government is on the whole a democratic, humanitarian government were as irritating a mantra as that spouted by the free market fundamentalists. The white knight in shining armour and maple leaf. Some NGOs and unions scour APEC documents for warm fuzzy words to justify their position of lobbying to reform APEC rather than reject it, but messages about APEC's real agenda came thick and fast. One of Canada's representatives on ABAC, Dorothy Riddle said: "In the end, APEC will mean what the business community wants it to mean" (Vancouver Sun 20/11/97). The year's theme had been "APEC Means Business" and as Lawrence Clarkson, CEO of Boeing told the CEO Summit: "Business people everywhere just want to get on with it". Chretien spelt out the dominant view within the APEC forum about including considerations of human rights within its discussion: "I don't think APEC will ever have human rights on its agenda....It's an economic organisation...The question of political rights is not the same thing as economic rights" (Vancouver Sun 20/11/1997). The doomsday scenario of a world under corporate rule, of transnational plunder, environmental and social disaster which many NGOs and peoples organisations which oppose APEC and free trade warn of has long been everyday reality for the Indigenous Peoples of North America. While many in the alternative meetings in Vancouver railed against the corporate sector, and identified them as the driving force behind APEC, struggles like that of the Lubicon Cree in Northern Alberta against gas, oil and timber transnationals which are invading their unceded territory with the complicity of the Canadian state barely rated a mention. Nor did the fact that the same "liberal democratic" government which hoped to influence Asian trading partners with Canadian values sent more armed forces against the Mohawk people in the 1990 standoff near Oka, Quebec than it sent to the Gulf War. Nor that a similar massive military land operation had taken place only a few hours drive from Vancouver at Gustafsen Lake in 1995, against a small group of Indigenous Peoples defending their sacred lands. There is one word for this situation - war. With or without APEC Canada is a state which welcomes corporations with open arms, offering up resources and lands over which it has no legitimate claim. The global free trade and investment regime is intensifying and locking in this process. Sound familiar? Cree singer/songwriter Buffy Sainte Marie wrote "still our history gets written in a liar's scrawl". There was much scrawling going on in Vancouver. If we are serious about building local or global movements to oppose freemarket policies, the issue of Indigenous sovereignty is one of far more relevance, urgency and importance than indulging in the NGO Olympics and selective human rights gabfest that so many of the alternative meetings in Vancouver turned out to be. Understand how "democratic" governments like Canada and New Zealand can sanction the ongoing assault on Indigenous lands and resources and you won't find it too hard to understand why, at an international level they are forcefully following down the same free market path. Ultimately, APEC, the MAI, GATT/WTO, NAFTA and domestic laws designed to further deny sovereign rights are all teeth in the same mouth chewing the food for the same hungry throat. But after Vancouver, APEC might need to see a good dentist real soon. February 1998 ____________________________________________ From infonews at info.com.ph Mon Jun 22 19:06:15 1998 From: infonews at info.com.ph (infonews@info.com.ph) Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 18:06:15 +0800 Subject: [asia-apec 482] Nature of the Peasant Forum Message-ID: <1.5.4.32.19980622100615.0067b0dc@pop.info.com.ph> Dear friends, I am forwarding to you for posting to APPA's internet channels the following reply to an inquiry from Mr. Julian Oram of International Society for Ecology and Culture [ISEC] of England re the nature of the PEASANT FORUM which could also be of interest to the general audience. Many thanks and warm regards to all members of the APPA Secretariat. For the success of APPA, Lu Baylosis Peasant Movement of the Philippines [KMP] e-mail: tel/fax: 00632/435-3564; tel: 00632/920-5668 ......................................... Date: Sat, 20 Jun 1998 11:35:11 +0800 >To: isecuk@mail.gn.apc.org (isec) (by way of BAYAN ) >From: infonews@info.com.ph >Subject: Reply re: [asia-apec 473] Attn: Lu Baylosis > >Dear Julian, > >Greetings! Thank you for your interest. > >1. The Peasant Forum on Strategies will principally focus on the various forms of struggles that the peasant/farmers organizations and their advocates have found effective. Whether they be through negotiations, fora, conferences, protest activities, land occupations, hunger strikes, propaganda campaigns, cooperatives, solidarity and other creative forms that the tillers and producers have resorted to to address their demand for land, food and justice. > >We believe that through several conferences in the past that we held or those we have attended, the impact or the adverse effects of globalization on the farming community have already been richly discussed. We want to achieve in this forum where we would gather various peasants and supporters a sharing of respective experiences and learn from each other on their forms of resistance to globalization. > >1.a. Issues that affect the peasantry that should be supported internationally would be discussed by the body. > >1.b. We envision a mix composition of Third World small peasants and the landless and/or rural workers who will be the majority and coming mostly from APEC-member countries, on one hand, and the small family-based farmers and agricultural workers from capitalist countries who may not be necessarily members of APEC but could be members also of their respective regional economic zones. > >1.c. Another composition would come from advocates of peasant issues or of environmental protection particularly land and the natural resources. We will also invite members of peasant support groups from First World who have carried and supported specific peasant-related issues. > >2. Schedules: registration starts on the 10th nov; 11th-12th nov. for peasant forum; 13th-14th plenary sessions of the peoples' assembly; and on the last day - 15th nov. is the mobilization. so it is preferable that participants would arrive on the 9th or 10th. > >3.In terms of the costs: for those coming from the First World they would not be subsidized due to financial constraints. They will have to pay a registration fee of $20 dollars in the Peasant forum and $50 in the Peoples' Assembly. We are gathering donations for the travel costs for Third World peasant delegates. We will soon post a call for advocates especially from the First World participants and otherwise to sponsor the travel cost of one peasant delegate. > >We will post other information, program and brochure on the first week of July as we are still finalizing it. Have I answered your questions? Just send in if there are more and we will be willing to communicate with you. > >Please keep on reading our postings and keep and touch. > >LU >Peasant Forum Secratariat >..................................... > >At 12:37 AM 6/19/98 +0800, you wrote: >>Dear Lu, >> >>I would be very intersted to receive more information on this gathering and >>details on registration. >> >>Thank you very much! >> >>Julian Oram >> >>International Society for Ecology and Culture (ISEC) >>Apple Barn >>Week, Dartington >>Devon, TQ9 6JP >>England >> >> >> >> >> >> > From gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz Sat Jun 13 15:49:32 1998 From: gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (Gatt Watchdog) Date: Sat, 13 Jun 1998 18:49:32 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 483] NZ & WTO/APEC: From "Export News" Message-ID: <01X1qe1w165w@corso.ch.planet.gen.nz> Geneva trade talks critically timed - by Warren Head, Export News, June 22 1998 New Zealand exporters may be unaware of the critical importance of recent World Trade Organisation meetings on free-trade rules. The recent WTO meeting of global trade ministers in Geneva had to produce an outcome that would direct officials in setting out the agenda for the next round of negotiations. Trade ministers met against a background of the Asian economic crisis threatening the development of consistent trade liberalisation. Australian trade minister Tim Fischer has railed against "evil forces in the northern hemisphere" who might be happy to let further trade liberalisation slide. "I have to be blunt about this; the level playing field remains as much a fiction today as ever", he says after his return from Geneva. New Zealand's trade minister Dr Lockwood Smith, with Fischer and other advocates of sustained momentum, has successfully contributed to speeding up preparation work for the upcoming WTO negotiations. Hopes are higher that the United States will come to the negotiating table with a positive agenda for further reforms after President Bill Clinton personally attended the Geneva talks which marked the 50th anniversary of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The 50th anniversary coincides with difficulties being experiences by a number of WTO member economies as a result of disturbances in financial markets. The WTO Ministerial Declaration issued after the second ministerial session emphasises that keeping all markets open must be a key element in a durable solution to these difficulties. "With this in mind, we reject the use of any protectionist measures and agree to work together with the WTO as in the IMF and the World Bank to improve the coherence of international economic policy-making with a view to maximising the contribution that an open, rule-based trading system can make to fostering stable growth for economies at all levels of developments". New Zealand resisted attempts by countries opposed to trade liberalisation to scuttle the 1999 negotiations. Speaking at Geneva, Dr Smith urges ministers to see that afflicted Asian nations have begun a difficult and critical structural reform process but "also need the ability to trade their way out of their difficulties. For this open markets are needed, but in Europe and the Americas." "As exports from Asia expand, the United States and Europe will face mounting domestic pressure to restrict imports in the face of increasing trade deficits and declining surpluses. Governments will need to be resolute in their determination to sustain the momentum of trade liberalisation." Dr Smith said the WTO must concern itself with a range of issues that traditionally it has not dealt with, and continue to expand its focus on behind-the-border issues. Dr Smith is confident that the next round of talks will lead to agreement in bringing down agricultural barriers. "Fortunately, we got the outcome we were seeking almost exactly," says Dr Smith. "If we had written the Ministerial Declaration in Wellington I doubt whether we could have produced a better one." "It spells out that the preparation for the next round of negotiations must start this September and, importantly, that the General Council will be in charge of that process, because it's not just restrained to agriculture." The final declaration in Geneva provides for a more comprehensive round, including sectors other than agriculture and services, and will allow for the tradeoffs that may be necessary for a successful outcome from the future negotiations. The process enables the General Council of the WTO to submit recommendations regarding the WTO's work programme, including further liberalisation sufficiently broad-based to respond to the range of interests and concerns of all members. This will be a preface to decisions at the third session of the ministerial conference in late 1999. "We pushed hard for the round to include other matters," says Smith. "We sought opportunities to develop the negotiating process into a broader round. It now has potential to be a full multi-lateral round, although that will be based on the substance of the issues brought forward, not just the process." "We wanted our next meeting to be in 1999 and not to drag on into 2000 and it is a chance for APEC - which New Zealand will chair - to have an impact. We hope to have the whole issue of trade liberalisation programme. "We want to broaden that into a much more comprehensive look at trade-in-food. If we can get APEC leaders to agree to a major liberalisation of trade-in-food just ahead of the WTO meeting next year, what a fabulous lead-in to the WTO agricultural negotiations that would be." "It gives APEC a chance to have a more profound impact on the WTO." Paradoxically, support for a full multilateral round comes from the European Union. "If they have to give up something in agriculture they will want something in return in other areas." New Zealand's hopes of widening the process are also being promoted through a behind-the-scenes ginger group called "Friends of the Round". (It is likely that New Zealand will advocate a permanent ban on customs on E-commerce.) Recent objections by the USA to New Zealand opening up parallel importing have not prevented the two countries working closely together at the WTO level. "The USA is very concerned about innovation and is fearful that parallel importing would dampen innovation because of lower returns and they fear piracy could be more difficult to police." "Our working relationship with the USA is excellent," says Dr Smith, citing support from the USA for the Cairns Group's trade liberalisation vision for the 1999 agricultural negotiations. That commitment came at a meeting between USA Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky and USA Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman with representatives of the Cairns Group. Dr Smith also held separate meetings with both in Geneva. Dr Smith says the Cairns Group is more unified than ever and South Africa has been an excellent addition; New Zealand has developed a very close rapport with South Africa's Agriculture Minister Derek Hanekom and Trade Minister Alec Erwin. The Cairns Group held satellite discussions with Secretary Glickman in Sydney prior to Geneva meetings requested by the USA. "The conclusion is excellent as we agreed to work together on our strategy for the WTO round..." "We've not seen this support before for the Cairns Group objectives." From gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz Sun Jun 14 12:48:08 1998 From: gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (Gatt Watchdog) Date: Sun, 14 Jun 1998 15:48:08 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 484] Queenstown may host 2000 Apec meeting Message-ID: >From The Press, 24/06/1966 Queenstown may host 2000 Apec meeting by Martin van Beynen Queenstown could find itself in the international spotlight in 2000 as the host of an Apec finance ministers' meeting. Foreign Minister Don McKinnon, speaking to the Queenstown Rotary Club yesterday, said the meeting, which had yet to be confirmed was scheduled for April-May in 2000. New Zealand takes over the Apec chair later this year and will host the leaders' summit in Auckland in September next year. It will also be host to a series of preliminary meetings in Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland, and Rotorua. Mr McKinnon said New Zealand's Apec role would provide unprecedented opportunities to boost the country's international profile. The Tourism Board believed the resulting media coverage was worth $384 million in overseas advertising. "To pull off this enormous task we are going to need the support of every New Zealander," he said. "It will be our hospitality and how we perform that our visitors will remember." The meetings next year were estimated to attract about 11,000 visitors and $64 million in revenue. About 4000 delegates and 3000 journalists were expected at the leaders' summit, where 21 countries would gather representing more than half the world's economic output. From lrc at tm.net.my Wed Jun 24 17:17:42 1998 From: lrc at tm.net.my (Labour Resource Centre) Date: Wed, 24 Jun 1998 16:17:42 +0800 Subject: [asia-apec 485] trade liberalisation to continue within APEC Message-ID: <000b01bd9f48$904effc0$2348bcca@tmnet.tm.net.my> 23 June 98, The Star, Malaysia Trade liberalisation to continue within Apec By Jack Wong and Stephen Then KUCHING: The aim of liberalising trade and opening up more markets within the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) grouping will not be aborted even though economic and financial problems are plaguing many of its members. However, a voluntary and flexible approach will be adopted to achieve the liberalisation objective, taking into account the various problems faced by those affected by the turmoil. The Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz said this yesterday and said no member economies within Apec have indicated their intention to pull out of the liberalisation process even though they have been badly hit by the economic and financial uncertainties. "This meeting is being held at a time when the east Asian region is undergoing financial and economic turmoil. "There are certainly fears that when countries find themselves constrained in terms of capacity to generate growth, the domestic growth will be shrinking. "And this will hinder their capacities to open up markets as they fear competition coming in to marginalise them or push them out of the domestic market. "There are also fears that because of this turmoil, everybody will be more inward-looking and not want to touch this area of liberalisation, so the question of impact of trade liberalisation must be thoroughly examined. "There are benefits and heavy costs involved in opening up markets and we must look at both sides," she said during a press conference. Rafidah said no Apec member economies had said anything about not liberalising because of their problems but they would like to have the flexibility. "The basic principal to consider is voluntarism and in Apec, whatever programmes we undertake must be based on flexibility. "This must take into account different levels of developments in member nations," she stressed. Rafidah said some member economies had stated that they could be more liberal in certain sectors and thus, flexibility must be allowed. She said the meeting will consider how to ensure enough critical mass to get the early voluntary sectoral liberalisation exercise moving, adding that Apec must be realistic is this aim. "Apec economies cannot talk about liberalisation without due consideration to Asia's economic problems since half of Apec is Asia," she said. The minister however, said the trade ministers were confident of agreeing on some decisions to present to the Apec leaders (during their summit) end of this year. On Malaysia, she said the country subscribed to the principle of progressive liberalisation and it has done so by increasing foreign equity in several sectors. Rafidah added that the trade ministers will also discuss how Apec can help Asia overcome the market turmoil, deliberate on electronic commerce and take stock of the progress on individual and collective action plans as well as matters relating to the WTO. She said developments in Japan had a big impact on the world but Malaysia did not want to tell Japan what to do as she was confident Japan would take the correct measures to revive its economy. Posted by: APPA Secretariat -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/asia-apec/attachments/19980624/385b3b0f/attachment.html From gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz Thu Jun 25 13:06:23 1998 From: gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (Gatt Watchdog) Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 16:06:23 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 486] NZ News Item - APEC & Japan crisis Message-ID: Japan slow to help NZ trade - Smith The Press, Christchurch, 22/06/98 Wellington - Japan is dragging its heels over an Asia-Pacific proposal to fast-track free trade in some sectors despite international pressure to deal with its economic problems, Trade Minister Lockwood Smith says. Speaking from Kuching, Malaysia, yesterday Dr Smith said if Japan agreed to the deal it could send a signal to the rest of the world that Japan was prepared to undertake economic reforms. Trade ministers from Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation nations are meeting in Kuching this week to discuss proposals to fast-track the removal of tariffs and other trade barriers from nine trade sectors. The most significant for New Zealand are fishing and forestry, which are also the most strongly opposed by Japan. "(The deal) would be a very small thing in the context of the problems Japan has to grapple with, but the signal it would send to the world is that Japan is part of the Apec reform process and is prepared to carry out reform," Dr Smith said. If the world did not receive some signal from Japan within the next few weeks, it was likely the Japanese currency would fall again. If that happened the New Zealand dollar would also fall. The Kuching talks had appeared to be headed for difficulty as a result of the Asian economic crisis, but Dr Smith said officials meeting before the talks had prepared the ground for a possible compromise. That would involve countries being able to opt out of parts of the trade liberalisation package while still committing to others. Dr Smith said achieving a deal was "all about pressure" on Japan and final agreement would probably have to wait for a meeting of Apec leaders in November. - NZPA From gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz Fri Jun 26 12:15:00 1998 From: gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (Gatt Watchdog) Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 15:15:00 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 487] GATT Watchdog Media Release - APEC 99 Message-ID: GATT Watchdog PO Box 1905 Otautahi (Christchurch) 8015 AOTEAROA/NEW ZEALAND Email: gattwd@corso.ch.planet.gen.nz MEDIA RELEASE 26/06/98 For Immediate Use Coalition Government Told To Cut APEC Funding As Crisis Continues With the Shipley government set to review its short-term spending commitments "if circumstances require it", after next Monday's cabinet briefing in light of the impact of the Asian economic downturn, GATT Watchdog is calling on the government to pull the plug on spending on what it describes as a "hideously expensive pre-election photo opportunity" - APEC 1999. "It is quite clear that we cannot afford to host the APEC meetings in 1999. That would be at least $50 million (according to government estimates) less for the free market slash-and-burn brigade to try to snatch from the increasingly underfunded health, welfare and education budgets," says a GATT Watchdog spokesperson, Aziz Choudry. "We can't afford APEC financially, economically or socially. Hundreds of jobs in the clothing and autoassembly sectors have been brutally sacrificed in just the last few weeks as a result of the government's lemming-like desire to lead the world in throwing open its economy." "The same Asian economic crisis which has prompted Monday's briefing and contributed to New Zealand's economic woes cannot be divorced from the narrow economic agenda which underpins APEC. The economies of countries throughout the Asia-Pacific which have adopted the market model and been made dependent on the unregulated flow of international capital are falling like dominoes." "These are testing times, as the Prime Minister rightly says - so it is high time that the government faced the fact that our current sorry state is in large part due to the extremist free trade, free market policies which have put us at the mercy of a globalised economy over which we have no control." "Mrs Shipley said the Coalition Agreement allowed for policies to be varied if economic circumstances warranted it. She said : 'We will consider all options if necessary.' Let's see if she can live up to this statement." "Critics of APEC, the GATT/WTO and globalisation have long warned about the vulnerability of domestic economies in a globalised world. But the government continues to deny that there is a downside to the more-market madness it tries to pass off as sound economic and social policy." "The whole free market model is under increasing threat from the economic crisis which eclipsed last year's APEC meetings in Vancouver and shows few signs of ending", claimed Mr Choudry. "But the freemarket fundamentalists have never let the facts get in the way of their fanciful claims that the market knows best". "The promises of economic activity generated by the holding of an APEC Summit to the host country and city are always overestimated and the costs of holding them underestimated. The Canadian public were told that APEC 1997 would be a modest affair, but the costings told another story. Estimates put the total price of the APEC Summit at C $57.4 million, including around C $15 million for security alone. A Tourism Vancouver study, expecting larger numbers than the actual figure of around 4700 delegates and 2700 media put economic spinoffs from the meetings at $23 million in visitor spending, taxes and wages. APEC 1999 will be nothing more than a hideously expensive pre-election photo-opportunity," he said. For further comment, contact: Aziz Choudry, GATT Watchdog ph 03 3662803 (w) From j.kelsey at auckland.ac.nz Fri Jun 26 16:28:12 1998 From: j.kelsey at auckland.ac.nz (jane kelsey) Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 19:28:12 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 488] GATT Watchdog Media Release - APEC 99 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Hi. Looks good. Sorry but I'm caught up in AUS academic freedom stuff at present then have to finish writing s rather important (workwise!) conference paper. Not a lot of help at the minute I'm afraid. x Jane On Fri, 26 Jun 98 15:15:00 +1200 Gatt Watchdog wrote: > GATT Watchdog > PO Box 1905 > Otautahi (Christchurch) 8015 > AOTEAROA/NEW ZEALAND > Email: gattwd@corso.ch.planet.gen.nz > > > MEDIA RELEASE > > 26/06/98 > > For Immediate Use > > Coalition Government Told To Cut APEC Funding As Crisis Continues > > With the Shipley government set to review its short-term spending > commitments "if circumstances require it", after next Monday's cabinet > briefing in light of the impact of the Asian economic downturn, GATT Watchdog > is calling on the government to pull the plug on spending on what it > describes as a "hideously expensive pre-election photo opportunity" - APEC > 1999. > > "It is quite clear that we cannot afford to host the APEC meetings in 1999. > That would be at least $50 million (according to government estimates) less > for the free market slash-and-burn brigade to try to snatch from the > increasingly underfunded health, welfare and education budgets," says a GATT > Watchdog spokesperson, Aziz Choudry. > > "We can't afford APEC financially, economically or socially. Hundreds of jobs > in the clothing and autoassembly sectors have been brutally sacrificed in > just the last few weeks as a result of the government's lemming-like desire > to lead the world in throwing open its economy." > > "The same Asian economic crisis which has prompted Monday's briefing and > contributed to New Zealand's economic woes cannot be divorced from the narrow > economic agenda which underpins APEC. The economies of countries throughout > the Asia-Pacific which have adopted the market model and been made dependent > on the unregulated flow of international capital are falling like > dominoes." > > "These are testing times, as the Prime Minister rightly says - so it is high > time that the government faced the fact that our current sorry state is in > large part due to the extremist free trade, free market policies which have > put us at the mercy of a globalised economy over which we have no > control." > > "Mrs Shipley said the Coalition Agreement allowed for policies to be varied > if economic circumstances warranted it. She said : 'We will consider all > options if necessary.' Let's see if she can live up to this > statement." > > "Critics of APEC, the GATT/WTO and globalisation have long warned about the > vulnerability of domestic economies in a globalised world. But the > government continues to deny that there is a downside to the more-market > madness it tries to pass off as sound economic and social policy." > > "The whole free market model is under increasing threat from the economic > crisis which eclipsed last year's APEC meetings in Vancouver and shows few > signs of ending", claimed Mr Choudry. "But the freemarket fundamentalists > have never let the facts get in the way of their fanciful claims that the > market knows best". > > "The promises of economic activity generated by the holding of an APEC Summit > to the host country and city are always overestimated and the costs of > holding them underestimated. The Canadian public were told that APEC 1997 > would be a modest affair, but the costings told another story. Estimates put > the total price of the APEC Summit at C $57.4 million, including around C > $15 million for security alone. A Tourism Vancouver study, expecting larger > numbers than the actual figure of around 4700 delegates and 2700 media put > economic spinoffs from the meetings at $23 million in visitor spending, > taxes and wages. APEC 1999 will be nothing more than a hideously expensive > pre-election photo-opportunity," he said. > > For further comment, contact: Aziz Choudry, GATT Watchdog ph 03 3662803 (w) > ---------------------- jane kelsey j.kelsey@auckland.ac.nz From gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz Sun Jun 28 12:45:52 1998 From: gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (Gatt Watchdog) Date: Sun, 28 Jun 1998 15:45:52 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 489] Re: WTO: US warns cherry-picking on APEC free-trade plan dest... In-Reply-To: <3.0.5.32.19980626051016.00b47d40@iatp.org> Message-ID: <6iHsRe3w165w@corso.ch.planet.gen.nz> >From mritchie@iatp.org Sat Jun 27 14:20:05 1998 Received: by corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (1.65/waf) via UUCP; Sat, 27 Jun 98 15:42:04 +1200 for gattwd Received: from mail.iatp.org (iatp-2.InnovSoftD.com [208.141.36.66]) by tofu.ch.planet.gen.nz (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id OAA02979 for ; Sat, 27 Jun 1998 14:20:05 +1200 (NZST) Received: from markbert.iatp.org ([152.166.118.63]) by mail.iatp.org (Netscape Messaging Server 3.52) with SMTP id 843; Fri, 26 Jun 1998 21:34:09 -0500 Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19980626051016.00b47d40@iatp.org> X-Sender: mritchie@iatp.org X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Pro Version 3.0.5 (32) Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 05:10:16 -0500 To: niel@iatp.org, sophia@iatp.org, karen@iatp.org, kristin@iatp.org ictsd , JBRIENZA@PILLSBURY.COM, jjbw@sprynet.com, steve@iatp.org, "Eliane.BARBAGLIA@delche.cec.eu.int" , "lwallach@citizen.org" , "mika@mb.kcom.ne.jp" , gattwd@corso.ch.planet.gen.nz, vanroozendaal@pscw.uva.nl From: "Mark Ritchie" Subject: WTO: US warns cherry-picking on APEC free-trade plan dest... Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >From: Personal Agents >Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 00:18:40 -0700 >To: mritchie@iatp.org >Subject: WTO: US warns cherry-picking on APEC free-trade plan dest... >X-Inquisit-UserID: 2522687 >X-Inquisit-AgentID: 75109746 >X-Inquisit-AgentName: WTO > > > US warns cherry-picking on APEC free-trade plan destructive > (Agence France-Presse; 06/22/98) > > KUCHING, Malaysia, June 22 (AFP) - US Trade Representative Charlene >Barshefsky warned Monday that APEC's plans to free-up trade in nine priority >areas would be destroyed if its 18 member-economies do not move together. > > Speaking to reporters at the end of the first day of the annual trade >ministers' meeting, Barchefsky said plans to accelerate trade liberalisation in > the nine areas must "move as a package. > > "If countries want flexibility and define it as opting out of sectors, >having more product exclusions than inclusions, that is obviously destructive >to the process," she said. > > "Flexibility should be provided but it cannot weaken the initiative in any >respect." > > She acknowledged that some countries may have reservations in "sensitive >areas" but that was acceptable "so long as it is not routine, exceptions do not > dominate and that the overall package are mutually beneficial." > > "I wouldn't get too caught up in the lingo," she said. What we want is >simply the assurance that at the very end of the day, we are all roughly in the > same place but the timing can be quite different." > > While it may be "politically difficult" for the United States and Japan >given their size, she stressed that the two have "a special responsibility to >move forward 100 percent. > > "We will come out of Kuching quite well-positioned to move forward on these >initiatives and ultimately take them to the **WTO** so we can get a larger >group of economies participating," she added. > > The United States and Japan have been at odds over the group's so-called >early voluntary sectoral liberalisation plan, especially in two of the sectors >Tokyo is most sensitive about -- fish and forest products. > > During the Vancouver summit last November, APEC leaders asked trade >ministers to "finalise detailed targets and timelines" for the liberalisation >plan in time for this week's meeting in Kuching. > > But senior trade officials meeting ahead of the ministerial talks >effectively deferred the deadline by three months. > > A US senior official warned that "if flexibility becomes just a pseudonym >for cherry-picking, that is unacceptable," saying it was vital for the >"integrity and the principle of liberalisation" to be maintained. > > "We want to make sure that the consensus to continue down that road is held >intact and that no one submarines it," he added. > > The plan by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) for early >voluntary liberalisation involves trade in nine priority sectors by next year >and six others. > > Apart from fish and forest products, other priorities include chemicals, >energy, environmental goods and services, gems and jewellery, medical equipment > and toys. > > The ninth priority sector, telecommunications, has already been settled with > a ministerial agreement on mutual recognition arrangements in Singapore this >month. > > APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, >Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the >Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States. Russia, Vietnam > and Peru are set to join the group in November. > > en/nj > >(Copyright 1998) > > _____via IntellX_____ > >{A1:AgenceFrancePresse-0622.02102} 06/22/98 > > > > >______________________________________________________________________ > >[ ] Put an X here to receive a form through which you may inspect, > modify, or stop this Agent. {WTO} > > > >Questions? Email support@inquisit.com -- we're here to help! Delivered via the Inquisit(TM) business intelligence service . All articles Copyright 1998 by their respective source(s); all rights reserved. The information contained in this message is for use by licensed Inquisit subscribers only and may not be forwarded, distributed, published or broadcast in any medium. > Mark Ritchie, President Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy 2105 1st Ave. South, Mpls, MN 55404 USA 612-870-3400 (direct), 612-870-4846 (fax) mritchie@iatp.org http://www.iatp.org From gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz Sun Jun 28 12:47:15 1998 From: gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (Gatt Watchdog) Date: Sun, 28 Jun 1998 15:47:15 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 490] Re: WTO: APEC Supports Multilateral Trading System In-Reply-To: <3.0.5.32.19980626111447.00b53970@iatp.org> Message-ID: >From mritchie@iatp.org Sat Jun 27 14:20:44 1998 Received: by corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (1.65/waf) via UUCP; Sat, 27 Jun 98 15:42:04 +1200 for gattwd Received: from mail.iatp.org (iatp-2.InnovSoftD.com [208.141.36.66]) by tofu.ch.planet.gen.nz (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id OAA02989 for ; Sat, 27 Jun 1998 14:20:44 +1200 (NZST) Received: from markbert.iatp.org ([152.166.118.63]) by mail.iatp.org (Netscape Messaging Server 3.52) with SMTP id 843; Fri, 26 Jun 1998 21:34:49 -0500 Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19980626111447.00b53970@iatp.org> X-Sender: mritchie@iatp.org X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Pro Version 3.0.5 (32) Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 11:14:47 -0500 To: niel@iatp.org, sophia@iatp.org, karen@iatp.org, kristin@iatp.org ictsd , JBRIENZA@PILLSBURY.COM, jjbw@sprynet.com, steve@iatp.org, "Eliane.BARBAGLIA@delche.cec.eu.int" , "lwallach@citizen.org" , "mika@mb.kcom.ne.jp" , gattwd@corso.ch.planet.gen.nz, vanroozendaal@pscw.uva.nl From: "Mark Ritchie" Subject: WTO: APEC Supports Multilateral Trading System Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >From: Personal Agents >Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 00:18:52 -0700 >To: mritchie@iatp.org >Subject: WTO: APEC Supports Multilateral Trading System >X-Inquisit-UserID: 2522687 >X-Inquisit-AgentID: 75109746 >X-Inquisit-AgentName: WTO > > > APEC Supports Multilateral Trading System > (Xinhua English Newswire; 06/23/98) > > Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) trade ministers Tuesday agreed to >continue an on-going program of activities which support work in the World >Trade Organization (**WTO**). > > The ministers at their two-day meeting which ended here Tuesday welcomed the > statement presented by the APEC Chair at the conference, which underlines >APEC's commitment to open regionalism and multilateral trading system, the >meeting's chair and Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah > Aziz said at a press conference after the meeting. > > The ministers welcomed the agreement to embark on a work program which >includes the implementation of existing Uruguay Round Agreements, the built-in >agenda, and recommendations concerning other possible future work on the basis >of the work program initiated in Singapore and recommendations made by members >on other matters. > > She said the ministers recognized the importance of APEC's on-going program >of activities which support work in the **WTO**, in particular seminars and >training activities on the implementation of **WTO** agreements. > > The ministers agreed that these activities should be continued and that >APEC's on-going information exchange on electronic commerce would be an >important contribution to the **WTO**. > > The ministers also reaffirmed the importance of promoting a broad-based and >balanced understanding of the impact of liberalization, taking into account >both benefits and the associated adjustment costs, she said. > > The ministers responsible for trade from all the 18 APEC members Australia, >Brunei, Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Chile, China's Hong Kong, Indonesia, >Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the >Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and the United States attended the meeting. > > Three members-designate Peru, Russia and Vietnam as well as observers from > the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, South Pacific Forum and the >Pacific Economic Cooperation Council were also present at the meeting. > >(Copyright 1998) > > _____via IntellX_____ > >{A4:XinhuaEnglishNewswire-0623.02988} 06/23/98 > > > > >______________________________________________________________________ > >[ ] Put an X here to receive a form through which you may inspect, > modify, or stop this Agent. {WTO} > > > >Questions? Email support@inquisit.com -- we're here to help! Delivered via the Inquisit(TM) business intelligence service . All articles Copyright 1998 by their respective source(s); all rights reserved. The information contained in this message is for use by licensed Inquisit subscribers only and may not be forwarded, distributed, published or broadcast in any medium. > Mark Ritchie, President Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy 2105 1st Ave. South, Mpls, MN 55404 USA 612-870-3400 (direct), 612-870-4846 (fax) mritchie@iatp.org http://www.iatp.org From gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz Sun Jun 28 12:46:48 1998 From: gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (Gatt Watchdog) Date: Sun, 28 Jun 1998 15:46:48 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 491] Re: WTO: APEC meeting pursues freer trade despite crisis In-Reply-To: <3.0.5.32.19980626111354.00b5e6f0@iatp.org> Message-ID: >From mritchie@iatp.org Sat Jun 27 14:20:27 1998 Received: by corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (1.65/waf) via UUCP; Sat, 27 Jun 98 15:42:04 +1200 for gattwd Received: from mail.iatp.org (iatp-2.InnovSoftD.com [208.141.36.66]) by tofu.ch.planet.gen.nz (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id OAA02984 for ; Sat, 27 Jun 1998 14:20:27 +1200 (NZST) Received: from markbert.iatp.org ([152.166.118.63]) by mail.iatp.org (Netscape Messaging Server 3.52) with SMTP id 843; Fri, 26 Jun 1998 21:34:30 -0500 Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19980626111354.00b5e6f0@iatp.org> X-Sender: mritchie@iatp.org X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Pro Version 3.0.5 (32) Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 11:13:54 -0500 To: niel@iatp.org, sophia@iatp.org, karen@iatp.org, kristin@iatp.org ictsd , JBRIENZA@PILLSBURY.COM, jjbw@sprynet.com, steve@iatp.org, "Eliane.BARBAGLIA@delche.cec.eu.int" , "lwallach@citizen.org" , "mika@mb.kcom.ne.jp" , gattwd@corso.ch.planet.gen.nz, vanroozendaal@pscw.uva.nl From: "Mark Ritchie" Subject: WTO: APEC meeting pursues freer trade despite crisis Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >From: Personal Agents >Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 00:18:43 -0700 >To: mritchie@iatp.org >Subject: WTO: APEC meeting pursues freer trade despite crisis >X-Inquisit-UserID: 2522687 >X-Inquisit-AgentID: 75109746 >X-Inquisit-AgentName: WTO > > > APEC meeting pursues freer trade despite crisis > (Kyodo News; 06/22/98) > >KUCHING, Malaysia, June 22 (Kyodo) -- The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation >(APEC) forum reaffirmed Monday trade liberalization is a major task for the >group amid the economic turmoil affecting the region. > >Some members were concerned that Malaysia, which is chairing a two-day meeting >of the forum and is among the worst-hit by the crisis, was hijacking the talks >by diverting them from discussion of trade liberalization to the financial >crisis. > >At a news conference after the first-day session Monday, Malaysian >International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz said APEC members could >not ignore what was happening in the region. > >She also said she was trying to dispel the notion that affected countries >should stop functioning as APEC member economies, adding there are ways that >APEC can provide assistance. > >Rafidah said the impact of trade liberalization was on the agenda for Monday. > >Looking back on Monday's meeting, Rafidah said five member economies, including > Malaysia, have presented for review their Individual Action Plans (IAPs) to >liberalize trade and investment. > >On the Collective Action Plans (CAPs), meanwhile, she said that apart from the >80 activities underway to promote trade facilitation in areas including customs > standards, business mobility, services and investment, over 30 more are >expected to be realized this year that will help reduce transaction costs and >facilitate business activity. > >APEC is promoting regional trade liberalization through IAPs, steps taken by >each member economy, and CAPs, measures jointly taken by its members. > >Electronic commerce was also on Monday's agenda, with the ministers endorsing >plans to develop possible principles on electronic transactions and a program >on technical cooperation to address the millennium bug problem. > >The problem involves older computer programs that recognize years only by their > last two digits and are accordingly expected to misread the year 2000 as 1900, > with potentially far-reaching consequences. > >Australia and Singapore are co-chairing the task force on electronic commerce. > >On Tuesday, the ministers are expected to deliberate on the Early Voluntary >Sectoral Liberalization (EVSL) scheme. > >Under a two-tiered schedule, APEC aims to achieve free trade by the year 2010 >for developed economies and by 2020 for developing economies. > >By launching the EVSL scheme, APEC is seeking to implement trade liberalization > of some business sectors earlier than the 2010/2020 target years. > >Altogether, 15 sectors have been approved under the EVSL scheme, nine of them >to be implemented by next year. The nine are environmental goods and services, >fish products, forest products, medical equipment, energy, chemicals, toys, >gems and jewelry and a telecommunications mutual recognition agreement. > >Rafidah said that from the beginning, APEC member economies have had an >understanding that not everyone in the grouping will participate in the scheme. > But she said that while Malaysia especially has always considered APEC goals >nonbinding, there were enough members ''coming on board to make it a reality.'' > >Rafidah said the trade ministers' meeting will also discuss how to bring the >liberalization packages to the World Trade Organization (**WTO**). > >''We want to know whether they can be effected within the **WTO**. This is the >next stage,'' she said. > >APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, >Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the >Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States. > >The three member-designate economies -- Peru, Russia and Vietnam -- are also >participating in the meeting and will make presentations. > >-0- > >{C:Kyodo-0622.02572} 06/22/98 > > > > >______________________________________________________________________ > >[ ] Put an X here to receive a form through which you may inspect, > modify, or stop this Agent. {WTO} > > > >Questions? Email support@inquisit.com -- we're here to help! Delivered via the Inquisit(TM) business intelligence service . All articles Copyright 1998 by their respective source(s); all rights reserved. The information contained in this message is for use by licensed Inquisit subscribers only and may not be forwarded, distributed, published or broadcast in any medium. > Mark Ritchie, President Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy 2105 1st Ave. South, Mpls, MN 55404 USA 612-870-3400 (direct), 612-870-4846 (fax) mritchie@iatp.org http://www.iatp.org From gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz Sun Jun 28 12:47:51 1998 From: gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (Gatt Watchdog) Date: Sun, 28 Jun 1998 15:47:51 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 492] Re: WTO: Malaysia Stresses Voluntarism In-Reply-To: <3.0.5.32.19980626112241.00b53700@iatp.org> Message-ID: >From mritchie@iatp.org Sat Jun 27 14:21:01 1998 Received: by corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (1.65/waf) via UUCP; Sat, 27 Jun 98 15:42:04 +1200 for gattwd Received: from mail.iatp.org (iatp-2.InnovSoftD.com [208.141.36.66]) by tofu.ch.planet.gen.nz (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id OAA02994 for ; Sat, 27 Jun 1998 14:21:01 +1200 (NZST) Received: from markbert.iatp.org ([152.166.118.63]) by mail.iatp.org (Netscape Messaging Server 3.52) with SMTP id 843; Fri, 26 Jun 1998 21:35:01 -0500 Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19980626112241.00b53700@iatp.org> X-Sender: mritchie@iatp.org X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Pro Version 3.0.5 (32) Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 11:22:41 -0500 To: niel@iatp.org, sophia@iatp.org, karen@iatp.org, kristin@iatp.org ictsd , JBRIENZA@PILLSBURY.COM, jjbw@sprynet.com, steve@iatp.org, "Eliane.BARBAGLIA@delche.cec.eu.int" , "lwallach@citizen.org" , "mika@mb.kcom.ne.jp" , gattwd@corso.ch.planet.gen.nz, vanroozendaal@pscw.uva.nl From: "Mark Ritchie" Subject: WTO: Malaysia Stresses Voluntarism Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >From: Personal Agents >Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 00:19:20 -0700 >To: mritchie@iatp.org >Subject: WTO: Malaysia Stresses Voluntarism >X-Inquisit-UserID: 2522687 >X-Inquisit-AgentID: 75109746 >X-Inquisit-AgentName: WTO > > > Malaysia Stresses Voluntarism > (Xinhua English Newswire; 06/22/98) > > Malaysia Monday said the principles of voluntarism and flexibility should be > maintained in implementing trade liberalization among Asia-Pacific Economic >Cooperation (APEC) members. > > The liberalization should be based on the capacity of different members, >especially related to the nine fast-track sectors chemicals, environmental >goods and services, energy, fish and fish products, forest products, gems and >jewelry, medical equipment and instruments, toys and telecommunications mutual >recognition arrangement, Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister >Rafidah Aziz told a news conference here Monday before the opening of the APEC >Trade Ministers meeting. > > She said Malaysia, the host of the forthcoming annual Informal meeting of >APEC Leadership in November this year, subscribed to "progressive >liberalization." "We should not be too ambitious," she stressed. > > The nine sectors were identified under the Early Voluntary Sectoral >Liberalization (EVSL) initiative. > > She said the two-day trade ministers meeting which opens later Monday will >take stock of the progress of work including on EVSL, Individual/Collective >Action Plans, Electronic Commerce and impact of trade liberalization as well as > provide directions for future work on the issues. > > Besides the nine sectors which were set on fast-track, she said the >ministers will also examine progress in the other six sectors automobiles, >civil aircraft, food, natural and synthetic rubber, fertilizers and oilseeds >for liberalization. > > The ministers will also have a dialogue with APEC Business Advisory Council >(ABAC) on the collective response of APEC to ABAC recommendations which contain > requests for measures to further liberalize and facilitate trade and >investment, Rafidah said. > > She said the ministers will consider also how APEC could make further >contribution to the World Trade Organization (**WTO**) in light of the outcome >of the Second **WTO** ministerial conference. > > The APEC's Membership includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, China, Chinese >Taibei, Chile, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New >Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and the United >States. > >(Copyright 1998) > > _____via IntellX_____ > >{A4:XinhuaEnglishNewswire-0622.02658} 06/22/98 > > > > >______________________________________________________________________ > >[ ] Put an X here to receive a form through which you may inspect, > modify, or stop this Agent. {WTO} > > > >Questions? Email support@inquisit.com -- we're here to help! Delivered via the Inquisit(TM) business intelligence service . All articles Copyright 1998 by their respective source(s); all rights reserved. The information contained in this message is for use by licensed Inquisit subscribers only and may not be forwarded, distributed, published or broadcast in any medium. > Mark Ritchie, President Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy 2105 1st Ave. South, Mpls, MN 55404 USA 612-870-3400 (direct), 612-870-4846 (fax) mritchie@iatp.org http://www.iatp.org From gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz Sun Jun 28 12:49:06 1998 From: gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (Gatt Watchdog) Date: Sun, 28 Jun 1998 15:49:06 +1200 Subject: [asia-apec 493] Re: WTO: Japan sees APEC setting nasty precedent for next rou... In-Reply-To: <3.0.5.32.19980626112301.00b54200@iatp.org> Message-ID: >From mritchie@iatp.org Sat Jun 27 14:21:11 1998 Received: by corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (1.65/waf) via UUCP; Sat, 27 Jun 98 15:42:05 +1200 for gattwd Received: from mail.iatp.org (iatp-2.InnovSoftD.com [208.141.36.66]) by tofu.ch.planet.gen.nz (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id OAA02999 for ; Sat, 27 Jun 1998 14:21:11 +1200 (NZST) Received: from markbert.iatp.org ([152.166.118.63]) by mail.iatp.org (Netscape Messaging Server 3.52) with SMTP id 843; Fri, 26 Jun 1998 21:35:15 -0500 Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19980626112301.00b54200@iatp.org> X-Sender: mritchie@iatp.org X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Pro Version 3.0.5 (32) Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 11:23:01 -0500 To: niel@iatp.org, sophia@iatp.org, karen@iatp.org, kristin@iatp.org ictsd , JBRIENZA@PILLSBURY.COM, jjbw@sprynet.com, steve@iatp.org, "Eliane.BARBAGLIA@delche.cec.eu.int" , "lwallach@citizen.org" , "mika@mb.kcom.ne.jp" , gattwd@corso.ch.planet.gen.nz, vanroozendaal@pscw.uva.nl From: "Mark Ritchie" Subject: WTO: Japan sees APEC setting nasty precedent for next rou... Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >From: Personal Agents >Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 00:19:16 -0700 >To: mritchie@iatp.org >Subject: WTO: Japan sees APEC setting nasty precedent for next rou... >X-Inquisit-UserID: 2522687 >X-Inquisit-AgentID: 75109746 >X-Inquisit-AgentName: WTO > > > Japan sees APEC setting nasty precedent for next round of **WTO** talks > (Agence France-Presse; 06/24/98) > > > KUCHING, Malaysia, June 24 (AFP) - APEC trade ministers headed home >Wednesday with an agreement to be "flexible" in early trade liberalisation >which failed to accommodate Japanese demands to exclude certain sectors. > > Delegates to a two-day meeting of ministers said the United States put >intense pressure on developing members not to cave in to the Japanese position, > despite frantic last-minute lobbying by Japan. > > The upshot was that Japan was alone in voicing objections to a statement >issued by Malaysian Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz on Tuesday. > > And in a symbol of its isolation, Japan's Trade Minister Mitsuo Horiuchi was > conspicuously absent from the joint ministerial news conference winding up the > meeting Tuesday, represented by two officials instead. > > Japanese officials say they still have more than four months to thrash out >the final details of the "early voluntary sectoral liberalisation" plan before >APEC leaders meet in Kuala Lumpur in November. > > And with APEC trade officials already scheduled to meet again in Malaysia in > September, US Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky herself conceded that >it was "way too early to devise a doomsday scenario about Japan's >participation" in the final deal. > > In the meantime, the Japanese side is arguing that its position is not >simply a refusal to open up trade in two politically sensitive sectors -- fish >and forest products which range from furniture to pulp, paper and printed >products -- but has wider global implications. > > Malaysia's statement issued on behalf of APEC Tuesday is "prejudging the >modality" for the next round of global trade talks in the World Trade >Organisation (**WTO**), a senior Japanese official told AFP. > > The official, who asked not to be named, said the United States had no >mandate to push for tariff cuts in APEC and was therefore trying to get the >sectoral approach adopted by the group and push this into the **WTO**. > > But the quadrilateral group -- Japan along with Canada, the European Union >and the United States -- have only agreed on a "broad-based" approach. > > ASEAN members of APEC want to focus on the unfinished areas of agriculture >and investment while Japan wants a "comprehensive" approach. > > While this runs the risk of Japan coming under pressure to open sensitive >areas such as agriculture, the official said this was preferable to the >sectoral approach as "we have a few concessions in our pocket" which could be >used as part of a comprehensive negotiating strategy. > > "It's a jungle now. I think the APEC spirit has been spoiled," he said. > > Japan's main objection to Malaysia's statement is that it explicitly says >that "all three measures" of trade liberalisation, facilitation and cooperation > should be applied to "each" of the nine high-priority sectors. > > The statement says this is "essential to maintain the mutual benefits and >balance of interests" which leaders established in November last year when they > selected the nine sectors at their last summit in Vancouver. > > Japan argues that the Malaysian statement goes beyond an APEC ministerial >agreement last year, which indicated greater bargainining ability with members >offering, for example, greater facilitation in one sector in exchange for less >liberalisation in another. > > "Now the door has been closed," the Japanese official said. > > US trade officials said the "emerging consensus" mentioned in the Malaysian >statement involved eliminating tariffs by 2006 in most of the nine high- >priority sectors including fish and forest products. > > The officials said APEC had also agreed to eliminate tariffs on >environmental goods and services, although the "end date" was not fixed. > > Among the remaining sectors, the officials said tariffs on gems and >jewellery would be reduced to between zero and five percent by 2005, while >chemicals would be subjected to tariff harmonisation -- by 10 percent and below > by 2001 and by 2004 for other rates. > > In telecommunications, the ninth high-priority sector, APEC reached an >accord on mutual recognition arrangements during a ministerial meeting in >Singapore earlier this month. > > ps/akp > >(Copyright 1998) > > _____via IntellX_____ > >{A1:AgenceFrancePresse-0624.00742} 06/24/98 > > > > >______________________________________________________________________ > >[ ] Put an X here to receive a form through which you may inspect, > modify, or stop this Agent. {WTO} > > > >Questions? Email support@inquisit.com -- we're here to help! Delivered via the Inquisit(TM) business intelligence service . All articles Copyright 1998 by their respective source(s); all rights reserved. The information contained in this message is for use by licensed Inquisit subscribers only and may not be forwarded, distributed, published or broadcast in any medium. > Mark Ritchie, President Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy 2105 1st Ave. South, Mpls, MN 55404 USA 612-870-3400 (direct), 612-870-4846 (fax) mritchie@iatp.org http://www.iatp.org From panap at panap.po.my Mon Jun 29 12:37:02 1998 From: panap at panap.po.my (PAN Asia Pacific) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1998 12:37:02 Subject: [asia-apec 494] IFAP congress held (fwd) Message-ID: <1868@panap.po.my> FORWARDED MAIL ------- From: grain@baylink.mozcom.com (GRAIN Los Banos) Date: 23 Jun 98 Originally To: (Recipient list suppressed) FARMERS URGE DEVELOPING NATIONS TO SAFEGUARD TRADE PREFERENCES (Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila, 18 June 1998) Participants of the recently concluded World Farmers Congress urged all governments to coordinate their policies at the next round of General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) negotiations and guide trade liberalization rules to ensure that balance and equity are built into the new world trade order (WTO). The congress, attended by some 350 leaders of 85 independent national farmers' organizations in 60 countries representing over 500 million farmers worldwide, reviewed and drafted policy recommendations for the use of biotechnologies, the concern of small farmers and WTO. The major international event also featured an exhibit portion where farming products, technologies and services from here and abroad were showcased. In a statement, the farmers also stressed that the WTO must also take into account the special nature of agriculture and ensure that not only those countries endowed with natural comparative advantage make economic and social progress. "The trade preferences that we are pushing for should not be regarded as privileges but a way of leveling the playing field. We want to make sure the least developed nations will be able to compete with the industrialized countries," explained Peasant Rep. Leonardo Q. Montemayor. The farmers also said discussions on the WTO should be made transparent and participatory. Trade liberalization rules, according to the farmers, should ensure that economic growth and greater integration of the world economy improve the condition of farm families throughout the world, to contribute to the eradication of poverty and to promote an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable path for agricultural development. In order to further advance the interests of farmers worldwide, the establishment of democratic farmers' organizations and their recognition in the international arena as necessary vectors for development and cooperation was also pushed. The groups are said to be in an ideal position to take full advantage of the cooperation efforts intended for them. Serving as networks of aids, mobilizing part of rural savings, training and promoting the use of information technologies are among the practices that can be facilitated by the democratic farmers' groups. Likewise, such democratic groups all over the world can also act as one in ensuring freedom of action on biotechnologies, in the face of agribusiness multinationals which pour in huge amounts of investment. "The establishment of joint ventures by seed, chemicals and agro-food producers is indeed likely to make agricultural producers dependent on patents and techniques which they don't have control of," said Montemayor. The farmers, however, expressed their wish to establish partnerships with research institutes, industrial producers and distributors to ensure transparency on the new procedures and to reassure consumers who are misinformed on the benefits of the new technologies. Governments are also urged to agree on the methods used in producing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to avoid future trade disputes between countries. Likewise, international public research institutions are enjoined to harness their resources to preserve biodiversity and genetic assets, chiefly through faster development of gene banks. From panap at panap.po.my Mon Jun 29 12:41:25 1998 From: panap at panap.po.my (PAN Asia Pacific) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1998 12:41:25 Subject: [asia-apec 495] FVR leaves Filipino peasants with farewell curse (fwd) Message-ID: <1870@panap.po.my> FORWARDED MAIL ------- From: kmp@info.com.ph Date: 24 Jun 98 Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Peasant Movement of the Philippines) 69 Maayusin St., UP Village,=20 Quezon City, Philippines e-mail address:kmp@info.com.ph News release 23 June 1998 For immediate release Dispute with Rene de Villa, Fil-Estate behind attack on peasants? PERSECUTION VS. PEASANTS RAISES=20 SUSPICION OF FVR-FIL ESTATE SWEETHEART DEAL BATANGAS CITY - - Hundreds of peasants and sympathizers from all over Batangas picketed the provincial jail in Barangay Alangilan yesterday to press for the immediate release their leaders arrested on trumped up charges of illegal possession of firearms.=20 Members of the Samahan ng mga Magbubukid ng Batangas (SAMBAT) demanded the release of Crisostomo Baes, the group=92s vice-chairman, and his brother Francisco, chairman of the Samahan ng Magbubukid sa Barangay Kipot, San Juan Batangas. =20 Atty. Romeo Capulong of the Public Interest Law Center said a composite of police squads from Padre Garcia, Taysan, San Juan, Rosario (municipalities of Batangas province), Batangas City and the provincial PNP, led by San Juan police chief Fausto Manzanilla and backed up by 80 elements of the Regional Special Action Force (RSAF), rummaged through six houses during a dawn raid on 19 June and faked a yield of firearms from the house of the Baes= brothers. =20 Occupants of the other houses stood by helplessly outside their houses as the raiding team aimed rifles at them and looted their houses. The handcuffed brothers, aged 40 and 50, were made to stand under the rain and was taunted by police with orders to run the gauntlet.=20 During detention at the Batangas provincial jail in this city, the pair=92s custodians banged together their heads together several times. Later, they were made to hold placards with the words =93Regular NPA members=94 written= on them. =20 The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), to which SAMBAT is affliated, strongly denounced that the raid is part of the intensifying political repression under the US-Ramos regime on its remaining days in power and proof of Secretary Ernesto Garilao=92s lapdog devotion to landlords=92 interests. KMP chairman Rafael Mariano said that SAMBAT=92s running battle to reclaim farmlands in San Juan from defeated presidentiable Renato de Villa and the defeats suffered by Fil-Estate in the hands of peasants in Hacienda Looc are driving the ruling elites in Batangas into desperate means to reverse their legal losses. =20 It will be recalled that a week before the May elections, a thousand Batangue=F1o peasants symbolically padlocked the Manila offices of the Department of Agrarian Reform to dramatize their anger over the agency=92s massive cancellation of land ownership awards in Hacienda Looc, Hacienda Roxas, Patugo, Lian, Rosario and San Juan, to name a few centers of agrarian disputes.=20 The arrests were timed with a public consultation hastily convened by the Environmental Management Bureau and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on the same day. With the opposition engrossed in getting its leaders out of jail, the DENR is now laying the grounds for its turn to reverse the eventual suspension of the environmental compliance certificate issued to Fil-Estate and Manila Southcoast Development Corp. (MSDC).=20 KMP also noted that the arrests and public hearing were timed four days after Garilao issued a midnight order denying the Hacienda Looc peasants=92 three-month-old appeal contesting DAR=92s approval of MSDC/Fil-Estate=92s= claim over Hacienda Looc. =93This is obviously Ramos=92 sweetheart deal with his= golf buddies in Fil-Estate and MSDC.=94 The group said recent development are proving that peasants have to depend more on their militant and broader campaigns into the new administration of president Joseph Estrada to oppose the government=92s inutile CARP and landgrabbing sprees of big comprador landlords.=20 - 30 - From panap at panap.po.my Mon Jun 29 12:40:12 1998 From: panap at panap.po.my (PAN Asia Pacific) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1998 12:40:12 Subject: [asia-apec 496] WTO News Vol. 1, Number 4 (fwd) Message-ID: <1869@panap.po.my> FORWARDED MAIL ------- From: iatp@iatp.org Date: 23 Jun 98 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WTO News - Vol. 1, Number 4 June 23, 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Table of Contents - WTO MINISTERIAL MEETING JUDGED DISAPPOINTING - RHETORIC REFLECTS NEW PREOCCUPATION WITH TRANSPARENCY - AN EVOLVING TRADE SYSTEM - THE US TRADE AND AGRICULTURE AGENDA - TOWARDS THE 3RD MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE: USA 1999 - TRANSATLANTIC ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP DIALOGUE CONTINUES WTO MINISTERIAL MEETING JUDGED DISAPPOINTING Commentators on the second session of the WTO Ministerial Conference, held in Geneva 18-20 May, seem united in their view that the meeting was inconsequential. Member governments, represented by Heads of State and Ministers of Trade and Commerce, reviewed progress on the implementation of the Uruguay Round Agreements and exchanged views on the upcoming agenda of negotiations. Most of their meetings were off the record and closed to the public, even to accredited journalists and non-governmental organizations. On May 19th, halfway through the conference, various Heads of State gathered to make speeches commemorating the 50th anniversary of the coming into force of the multilateral trade system under the original General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Despite marked differences in the levels of enthusiasm for the international trade system displayed, even such whole-hearted free-traders as President Bill Clinton admitted there are problems in the current multilateral trade system. The rhetoric has changed a little since 1994. One of the problems confronting the meeting, it is argued, was that it came too soon after the first Ministerial Conference (held in Singapore in December 1996) to properly review the working groups created at that time, and too early to launch the built-in reviews of several central Uruguay Round Agreements. Some reviews, such as for the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement, are now underway, but many sectors, including agriculture, will only start late in 1999 or 2000. There were two concrete outcomes of the meetings. One is a Ministerial Declaration, agreed in advance by the diplomats that represent their governments at the WTO. The declaration is very general. It takes note of the financial crisis in Asia and commits its members to support a further expansion of the liberal trading system as a response. It also includes four recommendations for the General Council’s future work program: (1) Implement the existing agreements, including the Marrakech Decisions; (2) Make recommendations concerning future work as laid out at the first session of the conference in Singapore; (3) Make recommendations on the follow-up to the High-Level Meeting on the Least- Developed Countries; and (4) Make recommendations arising from the consideration of other matters proposed and agreed to by the WTO Members. The second outcome is a Declaration on Electronic Commerce that binds WTO member countries to a no-tariff policy on electronic trade, subject to review at the next Ministerial Conference in 1999. The speeches and final documents of the conference are available on the WTO web-site: http://www.wto.org RHETORIC REFLECTS NEW PREOCCUPATION WITH TRANSPARENCY Several of the speeches made in the course of the WTO ministerial reflect a new level of awareness for the need to make WTO negotiations and decision-making more transparent. Those on the inside are concerned mostly to “correct misunderstandings”, while those organizing demonstrations to demand the abolition of the WTO in the streets outside declare the WTO to be an illegitimate endeavor. Hardly anyone, however, is unaware of the need for change. President Clinton’s speech called for the WTO to “… take every feasible step to bring openess and accountability to its operations.” He also said, “The United States today formally offers to open up every panel that we are a party to – and I challenge every other nation to join us in making this happen.” The Director-General of the WTO, Renato Ruggiero, said, “… you should not underestimate the growing pressure on the multilateral trading system to give answers to issues which are very real public concerns, but ones whose solution cannot rely on the trading system alone… We have to improve our ability to respond within our own rules and institutions to the interrelationships which undoubtedly exist, showing that the different policies required can be mutually supportive rather than contradictory… I will devote a considerable part of my time after this Conference to try to improve information and dialogue with civil society.” Giving an impression of running somewhat scared in the light of the débacle over the negotiations for a Multilateral Agreement on Investment at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris, governments and officials were anxious to assure listeners that the WTO had heard the message. In Paris and around the world, NGO coalitions have successfully raised the alarm about the direction of the MAI talks and have generated significant debate in communities and in parliaments. While the negotiations are not dead, they have certainly been set back quite dramatically, and the governments’ failure to reach agreement is in no small measure because of the spotlight now shining on the talks. The speeches and final documents of the conference are available on the WTO web-site: http://www.wto.org AN EVOLVING TRADE SYSTEM The GATT club was formed 50 years ago, with 23 member countries in a world full of colonies, and a relatively narrow agenda of shared issues. Much has changed. While always important for some countries, trade has now taken on unprecedented importance in the world economy, not least as a result of 15 years or more of radical economic adjustment to freer markets and capital movements. The rhetoric in Geneva reflected a continued unwillingness among governments to directly challenge the supremacy of this neo-liberal paradigm. At the same time, many governments pointed out inconsistencies and problems with the existing system and asserted that further liberalization should not take place without much improved care for least developed and otherwise disadvantaged countries. Many speakers addressed the strong public reaction against the free trade agenda in their respective countries and the need to build economies that are less divisive and exclusionary. THE US TRADE AND AGRICULTURE AGENDA By choosing its Secretary for Agriculture, Dan Glickman, to head the US delegation to the Ministerial Conference, and preparing a full agenda of agriculture-related briefings and meetings for the 80 or more agri- business representatives in Geneva for the conference, the US administration was not hiding the importance of agriculture in its trade agenda. In the face of trade imbalances (the US importing more than it exports), a trend that is likely to worsen as the Asian financial crisis continues, the strong US trade surplus in the agriculture sector is not something the US administration wants to jeopardize. On the last day of the Ministerial, the Cairns Group of agricultural commodity exporting countries met with US Trade Representative (USTR) Charlene Barchefsky and the US Secretary for Agriculture, Dan Glickman. While there are differences between the two sides, particularly around US criticism of state-trading enterprises which are common among the Cairns Group countries, the Group and the US agree that the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy is still a very significant barrier to trade. While USTR Barchefsky was careful to say that the point was not “ganging up” on the EU, Australian Trade Minister Tim Fischer was less restrained, saying, “The common target is the Common Agricultural Policy of the EU.” Certainly, the fight then brewing about subsidized shipments of barley from Finland to the US received a lot of coverage in the US, coverage that focused on the continued problem of large EU export subsidies for agricultural products. Recent changes in US domestic agriculture policy have cut domestic support programs. The government has instead promised farmers increased prices through expanded demand for their products abroad. Yet the US- based National Family Farm Coalition issued a press statement in Geneva, together with farmers’ organizations from Canada and the European Union, that said, “In the United States, as production and exports of corn, soybeans, wheat, beef, and milk have all risen, farm prices of each commodity have fallen in real and actual terms since 1982.” Running directly counter to current US, EU and Canadian policy, the statement calls for the elimination of direct and indirect export subsidies and for the expansion of supply management tools to ensure that overproduction and dumping are eliminated. For a copy of the statement please contact: National Family Farm Coalition in Washington DC, USA , the National Farmers’ Union in Saskatoon, Canada , or the Coordination Paysanne Européenne in Brussels, Belgium . Sources: Ministerial Declaration, Adopted on 20 May 1998, WTO [WT/MIN (98)/DEC/1]; Cairns Group, US Coordinate Plans for Agriculture Liberalization, INSIDE US TRADE, 22 May 1998. TOWARDS THE 3RD MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE: USA 1999 One of the few decisions made at the conference was to hold the next Ministerial Conference in the US. It is expected that this third session of the conference will be held between October and December, 1999. US Trade Representative Charlene Barchefsky was chosen to chair a preparatory process for the next conference. The process will be launched at a special session of the WTO General Council session in Geneva in September. Earlier in 1999, Sir Leon Brittan will finish his term as Vice President of the European Commission and EU trade commissioner. Sir Leon has been a strong voice for closer US-EU coordination to liberalize trade, sometimes against the more cautious voices of other EU leaders. It is not yet clear who would be chosen to replace him – the office is conferred by the President of the EU, after careful political negotiations with all member countries. The EU member countries are represented by the European Commission at the WTO, and speak with one voice, although they each maintain their own missions to the WTO as well. TRANSATLANTIC ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP DIALOGUE CONTINUES As ministers began to gather in Geneva for the second ministerial on 18 May, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, EU President Jacques Santer and US President Bill Clinton held a joint press conference on US-EU trade relations in London. These talks have been running stop-start for months, catching on sticking points such as trade in agriculture, and then starting up again. The statement from the press conference presented a plan that covers 12 areas, including: joint work on monitoring compliance with WTO agreements; further reductions of industrial tariffs; shared ideas on using core labor rights as a model for trade agreements; technical barriers to trade; services; government procurement; and intellectual property rights. Although agricultural commodity trade was included in the plan, the US Senate Finance Committee complained afterwards that the plan contained nothing substantive in this sector. The reduction of EU tariffs and subsidies was not addressed, although many US agribusiness representatives consider this area to be a major problem. Source: INSIDE US TRADE, Volume 16, No. 20, May 22, 1998 forwarded by: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Produced by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Mark Ritchie, President. Author: Sophia Murphy. E-mail versions are available electronically free of charge. Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, 2105 First Ave. So., Minneapolis, MN 55404 USA; Telephone: 612-870-0453; Fax:612-870-4846; E-mail: iatp@iatp.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------ From amc at HK.Super.NET Mon Jun 29 20:41:20 1998 From: amc at HK.Super.NET (AMC) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1998 19:41:20 +0800 Subject: [asia-apec 497] Impact of Asian Crisis on Migrants Message-ID: <3.0.32.19980629185200.006f2178@is2.hk.super.net> 29 June 1998 Dear Friends, The Asian Migrant Centre (AMC) will release next week the maiden issue of our Asian Migrant Yearbook (AMY) 1998. AMY 98 is a 170-page yearbook which contains reports on the situation of migrant workers in 16 Asian countries. It also has special sections on globalisation and migration, violence against women migrants, trafficking, churches' response, and the impact of the Asian crisis on migrants. For subscription information, email us at . One section of AMY 98 will be "A Year After: Surveying the Impact of the Asian Crisis on Migrant Workers". This is a 10-page report on the effects of the ongoing crisis on migrants. It highlights some of the quatitative effects on workers and migrants in Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, South Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong, etc. Our analysis is that the ongoing turmoil is not simply a "financial" or "currency" crisis, but a comprehensive economic and social crisis which has become more vicious and widespread because of the unrelenting drive of these countries towards neoliberal global economic integration. Please email us if you want an advance file copy (in MS Word 6.0 format) of the Asian crisis paper. You can also visit our (recently launched) website at for additional information on Asian migrant workers. Thank you very much. Sincerely, Rex Varona Asian Migrant Centre 4 Jordan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong Tel: (852) 2312-0031 Fax: (852) 2992-0111 Email: amc@hk.super.net web: http://www.hk.super.net/~mrhr From gab at mnl.sequel.net Mon Jun 29 20:59:53 1998 From: gab at mnl.sequel.net (GABRIELA-Philippines) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1998 19:59:53 +0800 Subject: [asia-apec 498] Re: Impact of Asian Crisis on Migrants Message-ID: <1.5.4.32.19980629115953.006fdfec@mnl.sequel.net> Please give us an advance copy. Thank you! I don't know if we could read MS Word 6, but to make sure could we have it in rich text format o rtf? it is alright? Thanks. Norma Nacaytuna GABRIELA Commission on International Relations At 07:41 PM 6/29/98 +0800, you wrote: >29 June 1998 > >Dear Friends, > >The Asian Migrant Centre (AMC) will release next week the maiden issue of >our Asian Migrant Yearbook (AMY) 1998. AMY 98 is a 170-page yearbook which >contains reports on the situation of migrant workers in 16 Asian countries. >It also has special sections on globalisation and migration, violence >against women migrants, trafficking, churches' response, and the impact of >the Asian crisis on migrants. For subscription information, email us at >. > >One section of AMY 98 will be "A Year After: Surveying the Impact of the >Asian Crisis on Migrant Workers". This is a 10-page report on the effects >of the ongoing crisis on migrants. It highlights some of the quatitative >effects on workers and migrants in Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, South >Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong, etc. Our analysis is that the ongoing turmoil >is not simply a "financial" or "currency" crisis, but a comprehensive >economic and social crisis which has become more vicious and widespread >because of the unrelenting drive of these countries towards neoliberal >global economic integration. > >Please email us if you want an advance file copy (in MS Word 6.0 format) of >the Asian crisis paper. > >You can also visit our (recently launched) website at > for additional information on Asian migrant >workers. > >Thank you very much. > >Sincerely, > >Rex Varona >Asian Migrant Centre >4 Jordan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong >Tel: (852) 2312-0031 Fax: (852) 2992-0111 >Email: amc@hk.super.net web: http://www.hk.super.net/~mrhr > **************************************************************** GABRIELA A National Alliance of Women's Organizations in the Philippines Address: 35 Scout Delgado or P.O. Box 4386 1103 Quezon City, Metro Manila Manila 2800 Philippines Philippines Telephone: (63-2) 928-8034/926-9653 Fax: (63-2) 924-6901 Email: **************************************************************** From hgibb at nsi-ins.ca Mon Jun 29 23:16:24 1998 From: hgibb at nsi-ins.ca (Heather Gibb) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1998 10:16:24 -0400 Subject: [asia-apec 499] RE: Impact of Asian Crisis on Migrants Message-ID: <01BDA346.F930B900@heather.nsi-ins.ca> Thanks for this notice - I would appreciate being put on your subscription list for AMY 98. ---------- From: AMC[SMTP:amc@HK.Super.NET] Sent: Monday, June 29, 1998 7:41 AM To: asia-apec@jca.ax.apc.org Cc: Owner-Asia-HR-Alert@jca.ax.apc.org; pt@wcc-coe.org Subject: [asia-apec 497] Impact of Asian Crisis on Migrants 29 June 1998 Dear Friends, The Asian Migrant Centre (AMC) will release next week the maiden issue of our Asian Migrant Yearbook (AMY) 1998. AMY 98 is a 170-page yearbook which contains reports on the situation of migrant workers in 16 Asian countries. It also has special sections on globalisation and migration, violence against women migrants, trafficking, churches' response, and the impact of the Asian crisis on migrants. For subscription information, email us at . One section of AMY 98 will be "A Year After: Surveying the Impact of the Asian Crisis on Migrant Workers". This is a 10-page report on the effects of the ongoing crisis on migrants. It highlights some of the quatitative effects on workers and migrants in Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, South Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong, etc. Our analysis is that the ongoing turmoil is not simply a "financial" or "currency" crisis, but a comprehensive economic and social crisis which has become more vicious and widespread because of the unrelenting drive of these countries towards neoliberal global economic integration. Please email us if you want an advance file copy (in MS Word 6.0 format) of the Asian crisis paper. You can also visit our (recently launched) website at for additional information on Asian migrant workers. Thank you very much. Sincerely, Rex Varona Asian Migrant Centre 4 Jordan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong Tel: (852) 2312-0031 Fax: (852) 2992-0111 Email: amc@hk.super.net web: http://www.hk.super.net/~mrhr -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 2570 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/asia-apec/attachments/19980629/4b8689ea/attachment.bin From px.isda at skyinet.net Tue Jun 30 15:18:55 1998 From: px.isda at skyinet.net (px.isda@skyinet.net) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1998 23:18:55 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 500] invitation and registration for peasant forum Message-ID: <2.2.32.19980630061855.006d3d7c@pop.skyinet.net> 1 July 1998 Dear comrades and friends, KMP (Peasant Movement of the Philippines) invites you to the Peasant Forum: Throwing Off the Yoke of Imperialist Globalization on November 11-12, 1998 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is one of the sectoral fora within the People's Assembly which is being held parallel to the 6th APEC Leaders Summit. The 1998 APEC Leaders Summit will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on November 18-19, 1998 amidst a worsening economic and political situation in the region. The current economic and financial crisis spurred by IMF-WB-WTO maldevelopment policies, particularly those pertaining to liberalization, privatization and deregulation, is gripping the Asian economies and sparing no one, even Japan's. This has led to mass layoffs and worker dislocation, and further immiserization of rural communities with intensifying landlessness, poverty and hunger. Even so, governments continue to fit their economic policies to the globalization scheme as its leaders profit politically and financially from it. State bureaucrats would rather protect the interest of MNCs/TNCs (multinational and transnational corporations) and follow the lead of the centers of imperialism -- the US, Japan and EU -- than those of the majority of the people. Parallel to the APEC Summit will be a People's Assembly to be convened by the Malaysian non-governmental organizations on November 8-14. Its theme is "Confronting Globalization, Reasserting Our Rights." Below is the Assembly's schedule: Nov. 8-9 Third International Women's Conference with the theme "Women, Resist Globalization! Assert Women's Rights!" Nov. 10 Whole day: Registration for the People's Assembly Afternoon: Registration for the Peasant Forum Evening: Opening Ceremonies of the People's Assembly Nov. 11-12 Peasant Forum: Throwing Off the Yoke of Imperialist Globalization Other Sector and Issue Fora/Workshops Nov. 13-14 Plenary Sessions of the People's Assembly Nov. 15 Anti-APEC People's Action The KMP, along with the Asian Peasant Forum of the AIWPS (Anti-Imperialist World Peasant Summit), APWN (Asian Peasant Women's Network), AMIHAN (Philippine Federation of Peasant Women Associations) and PAMALAKAYA (Philippine Federation of Fisherfolk Organizations), will convene the Peasant Forum. To be attended by peasant and fisherfolk leaders, activists and advocates from the different APEC-member countries, the forum aims to (1) provide a venue for sharing and discussion of effective strategies adopted by the various peasant movements in their struggle against monopoly capitalist globalization; (2) expand and consolidate the Asian and global network of peasant and fisherfolk organizations which were started by the AIWPS, APWN and the People's Campaign Against Imperialist Globalization (People's Campaign); and (3) identify and plan for specific international peasant campaigns. Leaders of peasant movements in selected APEC member-countries in Latin America, South Asia, South-East Asia and East Asia will share their experiences of struggles against monopoly capitalism in a plenary session. Workshops will be conducted to provide the participants small-group venues to discuss the impact of globalization in their global region, share with one another the strategies that have proven effective in their fight against globalization, and pinpoint burning issues as bases for international peasant campaigns. A Peasant Forum Statement of Unity will be presented in the plenary session of the People's Assembly. In line with this, it is our pleasure to invite you to the Peasant Forum and the People's Assembly. Please fill out the attached registration form and send it back by e-mail, fax or post to: The Peasant Forum Secretariat c/o KMP (Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas) 69 Maayusin corner Malambing Streets UP Village, Diliman 1100 Quezon City, Philippines Telephone: (632) 920-5668; (632) 435-3564 Fax: (632) 435-3564; (632) 434-3836 E-mail: or or Please feel free to send a copy of this invitation to other peasant organizations and advocates in your country. To cover primarily the cost of conference preparations and materials, a registration fee of U$50 for the People's Assembly and U$20 for the Peasant Forum will be collected from each participant. The latter will be waived if we are able to get enough funding for the Peasant Forum. The cost of food and accommodation is estimated at M$150 (US$40) per person per day. Actual plane fares, visa fees, travel and airport taxes and other incidental expenses will also be borne by the participants. We enjoin Third World participants to source funding to cover their expenses. However, those who will not be able to and thus need financial support to attend the Peasant Forum/People's Assembly can communicate with the Peasant Forum Secretariat to request for subsidy. We are trying to raise funds to be able to subsidize the cost of plane fares, food and accommodation of some Third World participants. But visa fees, travel and airport taxes and other incidental travel expenses will be borne by them in the spirit of shared responsibility. We also seek the help of our First World partners to sponsor at least one participant from the Third World and cover the cost of his/her plane ticket, food and accommodation. This way, we will ensure participation of a number of the rural poor in the Peasant Forum and People's Assembly. Please communicate with the Peasant Forum secretariat if your organization is able to respond positively to this request. Further communications about the Peasant Forum will be sent to you as soon as we receive your registration form. We hope that you can join us in a meaningful exchange of views and experiences in the Peasant Forum and the People's Assembly. For the Peasant Forum Organizers, Rafael Mariano KMP Chairperson and AIWPS Convenor ************************************* 1998 PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY ON APEC Peasant Forum: Throwing Off the Yoke of Imperialist Globalization November 11-12, 1998 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia R E G I S T R A T I O N F O R M Please type or write your answers in capital letters. Please send the accomplished form on or before August 15, 1998 through email, fax or post to: The Peasant Forum Secretariat c/o KMP (Peasant Movement of the Philippines) 69 Maayusin corner Malambing Streets UP Village, Diliman 1100 Quezon City, Philippines Fax: (632) 435-3564; (632) 434-3836 E-mail: or or Telephone nos.: (632) 920-5668; (632) 435-3564 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- First Name _______________________ Last Name ______________________________ Age ____ Sex ____ Nationality ______________ Citizenship __________________ Mailing Address ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Telephone ______________ Fax _______________ E-mail _______________________ Languages spoken __________________________________________________________ Name of organization ______________________________________________________ Position in organization __________________________________________________ Office Address ____________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Telephone ______________ Fax ________________ E-mail ______________________ Please write a brief description of your organization. Please include nature of your organization; coverage (regional, national, provincial, etc.); scope (what sectors and/or issues); number of membership; strategies/programs; links or membership in international network/formations; other relevant information. Please use a separate sheet if necessary and/or send your organization's brochure. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Will you stay for the People's Assembly Plenary? Yes _____ No _____ For women: Will you attend the Women's conference? Yes ____ No _____ Special food requirement (Vegetarian, etc.) _______________________________ Signature: ____________________________________ Date: _____________________ From panap at panap.po.my Tue Jun 30 08:20:58 1998 From: panap at panap.po.my (PAN Asia Pacific) Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 08:20:58 Subject: [asia-apec 501] Re: WTO: Malaysia Stresses Voluntarism Message-ID: <1874@panap.po.my> >From mritchie@iatp.org Sat Jun 27 14:21:01 1998 >Received: by corso.ch.planet.gen.nz (1.65/waf) > via UUCP; Sat, 27 Jun 98 15:42:04 +1200 > for gattwd >Received: from mail.iatp.org (iatp-2.InnovSoftD.com [208.141.36.66]) > by tofu.ch.planet.gen.nz (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id OAA02994 > for ; Sat, 27 Jun 1998 14:21:01 +1200 (NZST) >Received: from markbert.iatp.org ([152.166.118.63]) by mail.iatp.org > (Netscape Messaging Server 3.52) with SMTP id 843; > Fri, 26 Jun 1998 21:35:01 -0500 >Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19980626112241.00b53700@iatp.org> >X-Sender: mritchie@iatp.org >X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Pro Version 3.0.5 (32) >Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 11:22:41 -0500 >To: niel@iatp.org, sophia@iatp.org, karen@iatp.org, kristin@iatp.org > ictsd , JBRIENZA@PILLSBURY.COM, jjbw@sprynet.com, > steve@iatp.org, > "Eliane.BARBAGLIA@delche.cec.eu.int" , > "lwallach@citizen.org" , > "mika@mb.kcom.ne.jp" , > gattwd@corso.ch.planet.gen.nz, vanroozendaal@pscw.uva.nl >From: "Mark Ritchie" >Subject: WTO: Malaysia Stresses Voluntarism >Mime-Version: 1.0 >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > >>From: Personal Agents >>Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 00:19:20 -0700 >>To: mritchie@iatp.org >>Subject: WTO: Malaysia Stresses Voluntarism >>X-Inquisit-UserID: 2522687 >>X-Inquisit-AgentID: 75109746 >>X-Inquisit-AgentName: WTO >> >> >> Malaysia Stresses Voluntarism > >> (Xinhua English Newswire; 06/22/98) > >> >> Malaysia Monday said the principles of voluntarism and flexibility >should be >> maintained in implementing trade liberalization among Asia-Pacific >Economic >>Cooperation (APEC) members. >> >> The liberalization should be based on the capacity of different members, >>especially related to the nine fast-track sectors chemicals, environmental >>goods and services, energy, fish and fish products, forest products, gems >and >>jewelry, medical equipment and instruments, toys and telecommunications >mutual >>recognition arrangement, Malaysian International Trade and Industry >Minister >>Rafidah Aziz told a news conference here Monday before the opening of the >APEC >>Trade Ministers meeting. >> >> She said Malaysia, the host of the forthcoming annual Informal meeting >of >>APEC Leadership in November this year, subscribed to "progressive >>liberalization." "We should not be too ambitious," she stressed. >> >> The nine sectors were identified under the Early Voluntary Sectoral >>Liberalization (EVSL) initiative. >> >> She said the two-day trade ministers meeting which opens later Monday >will >>take stock of the progress of work including on EVSL, Individual/Collective >>Action Plans, Electronic Commerce and impact of trade liberalization as >well as >> provide directions for future work on the issues. >> >> Besides the nine sectors which were set on fast-track, she said the >>ministers will also examine progress in the other six sectors automobiles, >>civil aircraft, food, natural and synthetic rubber, fertilizers and >oilseeds >>for liberalization. >> >> The ministers will also have a dialogue with APEC Business Advisory >Council >>(ABAC) on the collective response of APEC to ABAC recommendations which >contain >> requests for measures to further liberalize and facilitate trade and >>investment, Rafidah said. >> >> She said the ministers will consider also how APEC could make further >>contribution to the World Trade Organization (**WTO**) in light of the >outcome >>of the Second **WTO** ministerial conference. >> >> The APEC's Membership includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, China, Chinese >>Taibei, Chile, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, >New >>Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and the >United >>States. >> >>(Copyright 1998) >> >> _____via IntellX_____ >> >>{A4:XinhuaEnglishNewswire-0622.02658} 06/22/98 >> >> >> >> >>______________________________________________________________________ >> >>[X] Put an X here to receive a form through which you may inspect, >> modify, or stop this Agent. {WTO} >> >> >> >>Questions? Email support@inquisit.com -- we're here to help! Delivered >via the Inquisit(TM) business intelligence service >. All articles Copyright 1998 by their respective >source(s); all rights reserved. The information contained in this message >is for use by licensed Inquisit subscribers only and may not be forwarded, >distributed, published or broadcast in any medium. >> >Mark Ritchie, President >Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy >2105 1st Ave. South, Mpls, MN 55404 USA >612-870-3400 (direct), 612-870-4846 (fax) >mritchie@iatp.org http://www.iatp.org >