From bayan at iname.com Fri Jun 2 12:52:39 2000 From: bayan at iname.com (BAYAN) Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2000 11:52:39 +0800 Subject: [asia-apec 1453] People of Color Against Imperialist Globalization (PCAIG) Message-ID: <200006020349.LAA20333@tucows.skyinet.net> JUNE 23-25, 2000 People of Color Against Imperialist Globalization ?GLOBALIZE DIGNITY, SOLIDARITY, AND THE STRUGGLE!? A conference to BREAK DOWN GLOBALIZATION AND LINK PEOPLE?S STRUGGLES IN AFRICA, ASIA, LATIN AMERICA AND THE UNITED STATES TOWARDS BROADENING THE INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT AGAINST IMPERIALIST GLOBALIZATION! June 23-25, 2000 Registration begins at 1 pm on June 23, and the conference ends at 5 pm on June 25. East Los Angeles College 1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez, Los Angeles, CA Keynote Speakers Representative from BAYAN - Philippines Ana Cecilia Lazcano, Historian, Professor and Member of the Izquierda Democr?tica Popular Matef Harmachis, All African Peoples Revolutionary Party and Inter-faith Conscience Project Registration Fee: $30 per delegate, $20 for students Fee will cover food and snacks for 3 days, a souvenir program and poster, and entrance fees to the June 23 Reception and June 24 Cultural Solidarity Night. (June 24 Cultural Solidarity Night: $5 for non-registered conference participants) WORKSHOPS ON: Globalization and modern slavery of women and children; peasants, GMO's, land and militirization; environmental problems and multi-national corporations; workers and their struggles against globalization; youth and the culture of resistance; indigenous people's rights and self-determination; migration and the people's democratic struggle. For more information please call Alejandra or Tomeka at (213) 625-7705 or email us at pcaig_2000@yahoo.com or contact CDM, call (323) 264-0504 or email at cdmla@latinmail.com PLEASE REGISTER AS SOON AS YOU CAN by calling or emailing us with you contact informaiton... Organized by BAYAN International-USA and Comit? Pro-Democracia en Mexico --------------------------------------------------------- B A Y A N Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or New Patriotic Alliance No. 23 Maamo Street, Sikatuna Village Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Telephone: (63-2) 435-9151 Telefax: (63-2) 922-5211 Email: Bayan webpage URL: http://www.bigfoot.com/~bayan-phils ----------------------------------------------------------- From notoapec at clear.net.nz Sat Jun 3 09:49:04 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 17:49:04 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1454] Mike Moore on WTO Message-ID: <006001bfccf5$8ae23e80$d03761cb@notoapec> Straits Times May 31, 2000 WTO sets promising course ahead By Mike Moore GENEVA -- When trade ministers for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) nations meet in Darwin, Australia, next month, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) will be very much on the agenda. Of course, the WTO was front and centre in the discussions at the Apec meeting last year in Auckland, New Zealand as well, but the focus then was very different. At that time, the debate centred on the looming Seattle ministerial conference and efforts to launch a round. This year, we shall be talking about how to proceed with further negotiations, certainly, but we shall also be reflecting on some of the accomplishments we have achieved since the unfortunate Seattle meeting. Naturally, the great strides taken in recent weeks towards bringing China into the WTO will be discussed. The market-access agreement between China and the European Union leaves but a handful of remaining bilateral negotiations to be completed. Passage by the US House of Representatives of Permanent Normal Trade Relations between the US and China is another important step. We still have to work to do here in Geneva and the Working Party on China's Accession will meet during the week of June 19 to continue its efforts to reach agreement on the rules and procedures under which China will enter the WTO. But I am hopeful we can conclude our work this year and bring China into the WTO family of governments. The China story has, of course, made headlines around the world. But some important results have been achieved recently at the WTO which made few headlines in the industrial world and attracted little attention from development activists. They are important, nonetheless, particularly for developing countries. Moreover, they address some of the more legitimate concerns which our critics have levelled at us -- concerns which our members began discussing inside the WTO long before the protests in Seattle, Bangkok and Washington. On May 3 and 8, our governing body, the General Council, agreed on important policy measures which hold profound implications for developing countries, including the world's poorest. For months, developing countries have been arguing that they face difficulties in implementing the rules which WTO members negotiated and signed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. These countries feel, in many cases rightly, that they have not reaped the full benefits which they expected from the Uruguay Round agreement. Now, they have succeeded in creating a forum for discussing these problems. FORUM FOR DEVELOPING NATIONS LEAST-DEVELOPED countries have won concessions from 28 countries (counting the European Union as 15) which have pledged to remove import barriers on their exports. Moreover, representatives from our 136 member governments have made impressive strides in improving the way we work so that all our members can participate better in the global trading system. There has also been good progress so far this year on agriculture and services negotiations. Altogether, these measures have produced an atmosphere of confidence at the WTO which will enable us to build a foundation for further trade liberalisation so necessary to lifting living standards for working people across the globe. The next question people invariably ask is: Does this mean we plan to launch a new round soon? The answer: Only if there is a consensus from member governments on a new round. Many world leaders from US President Bill Clinton to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee have stated they would like to see the start of global trade talks this year. But I have not seen the necessary flexibility among member governments on difficult issues -- like investment, labour standards or anti-dumping policy -- to give me great confidence that a round can be launched this year. Before the promising outcome of the May 3 and 8 sessions of the General Council, I would have put the odds on a launch of a round this year at 15 per cent. After these meetings, I believe the chances have risen to 20 per cent -- not great odds, perhaps, but certainly not outside the realm of possibility. COMPLEX, TECHNICAL SHIFTS MUCH of what has been done over the past several months involves complex and technical shifts in the way we conduct our business. But the complexity of these issues in no way detracts from their significance. The developing countries' complaints about implementing some of the WTO's rules date back to before its second ministerial conference in Geneva in May 1998. These issues involve complex accords on issues like textiles, anti-dumping, government subsidies, investment measures and protection of intellectual property. Beginning this summer, member governments will meet in special sessions devoted to finding solutions that all members can accept, to the problems developing countries face in putting these agreements into effect. Industrial countries have also made important pledges to open their markets wider to goods from the least-developed countries. While many of the pledges have been modest, this represents a good first step in extending to the world's poorest nations greater opportunities to raise living standards through exports. Some of the initiatives taken are impressive. The African-Caribbean Basin Initiative Bill which was passed by the US House of Representatives recently is a good example. The White House estimates that once signed into law, this legislation will enable African apparel producers to raise exports to the US from US$250 million (S$430 million) last year to US$4.2 billion by 2008. Officials from El Salvador expect the enhanced access to the US market will lead to the creation of 100,000 jobs. This is significant. It is significant too, that WTO member governments agreed to monitor the degree of market opening, the trade-creation effect of such opening and the diversion of trade, if any, that may occur as a result of these initiatives. This mechanism will ensure the issue of market access for the least-developed countries stays on the agenda in a prominent way. Of course, even if all barriers to trade were lifted, least-developed countries would still face substantial economic problems. Supply-side capacity restraints hamper them in manufacturing quality products and getting them to the market. A crushing burden of debt has also prevented many of these governments from allocating adequate resources to education and health programmes. Moreover, some employ policies which undermine sound economic and social management. Working with other international organisations, including the UN Conference on Trade and Development, the UN Development Programme, the World Bank, the International Trade Centre and the International Monetary Fund, we have created an integrated framework of support for least-developed countries, designed to bring them in from the margins of the global trading system. Plainly stated, this programme has not worked well enough. Bank officials, in consultation with officials from the other five agencies, will make recommendations next month. In July, senior officials from the six agencies will meet and propose reforms. Together, we should be able to shape tailored, demand-driven assistance programmes which can offer real benefits to the people of the world's poorest countries. FINE-TUNING DECISION-MAKING FINALLY, the General Council is moving to find ways to improve the effective participation of all WTO member governments in our decision-making processes. No decisions have been made as yet, but council chairman Kre Bryn of Norway reported on May 8 that governments are moving closer to finding solutions to this vexing problem. All member governments insist that the principle of consensus, through which all WTO decisions are taken, should be maintained. All acknowledge, as well, that delegates sometimes have to meet in smaller groups in order to draft texts. Preserving both procedures, while enhancing the participation of all member governments, is not impossible. More frequent informal meetings of the General Council, more efficient use of information technology to keep delegations apprised and more immediate reporting of the results of consultations can all be employed to widen the degree of participation. The WTO is a young institution. It is growing and adjusting to the realities of a fast-changing world. This means taking into account the needs and ambitions of all our 136 member governments, the mighty and the modest. The steps taken this month demonstrate that this organisation is doing exactly that. [The writer, who is director-general of the World Trade Organisation in Geneva, contributed this article to The Straits Times.] From notoapec at clear.net.nz Sun Jun 4 00:41:45 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2000 08:41:45 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1455] APEC SOM Meeting Message-ID: <003f01bfcd72$3a492060$52cca7cb@notoapec> Reuters May 30, 2000 APEC officials meet on trade liberalisation By Sabyasachi Mitra BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, May 30 (Reuters) - Senior officials of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum will begin talks on Wednesday on trade liberalisation but China's entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is not on the agenda. The 21-member APEC will discuss Japan's idea of greater involvement of the regional grouping at the WTO, which was mooted at an APEC meeting in February. ``Generally there was support for this kind of an idea. Japan went back and developed the idea more and we will be seeing and discussing it as the first thing during the retreat,'' Lim Jock Seng, chairman of the APEC meeting, told a news conference in the tiny, oil-rich sultanate of Brunei on Borneo island. The APEC officials will go for a day-long retreat to the Brunei town of Seria on Thursday. The regional grouping will also try to give a push to the issue of Accelerated Tariff Liberalisation (ATL), which was part of the declaration at the last APEC summit in Auckland last year. ``Globalisation, liberalisation and facilitation must all go at the same pace,'' said Lim, who is also the permanent secretary of Brunei's Foreign Ministry. The officials are also expected to prepare for their upcoming ministerial trade meeting in Darwin in June. Officials said they also hoped to kick-start electronic commerce initiatives to move towards paperless trade goals, including customs facilitation, among member countries. APEC will also discuss a proposal from the United States on the so-called new economy, which addresses issues of investment, legal aspects and the question of delivery of services, officials said. But Lim said China's entry into the WTO would not be discussed. ``I think at this stage the question of China's entry is not a part of the agenda,'' he said. Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to grant China permanent normal trade status (PNTR), paving the way for Beijing's entry into the WTO. Lim said APEC was thrilled with the U.S. decision on China, which is a member of APEC along with the United States. The U.S. Senate is expected to approve House of Representative's decision in June to complete Congressional approval. APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. The next APEC summit will be in Brunei in November. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Wed Jun 7 01:55:05 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 09:55:05 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1456] Reuters story - APEC Message-ID: <002c01bfcfd7$f80bbba0$c23761cb@notoapec> U.S. sees APEC political will for new trade talks By Marie McInerney DARWIN, Australia, June 5 (Reuters) - The United States said on Monday rising regional confidence and economic strength could help Pacific Rim countries to take the tough political decisions needed to launch a new round of global trade talks. U.S. Deputy Trade Representative Richard Fisher told reporters the United States was ready to move on a new round of World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks ``as quickly as our partners are able.'' WTO talks collapsed in Seattle last December over differences between the United States and European Union, and between developing and industrial countries over labour, the environment and anti-dumping issues, as violent protests erupted outside. Speaking ahead of a meeting in Darwin of trade ministers from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, Fisher said economies in the region were stronger and more confident than at the time of the Seattle meeting. He said he sensed ``a firming of political will.'' ``This confidence is critical to making the politically difficult decisions which are necessary to an early launch of the new round,'' he told reporters after a series of bilateral talks ahead of the June 6-7 multilateral meeting. APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. The APEC economies account for more than 60 percent of world gross domestic product and 45 percent of global trade. Fisher said APEC had taken the lead, at Japan's initiative, on developing new programmes for capacity building and technical assistance to help developing economies meet WTO obligations, and was it moving quickly on the accession of China and Taiwan to the WTO. There was also growing interest in the region in free trade agreements (FTAs) which could play a positive role in global trade, albeit only those which encouraged wider liberalisation. ``If it is an FTA which carves out agriculture, it's not an FTA,'' he said, adding that a proposal for New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Chile and the United States to form a free trade agreement as a possible catalyst for a new WTO round was on the backburner. ``Ministers over the next two days will reaffirm commitments made in Auckland (last year) to launch a new round, including the call for the elimination of trade distorting agricultural export subsidies,'' he said. Fisher rejected suggestions that the U.S. interest in APEC was fading and said President Bill Clinton would attend the group's leaders' summit in Brunei later this year. ``We are big supporters of APEC and we want to see this forum continue to serve as a catalyst for the rest of the world,'' he said, noting its previous leading role in a WTO information technology agreement and the completion of trade talks in 1993. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Wed Jun 7 07:26:13 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (AMG) Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 08:26:13 +1000 Subject: [asia-apec 1457] The Age: Next WTO round of trade talks 18 months away Message-ID: <200006062226.IAA00858@dispatcher.fairfax.com.au> Greetings, AMG wants you to know about a story on The Age. Personal message: >From The Age, Melbourne Next WTO round of trade talks 18 months away By TIM COLEBATCH Jun 07 2000 00:14:45 The launch of a new round of negotiations to liberalise world trade rules could be as much as 18 months away, the WTO's director-general, Mike Moore, warned yesterday, despite some progress in narrowing the gaps exposed by last year's failure in Seattle. URL: http://www.theage.com.au/bus/20000607/A42372-2000Jun6.html Why not check out our other great articles at http://www.theage.com.au. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Thu Jun 8 02:31:22 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 10:31:22 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1458] The Age (Melbourne) 6/6/00 Message-ID: <002801bfd0a6$7e8bc160$d9cda7cb@notoapec> WORLD printer version email to a friend Next WTO round of trade talks 18 months away By TIM COLEBATCH ECONOMICS EDITOR DARWIN Wednesday 7 June 2000 R E L A T E D Apec affirms faith in liberalisation The launch of a new round of negotiations to liberalise world trade rules could be as much as 18 months away, the WTO's director-general, Mike Moore, warned yesterday, despite some progress in narrowing the gaps exposed by last year's failure in Seattle. In a frank breakfast discussion, Mr Moore said the chances of getting a round under way this year were now no better than 20 per cent. While governments insisted they would like to get the negotiations started soon, he said, they had yet to show the flexibility needed to achieve this. "There has been progress, but it's slow and it's glacial", the WTO chief said. "The atmosphere in Geneva is a lot better. We do have agriculture (negotiations) under way, even if with a few wobbles. We do have services (negotiations) under way. We do have a package for the least developed countries. "But the great national interest stakes haven't changed that dramatically. There has been some narrowing of the gap on a few of those positions, but the movement is very subtle." On his first official visit to Australia since taking up the job last September, Mr Moore yesterday briefed Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum trade ministers on progress in the informal discussions he has had in Geneva and elsewhere. He urged them to add "some modest momentum" by reaffirming their support for a comprehensive new round, including tariffs on manufactures, and by imposing a moratorium on e-commerce tariffs. The US proposal for APEC ministers to impose such a moratorium is also supported by Australia. Ministers had agreed in principle to a moratorium in Seattle, but the deal lapsed when they failed to agree on a new round. A knockabout, irreverent former New Zealand Labor leader, Trade Minister and briefly Prime Minister, Mr Moore has been left to pick up the pieces of global trade reform after last December's meeting of trade ministers in Seattle failed in its goal of launching a comprehensive round of negotiations to liberalise virtually every area of world trade. Yesterday he hinted that the most likely time for the new round to be launched would be when trade ministers met sometime next year. There is as yet no date or venue for the meeting, and Mr Moore indicated he was in no hurry to set them. He said he would not convene the next meeting of ministers until he was convinced that governments were close to agreement on the key issues that led to failure in Seattle: The WTO's future role in the "new issues" of labor rights, the environment, competition policy and investment rules. Reform of the anti-dumping rules, which developing countries allege are being used to discriminate against their exports. Review of the timetable for revenue-strapped developing countries to implement the tariff cuts agreed to in the Uruguay Round. Conflict between Europe and the US/Cairns Group alliance over whether the negotiations would encompass the abolition of farm export subsidies. Mr Moore said Seattle had failed because not enough preparatory work had been put into securing agreement on these issues before the meeting began. "We can stitch some things up at two minutes to midnight, but we can't stitch up too much," he said. So far, he said, the main movement post-Seattle had been on implementation issues, with Japan and the WTO itself developing programs to assist developing countries to meet their commitments, and in "confidence-building measures" such as the recent 15-nation initiative to open up market access for the 47 least developed countries. The Clinton administration's wins in getting Congress to approve China's admission to the WTO and open US markets wider for products from Africa, Central America and the Caribbean had also helped to regenerate enthusiasm for trade reform, he said. But while key Administration figures such as Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and US Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky had told him they wanted the new round to be launched before they left office next January, the test would be how much they were prepared to move to achieve this. "We can't assemble ministers again with so many points of difference still to be settled," Mr Moore said. "We won't do it." One positive sign was that both Vice-President Al Gore and his Republican rival, Governor George W. Bush, were united in supporting a new round. Sources say Mr Moore has been pushing for more openness in WTO decision-making, and a greater focus on the needs of developing countries. Since the riots in Seattle propelled him into the world spotlight as the chief spokesman for globalisation, life for this witty, hard-living former Kiwi politician is no longer so easy. Even in Darwin he is being shadowed by two huge security guards wherever he goes, and around the world, globalisation now has become a prime target of demonstrations. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/asia-apec/attachments/20000607/bfc72f8b/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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Name: not available Type: image/gif Size: 92 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/asia-apec/attachments/20000607/bfc72f8b/attachment-0003.gif From notoapec at clear.net.nz Thu Jun 8 02:37:00 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 10:37:00 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1459] The Melbourne Age 7 June 2000 - APEC Message-ID: <000801bfd0a7$10b868e0$cacea7cb@notoapec> Apec affirms faith in liberalisation By TIM COLEBATCH DARWIN Wednesday 7 June 2000 The trade ministers of the member countries of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (Apec) have recommitted their countries to a broad-based round of negotiations to liberalise world trade, including abolishing farm export subsidies and further reducing tariffs on manufactures. On the opening day of their meeting in Darwin, ministers and senior officials from Apec member countries also agreed to impose a moratorium on tariffs on electronic commerce, pending any global agreement on e-commerce. The 21 Apec members - including the United States, China, Japan, Russia and Indonesia - are holding their first meeting to launch a new trade round since the collapse of the Seattle negotiations last year. Australian officials saw the meeting, the most important trade gathering in Australia since Apec itself was launched in 1989, as a test of global commitment to a new round. Trade Minister Mark Vaile, who is chairing the meeting, said last night ministers had recommitted to the same goals their leaders set when they met last year in Auckland. "There's a very strong call coming out of this meeting to get on with the multilateral agenda, as the agenda that will ultimately provide the greatest benefits to the economies of the world in trade liberalisation," Mr Vaile said. But he said ministers had also expressed concern that there should be no repeat of last year's fiasco in Seattle, when the agenda was "overloaded" by issues such as labor rights, the environment, competition policy and investment rules, raised by the United States and the European Union. "We must be sure that it (the agenda) is achievable," Mr Vaile said. "It wasn't so much the protests or the process that caused Seattle to fail, as much as an overloaded agenda. Seattle was supposed to be the start, not the actual conduct, of the negotiations." Labor rights, he said, were an issue that belonged "on the margin of the negotiations, not at the centre". Mr Vaile did not rule out Australia bidding to host next year's meeting of world trade ministers, now the likely occasion for launching the new round. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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Name: not available Type: image/gif Size: 231 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/asia-apec/attachments/20000607/881c0752/attachment-0001.gif From rcpd at mail.info.com.ph Wed Jun 7 15:53:29 2000 From: rcpd at mail.info.com.ph (rcpd) Date: Wed, 07 Jun 2000 14:53:29 +0800 Subject: [asia-apec 1460] [isgn] Sign for Peace in Mindanao Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.20000607145329.00808440@pop.info.com.ph> Dear Friends, For almost a month now, the southern Philippine island of Mindanao has been hogging both local and international news because of a hostage-taking incident involving 19 foreign nationals by an armed Muslim group called Abbu Sayaff. The Philippine government is employing a military solution (primarily) then later on entered into negotiations for the release of the hostages. But not only is the Abbu Sayaff the target of large-scale military operations in Mindanao now. More than this, the government has utilized the opportunity to launch an all-out war against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) which has long been struggling for genuine self-determination. The war has resulted in enormous social, environmental cost victimizing mostly poor farmers, indigenous peoples, women and children. We urge all peace advocates, progressives, social movements, people's organizations from around the globe to join the clamor for a stop to war in Mindanao and for the pursuit of genuine peace initiatives. Below is a petition paper initiated by concerned groups in the Philippines. Help us collect as many as a million signatures to press the government to go back to the negotiating table. Please feel free to add your name to the list and to distribute it to friends. Apologies for cross posting. Send your replies at the following email addresses: rcpd@info.com.ph alice@info.com.ph _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ A Million Signatures to Stop the War in Mindanao Stop the Estrada Regime's All-Out War in Mindanao Support the Initiatives for the Resumption of Peace Negotiations Respect the Moro People's Right to Self-Determination We, the undersigned members of different social movements, NGOs, church groups, human rights and other civic organizations and concerned individuals, put forward our position regarding the war that has been raging on in Mindanao, Philippines. We condemn the Estrada government's all-out war against the Moro people. It is deplorable that a government could spend millions daily in a war that has resulted in hundreds of casualties, dislocated thousands of rural communities and left scores orphaned and widowed while it refuses to provide people even their barest needs and social services such as education and health. Neither can the government justify the war in the pretext of pursuing some groups of fully armed hostage-takers. It cannot be used as a smokescreen to blur the real target: the Moro people's struggle for self-determination, now represented by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). We cannot hope to achieve a lasting peace in Mindanao through a military solution. Months of war and the claimed decisive victory by the Estrada administration is nowhere in sight. It has in fact suffered more casualties and incurred huge losses in terms of commerce and trade. And even if the government does achieve temporary victory given its current military superiority, it cannot annihilate the Moro people's aspiration for genuine independence. The situation in Mindanao once more highlights the need to comprehensively address the root causes that has fuelled rebellion in the Southern Philippines for several ages now. The Moro people have suffered more than enough oppression and exploitation from foreign and local elites who themselves control the national government and who have systematically disenfranchised the Moros from control of their lands and other resources, whipped up the Christian-Muslim divide and used military might to crush resistance. Given the bias and injustices experienced by the Moro people from all the previous governments and its long history of independence from any colonization, the struggle for self- determination becomes a just struggle. The same is true under the current government not only for the Moro people but the majority of the Filipinos in general. Thus, we enjoin our Muslim brothers and sisters to link arms with the rest of the Filipino people in a common struggle against local and foreign oppressors, now politically represented by the Estrada regime. A genuine peace process is a most welcome move at this time. But for it to prosper, it should be premised on the recognition and respect for the justness and legitimacy of the Moro people's struggle for self-determination. Otherwise, peace will remain as elusive. We thus call on the Estrada government to pull out all AFP troops and stop the all-out war in Mindanao right now and immediately pursue a political negotiation towards a lasting and genuine solution to the Mindanao conflict. Partial List of Signatories (in the Philippines and abroad) 1. Dr. Rainer Werning, M.A., Ph.D. Executive Director Stiftung fuer Kinder, Freiburg (Germany) & Vice President International Forum for Child Welfare (IFCW * Geneva/Brussels) 2. Muslimah Resource & Integrated Development Center Inc. (MURID Center Inc. 3. Bangsa Moro Consortium of NGOs/POs 4. PAKAPASUG (Parhimpunan sin Kababaihan Pakasambuhan Sin Lupah Sug 5. Prof. Eric Torres - Polytechnic University of the Philippines- Human Rights Office 6. Prof. Flora Arellano - Ploytechnic University of the Philippines - Human Rights Office 7. Institute for Urban and Rural Development (INSURED) 8. Integrated Rural Development Foundation (IRDF) 9. International South Group Network (ISGN) ? Manila 10. Liga ng Sosyalistang Kabataan (League of Socialist Youth) 11. People's Unity for Economic Reforms and Social Agenda (PUERSA) 12. Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) 13. Piglas Kababaihan 14. Resource Center for People's Development (RCPD) 15. Sosyalistang Partido ng Paggawa 16. Susan Granada 17. Task Force Detainees of the Philippines 18 Ditas Go-Zurbano - Ecumenical Commission for Displaced Families and Communites 19. Aniban ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura 20. Piglas-Maralita 21. Minna Kinnunen - Chairperson Finnish-Philippine Society 22. Faisal Haq Shaheen, B.Sc., MBATrade and Environment Researcher IISD Trade Knowledge Network 23. Sk. Tawfique M. Haque- ActionAid Bangladesh 24. Ms. Theresa Limpin ? Bangko, Thailand 25. Stiaan van der Merwe ? South Africa 26. Dr. Johannes Kotchi 27. Sr. Arnold Ma. Noel, SSpS Resource Center for People's Development #24, Unit 7, Mapang-akit St, Pinyahan, QC, Philippines telefax- (632)4361831 tel - 4350815 email: rcpd@info.com.ph From notoapec at clear.net.nz Fri Jun 9 00:13:36 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2000 08:13:36 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1461] NZ Herald on APEC/Darwin Message-ID: <000701bfd15c$20d3a180$b8cfa7cb@notoapec> 8 June 2000 Apec clear on global trade aim 08.06.2000 - By BRIAN FALLOW DARWIN - Apec trade ministers have reaffirmed their economies' commitment to launching a new round of global trade talks. They have also endorsed the consensus reached last year in Auckland that a round would have to be sufficiently broad-based and balanced to meet the needs of all World Trade Organisation members. As for when a round might be launched, Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile said a strong view had been expressed to WTO Director-General Mike Moore that no attempt should be made until it was sure to succeed. "We don't want a repeat of the missed opportunities of Seattle," Mr Vaile said. Both the United States and Japanese representatives said the round should be started as soon as possible. "This year if we can," said US representative Richard Fisher. "But right now we don't have the consensus." The ministers also agreed on a package of measures to assist developing Apec economies to implement and take advantage of existing WTO agreements. They called for initial work on industrial tariffs - which includes fish and forest products - to begin in the WTO in preparation for a new round - something the Americans are keen on. And they announced a moratorium on customs duties on e-commerce, at least until the next WTO ministerial meeting. Those initiatives aside, the outcome of the Darwin meeting - the biggest assembly of trade ministers since Seattle - was primarily a negative one: putting a ratchet under the consensus achieved at Auckland last September, and preventing further backsliding from the multilateral trade liberalisation agenda. But that is about as much as anyone had expected from the Darwin meeting. Mr Vaile and New Zealand counterpart Jim Sutton had talked in terms of it adding to the momentum imparted by the crucial vote by the US Congress last month which in effect cleared the way for China to join the WTO. Winning that vote was a higher priority for the Clinton Administration than the launch of a new round. And rightly so, said Mr Moore at the Darwin meeting. "We can start a new round any time. China was a once-in-a-decade decision." From notoapec at clear.net.nz Fri Jun 9 00:16:22 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2000 08:16:22 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1462] NZ Herald on APEC Message-ID: <000301bfd15d$9122bd80$8e3761cb@notoapec> 6 June 2000 NZ Herald, Auckland Apec leads push to kick-start WTO talks 06.06.2000 - ADELAIDE - Trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum are trying to reignite trade liberalisation after the World Trade Organisation talks collapsed in Seattle. A four-point "confidence building plan," proposed by Japan at preliminary meetings in Brunei last week, will be put to a two-day meeting starting in Darwin today. Former New Zealand Prime Minister and WTO Director-General Mike Moore will attend. Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile, who will chair the meeting, has emphasised the importance of rebuilding support for a new WTO trade round. It is the first big meeting of international trade ministers since the WTO talks fell apart against a background of violent protests in Seattle last December. Australia is also hoping to build on China's impending accession to the WTO. China will host Apec's 2001 summit in Shanghai. "The Apec meeting in Auckland last year delivered strong support for new WTO negotiations and I'll be pushing for renewed vigour for opening world trade," Mr Vaile said last week. But United States Deputy Trade Representative Richard Fisher said that while he was keen to see a new round of global talks launched this year, current momentum was not forceful. Peter Drysdale, head of the Australian National University's Australia-Japan Research Centre, said the Darwin meeting was a critical opportunity for Apec to move towards a consensus on issues which have paralysed world trade talks. Differences between the US and European Union and also between developing and industrial nations over labour, environment and anti-dumping issues scuttled the Seattle talks. Apec officials said the Japanese initiative for the Darwin meeting included increased global access for products from less-developed countries and helping member economies to build infrastructure to implement the WTO agenda. "The big thing, really, is whether or not an effective coalition can be welded within Apec to get momentum into initiating a new round," Mr Drysdale said. "It won't happen at this meeting ... but this is where this process will begin," he said, seeing positive symbolism in the attendance in Darwin of the WTO chief. Kim Anderson, director of the University of Adelaide's Centre for International Economic Studies, said momentum-building towards a new round would have added impetus in Darwin as Apec tried to shore up its reputation, battered by perceptions of failure in the wake of the Asian economic crisis. He said its hopes for any WTO breakthrough might be in vain, with coming elections in the US and France likely to reduce the mood among key players for new talks. "I think it's an uphill battle," he said. The meeting is also expected to move to clearer progress reports on the individual action plans for each member country. It is also likely to canvass the contentious trend towards sub-regional and bilateral free trade agreements. Many members have voiced concern that the agreements could lead to preferential and discriminatory trade practices, and work against the Apec goals of free and open trade by 2010 for industrialised economies and 2020 for developing members. "Will they be agreements which discriminate against other Apec members and the rest of the world and have no time-frame for being removed, or will they relate to the Apec goals?" Mr Drysdale said. "There's huge confusion about it." -REUTERS From notoapec at clear.net.nz Fri Jun 9 14:58:14 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2000 22:58:14 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1463] NZ Trade Minister's spin on APEC/WTO Message-ID: <001d01bfd1d7$b451d960$08cca7cb@notoapec> WTO Process Reinvigorated Press Release New Zealand Government 8/06/00 11:07:00 Asia Pacific trade ministers have agreed an ambitious programme of measures to prepare the way for a World Trade Organisation round of talks, Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton said today. "We have made great progress here, in Darwin, under the excellent chairing of Mark Vaile, to put the multilateral process back on track," Mr Sutton said. The meeting, which finished last night, was the first major trade meeting since the failed WTO meeting in Seattle late last year. "We have agreed an ambitious programme of measures to prepare the way for the early launch of a WTO Round." The programme includes: * calling for preparatory work on industrial tariffs in the WTO ? including the key New Zealand interest areas of fish and forest products; * encouraging meaningful progress in the WTO negotiations on agriculture and services, including the objective set last year to seek the abolition of agricultural export subsidies; * adopting a strategic plan to build to build capacity for developing economies; and * agreeing an APEC wide moratorium on the imposition of customs duties on electronic transactions. "Beyond the WTO, we have sent a strong message to officials to lift their game in addressing non-tariff measures. An excellent APEC study has just identified the negative impact these measures can have on the forest products sector," Mr Sutton said. "We also spent some time talking about the increasing activity on the Regional Trading Arrangement front in the region, such as our negotiation with Singapore. We agreed on the importance of these negotiations being consistent with the WTO and being in line with the APEC architecture in order to achieve APEC goals." The meeting had a strong focus on business facilitation. Initiatives were launched on a business website, BizAPEC.com, and on an electronic system for accessing information on APEC economy Individual Action Plans. "More generally I was impressed by the breadth of APEC activity designed to build capacity of institutions and people across the region. This is a major element of Brunei's work this year as APEC Chair. I am looking forward to seeing the development of these initiatives by the time of the final meetings in Brunei in November." Mr Sutton said. Mr Sutton returns to New Zealand tomorrow (Friday). ENDS From notoapec at clear.net.nz Fri Jun 9 13:21:24 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2000 21:21:24 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1464] The Age (Melbourne) on APEC Message-ID: <001501bfd1ca$2da43b40$08cca7cb@notoapec> WTO told by APEC to act now on tariffs By TIM COLEBATCH ECONOMICS EDITOR DARWIN Thursday 8 June 2000 Trade ministers of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) yesterday urged the World Trade Organisation (WTO) not to wait for a formal commitment to a new trade round but to start preliminary work on further tariff reductions in manufacturing. In a second initiative aimed at breaking the trade deadlock, Australia's Trade Minister, Mark Vaile, revealed that he has asked the WTO's director-general, Mike Moore, to convene a series of workshops around the world to bring together the countries at loggerheads on each of the critical issues outstanding, and try to reach agreement outside the official channels in Geneva. He said Mr Moore had indicated considerable interest in the proposal, which could pave the way for ministers to repair the damage done when their Seattle talks intended to launch a new round collapsed last December. A two-day meeting here of trade ministers and senior officials from APEC's 21 member countries concluded by urging an "early launch" of a new round of comprehensive negotiations to liberalise world trade. But although they urged countries to show "political will and flexibility" to settle their differences, ministers at the closing press conference made it clear that sharp divisions remain. China's Trade Minister, Shi Guangsheng, bluntly rejected the controversial United States proposal for labor standards to be discussed in the WTO. Mr Shi said issues that were covered by other international organisations should be left to them, rather than taken up by the WTO. The Deputy US Trade Representative, Richard Fisher, said there was no consensus at the meeting on how to deal with the issues at the heart of the deadlock and they had barely been discussed in the two days of talks. Despite APEC's ambitious objective of achieving free trade and investment by 2010 in developed countries, its members no longer see it as a vehicle for trade liberalisation. Instead, the search for consensus led it to avoid the hard issues and settle for a bland communique{AAC} urging nations to settle differences to allow the serious work to start in the WTO. Privately and publicly, some ministers agreed with the pessimistic forecast by Mr Moore here on Tuesday that it could be another 18 months before a new round is launched. The divisions exposed in Seattle - on labor standards, the environment, competition policy, investment rules, agricultural export subsidies, anti-dumping rules and the WTO's own processes - are still almost as wide six months later. "We don't want a repeat of the missed opportunity of Seattle," Mr Vaile said. Mr Fisher agreed that an early start was not practicable, saying: "We have not yet cobbled together the work necessary to have a successful round." But in a series of proposals to help release the logjam, the APEC ministers agreed to: Impose a moratorium on tariffs on electronic commerce, pending the start of a new round. Mr Vaile said this would not mean that goods ordered over the Net would be tariff-free, only that business use of the Net itself would not be taxed. Urge their governments to look at putting government information for business online, including explanations of procedures for government procurement and trade administration. Work towards "paperless trading" between APEC economies, with China - the nation that invented paper almost 2000 years ago - agreeing to host a high-level seminar next year on how to replace bureaucratic paperwork with electronic forms. Urge the WTO to start work on identifying existing levels of tariffs and other barriers to trade and manufactures, without waiting for ministers to send them a mandate for negotiations. This would not necessarily imply reduction in actual tariff levels since WTO negotiations focus on reducing agreed ceilings above which tariffs may not rise. Provide "capacity building" support to poorer APEC members to help them use the WTO's procedures and implement trade liberalisation already agreed to. Poorer countries rarely take trade disputes to the WTO because they can't afford the legal processes. Australia also confirmed that it would not take part in a new WTO initiative aimed at increasing market access for the 47 countries classified by the UN as the poorest of the poor. Senior officials say 94 per cent of exports from these countries already enter Australia duty free and Australia has already done what the US, Japan and the European Union now propose -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/asia-apec/attachments/20000608/dfe6a9c2/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/gif Size: 238 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/asia-apec/attachments/20000608/dfe6a9c2/attachment.gif -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/gif Size: 231 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/asia-apec/attachments/20000608/dfe6a9c2/attachment-0001.gif From notoapec at clear.net.nz Sat Jun 10 02:16:38 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Fri, 9 Jun 2000 10:16:38 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1465] Brunei Govt APEC sites Message-ID: <000901bfd236$7b273fe0$68cea7cb@notoapec> Here are the urls for the Brunei government APEC websites - http://www.gov.bn - http://www.apec2000.gov.bn From notoapec at clear.net.nz Sat Jun 10 02:01:17 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Fri, 9 Jun 2000 10:01:17 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1466] The Age - APEC/WTO 8 June 2000 Message-ID: <000801bfd234$8421c040$b9cea7cb@notoapec> WTO told by APEC to act now on tariffs By TIM COLEBATCH ECONOMICS EDITOR DARWIN Thursday 8 June 2000 Trade ministers of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) yesterday urged the World Trade Organisation (WTO) not to wait for a formal commitment to a new trade round but to start preliminary work on further tariff reductions in manufacturing. In a second initiative aimed at breaking the trade deadlock, Australia's Trade Minister, Mark Vaile, revealed that he has asked the WTO's director-general, Mike Moore, to convene a series of workshops around the world to bring together the countries at loggerheads on each of the critical issues outstanding, and try to reach agreement outside the official channels in Geneva. He said Mr Moore had indicated considerable interest in the proposal, which could pave the way for ministers to repair the damage done when their Seattle talks intended to launch a new round collapsed last December. A two-day meeting here of trade ministers and senior officials from APEC's 21 member countries concluded by urging an "early launch" of a new round of comprehensive negotiations to liberalise world trade. But although they urged countries to show "political will and flexibility" to settle their differences, ministers at the closing press conference made it clear that sharp divisions remain. China's Trade Minister, Shi Guangsheng, bluntly rejected the controversial United States proposal for labor standards to be discussed in the WTO. Mr Shi said issues that were covered by other international organisations should be left to them, rather than taken up by the WTO. The Deputy US Trade Representative, Richard Fisher, said there was no consensus at the meeting on how to deal with the issues at the heart of the deadlock and they had barely been discussed in the two days of talks. Despite APEC's ambitious objective of achieving free trade and investment by 2010 in developed countries, its members no longer see it as a vehicle for trade liberalisation. Instead, the search for consensus led it to avoid the hard issues and settle for a bland communique{AAC} urging nations to settle differences to allow the serious work to start in the WTO. Privately and publicly, some ministers agreed with the pessimistic forecast by Mr Moore here on Tuesday that it could be another 18 months before a new round is launched. The divisions exposed in Seattle - on labor standards, the environment, competition policy, investment rules, agricultural export subsidies, anti-dumping rules and the WTO's own processes - are still almost as wide six months later. "We don't want a repeat of the missed opportunity of Seattle," Mr Vaile said. Mr Fisher agreed that an early start was not practicable, saying: "We have not yet cobbled together the work necessary to have a successful round." But in a series of proposals to help release the logjam, the APEC ministers agreed to: Impose a moratorium on tariffs on electronic commerce, pending the start of a new round. Mr Vaile said this would not mean that goods ordered over the Net would be tariff-free, only that business use of the Net itself would not be taxed. Urge their governments to look at putting government information for business online, including explanations of procedures for government procurement and trade administration. Work towards "paperless trading" between APEC economies, with China - the nation that invented paper almost 2000 years ago - agreeing to host a high-level seminar next year on how to replace bureaucratic paperwork with electronic forms. Urge the WTO to start work on identifying existing levels of tariffs and other barriers to trade and manufactures, without waiting for ministers to send them a mandate for negotiations. This would not necessarily imply reduction in actual tariff levels since WTO negotiations focus on reducing agreed ceilings above which tariffs may not rise. Provide "capacity building" support to poorer APEC members to help them use the WTO's procedures and implement trade liberalisation already agreed to. Poorer countries rarely take trade disputes to the WTO because they can't afford the legal processes. Australia also confirmed that it would not take part in a new WTO initiative aimed at increasing market access for the 47 countries classified by the UN as the poorest of the poor. Senior officials say 94 per cent of exports from these countries already enter Australia duty free and Australia has already done what the US, Japan and the European Union now propose -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/asia-apec/attachments/20000609/c33969c2/attachment.html -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/gif Size: 231 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/asia-apec/attachments/20000609/c33969c2/attachment.gif -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/gif Size: 238 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/asia-apec/attachments/20000609/c33969c2/attachment-0001.gif From notoapec at clear.net.nz Sat Jun 10 10:34:20 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Fri, 9 Jun 2000 18:34:20 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1467] Mark Vaile on APEC - WTO Message-ID: <000b01bfd27c$00c129a0$e1cca7cb@notoapec> Media release Australian Minister for Trade, Mark Vaile Wednesday, June 7, 2000 MVT64/2000 APEC calls for early WTO round launch APEC Trade Ministers meeting in Darwin have called for an early launch of a new WTO round. Trade Minister, Mark Vaile, who chaired the meeting, said APEC had put the rest of the world on notice that new WTO trade talks should start as soon as possible. Ministers agreed to several steps to add momentum to launching WTO talks, and to further increase economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region, Mr Vaile said. With negotiations on agriculture and services already underway in Geneva, APEC Trade Ministers called for work to begin on industrial tariffs in the WTO. APEC wants to make sure that when a new WTO round is launched we can get down to business without the delays experienced in the Uruguay Round of WTO negotiations which dragged on from 1986 to 1993. Securing market access gains quickly is critical to Australian exporters of farm products, manufactured goods and services," Mr Vaile said. Other steps agreed by APEC Ministers included new technical assistance to developing APEC economies to help implement WTO agreements and to prepare for a new round. And APEC also made a major push on 'new economy' issues. We wanted to clearly signal APEC's focus on e-commerce and the new economy with an APEC-wide moratorium on the imposition of customs duties on electronic transmissions until the next WTO Ministerial Conference," Mr Vaile said. Other initiatives included: a new website - Biz.Apec.com - providing one-stop information for conducting business in the Asia-Pacific region; a new electronic reporting tool for APEC Individual Action Plans (e-IAPs) to facilitate on-line access to APEC's progress towards free and open trade; and steps within APEC towards "paperless trading" by placing government procurement, customs and quarantine information on-line. APEC Ministers also discussed sub-regional trade arrangements. They agreed that they should be WTO consistent and in line with APEC goals of free and open trade and investment by 2010 for developed economies and 2020 for developing economies," Mr Vaile said. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From notoapec at clear.net.nz Sat Jun 10 10:56:17 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Fri, 9 Jun 2000 18:56:17 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1468] Vaile on APEC & business Message-ID: <001701bfd27f$11856e60$26cda7cb@notoapec> Media release Australian Minister for Trade, Mark Vaile Monday, June 5, 2000 MVT60/2000 APEC Gets Results for Business Trade Minister, Mark Vaile, today launched a new booklet highlighting APEC's achievements for business. Speaking on the eve of the APEC Trade Ministers' Meeting in Darwin (June 6-7) Mr Vaile said Australian exporters were winners from the cost and time savings delivered by APEC. Mr Vaile said the booklet - APEC: Getting Results for Business - clearly demonstrated that APEC's business facilitation work was cutting through the red tape that added significantly to the cost of doing business in the Asia-Pacific region. "The key to APEC's success is its strong partnership with business. APEC is working closely with business to identify obstacles to trade and investment and to put in place practical measures to reduce or remove them," said Mr Vaile. The booklet covers 10 areas identified by business as priority areas for action by APEC including: customs, product standards, energy, fisheries, telecommunications, electronic commerce, business travel, banking, automotive and government procurement. "As a result of APEC's work, customs processes have been simplified allowing goods to be processed in minutes instead of weeks, business travel speeded up, domestic financial systems strengthened, and manufacturers of electrical goods will avoid multiple testing and inspection costs," Mr Vaile said. "Also APEC's work in e-commerce and telecommunications will help small and medium sized businesses gain easier access to information needed to crack new markets." The 21 APEC economies accounted for 73 per cent of Australia's merchandise exports in 1999. APEC comprises: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong (China), Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russian Federation, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, US, and Vietnam. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Sat Jun 10 10:57:31 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Fri, 9 Jun 2000 18:57:31 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1469] More Vaile on APEC Message-ID: <001f01bfd27f$3df96fa0$26cda7cb@notoapec> Media release Australian Minister for Trade, Mark Vaile Tuesday, June 6, 2000 MVT62/2000 APEC: A Decade of Progress Trade Minister, Mark Vaile, today said APEC had helped deliver rising prosperity and living standards to member economies in the past decade. Releasing an Australian-prepared report 'APEC: A Decade of Progress' (pdf' in Darwin at the APEC Trade Ministers' meeting, Mr Vaile said there was a clear link between trade-driven economic growth and improved social and environmental outcomes. "The experience of APEC economies over the past decade is not one of a race to the bottom on social and environmental standards, rather one of steady improvement in peoples' lives. "Despite the Asian economic crisis, APEC economies have opened up to trade. Their economies have grown rapidly generating millions of new jobs." Mr Vaile said the report showed infant mortality, life expectancy, access to sanitation and safe water, education enrolments and access to information technology had all improved. "One of the clear messages out of the report is that blocking trade reform is no solution to concerns people have about globalisation. "Contrary to some claims, more open trade has not led to unsustainable resource management." The report has been endorsed by APEC Trade Ministers and will be further developed for the APEC Leaders' Meeting in Brunei in November. The 21 APEC economies accounted for 73 per cent of Australia's merchandise exports in 1999. APEC comprises: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong (China), Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russian Federation, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, US and Vietnam. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From notoapec at clear.net.nz Sat Jun 10 16:10:45 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2000 00:10:45 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1470] Australian Financial Review 8/6/00 on APEC Message-ID: <001a01bfd2ab$02c579c0$a1cfa7cb@notoapec> APEC presses for world talks By Brendan Pearson Trade ministers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum yesterday urged an early launch of global trade talks and papered over continuing deep divisions on whether labour standards, anti-dumping and investment should be included in the mandate for comprehensive trade liberalisation in the World Trade Organisation. Trade ministers from APEC's 21 economies called for "renewed efforts to build the global consensus necessary" for the launch of a new round "at the earliest opportunity". But despite its billing as the first major meeting of trade ministers since December, the two-day meeting in Darwin produced no substantive discussions aimed at narrowing the differences that remain on the content of a new trade round. The Japanese Minister, Mr Takashi Fukaya, said the discussions had primarily focused on the "broad and general direction" of the trade agenda, while his Canadian counterpart, Mr Pierre Pettigrew, said there had been no "bargaining" within the meeting on specific issues. And at press briefings following the meeting the divisions on labour standards, investment and a review of anti-dumping regimes were clearly apparent. The Chinese Trade Minister, Mr Shi Guangsheng, made it clear his Government would not support proposals from the United States for work on labour standards under WTO auspices. "Only issues directly related to trade should be dealt with in the WTO," he said. This is a view shared by many of APEC's developing economies. The Australian Trade Minister, Mr Mark Vaile, said last night he doubted a WTO round could be launched if labour standards were a core part of the negotiating agenda. Pressed on how these differences would be reconciled, the Deputy US Trade Representative, Mr Richard Fisher, joked: "If I knew that, I would be a Nobel Prize winner." Mr Fisher also conceded there was "no consensus" on including a review of the WTO anti-dumping agreement and the investment and competition policy on the negotiating agenda. Mr Fisher was dismissive of the need for a review of the anti-dumping agreement, saying that only 0.4 per cent of US imports were subject to anti-dumping and countervailing actions. Earlier this week he said that if some WTO members wanted "to muck up the agenda there would be a delay in the launch of a round". Mr Vaile acknowledged continuing obstacles in "five or six" areas to a new round, but added that he was considering convening a meeting of "middle-sized" WTO members to discuss the issue further. In other developments, APEC ministers reached agreement on an extension of a moratorium on custom duties on goods and services ordered and delivered over the internet. A temporary WTO moratorium on these duties lapsed upon the collapse of the Seattle talks in December. The extension agreed yesterday is valid until the next WTO ministerial meeting. Meanwhile, Australian and US officials were tight-lipped about the prospects for a settlement of the dispute involving the $22 million in export subsidies paid to Victorian leather producer Howe & Company. Mr Fisher told his officials not to discuss the issue with the media. The only comment was that talks were continuing and that Canberra had already missed three deadlines for compliance with the WTO's ruling. Mr Fisher confirmed he had expressed concerns about limits being placed on foreign media outlets operating within the Olympic Village. A number of British and US-owned news agencies, including Reuters and Associated Press, have complained that unfair restrictions on the agencies breach global rules on trade in services. Government sources said last night Mr Vaile had written to the NSW Minister for the Olympics, Mr Michael Knight, seeking a satisfactory resolution of the issue. From bayan at iname.com Tue Jun 13 10:00:06 2000 From: bayan at iname.com (BAYAN) Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2000 09:00:06 +0800 Subject: [asia-apec 1471] Sign Up for Genuine Peace and Justice in Mindanao Message-ID: Dear friends, Greetings of peace and justice! Here is the unity statement of Kalinaw Movement -- a nationwide, multipartisan movement for genuine peace and justice in Mindanao. We invite you to 1) circulate it; 2) sign it; 3) lend support to its objectives either by joining its activities or donating financial/material support. Thank you. KALINAW MINDANAO ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------- End the bloodshed, stop the all-out war! AN APPEAL FOR GENUINE PEACE AND JUSTICE IN MINDANAO The raging war in Mindanao has turned into a national disaster. In just a few short weeks of full military actions, hundreds lay dead and wounded ? both armed combatants and civilians, including women and children. Some 300,000 citizens have been driven from their homes to makeshift evacuation centers lacking the bare necessities of decent existence. A spate of bombings has hit the country?s urban areas, creating further havoc and instilling fear on the population. The economic slow-down in Mindanao indicates an incalculable damage that the nation cannot bear. The starting drain on the government?s coffers and scant resources suggests a kind of hemorrhage that we can ill-afford should the war continue. Clearly,? these developments could further derail the economy and the peace and order situation, not only in Mindanao, but in Luzon and the Visayas as well. An extended war in Mindanao is the last thing the country needs. But beyond the economic dimensions will be the incalculable moral and cultural assault should a full-blown religious war arise.? Already religious and ethnic conflicts are being fanned and aggravated. Fanatical vigilante and paramilitary groups notorious for their cruelty and brutality are being reactivated and may again go out of control. After a month of the government?s all-out war against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), we are nowhere near the resolution of the armed conflict in Mindanao. The capture of MILF camps and controlled areas cannot guarantee an end to the fighting. Clearly, a more comprehensive solution, not a simplistic military approach, is required. For in the rush to crush the MILF and bombard it into submission, in the morbid count for body bags and casualties, the aspirations of Muslims, Christians and Lumads for genuine peace and justice in Mindanao have been set aside. The military offensives offer no solution to Mindanao?s problems of poverty, underdevelopment, oppression and exploitation. Unless the root causes of the armed conflict are addressed, there can be no peace. And any claim of victory shall be hollow, fleeting and at worse a goading for more war. Sadly, the continued military actions leave little room for peace negotiations as a means to settle issues and forge substantial agreements, a fate similar to the failed peace talks between the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). Clearly, to attain peace,? the bloodshed must end. There is only one road that needs retaking in Mindanao, and it is the road to genuine peace based on justice. We therefore appeal for the following: ***A stop to the all-out war in Mindanao, including a halt to the indiscriminate bombings, formation and reactivation of vigilante and paramilitary groups. ***The immediate resumption of peace negotiations, without preconditions, between the GRP and the MILF, as well as efforts to revive the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations. ***The relief and rehabilitation of war victims in Mindanao, including the re-channeling of public funds for that purpose. ***The toning down of the religious conflict and the attainment of a deeper understanding of the Moro people?s and Lumad?s aspirations for a just and lasting solution to the armed conflict. Towards these ends, we pledge our united effort for genuine peace and justice in Mindanao. INITIAL LIST OF SIGNATORIES Legislators: SEN. TEOFISTO GUINGONA SEN. ROBERT BARBERS SEN. RENATO CAYETANO SEN. ROBERT JAWORSKI SEN. LOREN LEGARDA SEN. RAMON MAGSAYSAY, JR. SEN. SERGIO OSME?A III SEN. AQUILINO PIMENTEL SEN. RAUL ROCO REP. FELICIANO BELMONTE (4th Dist., Quezon City) REP. MAMINTAL ADIONG (1st Dist., Lanao del Sur) REP. NEREUS ACOSTA (1st Dist., Bukidnon) REP. ROLANDO ANDAYA, JR (1st District, Camarines Sur) REP. SERGIO APOSTOL (2nd Dist., Leyte) REP. HERNANI BRAGANZA (1st Dist., Pangasinan) REP. DOUGLAS CAGAS (1st Dist., Davao del Sur) REP. SIMEON DATUMANONG (2nd Dist., Maguindanao) REP. DIDAGEN DILANGALEN (1st Dist., Maguindanao) REP. EDUARDO ERMITA (1st Dist., Batangas) REP. PACIFICO FAJARDO (3rd Dist., Nueva Ecija) REP. ROILO GOLEZ (Lone Dist., Para?aque City) REP. JAMES GORDON JR. (1st Dist., Zambales) REP. MAGTANGGOL GUNIGUNDO (Lone Dist., Valenzuela REP. NUR JAAFAR (Lone Dist., Tawi Tawi) REP. J. RENATO LEVISTE (1st Dist., Mindoro) REP. BENJAMIN LIM (4th Dist., Pangasinan) REP. OSCAR MORENO (1st Dist., Misamis Oriental) REP. LORETTA ANN ROSALES (Akbayan) REP. PATRICIA SARENAS (Abanse Pinay) REP. ASANI S. TAMMANG (2nd Dist., Sulu) REP. ALEJANDRO URRO (1st Dist., Zamboanga del Sur) REP. MIGUEL ZUBIRI (3rd Dist., Bukidnon) Individuals and Sectoral Leaders FR. ELISEO MERCADO JR., OMI, Chairperson, Independent Fact-Finding Committee, GRP-MILF Peace Talks SR. CHRISTINE TAN, RGS SR. MARY JOHN MANANZAN, OSB DR. CAROL PAGADUAN-ARAULLO, Philippine Peace Center ATTY. CAMILO SABIO, President, PHILCONSA ATTY. ROMEO T. CAPULONG, Public Interest Law Center ATTY. FRANCISCO CHAVEZ ATTY SILVESTRE BELLO III PROF. BIENVENIDO LUMBERA PROF. LUIS V. TEODORO, UP College of Mass Communications LETICIA M. LOCSIN, Managing Editor, BusinessWorld RICKY LEE RAYMOND PALATINO, Chairperson, UP Student Council POE GRATELA, Migrante-International RAFAEL MARIANO, Concurrent Chair, KMP and BAYAN PROF. CAROL ALMEDA, Chairperson, ACT FERDINAND GAITE, Chairperson, COURAGE CRISPIN BELTRAN, Chairperson, KMU LIZA MAZA, Secretary-General, GABRIELA ED OLAGUER HERMAN TIU LAUREL REY PEREZ ASIS, President, CEGP CRISTINA PALABAY, President, NUSP ROLAND TOLENTINO, CONTEND TEODORO A. CASI?O, Secretary-General, Bayan ROBERT DE CASTRO, General Secretary, PCPR NORMA DOLLAGA, Acting General Secretary, Kasimbayan ROMMEL LINATOC, General Secretary, PCPR-NCR MICHAEL IMPERIAL, Ecumenical Jubilee Campaign Network RIC GUIAO, Spokesperson, KAMP MARIE HILAO ENRIQUEZ, Secretary-General, KARAPATAN DANI BELTRAN, Secretary-General, EMJP ANDY ROSALES, Article 64 Movement MR. JOEL VIRADOR, KARAPATAN-Southern Mindanao MR. ALVIN LUQUE, Secretary General, Bayan-Davao DR. SHALOM LORENZANA, RX for Peace FR. ART BALAGAT, California, USA JOE ANDRO NAVIDAD, Bayan International-USA JAY MENDOZA, Alliance of Filipino Immigrants - Southern California, USA ROBERT ROY, Philippine Forum, New York, USA BALTAZAR PINGUEL, American Friends Service Committee, Philadelphia, USA REV. CESAR TAGUBA, Bayan International-Europe, The Netherlands DESIDERIO MONDELO, Migrante Europe, The Netherlands GRACE ARCILLA-PUNONGBAYAN, International League of Peoples Struggle, The Netherlands MAITET LEDESMA, Pinay sa Holland, The Netherlands ASTERIO PALIMA, FIND Forum, Sweden JAAP TIMBOL, LAMPADA, Italy MA. LOURDES LOGAN, Migrante Australia CONI BRAGAS-REGALADO, UNIFIL, Hongkong NESTOR PUNO, KAMPI, Japan ARIEL BAGANG, Lakas Manggagawa sa Silangang Probinsya, Saudi Arabia MARK TUDLAN, Migrante Korea CECILIA DIOCSON, Philippine Women Center, Vancouver, Canada TITO PESTA, Migrante Taiwan RICKY ESGUERRA, Philippine Solidarity Group, Toronto, Canada RAMON BOLTRON, APMMF, Hongkong JUN TELLEZ, Mission for Filipino Migrant Workers, Hongkong EMMANUEL SAYO, BC Committeefor Human Rights in the Philippines, Vancouver, Canada ARTURO GARCIA, Pesante, USA Muslim Leaders GOV. ZACARIA CANDAO, Governor, Maguindanao DATU MICHAEL MASTURA, Former Rep. Maguindanao HON. MUSLIMIN SEMA, Mayor, Cotabato City HON. HADJI JAMIL DIMAPORO, Mayor, Marogong, Lanao del Sur HON. PUNUDRANAO DATUMULOK, Mayor HON. ANNUAR DATUMULOK, Mayor ALLAN MAUTANTE, Director, Office of Muslim Affairs, Region 13 SATTAR MACORRO, Councilor ENGR. ISMAEL CAMID, Former Assemblyman, ARMM DATU BERUA MUCSIN ALIM MOSA OLAMA, Islamic Scholar ENGR. SAIDI GUILIG, Commission on Audit, ARMMBAE NORMINA DIMAPORO PAUDAC, Customs Tax Expert, OCOM BAE NORHATA D. DIPATUAN, Customs Supply Officer I DIMNAYANG SARO, Supervisor, DECS JACK DIMAPORO, Chair-President, Dimaporo Agricultural Devt. Foundation ENGR. MOHD ALI MACARAYA, Chair, Political Detainees of the Phils. ATTY. MACARUPUNG DIBARUTUN SULTAN ALI USMAN, Businessman YUSOPH ?YULL? A. LAMPING AMIRAH ALI LIDASAN, Moro Christian Peoples? Alliance WAHAB GUIALAL, Moro People?s Resource Center SATRIA CANDAO, MCPA DR. ABAS CANDAO, Mindanao Development Council and the Medical Mission Group and Health Services Cooperatives ALI REZZA, Islamic Relation and Advocacy Council Inc. Church Leaders BP. DEOGRACIAS S. I?IGUEZ, JR., DD, Diocese of Iba Chairperson, CBCP Commission on Ecumenical Affairs BP. ANTONIO Y. FORTICH, DD, Bp. Emeritus, Diocese of Bacolod BP. TOMAS A. MILLAMENA, Obispo Maximo, IFI BP. ELMER BOLOCON, General Secretary, UCCP BP. LEO M. DRONA, SDB, DD, Diocese of Nueva Ecija BP. JOSE PALMA, DD, Diocese of Calbayog City BP. LEOPOLDO TUMULAC, Diocese of Tagbilaran BP. JOEL PACHAO, Episcopal Church of the Philippines North Central Philippines Diocese BP. ERME CAMBA, Chairperson, Ecumenical Bishop?s Forum BP. FILOMENO N. ANG, IFI, Bacolod City BP. FELIXBERTO CALANG, IFI, Diocese of Southern Mindanao BP. ROMAN B. TIPLES, JR., IFI, Iloilo BP. WENCESLAO E. MOLATO, IFI, Guimaras BP. TITO A. VILCHES, IFI, Antique BP. ANACLETO SERAFICA, UCCP, Southeast Mindanao Jurisdiction BP. RIZALINO TAGANAS, UCCP, Visayas Jurisdiction BP. ALLAN RAY SARTE, UCCP, North Luzon Jurisdiction BP. GABRIEL GAROL, UCCP BP. OSIAS JAIM, UCCP, CoConvenor, InterFaith Mvnt. for Peace BP. JUAN MARIGSA, UCCP, Baguio City BP. LORENZO GENOTIVA, UCCP, Cebu City BP. ISIAS BINGTAN, UCCP, Cagayan de Oro City BP. HERMOGENES RANCHE BP. RHEE TIMBANG BP. ERNESTO TADLEY MSGR. MOISES B. ANDRADE, JR., Chancellor, Diocese of Malolos MSGR. JOSE AGUILLAN, JR. Episcopal Vicar, Diocese of Malolos REV. SHARON ROSE JOY RUIZ-DUREMDEZ, General Secretary, NCCP SR. ANTONINA TAHUM, BSRM, Superior General, Benedictine Sisters of the Rural Mission SR. TERESITA PAULMA, PM, Prov. Superior-Presentation of Mary SR. AMY VILLANUEVA, BSRM, Superior, Holy Cross Catholic Mission Sch. SR. MARY ANTONIETTA GO, RGS, Sisters? Association in Mindanao REV. FR. ROMEO EMPESTAN, Director, Diocesan Pastoral Center Diocese of Bacolod REV. FR. GREG PATINO, Director, Social Action, Diocese of Bacolod BRO. WILLY BLESA, Institute for Social Concern, De La Salle-Lipa REV. FR. DOMINGO MEDINA, Director, Pastoral Assembly, Diocese of Imus REV. FR. ANACLETO IGNACIO, Chairperson, Justice and Peace Commission, Diocese of Malolos REV. FR. SAMSON MARIANO, Ex-Officio, Presbyteral Council, Diocesan Curia, Diocese of Bacolod REV. FR. CRIS MOSTAJO, CSsR, Director, St. Alphonsus Seminary-Cebu REV. FR. ANGELO ANSULA, Parochial Vicar, Silay City REV. FR. ANICETO BUENAFE, Parochial Vicar, Villamonte, Bacolod City REV. FR. CHRISTOPHER ENTRATA, Parochial Vicar, Villadolid, Negros Occ. REV. FR. JOSE REY EREXIMA, Parochial Vicar, Bago City, Negros Occ. REV. FR. JOEFFREY FLORES, Parochial Vicar, Hinigaran, Negros Occ. REV. DAVE PASCUA, Minister, United Methodist Church REV. HAMUEL TEQUIZ, Minister, UCCP Southern Mindanao District Conference REV. FR. ARMANDO ONION, Chairperson, PCPR-Bacolod REV. FR. JONASH JOYOHOY, Chairperson, PCPR-Cebu DR. ROBINSON MONTALBA, STL, Chairperson, PCPR-Davao REV. RAYMUNDO GELLOAGAN, Chairperson, PCPR-NCR REV. FR. BENJAMIN ALFORQUE, MSC REV. FR. MARIO AGUNOD, Chairperson. PCPR-Bohol REV. FR. MARIO F. NARGO, Chairperson, PCPR-Aklan REV. FRANCISCO J. HERNANDO, Secretary General, PCPR-Iloilo FR. SONNY TELERON, Chairperson, PCPR- Lanao Provinces BRO. BOBOY RABANZO, OFM, PCPR-North Cotabato REV. LEVE LAURENTE, PCPR-Tagum REV. FR. AMBET DELA CRUZ, Secretary General PCPR - Bulacan REV. JUN EQUILA, Secretary General, PCPR - Nueva Ecija REV. FR. TERRY REBOLLIDO, Chairperson, PCPR-Pangasinan REV. ALAN CABAS, Secretary General, PCPR- Central Luzon REV. FR. REYNOLD CAIGOY, Church Against Rising Tyranny REV. FR. JOJO AGUAS REV. FR. NOLI BLANCAFLOR REV. FR. EDWIN CADENA REV. FR. DOMINADOR DUMAGAT. REV. FR. IRENEO R. GORDONCILLO REV. FR. JOSE HANGIN REV. FR. JOY JIMERA REV. FR. ERNESTO MAJELLANO REV. FR. ABENIR G. PINEDA. REV. FR. ANGEL V. PINEDA REV. FR. ELMER B. PONIADO, Sacred Heart Seminary, Bacolod City REV. FR. JAWIT RAMONCITO REV. FR. JOEL ROQUEZ REV. FR. DANILO SITCHON REV. FR. NITODEL SORIANO SR. GINA SAGANG SR. MARIA DOLORES REMOLLO SR. MARY GRACE ARRAYA SR. FLORA AZARCON SR. JOSEPHINE SUGON, HGS (Hermanas Guadalupanas de la Salle) SR. TALIA MALDONADO SANCHEZ, HGS SR. REBECCA GAVILANGA, BSRM SR. ERLINDA ALMONIA, BSRM, Novice Mistress SR. MINDA E. DUENAS, BSRM, In-Charge, Victorias, Negros Occidental SR. MARY GRACE SANGCAJO, BSRM SR. SONIA SIASTRES, BSRM, Directress, Jaro, Iloilo SR. JASMIN PELEGRINO, BSRM REV. FR. FELICIANO NALZARO SR. DORIS AGUILOS, ACR l SR. ROSALYN IMAN, ACR MA. BERNADETTE MENDEZ, RMP/PCPR SR. GILDA SALANDRAN, RMP/PCPR SR. ERLINDA G. VILLAREAL, ACRl SR. GLORIA P. SANICO, ACR PASTOR ARMAN GOLOSIMO SR. FAMITA SOMOGOD, MSM - Center for Religious Education SR. ZENAIDA GUIBONE, MSM University of San Carlos, Cebu City SR. MELECIA TABIGUE, MSM (CREED-USC) BRO. SEBASTIAN GABUYA, OFM (Franciscan Friary), Cebu City REV. J. STEVEN BERDIN, UCCP-Visayas Jurisdiction SR. M. GUADALUPE VALDEZ, OSB, St. Scholastica?s Academy, Cebu SR. M. EVANGELINE MADAYOG, OSB FR. CRIS MOSTAJO, CSSR, CM REV. JEZER BERTOLDO, UCCP, CM REV. NORI PATALINGHOG, UCCP, ASST. CM SR. FLORA RIDDER, Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa SR. LEONISA GARCIA, SSS, Servants of the Blessed Sacrament SR. MA. LUZ MALLO, MA (Missionaries of the Assumption) REV. CONSTANTE CLARO, NCCP-Ecology and Environment Program MR. EDGAR DIARES, Executive Director, Lay Forum-Phils. MR. BELINDO AGUILAR, Executive Director, AMAYA Lay Foundation MR. REYNALDO CUIZON, Director, Project AIM MR. FRANCIS S. MORALES, Chairperson, BOD, METSA Foundation, Inc. BETTY CAINAP, Executive Director, Lay Forum-Mindanao MERLINDA YANEZ, Chairperson, PIK-Mindanao EMALINE DUCAY-FUENTES, Rural Missionaries of the Phils.-SMR MINDALEY S. GENOTIVA, Socio-Pastoral Institute-Mindanao LIWAY CALLAO, Bishop Callao Memorial Foundation NORIE SIALANA ELENTO, Mindanao Interfaith Peoples? Conference SR. LUZMINDA ABUCAYON, OP, Regional Bursar, Dominican Sisters of the Trinity SR. PRIMA BACQUIAL, OP, Pastoral In-charge, St. Joseph House SR. LOVELLA BONGHANG, OP SR. MARIBEL CADORNA, OP SR. EVANGELINE CASTILLO, OP SR. JEANETTE DE LA PE?A, OP SR. GRACE DIESTRO, OP SR. ROSALINA H. LUMBA, OP SR. NORMA MAGDOBOY, OP, San Antonio School of Aras-Asan SR. PAZ PAGLINAWAN, OP, Postulant Directress SR. MYRA QUIJADA, OP SR. MARIA SANDO, OP, Regional House SR. ANGELITA ARIBAL, OP NANETTE GALINDO, RVM-Commission on Education JOEL FLORES, RVM-Ecomone Office MARIVIC BONAOY, RVM-Regional house ROSALIE SARMIENTO, RVM Regional house SR. ELENA SALVADOR, PM, Notre Dame of Milang, Kidapawan SR. FLORDELIZA SENO, PM, Provincial House SR. NATIVIDAD DESCALLAR, PM, Provincial House SR. OLIVIA CAJILIG, PM, Provincial House SR. MARILYN SAMILLANO, PM, Holy Cross College of Calinan SR. ECHEL MARIE GORGONIA, PM, Holy Cross College of Calinan SR. MONALYN VILLAMOR, PM, Holy Cross of Sta. Maria, Davao del Sur SR. FLORINDA PALANOG, PM, St. Michael?s School of Panada SR. NADIDA SEDAYAO, PM, Holy Cross of Mintal SR. ALBINA AGAD, PM, Holy Cross of Mintal SR. EMMA DUBLAN, PM SR. PINKY BARRIENTOS, Daughters of St. Paul SR. LUZ LOPEZ, Daughters of St. Paul SR. TIMOTEA PEREZ, Daughters of St. Paul REV. FR. ROLLIE ANG, Paombong, Bulacan REV. FR. MARIO DJ ARENAS, Gen. T. de Leon, Valenzuela City REV. FR. WINIFRED AVENDA?O, Immaculate Conception of Mary Seminary REV. FR. ERIC BAGAY, San Ildefonso, Bulacan REV. FR. MON BERNARDO, Guiguinto, Bulacan REV. FR. TED BULAWIT, Parochial Vicar, Sapang Palay, SJDM, Bulacan REV. FR. FILEMON CAPIRAL, Sta. Isabel, Bulacan REV. FR. RICO CRISOSTOMO, Guiguinto, Bulacan REV. FR. RODEL CRISTOBAL, Immaculate Conception Pre-College Seminary REV. FR. CESS DE LEON, Siling Bata, Pandi, Bulacan REV. FR. ROLLIE DE LEON, Parada, Sta. Maria, Bulacan REV. FR. JOSHUA C. PANGANIBAN, Chaplain, Galilee Home for the Youth REV. FR. VICENTE A. ROBLES, Marilao, Bulacan REV. FR. ANGEL SANTIAGO, Marilao, Bulacan REV. FR. CARLO SORO, San Jose del Monte, Bulacan REV. FR. DIONITO M. CABILLAS, IFI, Executive Secretary REV. FR. THADDEUS F. BARRAMEDA, IFI-NPO, Executive Director REV. FR. EPHRAIM S. FAJUTAGANA, IFI, Dean, Holy Child National Cathedral REV. FR. JOSE CARLOS L. SALAZAR, IFI - Bo. Obrero, Iloilo City REV. FR. FERNANDO C. FLORES, IFI - Negros Occidental REV. FR. FILBERT S. ABARQUEZ, IFI - Iloilo City REV. FR. ALGER LOYAO, SR., IFI - Cebu REV. FR. BOB CADAY, IFI - Cebu REV. FR. NENE JAMOLA, IFI - Cebu REV. FR. ARFIL LOYAO, IFI-Cebu REV. FR. WILFREDO L. RUAZOL, NPO REV. NOEL L. DACUYCUY, IFI-LUISA REV. EMELYN GASCO, IFI-LUISA BRO. GERRY SABADO, O. CARM SR. ROSALINDA LADRIDO, RA, Justice and Peace Desk, Assumption College, Makati City From bayan at iname.com Wed Jun 14 10:49:08 2000 From: bayan at iname.com (BAYAN) Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 09:49:08 +0800 Subject: [asia-apec 1472] Bayan Position on the Ongoing War in Mindanao Message-ID: <200006140053.IAA26309@tucows.skyinet.net> Dear comrades and friends, Here is Bayan's stand on Philippine government's ongoing all-out war against the Moro people. We request that this paper be distributed to as wide an audience as possible. Thank you very much. BAYAN Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (New Patriotic Alliance) **************************************** SUPPORT THE MORO PEOPLE’S STRUGGLE FOR SELF-DETERMINATION! OPPOSE THE US-ESTRADA REGIME’S ALL-OUT WAR IN MINDANAO! (Bayan’s position paper on the ongoing war in Mindanao) June 2000 The latest round of fighting between government forces and those of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has brought to the limelight not only the US-Estrada regime’s inept handling of the Moro question, but its fascist and anti-people character as well. It has been over a month since the AFP, in direct violation of the GRP-MILF agreement of April 27, 2000 to “normalize” the situation in Central Mindanao, attacked MILF positions in Buldon town and later the Narciso Ramos Highway. Since then, the fighting has escalated to disaster proportions, spreading from Central Mindanao to Western Mindanao and parts of Southern Mindanao. It has even extended to Metro Manila through highly questionable bombing incidents. These bombings have sustained an atmosphere of terror, which the Estrada regime is using to legitimize its unabated military offensives in the countryside and heightened political repression, in the guise of police peacekeeping operations, in the urban centers. These terror tactics have been used by the AFP and PNP to launch operations against so-called MILF bombing squads, resulting in illegal arrests and searches, zoning operations and possible rub-outs. But way before the April 28 offensive, the AFP had in fact been girding for war against the MILF. According to Bayan-Southern Mindanao, no less than 17 battalions were deployed in the Moro territories in 1998, causing skirmishes that led to the dislocation of some 110,000 residents. In September and November 1999, the AFP conducted military operations in Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Isulan and Bagumbayan, affecting at least 1,000 families, some of whose homes were razed by government troops. Bayan-SM further notes that from January 25 February 28 this year, the following AFP regiments were deployed in Central and Western Mindanao: the 25th, 39th and 40th IB, Philippine Marines and Scout Rangers all of the 6th Infantry Division based in Maguindanao; the 41st and 81st IB of the 4th Infantry Division based in Cagayan de Oro City; and a contingent from the 301st Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division based in the Visayas. And in mid-March this year, according to a fact-finding report by the Inter-Faith Movement for Peace-Western Mindanao (IMP-WM), there was a massive deployment of Army troops in the towns of Kapatagan, Sapad and Sultan Naga Dimaporo all in Lanao del Norte. Such a massive deployment of government troops necessarily led to several skirmishes and big encounters between government soldiers and fighters of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), a matter which the January 12, 2000 ceasefire agreement, the February 23, 2000 Joint Communique, and the April 27, 2000 agreement sought to prevent or at least scale down. But obviously, the US-Estrada regime had other plans. The Estrada regime’s all-out war is anti-Moro and anti-people The government deliberately provoked the latest round of fighting as part of its all-out war policy against the MILF and other revolutionary groups like the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). Such a policy was vividly expressed by Pres. Joseph Estrada during his State of the Nation Address on July 26, 1999 where he declared that “Ang rebelyon ay hindi bine-baby, ito’y pinipisa.” Estrada made that policy statement after he scuttled the GRP-NDF peace talks in January of that year. Later on, he unilaterally imposed a deadline June 30 for the MILF to enter into a “peace agreement” with the government. But he Estrada government mouths peace even as it engages in a genocidal all-out war against the Moro people. It reaches the height of hypocrisy when it declares as “peace zones” the Moro communities and MILF “camps” bombed and overrun by the AFP. In repeatedly stating that “there is only one nation, one flag, one government and one armed forces,” the Estrada regime betrays its self-serving and narrow outlook, its lack of sincerity in forging a just peace, and its obsession to wipe out the MILF and other groups engaged in just struggle against the reactionary state. The Estrada regime uses the terrorist and un-Islamic actions of the AFP and CIA- -backed Abu Sayyaf in justifying its war against the MILF. Ironically, while it negotiates and gives in to a terrorist group like the Abu Sayyaf, the government has refused to grant the same to the MILF to the point of imposing impossible preconditions for the GRP-MILF talks to succeed. The government’s militarist solution to armed conflicts spurred by historic social injustices and requiring economic, political and cultural solutions is reflected in the AFP’s counter insurgency program dubbed Oplan Makabayan, later repackaged as the government’s much-touted “comprehensive approach” to the Communist and Muslim-led rebellions. Data gathered by the IMP-WM and the Moro Christian People’s Alliance (MCPA) also cite Oplan Pisces Alpha and/or Oplan Pheonix as the AFP’s particular design to either overrun Camp Abubakar and/or crush the MILF-led rebellion by June 30, 2000, the government’s unilateral deadline for a negotiated agreement. With respect to the MILF, the Estrada regime’s policy is to “degrade” the former’s armed capability, then negotiate “from a position of strength” to impose the government’s terms. This approach relies on military offensives to either wipe out or weaken the MILF into negotiating for surrender. Simultaneously, in a bid to coopt the MILF leadership and the Moro communities, the government plans to pour in millions worth of livelihood programs, “development” projects and infrastructure like roads, bridges and school buildings. As shown in the bitter experience of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development (SPCPD), the Manila government’s aim is to deceive the people with empty promises of development, neutralize or coopt the revolutionaries, and make money from funds allocated for its so-called development programs. Such an approach fails to address the root causes of the armed conflict in Mindanao. By branding the MILF as terrorists and common criminals, the government aims to taint the legitimacy of the Bangsamoro’s armed struggle against the central government based in Manila. By insisting on the Philippine Constitution as the sole framework for negotiations and by setting ridiculous deadlines for the peace talks, the Estrada regime further exposes its own insincerity in finding a just and lasting solution to the armed conflict. The Moro people’s struggle is just and legitimate Bayan recognizes the Moro people’s right to self-determination and supports their historic struggle against foreign and national oppression, including the Estrada regime’s anti-Moro chauvinism. The Moro people’s aspirations, today represented by the revolutionary struggle of the MILF, are legitimate and just, and form part of the Filipino people’s protracted struggle for national freedom and democracy. The Moro people have proven themselves to be the staunchest enemies of Spanish colonialism and U.S. imperialism. In their quest to maintain their identity as one nation under Islam, the Bangsamoro have resisted foreign domination, including its colonial and neocolonial forms of authority, for hundreds of years. The past regimes, all puppet governments of U.S. imperialism and the local ruling elite, have been instrumental in the massive landgrabbing and extraction of resources from the Moro’s rich ancestral lands in Mindanao and Palawan. Through acts and policies of outright subjugation, assimilation, swindling and legal sleight-of-hands, the central government has robbed the Moro people not only of their rich heritage but also of their rightful place in history and nation building. Such an atrocity continues to this day. In the guise of protecting the Constitution and preserving the Republic, the Estrada regime’s military offensives in Mindanao is aimed at protecting the interests of the imperialists and the local ruling classes. At present, the U.S.’s economic and politico-military interests permeate Mindanao. At least 19 major corporations, many of them multinational firms, operate in the Muslim areas of Basilan, Sulu and Maguindanao. The Liguasan marsh is touted to have one of the biggest deposits of natural gas, while other Moro-occupied territories have yet to be exploited for their rich mineral, water, land and forest resources. On a bigger scale, the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) looms as the next strategic region for monopoly capitalist expansion. As early as now, the U.S. wants to project a strong military presence in the area, as attested to by its construction of a military airfield and naval port in General Santos City. It is perfectly justified, then, for the Moro people, the MILF in particular, to engage in armed struggle against a government that has not only denied their right to self-determination, but which has played a central role in their continued oppression. Bayan, together with all national democratic forces, supports the Moro people’s struggle for self-determination and against foreign and national oppression. In the same vein, Bayan opposes the fascist, all-out war policy of the Estrada regime in Mindanao. It calls for peace negotiations between the GRP and MILF without preconditions, such as the MILF’s surrender to the GRP’s constitution and political authority. These calls not only help the Moro people’s just cause and deals a big blow to the U.S.-backed Estrada regime. They also strengthen and develop the anti-fascist, anti-imperialist, and anti-feudal struggle of the Filipino people. In this sense, the Moro people and the MILF are allies of the ongoing national democratic mass movement. Long live the Moro people’s struggle! Long live the struggle for national democracy! --------------------------------------------------------- B A Y A N Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or New Patriotic Alliance No. 23 Maamo Street, Sikatuna Village Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Telephone: (63-2) 435-9151 Telefax: (63-2) 922-5211 Email: Bayan webpage URL: http://www.bigfoot.com/~bayan-phils ----------------------------------------------------------- From sap at web.net Thu Jun 15 01:11:55 2000 From: sap at web.net (Faruq Faisel) Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 12:11:55 -0400 Subject: [asia-apec 1473] Upcoming Event: Trafficking in Women and Children in South Asia Message-ID: <00a601bfd61b$4b0bf880$1a0000c0@web.ca> SOUTH ASIA PARTNERSHIP (SAP) CANADA In collaboration with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) presents a seminar and video screening on Trafficking in Women and Children in South Asia Video: "HIGHWAY TO HELL" Discussant: Ms. Upala Devi Banerjee Manager, Child Rights Fund of CIDA in India Date: Thursday, June 22, 2000 Time: 12:00 - 14:00 Venue: Room 871 Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) 200 Promenade du Portage Hull Ms. Upala Devi Banerjee is the manager of the Child Rights Fund of the Canadian International Development Agency in India. Ms. Banerjee also serves as the India Program Consultant for the American Centre for International Labour Solidarity, a US-based organization working on workers' rights issues worldwide. Her areas of expertise include child rights, trafficking in women and children, gender and labour issues. She has worked with UNICEF, Department for International Development (DFID) UK, NORAD and Save the Children's Fund-Sweden. Prostitution in India and Nepal is a thriving industry in the hands of traffickers who source, transport and sell young girls all over South Asia. The interplay of economic, cultural and social forces including the low status of the girl child bear down on the poor. Young girls from the Sindhupalchowk and Narankot districts of Nepal migrate to the urban commercial centres in search of employment in the flourishing carpet industry. These cities have become transit centres for the trafficking of young girls across the border to the urban centres of Bihar, Bombay and Calcutta. According to a recent report, as many as 200,000 prostitutes in India are Nepali girls, entering Indian between the ages of 10 and 14 years, at a rate of 7000 girls per year. Ms. Banerjee's presentation will follow the screening of the documentary- "Highway to Hell", produced with the support of CIDA's South Asia Regional Gender Fund. This 30 minutes video presents an understanding of the interplay between the macro-economic and social forces at work that keep the young girls and their families in bondage. Absolute poverty and food security combined with the lack of education and low status of the girl child, result in trafficking being one of the most organized, exploitative forms of oppression against women in South Asia. The film questions stereotypical perceptions of society about sex workers and their children, in the hope of paving the way for their integration, instead of the isolation and ostracism they face. Please RSVP by phone, fax or e-mail to: Faruq Faisel Canadian Program Manager South Asia Partnership (SAP) Canada 1 Nicholas Street, Suite 200 Ottawa Ontario K1N 7B7 Canada Phone: (613) 241 1333 Fax: (613) 241 1129 E-mail: sap@web.net From bayan at iname.com Fri Jun 16 03:48:38 2000 From: bayan at iname.com (BAYAN) Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 02:48:38 +0800 Subject: [asia-apec 1474] REVISED Version of Bayan's Stand on the Mindanao War Message-ID: Dear comrades and friends, Here is the REVISED version of Bayan's position on Philippine government's ongoing all-out war against the Moro people. Please take note of the changes and the slogans included at the end of the paper. Again, we request that this paper be distributed to as wide an audience as possible. Thank you. BAYAN Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (New Patriotic Alliance) **************************************** SUPPORT THE MORO PEOPLE’S STRUGGLE FOR SELF-DETERMINATION! OPPOSE THE US-ESTRADA REGIME’S ALL-OUT WAR IN MINDANAO! (Bayan’s position paper on the ongoing war in Mindanao) 16 June 2000 The latest round of fighting between government forces and those of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has brought to the limelight not only the US-Estrada regime’s inept handling of the Moro question, but its fascist and anti-people character as well. It has been over a month since the AFP, in direct violation of the GRP-MILF agreement of April 27, 2000 to “normalize” the situation in Central Mindanao, attacked MILF positions in Buldon town and later the Narciso Ramos Highway. Since then, the fighting has escalated to disaster proportions, spreading from Central Mindanao to Western Mindanao and parts of Southern Mindanao. It has even extended to Metro Manila through highly questionable bombing incidents. These bombings have sustained an atmosphere of terror, which the Estrada regime is using to legitimize its unabated military offensives in the countryside and heightened political repression, in the guise of police peacekeeping operations, in the urban centers. These terror tactics have been used by the AFP and PNP to launch operations against so-called MILF bombing squads, resulting in illegal arrests and searches, zoning operations and possible rub-outs. But way before the April 28 offensive, the AFP had in fact been girding for war against the MILF. According to Bayan-Southern Mindanao, no less than 17 battalions were deployed in the Moro territories in 1998, causing skirmishes that led to the dislocation of some 110,000 residents. In September and November 1999, the AFP conducted military operations in Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Isulan and Bagumbayan, affecting at least 1,000 families, some of whose homes were razed by government troops. Bayan-SM further notes that from January 25 February 28 this year, the following AFP regiments were deployed in Central and Western Mindanao: the 25th, 39th and 40th IB, Philippine Marines and Scout Rangers all of the 6th Infantry Division based in Maguindanao; the 41st and 81st IB of the 4th Infantry Division based in Cagayan de Oro City; and a contingent from the 301st Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division based in the Visayas. And in mid-March this year, according to a fact-finding report by the Inter-Faith Movement for Peace-Western Mindanao (IMP-WM), there was a massive deployment of Army troops in the towns of Kapatagan, Sapad and Sultan Naga Dimaporo all in Lanao del Norte. Such a massive deployment of government troops necessarily led to several skirmishes and big encounters between government soldiers and fighters of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), a matter which the January 12, 2000 ceasefire agreement, the February 23, 2000 Joint Communique, and the April 27, 2000 agreement sought to prevent or at least scale down. But obviously, the US-Estrada regime had other plans. The Estrada regime’s all-out war is anti-Moro and anti-people The government deliberately provoked the latest round of fighting as part of its all-out war policy against the MILF and other revolutionary groups like the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). Such a policy was vividly expressed by Pres. Joseph Estrada during his State of the Nation Address on July 26, 1999 where he declared that “Ang rebelyon ay hindi bine-baby, ito’y pinipisa.” (A rebellion pampered like an infant; it must be crushed.) Estrada made that policy statement after he scuttled the GRP-NDF peace talks in January of that year. Later on, he unilaterally imposed a deadline June 30 for the MILF to enter into a “peace agreement” with the government. But he Estrada government mouths peace even as it engages in a genocidal all-out war against the Moro people. It reaches the height of hypocrisy when it declares as “peace zones” the Moro communities and MILF “camps” bombed and overrun by the AFP. In repeatedly stating that “there is only one nation, one flag, one government and one armed forces,” the Estrada regime betrays its self-serving and narrow outlook, its lack of sincerity in forging a just peace, and its obsession to wipe out the MILF and other groups engaged in just struggle against the reactionary state. The Estrada regime uses the terrorist and un-Islamic actions of the AFP and CIA-backed Abu Sayyaf in justifying its war against the MILF. Ironically, while it negotiates and gives in to a terrorist group like the Abu Sayyaf, the government has refused to grant the same to the MILF to the point of imposing impossible preconditions for the GRP-MILF talks to succeed. The government’s militarist solution to armed conflicts spurred by historic social injustices and requiring economic, political and cultural solutions is reflected in the AFP’s counter insurgency program dubbed Oplan Makabayan, later repackaged as the government’s much-touted “comprehensive approach” to the Communist and Muslim-led rebellions. Data gathered by the IMP-WM and the Moro Christian People’s Alliance (MCPA) also cite Oplan Pisces Alpha and/or Oplan Pheonix as the AFP’s particular design to either overrun Camp Abubakar and/or crush the MILF-led rebellion by June 30, 2000, the government’s unilateral deadline for a negotiated agreement. With respect to the MILF, the Estrada regime’s policy is to “degrade” the former’s armed capability, then negotiate “from a position of strength” to impose the government’s terms. This approach relies on military offensives to either wipe out or weaken the MILF into negotiating for surrender. Simultaneously, in a bid to coopt the MILF leadership and the Moro communities, the government plans to pour in millions worth of livelihood programs, “development” projects and infrastructure like roads, bridges and school buildings. As shown in the bitter experience of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development (SPCPD), the Manila government’s aim is to deceive the people with empty promises of development, neutralize or coopt the revolutionaries, and make money from funds allocated for its so-called development programs. Such an approach fails to address the root causes of the armed conflict in Mindanao. By branding the MILF as terrorists and common criminals, the government aims to taint the legitimacy of the Bangsamoro’s armed struggle against the central government based in Manila. By insisting on the Philippine Constitution as the sole framework for negotiations and by setting ridiculous deadlines for the peace talks, the Estrada regime further exposes its own insincerity in finding a just and lasting solution to the armed conflict. The Moro people’s struggle is just and legitimate Bayan recognizes the Moro people’s right to self-determination and supports their historic struggle against foreign and national oppression, including the Estrada regime’s anti-Moro chauvinism. The Moro people’s aspirations, today represented by the revolutionary struggle of the MILF, are legitimate and just, and form part of the Filipino people’s protracted struggle for national freedom and democracy. The Moro people have proven themselves to be one of the staunchest enemies of Spanish colonialism and US imperialism. In their quest to maintain their identity as one nation under Islam, the Bangsamoro have resisted foreign domination, including its colonial and neocolonial forms of authority, for hundreds of years. The past regimes, all puppet governments of U.S. imperialism and the local ruling elite, have been instrumental in the massive landgrabbing and extraction of resources from the Moro’s rich ancestral lands in Mindanao and Palawan. Through acts and policies of outright subjugation, assimilation, swindling and legal sleight-of-hands, the central government has robbed the Moro people not only of their rich heritage but also of their rightful place in history and nation building. Such an atrocity continues to this day. In the guise of protecting the Constitution and preserving the Republic, the Estrada regime’s military offensives in Mindanao is aimed at protecting the interests of the imperialists and the local ruling classes. At present, the U.S.’s economic and politico-military interests permeate Mindanao. At least 19 major corporations, many of them multinational firms, operate in the Muslim areas of Basilan, Sulu and Maguindanao. The Liguasan marsh is touted to have one of the biggest deposits of natural gas, while other Moro-occupied territories have yet to be exploited for their rich mineral, water, land and forest resources. On a bigger scale, the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) looms as the next strategic region for monopoly capitalist expansion. As early as now, the U.S. wants to project a strong military presence in the area, as attested to by its construction of a military airfield and naval port in General Santos City. It is perfectly justified, then, for the Moro people, the MILF in particular, to engage in armed struggle against a government that has not only denied their right to self-determination, but which has played a central role in their continued oppression. Bayan, together with all national democratic forces, supports the Moro people’s struggle for self-determination and against foreign and national oppression. In the same vein, Bayan opposes the fascist, all-out war policy of the Estrada regime in Mindanao. It calls for peace negotiations between the GRP and MILF without preconditions, such as the MILF’s surrender to the GRP’s constitution and political authority. These calls not only help the Moro people’s just cause and deals a big blow to the U.S.-backed Estrada regime. They also strengthen and develop the anti-fascist, anti-imperialist, and anti-feudal struggle of the Filipino people. In this sense, the Moro people and the MILF are allies of the ongoing national democratic mass movement. Stop the US-Estrada regime's genocidal war against the Bangsamoro! Uphold the Moro people's right to self-determination! Justice for all victims of human rights and IHL violations! Free the Maharlika 26! Struggle for peace based on justice; resume GRP-MILF peace negotiations without preconditions! Oust the fascist US-Estrada regime! --------------------------------------------------------- B A Y A N Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or New Patriotic Alliance No. 23 Maamo Street, Sikatuna Village Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Telephone: (63-2) 435-9151 Telefax: (63-2) 922-5211 Email: Bayan webpage URL: http://www.bigfoot.com/~bayan-phils ----------------------------------------------------------- From bayan at iname.com Fri Jun 16 13:40:52 2000 From: bayan at iname.com (BAYAN) Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 12:40:52 +0800 Subject: [asia-apec 1475] Peoples' Assembly Unity Statement Against the IMF-World Bank Message-ID: <200006160459.MAA20261@tucows.skyinet.net> Dear comrades and friends, BAYAN would like to give you a copy of the unity statement adopted April's People's Assembly Against IMF-WB and Imperialist Globalization held in Washington, DC. At the same time, the folks at the People's Assembly would like to ask your organization, network, friends, supporters of the Peoples Assembly to sign on to the Unity Statement and show both support for the Peoples Assembly and opposition to the IMF-World Bank and current globalization policies. You can use your individual names and organizations. When we get our website finished later this month, we will post both the Unity Statement as well as all the signatories. Please send both the Unity Statement and this request for signatures to your lists. You may send your "signatures" to sbaypa@yahoo.com. Thank you very much. BAYAN Public Information Department ***************************************************** UNITY STATEMENT Peoples' Assembly Against the IMF/World Bank April 2000 We, the Peoples' Assembly Against the IMF/World Bank, are firmly united in the task of exposing and opposing the International Monetary Fund/World Bank and advancing the people's resistance to imperialist globalization. Imperialist globalization must be unmasked and fully discredited. It is monopoly capitalism masquerading as a new and wonderful product of the electronic age. It ravages the environment, devastates countries and subjugates entire peoples with unequaled ferocity and ruthlessness. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) are tools of imperialist globalization. They are instruments of multinational corporations (MNCs) and imperialist states for dictating financial and monetary policy on client states. In the end, the IMF/WB cannot be reformed, but must be dismantled. US imperialism controls the IMF/WB contrary to the official propaganda that member states enjoy decision-making powers. Imperialist states, led by the United States, and acting as protectors and promoters of the super-profits of giant monopoly firms, are intensifying the exploitation and oppression of all peoples around the world. They are the masterminds of increased worker exploitation, the perpetrators who violate peasants' and workers' rights leaving them landless and in feudal and semi-feudal bondage, the chief instigators of human rights violations, and the biggest plunderers and polluters of the environment. Imperialist globalization is not inevitable. It is not unstoppable. We have proven this time and time again in tactical battles against the neoliberal policies of liberalization, deregulation and privatization against the debt trap and in the recent highly successful anti-MAI (Multilateral Agreement on Investments) Campaign. The peoples of the world were successful in launching massive protests and shutting down the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Seattle, Washington last December 1999. While we struggle for reforms and try to achieve palpable gains on immediate issues, we make sure that we are not distracted from the overall struggle against the main enemy of the world's peoples today -- imperialism -- specifically the No. 1 imperialist power, the USA. We vow to close ranks to confront the imperialist monster that has taken away our land, jobs and livelihood and has further displaced, commodified and turned women into modern-day slaves. We denounce imperialist globalization that has impoverished us and left us hungry, sick, without decent housing, and has stolen our youth's future. We commit ourselves to bring down this system which is bringing genocidal wars of imperialist intervention and domination upon the peoples of the world. We demand an end to the economic blockade of Cuba, the ongoing bombing of Iraq and the use of the United Nations sanctions to bring sovereign countries to heel. We firm up our resolve to promote and develop the anti-imperialist and democratic struggle of the workers and oppressed peoples against the inhumane policies and acts of the MNCs, their governments and international instruments such as the IMF, World Bank, World Trade Organization and military alliances. We support the calls of the International League of Peoples' Struggles which will be founded at the end of the year 2000. Finally, we stand ready to fight for the following: 1. National and social liberation from imperialism and all reaction and resistance to foreign aggression and intervention; 2. Human rights in he civil, political, economic, social and cultural fields against state violence national oppression, class exploitation, fascism, racism and religious bigotry; 3. The cause of peace against wars of aggression and against nuclear and genocidal weapons; 4. Independent trade union and workers' and toilers' rights and reduction of working hours at full pay against mass unemployment and decreasing wage levels; 5. Rights of peasants, farm workers and fisherfolk against feudal and semifeudal exploitation and oppression; 6. The rights of women and rights against all forms of sexual discrimination, exploitation and violence; 7. The rights of the youth to education and employment; 8. Children's rights against child labor and other forms of exploitation; 9. Rights of indigenous peoples oppressed nations and nationalities against chauvinism and racism; 10. The rights of teachers, researchers and other educational personnel; 11. The right of the people to health care and the rights of health workers; 12. The rights, welfare and release of political prisoners; 13. Rights and welfare of displaced persons, refugees and migrant workers; 14. Environmental protection against plunder and pollution; and 15. The right to safe and health food free from genetic manipulation. --------------------------------------------------------- B A Y A N Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or New Patriotic Alliance No. 23 Maamo Street, Sikatuna Village Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Telephone: (63-2) 435-9151 Telefax: (63-2) 922-5211 Email: Bayan webpage URL: http://www.bigfoot.com/~bayan-phils ----------------------------------------------------------- From amittal at foodfirst.org Sat Jun 24 15:05:13 2000 From: amittal at foodfirst.org (Anuradha Mittal) Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 23:05:13 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1476] Good Food Campaign Message-ID: <0.700000824.543225879-212058698-961826713@topica.com> This Action Alert is being forwarded on behalf of Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology. Please send your endorsements to rfste@ndf.vsnl.net.in. Dear friends, Please endorse the memorandum below and join the Good Food Campaign. Say "NO" to GM Foods. Kindly send us intimation of your endorsement. Regards, Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology A-60 Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110 016, India Tel: 0091 11 656 1868 Fax: 0091 11 656 2093 E-mail: rfste@ndf.vsnl.net.in ******************************************************** Memorandum STOP DUMPING GE FOOD! Using disasters to create markets In the recent super cyclone that hit the Eastern coastal state of Orissa in India the "relief" package from the US comprised of genetically contaminated foods. The food aid constituted corn-soya blend, samples of which were collected by the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (RFSTE) team during their relief work in Orissa after the super cyclone. RFSTE has been involved in ecological studies and biodiversity regeneration in the cyclone devastated coastal regions of Orissa. RFSTE got the samples of this corn-soya blend tested. The results of genetic identification tests of the corn-soya blend being distributed by the US government in Orissa confirm the genetic contamination of the corn-soya blend. The tests - which were carried out by US-based Genetic ID, the world's leading laboratory on testing for genetically engineered (GE) products - thereby prove that the US has been using the Orissa victims as guinea pigs for GE products which have been rejected by consumers in the North, especially Europe. The food "aid" to Orissa was routed through Co-operative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE) and Catholic Relief Society (CRS), who directly get the food from US. The US provided a "relief" package of $7.5 million to Orissa out of which 4.15 million was for food aid. In this way the US Government is using public funds meant for aid to create profits and markets for the biotech industry. We demand that the US Government stop using money meant for relief to the poor for subsidising the biotech industry and helping it to use emergencies to create market access and market entry for GE products. This diversion of public money for private gain at social cost is unethical and unnecessary. After the release of the test results of the Orissa food relief, both the USAID and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) have admitted that they supplied GM food grown in US to Third World countries as aid . The US gives just over two million tonnes of it directly to the Third World, while the WFP distributes another one and a half million tonnes donated by US. The implications of GM food dumping are therefore for regions beyond Orissa. It raises the anxiety of other food distribution programmes being used as channels of distribution for genetically engineered foods. Is the food for children also genetically engineered? The Government of India has stated that no "import" of genetically engineered foods has taken place. The imports were therefore clearly without appropriate information and clearances. What is at stake is not just emergency relief, but food aid for children in normal feeding programmes such as the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). CARE India gives food aid for supplementary feeding of pre-school children and expectant and nursing mothers in the ICDS. The World Food Project 2206 affecting six states and 31.72 lakh "beneficiaries" are being supplied with corn-soya blend imported from the US . CARE provides food aid to 66.05 lakh "beneficiaries" distributed in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The food includes corn-soya blend probably also contaminated by GM ingredients. Besides potential risks of food safety, this so-called food aid is culturally totally inappropriate. Policy documents admit that the corn-soya blend is "cooked with other food items such as jaggery and condiments to make food tasty and acceptable", which implies that otherwise the food aid is untasty and unacceptable. The ICDS programme in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh is financed by World Bank. IDA credits of $692.75 are thus possibly being used as subsidies for the US biotech industry destroying local farmers and threatening people's health, nutrition and culture. It is time to insist that the nutritional aid necessarily come from fresh safe local sources utilising culturally acceptable foods and not from dumping of untested, unsafe and culturally inappropriate commodities. Dumping unsafe and inappropriate foods is unnecessary and unjustified India has enough to feed its people. There is sufficient food grain stock in the country. Immediately after the cyclone the Orissa State Government supplied 5.6 lakh tonnes of rice and 1.4 lakh tonnes of wheat to nearly 31,42,495 affected families in the 14 districts between November 1999 and March 2000. Over and above the State Government distribution, there were surpluses of food grains to the tune of 7.92 million tonnes in 1998-99 and 20.1 million tonnes in 1999-2000. According to official sources, there is a buffer stock of more than 288 lakh tonnes of wheat and 131 lakh tonnes of rice as in July 2000. Our demands We call on the Government of India and Government of Orissa to immediately withdraw the corn-soya blend from distribution in Orissa and introduce mandatory segregation and labeling of all food entering the country for presence of GE constituents. We call on the US Government to stop using public finances to subsidise their gene giants. We demand that the World Bank stop using public funds to create market for US biotech corporations. We call on the Government of India to explore alternatives for food and nutrition aid which strengthen local economies, protect farmers' livelihoods and ensure safe and culturally appropriate foods. We call on all aid agencies to not use GE in children's food aid. We call on all relief agencies to stop dumping of inappropriate and unsafe food and to subscribe to ethical principles of food aid. Principles for an ethics of food aid: I Emergency situations should not be used for dumping untested and unethical foods on vulnerable sectors. II Food aid should be culturally appropriate. III The food coming in as relief should be labeled for its ingredients and guaranteed safe and accordingly should go through the same sanitary and phytosanitary testing as all other imports. IV As far as is possible local and regional surpluses should be mobilised and it should not involve the dumping of surpluses from other countries. V Distribution policies should be equitable both in the sense that they include all affected people irrespective of class, gender and other inequalities and do not increase these inequalities. VI Policies for rehabilitation should increase peoples self reliance and restore human dignity, not generate a begging mentality and create a dependency syndrome. VII To ensure sustainable livelihood, all policies of food aid should be based on sustainable development principles. VIII Crops selected should strengthen household food security, provide fodder, fuel and housing material and improve farm incomes. IX Livestock should provide both drought power and food. Multipurpose trees are necessary to meet food, fuel; structural timber needs besides providing ecological security. X Seeds distributed to farmers should be open pollinated varieties so that farmers can save them and not be burdened with the heavy costs of annual seed purchase which is pushing farmers in other regions to suicide. XI External interventions in agriculture should not be a vehicle for draining people's resources, creating indebtedness and permanent impoverishment. XII External interventions should build on people's skills and knowledge, not erode and displace their knowledge and skills. THE GOOD FOOD CAMPAIGN Food safety in terms of quality and nutrition is of utmost importance to every human being. As a basic right, it is imperative that those eating the food ought to know what it is constituted of. Guaranteeing the right to information can ensure food safety. Unsafe food cultures are being perpetrated by vested interests of the biotech industry. The most serious of threat to food comes in the form of genetically engineered foods and crops. Major corporations that are active in the agri-sector are trying hard to push genetically modified crops and foods. What is worse is that disaster and emergency situations especially those in the Third World are being used to create market access and opportunities for such unsafe food technologies which are being rejected in the North, (Europe has closed its markets to such genetically modified foods). The government and local communities in such vulnerable areas are being trapped into the corporate agenda of seed and food dependency. As citizens of India we demand ethical and dignified standards for food and for emergency relief. If you are concerned about the dumping of culturally inappropriate, economically destructive foods, which could have serious ecological and health impacts join the Good Food Campaign and say no to GM foods. The Good Food campaign will fight for: - People's food rights - Culturally appropriate consumption patterns - Locally supportive economic models of production - Guaranteed safe foods Endorse this memorandum and join the Good Food Campaign. Join the fight against hunger. For more information contact foodfirst@foodfirst.org. ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics From bayan at iname.com Wed Jun 28 00:55:48 2000 From: bayan at iname.com (bayan) Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2000 23:55:48 +0800 Subject: [asia-apec 1477] NATO Willfully Triggered an Environmental Disaster Message-ID: <200006271615.AAA03156@tucows.skyinet.net> NATO Willfully Triggered An Environmental Catastrophe In Yugoslavia by Michel Chossudovsky Professor of Economics, University of Ottawa, author of "The Globalization of Poverty, Third World Network, Penang, Zed Books, London, 1997. Complete article and photos at Emperor's Clothes at www.tenc.net, URL for this article click: http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/chuss/willful.htm In this report, Michel Chossudovsky provides conclusive documentary and photographic evidence that contrary to the statements of various international observers, the environmental catastrophe at the Pancevo petrochemical plant was neither the result of 'collateral damage' (that is, an accident of war) nor a case of criminal negligence (that is, resulting from criminal disregard of consequences). Rather, the evidence is compelling. NATO willfully blew up with meticulous accuracy containers of toxic chemicals with the intention of creating an ecological nightmare. At the outset of the War, NATO had reassured World opinion that "precise targeting" using sophisticated weaponry was intended to avoid "collateral damage" including environmental hazards: "We do everything we possibly can to avoid unnecessary collateral damage. We take it very seriously, work very hard at doing that, spend a lot of time planning for the missions." <1> At the Pancevo petrochemical complex located in the outskirts of Belgrade, however, exactly the opposite occurred. "State of the art" aerial surveillance and satellite thermal image detection were not only used to disable Yugoslavia's petrochemical industry; they were willfully applied to trigger an environmental disaster. The air raids on the Pancevo complex started on April 4th 1999 and continued relentlessly until the 7th of June. The Pancevo complex also included an oil refinery facility (built with technical support from Texaco) and a Nitrogen Processing Plant producing fertilizer for Yugoslav agriculture. The petrochemical plant was bombed extensively (41 bombs and 7 missile attacks). The bombed areas were within less than two hundred meters from residential buildings. At the beginning of the war, workers at the plant were actively involved in removing toxic materials from the site, emptying several large tanks and containers of chemicals precisely to avert the risks of "collateral damage". Little did they realize that NATO was watching them through air-to-ground surveillance systems and satellite images. Using thermal detection, NATO military planners knew which of the containers had been emptied and which remained full. How does this work? All objects in the Pancevo plant --including the containers of toxic chemicals-- emit infrared radiation. A thermal imager from a spy satellite or an aircraft can detect infrared radiation emitted from any object situated on the petrochemical plant and convert its readings into a high-resolution video or snap picture. The thermal imager can detect temperature differentials as small as 0.1 degrees centigrade which enables NATO planners to easily "categorize" and distingush between full and empty containers. NATO warplanes were equipped with various advanced imaging systems including infrared/electro-optical sensors. Thermal satellite images were relayed to the Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) in Vicenza, Italy where the bombing raids had been carefully scheduled. Other advanced surveillance systems were used including small unmanned predator (UAV) drones and high altitude U2 spy planes. In the words of a Pentagon spokesman, the U2 "snaps a picture from very high altitude, beams it back in what we call a reach-back, to the States where it is very quickly analyzed". And from there, "the right targeting data" is relayed to the CAOC in Vincenza which then "passes [it] on to people in the cockpit". <2> NATO planners also had detailed information on the layout of the plant, which had been designed and built on contract with a US multinational engineering company Foster Wheeler (a firm specializing in the construction of petrochemical and polymer plants). NATO knew exactly where things were. In a cruel irony, US investment in Yugoslavia (financed with loans from the World Bank) was being bombed by Uncle Sam. Did the pilots sitting in the cockpit know that they were destroying a plant which was "Made in America"? A large number of the containers had been emptied. By using thermal images, NATO was able to identify which of the tanks were still filled to the brim with toxic chemicals. Among these noxious liquids were containers of ethylene-dichloride (EDC), ethylene, chlorine, chlorine-hydrogen, propylene and vinyl chloride monomers (VCM). Well documented by environmentalists, the VCM monomer used to produce plastics (eg. PVC resin) is a dangerous cancerogenic contaminant (see photo 2). Vinyl chloride also has the potential to cause neurological and liver damage, as well as damage to the fetus causing serious birth defects. If NATO's intent were solely to disable the plant without risking "collateral" environmental damage, they could have done it by smart bombing the equipment and machinery. Why did they also decide to hit with utmost accuracy the tanks containing noxious liquids? The "smart bombs" were not dumb; they went where they were told to go. NATO had scrupulously singled out the containers, tanks and reservoirs, which still contained toxic materials. According to the petrochemical plant director, NATO did not hit a single empty container: "This was not accidental; they chose to hit those that were full and these chemicals spilled into the canal leading to the Danube". Moreover, according to the plant director, the ethylene-dichloride (EDC) spillovers had contaminated 10 hectares of land on and in the vicinity of the plant. <3> When the smart bombs hit their lethal targets at Pancevo (see photos below), noxious fluids and fumes were released into the atmosphere, water and soil. The containers were deliberately blown up or perforated. The soil at the petrochemical complex is still soaked with toxic ethylene-dichloride. According to a report of the Regional Environment Center for Central and Eastern Europe (REC): "More than one thousand tons of ethylene dichloride spilled from the Pancevo petrochemical complex into the Danube [through the canal which links the plant to the river]. Over a thousand tons of natrium hydroxide were spilled from the Pancevo petrochemical complex. Nearly 1,000 tons of hydrogen chloride spilled from Pancevo into the Danube River" <4> Eight tons of mercury also escaped from the petrochemical complex spilling into the soil. The wastewater treatment plant was also bombed thereby contributing to exacerbating the ecological impacts. <5> NATO military strategists knew precisely what they were doing and what would be the likely consequences. At the neighboring oil refinery, two NATO missiles had hit on April 4th the refinery's control rooms killing three staff members. The strikes had set the plant on fire, reducing it to a toxic wreck. The objective was not to avoid an environmental disaster. The objective was to create an environmental disaster (see photos). NATO was expecting that by ruthlessly bombing Pancevo among other civilian sites, this would intimidate Belgrade into accepting the Rambouillet Agreement including its infamous Military Appendix which essentially gave NATO the right to occupy all parts of Yugoslavia. In the wake of the bombings, the Greens from Germany and experts from the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) as well as other groups visited the Pancevo plant. The UNEP report dismisses the environmental impacts caused by the bombings while underscoring in its main conclusions that Pancevo and other petrochemical plants in the country were an ecological hazard prior to the bombings due to lax environmental standards. <6> The UNEP report is a carefully worded cover-up. It whitewashes NATO; it downplays the seriousness of the environmental catastrophe, while placing the blame (without supporting evidence) on the Yugoslav authorities. Tacitly upholding the legitimacy of the Western military alliance, UNEP's findings are in overt contradiction with those of other scientific studies including that of the Regional Environment Center for Central And Eastern Europe (REC) prepared for the European Commission (see footnote 4). The complicity of UNEP --a specialized agency of the UN with a track record of integrity-- is yet another symptom of the deterioration of the United Nations system which now plays an underhand in covering up NATO war crimes. PHOTOS photo 1 A 'smart bomb' hit this container with perfect accuracy. (Pancevo petrochemical complex ( ?Michel Chossudovsky, March 2000 ) photo 2 The two containers look so different that at first the eye is misled; one falsely concludes that the container on the right is old, the one on the left is new. In fact, the one on the right was targeted by NATO because it was full of highly cancerogenic VCM ( ? Michel Chossudovsky, March 2000 ) This article was first published by Emperor's Clothes. Text and photos can be consulted at : http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/chuss/willful.htm FOOTNOTES 1. Statement of General Charles Wald of the Pentagon, Department of Defense Press Briefing, Washington, 12 April 1999. 2. Department of Defense Press Briefing, Washington, May 14th, 1999. 3. Interview conducted by the author in Pancevo, March 2000. 4. See the report of the REC entitled Assessment of the Environmental Impact of Military Activities During the Yugoslavia Conflict at http://www.rec.org/REC/Announcements/yugo/background.html 5. Interview conducted by the author in Pancevo, March 2000. 6. The UNEP report entitled The Kosovo Conflict: Consequences for the Environment & Human Settlements prepared for the European Commission can be consulted at www.grid.unep.ch/btf/final/index.htmlhttp://www.grid.unep.ch/btf/final/index .html Michel Chossudovsky Department of Economics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, K1N6N5 Voice box: 1-613-562-5800, ext. 1415, Fax: 1-514-425-6224 E-Mail: chossudovsky@videotron.ca; (Altern. E-mail: chossudovsky@sprint.ca) --------------------------------------------------------- B A Y A N Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or New Patriotic Alliance No. 23 Maamo Street, Sikatuna Village Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Telephone: (63-2) 435-9151 Telefax: (63-2) 922-5211 Email: Bayan webpage URL: http://www.bigfoot.com/~bayan-phils ----------------------------------------------------------- From bayan at iname.com Wed Jun 28 12:42:19 2000 From: bayan at iname.com (bayan) Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 11:42:19 +0800 Subject: [asia-apec 1478] Cuba on Human Rights Message-ID: Speech delivered by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba, Felipe Perez Roque, at the fifty-six session of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights (Excerpt) Geneva, March 30, 2000 Mr. President: Fifty-one years ago the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. With the defeat of fascism a horrific war came to an end, and made way for what should have been an era of peace and collaboration among fellow human beings. On rereading Article 1, in which it is proclaimed that: ?All human beings are born free and equal, in dignity and rights?, we ask ourselves: What has happened since then? Are the 4.5 billion human beings from underdeveloped countries, who consume only 14 per cent of the total world produce, really as free and equal as the 1.5 billion who live in developed countries and consume the other 86 per cent? The richest 20 per cent of the planet?s population possess 82 times more wealth than the poorest 20 per cent. Are they really as free and equal as each other? Have the distinguished delegates from developed countries, who are present here, ever considered what the 4.5 billion inhabitants of the underdeveloped countries would think about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? of these 4.5 billion, almost one billion go hungry, three fifths lack adequate sanitation, a third do not have access to fresh water, a quarter are without housing, and a fifth have not basic health service provision. Do you not feel yourselves blush with shame, your Excellencies, when you read that: ?Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration ?? Do you not think about the accusatory look of the parents of the 30 thousand children under 5 years of age, who die every day from causes that could have been prevented, as we recall that: Everyone has the right to life ?? Is it possible to reconcile the right to freedom of opinion and speech, with the fact that ownership of the mass media is ever more privatised, absolute, monopolised and transnational? Could anyone in this room explain to the 800 million starving people on this planet, who own nothing more than their own hunger, what is meant by: ?Everyone has the right to own property ?? When we read that: ?Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country?, or that: ?Everyone has the right to equal access, to the public services in his country?, are we thinking, esteemed colleagues, about those 850 million illiterate adults who cannot even write, let alone read, the word ?right?? Five decades ago we declared that: ?Everyone has the right to work ? How can we then explain to the millions of men and women who roam the streets every day, searching for a way to provide a decent livelihood for their children, that they are made prisoners and victims of an irrational and unjust economic system which denies them the right to work? What would the men and women, who in 1948 declared that: ?Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and wellbeing of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing, medical care and the necessary social services? say about the bitter realities of today?s world? How would they react when they discovered that there are more than 20 million people in Africa infected with AIDS virus, awaiting their death, with no hope of receiving treatment? Will we ever be able to justify the fact that whilst we were unable to come up with the 300 billion dollars needed annually in order to treat them, 800 billion dollars were invested in military expenditure? Will our descendants understand that, whist on the one hand we proclaim that: ?Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and attention?, and that: ?Each individual has the right to be educated?, here in the year 2000, 260 million children of school age, are not receiving an education, 160 million are undernourished, 600 thousand women die every year in childbirth, and the infant mortality rate in Third World countries is 64 per thousand live births? These are the realities. Your Excellencies, and they are there, pointing the finger of blame at us, even though we try to close our eyes, in an attempt to block them out. That is why, when one contemplates the level of manipulation, lies, hollow discourse and hypocrisy; when one considers the attempt to dogmatically impose patterns and models that claim to be universal, one realises, with deep conviction, that the way in which human rights causes are dealt with in the world, needs to be salvaged from the selfish interests they are hostage to. There is no doubt that this Commission on Human Rights is obliged to undertake a thorough reform of its make-up and its methods; it must cease to be a tool which is used for the selective and politicised persecution of poor countries, and genuinely establish itself as a forum where we can join forces, based on honesty and solidarity, so that one day we can proclaim that the Declaration which was approved five decades ago really means something for the entire 6 billion inhabitants of this planet, not just for the privileged minority. More than five years ago the representatives of 171 States debated all these issues in Vienna during the World Conference on Human Rights, and we agreed that we should ?treat human rights globally in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing and with the same emphasis? and that ?the significance of national and regional particularities and various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds must be borne in mind?. However, in the years since then, there has been an increasingly dangerous trend, lead by a small group of rich and powerful States, who are attempting to turn the Human Rights Commission into private property and a tool which can be used to impose their opinions and personal interests on us, the underdeveloped countries, who constitute the overwhelming majority. The Commission on Human Rights is the heritage of all peoples, not just the minority. The attempt to impose a single model, which is in the interests of the powerful, must cease! Cuba remembers very clearly that the universal nature of human rights was affirmed in Vienna, based on the acknowledgement of diversity. Why does the Commission on Human Rights not channel its efforts, and dedicate the necessary resources, into promoting the right to development? a fundamental human right which was acknowledged in Vienna, and the only possible way in which we can save the dispossessed masses on this Earth from the poverty and hunger that they are suffering, as they ask themselves, without understanding, what it is we meet for each year in Geneva? Did we not state that: ?the human person is the central subject of development?? Why do we not, for example, appoint, right now, a Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights, to follow up the issue of Official Aid for Development and the impact of its dramatic decrease on the enjoyment of human rights in underdeveloped countries? If we stated in Vienna that: ?everyone has the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications?, why is it that today, 97 per cent of patents are controlled by the wealthy countries? Does anyone in this room dare to dispute my claim that as far as a billion people are concerned, we are respecting this right less and less? How can we explain the hunting down of immigrants, the racism and xenophobia, and the wall that the United States has raised on its border with Mexico, if we have already proclaimed that: ?great importance must be given to the promotion and protection of the human rights of ( ) migrant workers, the elimination of all forms of discrimination against them, and the strengthening and more effective implementation of existing human rights instruments?? If in Vienna, we called on the international community to ?make all efforts to help alleviate the external debt burden of developing countries?, why do we have to devote 25 per cent of our exports to paying for the onerous service of a debt which, far from decreasing, is growing day by day? Are they respecting our human rights whey they suffocate us with a debt of 2.5 trillion dollars? If we affirmed in Vienna that ?the existence of widespread extreme poverty inhibits the full and effective enjoyment of human rights?, how can we explain the devastating reality that there are more people in the world now than ever before, and that every 24 hours almost 70 thousand more destitute people join the hungry and famished masses, who while they struggle to survive, watch us approving documents and talking about human rights in this comfortable room? These are the reasons, Your Excellencies, which support the demand that the Commission on Human Rights be transformed into an instrument for all countries that protects human rights. However, that will not be possible unless the developed countries who constitute only 15 per cent of the total number of United Nations Member States put their national and group interests aside, and prepare themselves to collaborate with us, in a spirit of altruism and justice. Last year the developed countries accredited 293 delegated for the work of the Commission on Human Rights, whilst the underdeveloped countries, which represent more than 75 per cent of the world population, accredited, with great sacrifice, 284 delegates. The United States alone accredited 4, half the number accredited by the whole of Africa, or all Asia, or all Latin America. And what were the consequences of this unfair imbalance? That the developed countries presented 61 per cent of all the resolutions and decisions that were adopted, dealing an unmistakable blow to the aspiration we have held, that our diversity be respected. Cuba, therefore, considers that urgent measures should be taken to reverse this situation. For example, a proposal should be made to the General Assembly, that a fund be established, financed from the United Nations regular budget, to pay for the travel and participation costs of at least three delegates from each underdeveloped country which is a member of the Commission. In addition, the Commission could set a limit of 15 accredited delegates per each government delegation. The work of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is a decisive factor in the preparation of the sessions, and in following-up the decisions made by this Commission. However, the reports that are submitted to the Commission and, generally speaking, almost all its work, is done by officials who come from developed countries and impose their own models, culture, ideology and experiences. Western European countries, the United States and Canada have more personnel in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner than all the underdeveloped countries combined. There is no doubt that human rights are universal, but will officials from countries with a per capita GDP of 25 thousand dollars have the same concept of them, as officials from countries where it is 300 dollars? How can we, the poor countries, confront this sad reality, as we helplessly witness the mass exodus of our intellectuals and professionals, to wealthy countries, in search of better opportunities and impossible dreams? Cuba considers it essential that the High Commissioner establishes, as a matter of urgency, a group that is specifically responsible for the recruitment and training of qualified personnel from underdeveloped countries, for the Office of the High Commissioner. All of the resolutions relating to countries, which have been adopted since 1990, claim that underdeveloped countries violate human rights, and all of them were introduced by developed countries. Could anyone here in this room deny the unquestionable fact that a minority group of countries impose their principals and points of view on internationally adopted decisions regarding human rights? What is the truth of the matter, distinguished colleagues? Is it that human rights are not violated in developed countries, or is it that, within this Commission, it is impossible to analyse those violations? If we agree that all human rights are of equal importance, why is it that the Commission approves twice as many resolutions on civil and political rights, as on economic, social and cultural rights? Why are three times as many pages of official documents devoted to civil and political rights, as to economic, social and cultural rights? All of us in this room know the answer: because it is in the interest of the developed countries that the Commission concerns itself only with the civil and political rights. Because rights to development, to life, to food, to work, education and health; the rights of women and children, in short, the rights of all the inhabitants of the planet, and not just a privileged group, to a decent existence, and to full enjoyment of social justice, which has been so often neglected, are not priorities for anybody other than us the poor and underdeveloped countries. It requires a high level of altruism to fight for something which you have, but others do not, and great humility to acknowledge that you are not the absolute owner of the truth. It requires a spirit of deep democracy to accept that poor people can also be right. And knowledge of the history of our peopleswhose countries have been colonised and ransacked for centuriesis essential, if the poor are not to be condemned for their poverty. Mr. President: Non-Government Organisations have played a very important role in promoting and protecting human rights. Who would question, for example, the considerable contribution that non-governmental grass-roots organisations have made to the human rights cause, and to the fight against military dictatorships in Latin America over the past decades? However, we must acknowledge, with regret, that the non-governmental organisations that work to defend the human rights of the majority of the inhabitants of this planet, are not adequately represented in the meetings held by the Commission. A few organisations, calling themselves non-governmental, and functioning as true transnational companies, financed and closely linked to the main power groups in the developed countries, nowadays impose themselves as leaders. They are the ones who have all the money and receive all the coverage provided by the media transnationals. Where does the money come from, and what is it used for? Why do we not establish a Fund to finance the participation in the Commission of representatives of non-governmental organisations of the South, and non-governmental organisations that deal with the protection and promotion of economic, social and cultural rights, and the right to development? Mr. President: It is a matter of great concern, that whilst less and less resources are devoted to promoting development, combating hunger and poverty, and compensating for centuries of lack of progressthe true causes of the humanitarian crises in underdeveloped countriesthe theoretical and political stance of a purported ?right to humanitarian intervention?, gathers force among the principal western powers, and has already been applied several times in practice. The blatant tendency to ignore the principles, which for half a century have been the pillars of international post-war world justice, is alarming. These principles provided the moral foundation of the United Nations: sovereign equality of States, their territorial integrity, non-interference in their domestic affairs, and non-use of force or threat of use of force in international relations. Cuba fully commits itself to, and emphatically calls on Member States to pay particular attention to the resolution approved by the Subcommission for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights, in which the firm conviction is expressed, that the alleged ?duty? and ?right? to carry out humanitarian interventions, in particular resorting to force or the threat of use of force, has no legal basis whatsoever and, accordingly, Cuba cannot condone such violations of the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter. We, the peoples of the South, know from personal experience, the consequences of doctrines of this sort, drawn up in the North, to legitimize intervention and the interests of domination. You, our colleagues who here represent the member countries of NATO, should understand us. You belong to a very powerful military alliance and have no reason to fear aggressive action, but we, the Third World countries, we have good reason to worry. Our countries need to be bombarded, yes, but not with missiles and smart bombs, but with new technology, long-term funding for development, access to the increasingly inaccessible markets, and the cancellation of our foreign debt. That would be the best contribution that you could make to demonstrating true respect for the human rights of our peoples! The most important of our human rights that must be respected, is the right to development and a decent lifeit is the right to bequeath our children a future with hope! Who will establish the guidelines that justify the invasion or ruthless bombing of a country? Will the United Nations Security Council even be informed? Can you imagine there being a coalition of countries of the South, which bombed the city of New York, in order to punish the United States for its continuing violation of the rights of poor people and ethnic minorities in that country? Will this Commission ever be capable of condemning the United States? Would it dare to approve a resolution condemning them for child prostitution and pornography there, for widespread violence and the proliferation of fire arms, for police brutality and the inequalities of its judicial system, for the unfair and arbitrary application of death penalty, for its practices of racial, sexual and religious discrimination, for its lack of care for the growing masses of poor and dispossessed people living at the heart of the most affluent society in the history of the world? Will this Commission be able to condemn the United States Government for the dirty war that it has wages against the people of Cuba for forty years, with the single, and self-professed aim of destroying the political, economic and social system that the Cuban people have built through their own free and sovereign will? It seems very unlikely under the current circumstances. In Vienna we declared that: ?All peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.? And we are determined, Your Excellencies, to be a free and independent people, not a colony of the United States! In Vienna, the states were also asked to refrain ?from any unilateral measures not in accordance with international law and the Charter of the United Nations?. How do you explain then, Your Excellencies, the persistence and toughening of the genocidal North American blockade against Cuba, which has been going on for forty years? Will anyone ask for the floor, when I have finished speaking, in order to defend the idea that the blockade and the economic war waged by the United States against my country promote respect for human rights in the world? What does the Commission on Human Rights have to say to the 11 million Cubans who are fully aware that more than five years ago you declared that: ?food should not be used as a tool for political pressure?? How will the Commission on Human Rights explain to our children, to our pregnant women, to our elderly and to our disabled, that whilst the United States Government tries to starve them into defeat, in a flagrant violation of their human rights, not only has that government not been condemned by this Commission for its actions, but what is more, it sets itself up as supreme judge and ruling authority over the conduct of the other countries on the planet? The U.S. blockade of Cuba, vigorously rejected every year in the United Nations General Assembly, is an act of genocide, clearly established by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Your Excellencies: Once again the United States attempts, in this Commission, to accuse a country such as Cuba, which has done so much for the rights of each and every one of its citizens. I am not going to tire you, esteemed colleagues, with the sordid story of how they have tried to manipulate the Commission on Human Rights in the case of Cuba. For several years, reason prevailed over pressure and maneuvers. Only with the fall of the European Socialist block, and the subsequent change in the balance of forces at the heart of this Commission, could the U.S. start to achieve its aims. What real reason could the Czech Government have for presenting a resolution against Cuba, other than to carry out orders given by the United States? Everyone in this Commission knows that the price the Czech Republic is paying for its entrance into NATO, is its political and economic dependency on the United States. Everyone in this Commission knows that whilst the Czech Deputy Foreign Minister, Martin Palous, was touring the world, reciting anti-Cuban script that was dictated to him in Washington, during the first week in March, the American Deputy Secretary of State, Harold Koh, was announcing in Geneva. --------------------------------------------------------- B A Y A N Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or New Patriotic Alliance No. 23 Maamo Street, Sikatuna Village Quezon City, PHILIPPINES Telephone: (63-2) 435-9151 Telefax: (63-2) 922-5211 Email: Bayan webpage URL: http://www.bigfoot.com/~bayan-phils -----------------------------------------------------------