From notoapec at clear.net.nz Sun Oct 1 12:21:49 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Sun, 1 Oct 2000 16:21:49 +1300 Subject: [asia-apec 1599] NZ Trade Minister to ASEAN, Cairns Group meetings Message-ID: <001001c02b56$bfe1c500$0e85a7cb@notoapec> Jim Sutton to attend ASEAN, Cairns Group meeting Friday, 29 September 2000, 2:16 pm Press Release: New Zealand Government Jim Sutton to attend ASEAN, Cairns Group meetings Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton is to attend the annual meetings of the Association of South East Asian Nations and Closer Economic Relationship economic ministers in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and the Cairns Group in Banff, Canada during the next two weeks. Mr Sutton leaves New Zealand on Wednesday, October 4, for Bangkok. There, he will meet new Thai agriculture and cooperatives minister, Prapat Pothasuthon , before going on to Chiang Mai for the ASEAN-CER meeting. At that meeting, trade ministers from South East Asia, Australia, and New Zealand will discuss CER's programme of trade facilitation and co-operation with ASEAN. Also on the agenda is a report for ministers recommending that they support the concept of linking the AFTA and CER trade agreements. Mr Sutton also hopes to meet European and American trade representatives, who have annual consultation meetings with ASEAN at the same time. "The concept of linking AFTA and CER is an exciting one and one well worth exploring." However, he noted that any move to negotiating such a link would need to be mandated by the New Zealand Cabinet first. >From Chiang Mai, Mr Sutton is transiting through Hong Kong and will briefly meet his Hong Kong counterpart, Brian Chau, before flying to Canada. Mr Sutton will then travel to Vancouver for meetings with local business leaders, and then to Banff to attend the meeting of the Cairns Group of agricultural trading nations and to meet Canadian agriculture minister, Lyle Vanclief. Among the subjects for discussion at the Cairns Group meeting is the negotiating proposal on domestic subsidies the group tabled last week at the special negotiations on agriculture in Geneva. That proposal calls for major reductions in domestic subsidies (including an initial 50% cut), the elimination of trade-distorting support, tighter rules on allowable subsidies, and for subsidy limits to be imposed on a product-specific basis. Mr Sutton said agricultural subsidies had been bad news for New Zealand and he welcomed the Cairns Group's initiative to ensure unfair subsidies were abolished. "I was delighted at the broad support the Cairns Group's proposal on export subsidies received at the meeting I attended in Geneva in June. I am confident that this latest proposal on domestic subsidies will be similarly welcomed." "We should be able to do a lot better than we did in the Uruguay Round. For all too long, agricultural subsidy practices have been allowed to flourish, at the expense of efficient agriculture producing countries, such as New Zealand. And even more critically, it is at the expense of economic development and food security for poorer countries." "I welcome the Cairns Group's continued leadership on agricultural trade reform. I am looking forward to discussing with my Ministerial colleagues in Banff what more the Cairns Group could and should be doing to improve the lot of farmers worldwide." Mr Sutton returns to New Zealand on Sunday, October 15. Office of Hon Jim Sutton From notoapec at clear.net.nz Tue Oct 3 17:49:44 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 21:49:44 +1300 Subject: [asia-apec 1600] Cairns Group Meeting, Banff 9-12 Oct 2000 Message-ID: <001001c02d17$0614d460$a5cca7cb@notoapec> CAIRNS GROUP FARM LEADERS MEET IN BANFF 9 - 12 October 2000 Farm Leaders from the Cairns Group countries will meet alongside their Trade Ministers in Banff, Alberta, Canada from 9-12 October 2000. The farm leaders from 18 countries have organised a big program in Banff, which includes seminars on trade policy, a strategic planning workshop and joint social functions with ministers. Following the meeting in Banff the farm leaders will be travelling to Geneva and Brussels to deliver the message of the Cairns Group on farm trade reform. In Geneva, the delegation of farm leaders will meet the Director-General of the WTO, Mike Moore. In Brussels the farm leaders will meet with groups in Europe who have an interest in ending protectionism in European agriculture - such as consumers, exporters, aid agencies and environment groups. Background to the Banff meeting When farm leaders meet in Banff they will emphasise that the level of agricultural protection has not fallen as a result of the Uruguay Round of trade talks. The mix of support has changed toward direct payments but the consequence is the same: too much agricultural production in the wrong places, which wastes scarce resources. By far the biggest waste is in the rich markets of Europe, Japan, Korea, Norway and the United States. The agricultural trade problem has been around for some time. It was centre stage at the start of the Uruguay Round in 1986. The fact that it is still a problem fifteen years later underscores the enormous political forces that are brought into play with agricultural policy in protected markets. History, culture, institutional capture, successful lobbying by farmers and the concealment of the real costs involved are all factors behind the trade problem. Agricultural protection is a huge problem of global proportions. The prize, however, is also huge if reform can be achieved. In 1999, the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade in Australia published a study ('Global Trade Reform - Maintaining Momentum') which showed that a 50 per cent cut in agricultural protection would be worth nearly US$90 billion every year to the world economy. Pushing for such a big prize is therefore worth doing. For many years the Cairns Group, which comprises the agricultural exporting countries, has been an important "external" force for change. Even though the Cairns Group has proved an effective voice for reform, the task of reform is so large and the prize so great that the arguments for reform need to be bolstered. The World Trade Organization is underresourced, especially in the area of agriculture. The WTO has only eight staff working on agriculture and yet this is where the biggest distortions are in world trade. In a nutshell education is the key. This education has to be done in ways that communicate so the message gets across. Once that is done there is a chance that the powerful political forces blocking reform can be overturned. To overcome the powerful political forces resisting reform, equally powerful counterforces need to be found. One of the most powerful counterforces is to expose the enormous waste caused by protectionism. There are many reasons why agricultural support through subsidies and border restrictions should be removed. For example, the subsidies could be better spent elsewhere - either on other needy programs or given back to taxpayers. Trade restrictions hamper economic growth and poverty alleviation in many developing countries. The environment suffers as a result of protectionist farm policies. The burden of import restrictions falls on other exporters. Consumers have restricted choices and pay too much for food. Yet each one of these arguments - as valid as they are - are unlikely to be sufficient on their own to overturn the powerful forces propping up the current system. The answer lies in several of these arguments being communicated in concert within the electorates of the countries with the greatest protection of agriculture. These arguments need to be communicated within each country. The Cairns Group farm leaders will be discussing this issue in Banff and they will be publishing a new book titled "Solving the Problem - the political economy of agricultural protection". From kevin.li at graduate.hku.hk Wed Oct 4 10:03:06 2000 From: kevin.li at graduate.hku.hk (Kevin Yuk-shing Li) Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2000 09:03:06 +0800 Subject: [asia-apec 1601] Press Advisory about Three Gorges Dam Message-ID: <39DA81CA.FBF58F2@graduate.hku.hk> Human Rights in China Sophia Woodman in Hong Kong: 852.2710.8021 Judy Chen in New York: 212-239-4495 International Rivers Network Doris Shen in California: (510) 848-1155 ext 317 PRESS ADVISORY October 3, 2000 As violence grows in the Three Gorges resettlement areas, international NGOs call for immediate action by government and investors to address affected peoples' grievances Reports from the areas to be flooded by the mammoth Three Gorges Dam tell of an alarming rise in violent incidents sparked by resentment against resettlement. Officials summoned troops to quell one protest. On Friday, Sept 29, the South China Morning Post reported that long-standing complaints that resettlement plans are ill-conceived, funds inadequate and that monies allocated for this purpose have been embezzled by corrupt officials continue to be ignored, while the date for filling the reservoir grows ever nearer. In many cases, years of peaceful petitioning has brought no relief, and frustrated residents are increasingly resorting to public protests, sometimes resulting in clashes with police or local officials. The homes of between 1.2 to 1.9 million people are to be flooded. Reports of growing tension and violence contradict official statements that the first stage of resettlement is proceeding smoothly. They also demonstrate that the Chinese government's resettlement regulations and policies, praised by the World Bank as a model for the developing world, are often nothing but empty promises for displaced people. In addition, they reveal the serious inadequacy of complaints mechanisms in China, where the constitutional right to petition the authorities for the redress of grievances generally means little in practice. A number of recent examples of disturbances illustrate the seriousness of the problems in the Three Gorges area. In mid-September, about 300 peasants from Gaoyang Township in Yunyang County attacked officials in charge of the county Resettlement Bureau, injuring at least one. In another protest in September, farmers hurled objects that injured some officials, including the deputy party chief, who was hit with a brick. Officials summoned troops to quell the violence. Earlier this year in Gaoyang, more than 1,000 peasants staged a protest and demanded a meeting with county leaders to demand more equitable compensation and access to official policy documents detailing the terms and conditions of resettlement. A group of 300 farmers resettled in Zhanjiang in Jiangsu Province is returning to the Three Gorges area because each household had received the pitiful sum of only 9,000 yuan ($1,200 dollars) to build new houses. Last week, another group of 300 farmers sent to Taofu state farm in Hubei Province returned to Gaoyang and assaulted local resettlement bureau officials, accusing them of embezzling money earmarked for the construction of their new homes. Farmers have signed dozens of petitions to complain that their representatives had been detained and threatened by local officials and even charging that petitioner representatives had been knifed by local gangsters on the orders of a local official. These are just a few among a catalogue of incidents resulting from severely inadequate resettlement planning, endemic corruption and mismanagement, problems the International Rivers Network and Human Rights in China have been warning for some years create an explosive situation in the Three Gorges area as large numbers of people began to be moved under the resettlement program. For over eight years, the International Rivers Network has been lobbying financial institutions to ensure they will not support the project. "We call on the international community to cease involvement in Three Gorges Dam until abuses of civil rights are addressed. By financing the project, U.S. banks are aiding in the creation of the most development refugees for a single project ever. Until Morgan Stanley Dean Witter implements necessary environmental and social policies governing core business operations, International Rivers Network is spearheading a consumer boycott of the firm's Discover Card and I-Choice brokerage services. Financial institutions don't deserve our business if they don't take responsibility for their environmental and social impacts" said Doris Shen, IRN program officer. Since 1995, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter's joint venture, China International Capital Corporation based in Hong Kong, has served as the Three Gorges Project Development Corporation's advisor on raising overseas capital. In May 1997 and 1999, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter helped underwrite $830 million in bonds for the China Development Bank (CDB). Three Gorges Dam is listed as CDB's top loan commitment. (see www.floodwallstreet.org for more details) Human Rights in China is disturbed at the evident failure of the authorities at all levels to address the grievances of people forced to move by the Three Gorges Dam. "As in so many cases, promises made to people displaced for hydropower projects are proving to be not worth the paper they are written on?said Sophia Woodman, HRIC research director. "People whose rights are ignored have no effective means of redress, and their efforts to organize to protect their interests are met only with repression. This kind of approach is a recipe for instability and unrest. In the Three Gorges, it could mean out-and-out violence as the resettlement program advances.? "We call on the Chinese government to act immediately to ensure that the rights of people displaced by the dam are fully respected, and to undertake serious, good faith investigation of all complaints. We recommend that foreign investors suspend their involvement in the Three Gorges Dam project until these problems have been satisfactorily addressed," Woodman added. Companies that are currently involved in the project include: GEC Alsthom of France, ABB of Switzerland and Sweden, Agra Monenco of Canada, GE Canada, and Voith Hydro and Siemens of Germany Financing firms involved in financing include: Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, China International Capital Corporation, Merrill Lynch, Salomon Smith Barney of Citigroup, Goldman, Sachs & Co., Credit Suisse First Boston. For a complete list of foreign involvement in Three Gorges: http://www.probeinternational.org/probeint/ThreeGorges/who.html South China Morning Post reports: "Anger at dam corruption Growing" http://www.scmp.com/News/ToBody.asp?Sec=China&AID=20000929033340099 "Last Chance for the Damned" http://www.scmp.com/News/ToBody.asp?Sec=Comment&AID=20000928224300704 From amittal at foodfirst.org Wed Oct 4 09:48:54 2000 From: amittal at foodfirst.org (Anuradha Mittal) Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2000 17:48:54 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1602] MST Leader to Visit Bay Area Message-ID: <0.700000824.1225263689-951758591-970620534@topica.com> Event Listing for Bay Area Members MST Leader to Visit Bay Area On Wednesday October 18, Gilmar Mauro, a leading member of Brazil's Landless Workers Movement (MST) will speak here in the Bay Area about the ongoing struggle for land reform in Brazil's troubled countryside. Food First is pleased to announce that we are co sponsoring this event about one of the world's most successful grassroots peasant movements. At present the MST counts more than 1.2 million members among its ranks.More than 15 million acres of land have been distributed. Described by Time magazine as one of the most important people in Latin America to watch in the 21st century, Mauro has spent the last fifteen years at the center of the Movement. The program will also feature a short, new video of compelling footage on the MST. Join us at La Pena Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley, at 8:00 pm on October 18. $ 5-10 donation requested. For more information call 415-255-7296. Sponsors: Food First, Friends of the MST, and Global Exchange. Join the fight against hunger. For more information contact foodfirst@foodfirst.org. ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics From kevin.li at graduate.hku.hk Wed Oct 4 23:30:17 2000 From: kevin.li at graduate.hku.hk (Kevin Yuk-shing Li) Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2000 22:30:17 +0800 Subject: [asia-apec 1603] NGO Forum on ADB- Job opening announcement Message-ID: <39DB3EF9.494BA8C2@graduate.hku.hk> NGO FORUM ON ADB Job opening announcement *Please feel free to forward this information with those who may be interested in the position. The NGO FORUM on the ADB is looking for an Associate The NGO Forum on ADB is an Asian led loose network of non-government organizations (NGOs) and community based organizations who conducts advocacy work and other activities related to the Asian Development Bank. The Secretariat of the FORUM currently housed here in the Philippines is in need of an Associate who are expected to share the following tasks with the Convenor: - Monitoring ADB?s implementation of its information dissemination policy - Providing support in raising information for campaign and advocacy support to Forum members - Facilitating of information and communication from the bank to the Forum member - Managing the library and information database of the Forum - Providing support in the advocacy work of the Forum and the Forum network - Providing support in the capacity building program of the Forum - Writing and research tasks related to advocacy work on ADB The ideal candidates should - have a working knowledge with issues related to Financial Institutions such as Asian Development Bank. - possess strong writing, communication and interpersonal skills - have knowledge of various information technology including internet and webpage making - The ideal candidates should also be willing to relocate to the Philippines for at least one (1) year. Preferences will be given to qualified candidates who have relevant NGO experiences. Interested applicants may send their resume to: Takahiro Nanri Convenor thnanri@jc.apc.org or Deniza F. Ismael-Villota den@asiagate.net NGO FORUM ON THE ADB 4/F Rm. 402,107-A Kalayaan Avenue, Quezon City, Philippine 1101 forum@asiagate.net ************************ Takahiro Nanri Convenor, NGO Forum on the ADB RM 402 4/F, 107-A Kalayaan Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines 1101 TeleFax: +63-2-929-7985 Mobile (Philippines): +63-917-399-6718 Mobile (Japan): +81-90-1425-0130 Email: thnanri@jca.apc.org From notoapec at clear.net.nz Fri Oct 6 07:22:44 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Fri, 6 Oct 2000 11:22:44 +1300 Subject: [asia-apec 1604] Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile on Cairns Group meeting Message-ID: <000101c02f1a$c9f7f6a0$63cda7cb@notoapec> Media release Australian Minister for Trade, Mark Vaile Wednesday, October 4, 2000 SE Asia free trade push & ag trade reform Trade Minister, Mark Vaile, heads to Thailand and Canada today to push for two key trade priorities. In Chiang Mai, Thailand (Oct 4-7), Mr Vaile will attend the 5th annual talks between ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) and Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations (CER) Ministers. The Ministers will review progress in trade and economic cooperation, and be presented with a High Level Task Force report into the feasibility of an AFTA-CER Free Trade Area (FTA). "Ministers will consider the report's conclusions that a free trade agreement, linking the 10 ASEAN countries, Australia and New Zealand, would benefit all, and that we should work to achieve that goal." Mr Vaile said the meeting would also provide an opportunity to discuss regional and international economic and trade developments. Mr Vaile then heads to Canada to chair the 21st Ministerial meeting of the Cairns Group of agricultural fair trading nations in Banff (Oct 10-12). It will be the first Cairns Group Ministerial meeting since the failure of the Seattle WTO Ministerial and the start of WTO negotiations on agriculture in January 2000. "Cairns Group Ministers will examine progress in the negotiations, which has seen the Group set the pace in proposing an end to export subsidies and trade-distorting domestic support. Ministers will discuss how to take the negotiations forward in the period before a new comprehensive trade round is launched," Mr Vaile said. "The meeting will include participation from the EU Agriculture Commissioner, Franz Fischler, and Egypt's Minister for Economy and Foreign Trade, Youssef Boutros-Ghali. I welcome the participation of Egypt, an important developing country, and the EU, which is facing enormous pressure to reform its agricultural policies." Mr Vaile will also participate in a number of industry events taking place in parallel with the Ministerial, including the Global Alliance for Sugar Trade Reform and a conference of Canadian Agri-Food Exporters. Cairns Group Farm Leaders, bringing together peak agricultural industry bodies from Cairns Group countries, will meet all Cairns Group Ministers on October 12. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Sun Oct 8 23:45:01 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Sun, 8 Oct 2000 07:45:01 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1605] Fw: Seoul O20 Struggle Newsletter 3 Message-ID: <000001c03136$cd758540$70cda7cb@notoapec> -----Original Message----- From: changgeun Lee >Dear Friends, > >Following message is a Newsletter on Seoul O20 struggle. >Please distribute it widely and sorry for cross posting.. > >In Solidarity, > >International Coordinating Team of KoPA >(Korean People's Action against Investment Treaties and the WTO) > >------------------------------------ > > >SEOUL O20 Struggle Newsletter 3 > > The torch of the international struggle against globalization carries over >into East Asia with the ASEM 2000 Seoul Day of Action Against Neo-Liberal >Globalization on the 20th of October. It will be held at the same site >where the Asian financial crisis swept through 3 years ago and left much of >the region in ruin, it will be organized by the people who have lost the >most and suffered the most from the direct impacts of the neo-liberal >restructuring program promoted by international financial institutions. It >will be another sign that international resistance against globalization is >truly 'international' and also will be a direct contradiction of those who >claim that re-structuring has succeeded in Korea. > > Less than 2 weeks remain now until the ASEM 2000 Seoul Day of Action >Against Neo-Liberal Globalization. The Korean progressive sector has marked >the ASEM action, not only as important people's struggle of the second half >of this year, but as a struggle which will determine whether the people of >Korea will be able to again build up a significant resistance against the >unilateral re-structuring program of the government and international >financial institutions. The Korean People's Action Against Investment >Treaties and the WTO (KoPA) and the People's Rally Committee are >concentrating their efforts into organizing the event. > > Interest and participation in the preparations for the struggle has >started to build up, both nationally and internationally. The diversity of >the wide-ranging interest and participation in the preparations for the >struggle has surprised many here in Korea. Apart from the social, people's, >and progressive movement organizations which form KoPA and the People's >Rally Committee, Korean anarchists, numbering few and until recently not >known to exist, have unveiled themselves and declared they will participate >in the struggle against globalization. Many student organizations, and >university student associations have already declared their opposition to >the Meetings and will act in solidarity with KoPA and the People's Rally >Committee in their struggle. The 'Joint media project group for ASEM 2000,' >made up of various progressive and independent media organizations in Korea, >has been formed to bring coverage of the struggle to the people of Korea, as >well as the world. Pictures, audio, and visual data on the struggle will be >available through various channels soon. This joint project group will also >act as the independent media center in Seoul, bringing news of the actions >to the world. Human rights groups, professors, environmental groups, peace >groups, actors/directors, and progressive parties have all expressed their >support for the struggle. Even more are expected to join the ranks in the >close future. > > Perhaps one of the aspects that will distinguish the struggle in Seoul >from other similar struggles in Seattle, Washington, Melbourne and Prague, >is the fact that major people's organizations and trade unions will be >actively engaged in the preparations for the struggle from the start. They >will not be largely absent, or opportunistically use the movement to promote >their own agenda. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and the Korean >Farmer's League, both central members of both KoPA and the People's Rally >Committee, have been at the forefront of the organizing activities for the >actions. It is significant that the president of the KCTU, Dan Byung-Ho >will give the opening address at the rally on the 20th. The following is an >except from his opening address draft: > >"The workers struggling to block the second round of restructuring and plan >for privatization.... actors and directors fighting to save the screen quota >and preserve cultural diversity......the rage of the farmers who have had to >burn the crops they have raised because of market liberalization......the >heroic struggle of the temporary workers this past summer.........the flame >of the struggle against neo-liberal globalization is already burning. > >We are positive that the resistance by the people of the world which started >in Seattle was not just an 'incident.' The struggle in Seattle has >continued in Washington, Davos, Bangkok, Melbourne, and Prague. These >struggles were the anger of the people of the world who have had their >democratic rights and livelihood taken away by neo-liberal globalization, >and a clear warning against trans-national capital, imperialism, and the >governments of each country promoting such policies. The people of Korea >support the struggle by the people of the world against neo-liberal >globalization and seek to follow in their footsteps. Today, we join hands >with the people of the world in the struggle against neo-liberal >globalization." >(The entire draft can be seen at the KoPA homepage: >http://antiwto.jinbo.net) > > A look at the calendar shows a busy week ahead for us. A joint concert >and culture festival, in which many actors, musical artists, and bands will >be present to voice their opposition to the neo-liberal free trade order >will be held at Joong-Ang University tomorrow. A joint discussion between >the progressive organizations of Korea will be held on both the 11th and >12th, the first one on public service and the second one on the Korea-U.S. >and Korea-Japan bi-lateral investment treaties. The coming week is also the >'Student Action Week Against Neo-Liberalism' when students will be holding >discussions, demonstrations, and other events to gather support and promote >participation in the struggle on the 20th. All these events have been >planned with the purpose of raising awareness among the public about the >effects that neo-liberal globalization, investment treaties, and financial >investment treaties have on the people of the world. > > The next week, leading up to the actions on the 20th, will be even more >exciting, with various actions being planned on the 16th, 17th, and 18th, >the all night culture festival on the 19th, the Seoul Day of Action on the >20th, and a KCTU rally on the 21st. > > The government is doing all that it can to prevent the success of this >struggle. A recent news article reported on the government putting pressure >on the police and corporations located in the vicinity of the ASEM tower to >ban any demonstrations or rallys in the area during the meetings. As in >Seattle, the area around the conference area will be off limits during the >duration of the meetings, and as in Prague, thousands of police will be >stationed to block demonstrations. A clash is unavoidable at this point in >time. > > The Asia Europe Meeting is a conference developed to promote cooperation >between the two continents. We already know that this economic cooperation >only serves the few, and the people of Korea will be out in the streets to >voice opposition to that reality. But the voices and demands that will be >voiced in Korea will not be limited to the interests of the people of Asia, >or even Europe and Asia. They will be the voices of the people of the >world, who have lost too much already to the system of inequality and >exclusion which neo-liberal globalization, financial institutions, and >governments enforce. > > It is integral to the success of the struggle in Seoul that the people of >the world know about and support us in our struggle and express their >solidarity to our actions against neo-liberalism. Let other activists, >organizations, contacts know about this struggle, organize discussions on >the subject, organize actions if possible, and please send us your messages >of support and solidarity, either through e-mail, or better yet, post it >directly on the bulletin board at the KoPA homepage. It will be a great >help to our common cause. More updates and news to come soon! > >The struggle of the People Continues in Seoul!! An Immediate Stop to >Neo-Liberal Globalization!! > >More information on the actions can be seen at: >http://antiwto.jinbo.net > >Regular updates on the preparations for the ASEM action can be heard through >the internet broadcasts at: http://cast.jinbo.net/news/yundai.html > >Contact us at: kopa@jinbo.net > >Korean People's Action against Investment Treaties and the WTO(KoPA) / >People's Rally Committee >** This newsletter is originally from the Policy and Information Center for >International Solidarity (PICIS: http://picis.jinbo.net) Newsletter Team > > > > >_________________________________________________________________________ >Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. > >Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at >http://profiles.msn.com. > > From notoapec at clear.net.nz Mon Oct 9 14:21:50 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Sun, 8 Oct 2000 22:21:50 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1606] Singapore Straits Times on ASEAN-CER deal 7/10/00 Message-ID: <001401c031b0$d5921660$8acfa7cb@notoapec> Closer ties with Australia, NZ; FTA left hanging By DOUGLAS WONG IN CHIANG MAI ASEAN will work towards developing a Closer Economic Partnership (CEP) with Australia and New Zealand, but proposals for that link to be a huge free-trade area (FTA) were left hanging here yesterday. ""We intend to step up our efforts to enhance the Afta (Asean Free Trade Area), Closer Economic Relations (Australia and New Zealand's FTA) tie... but it's not an easy thing to merge the two regions together, there needs to be preparation,'' Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi said. Top economics officials from the countries concerned will study the report of a high-level task force which proposed the huge FTA, but will focus on development assistance and other measures. Australia, which has seen a number of attempts to get closer to Asean rebuffed through the years, said that the agreement was a significant step forward. ""We're looking to the future and the greater integration of our regional economies, this is an evolutionary process,'' said Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile. An FTA from Auckland to Yangon would boost economic output in the region by US$48 billion (S$84 billion) in the next two decades, and strengthen the political bargaining power of countries involved, the task-force report said. Singapore, which has already agreed on a CEP with New Zealand involving an FTA, said terminology should not be a stumbling block. ""FTA has an old-economy, old-world connotation... If we can get together with Australia and New Zealand, it would be all to the good, and that partnership should include more elements like our e-Asean initiative, for example,'' Singapore's Trade and Industry Minister George Yeo said. Indonesia's Trade and Industry Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said: ""We're not ready to set up an Afta-CER area, so the CEP is the best way for a while, but we're not closing the door.'' Malaysia's International Trade and Industry Minister, Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz, said Malaysia does not envisage the CEP involving an FTA. Without a timetable for negotiations, the proposed FTA is effectively on hold until next year's economic ministers' meeting. From kevin.li at graduate.hku.hk Sun Oct 8 22:28:07 2000 From: kevin.li at graduate.hku.hk (Kevin Yuk-shing Li) Date: Sun, 08 Oct 2000 21:28:07 +0800 Subject: [asia-apec 1607] WCD Locks In SE Asian Launch Message-ID: <39E07667.5DC362CB@graduate.hku.hk> WCD Locks In SE Asian Launch __________________________________________ DAMS COMMISSION SETS REGIONAL LAUNCH OF FINAL REPORT IN BANGKOK NOVEMBER 24 CAPE TOWN, October 3 -- Twenty nine months after its birth, seventeen months after it began its case study of Pak Mun dam in Thailand, twelve months after starting a Cross-Check Survey of 45 dams in Asia and Australia, nine months after a Regional Consultation in Hanoi and five months after reading 338 Submissions from the region, the World Commission on Dams has completed its work. To fulfil its mandate, the Commission will present its comprehensive global analysis, independent findings and authoritative criteria and guidelines for action in Bangkok on the 24th of November, with a goal of turning controversies of the past into consensus for the future. "The proof of the pudding is always in the eating," said WCD Chair Kader Asmal. "So the real test of our work will be whether our report helps countries meet the day-to-day needs of our thirsty, hungry citizens without exhausting the waters that sustain us all. The measure of our progress over the last two years is how practical and useful our collective work has been for all. Only then will it endure." Prominent among its issues is the Pak Mun dam in Thailand, itself part of a larger debate on development throughout East and Southeast Asia. The government of Thailand readily agreed to let an independent team of Thai experts analyse and prepare a case study commissioned for the WCD on Pak Mun dam. The team has completed that study and upon its release, fuelled debate and news accounts. But Pak Mun is merely one of ten dams selected across the world as part of a case study programme. And those case studies are a fraction of all the evidence prepared for the WCD, such as a global cross-check survey of dams which included, regionally: Japan, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Australia. All these studies, reviews, surveys and reports, like Pak Mun, provide inputs to the WCD Final Report. They concern the planning, decision making, performance, construction, operation and decommissioning of large dams. The Commission then uses them to frame criteria and guidelines on future decisions on water and energy development options. The WCD's findings, lessons and criteria and guidelines will be presented in its final report, to be presented in Bangkok on 24th November. "All our commissioned case studies and thematic reviews are inputs to, not outputs of the Commission. The research which goes into the WCD does not, by itself, pass judgement, or make recommendations," said Secretary General Achim Steiner. "Only one document embodies the conclusions of and speaks with one voice from the Commission, and that is our Final Report, which will first be released in London on the 16th of November, then to all regions right afterward." In the case of Thailand, the case study authors provided the WCD with important insights. Dr. Sansanee Choowaew of Mahidol University's Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies and a key member of the WCD's Pak Mun Case Study team put the lessons from the Pak Mun dam in context: * "The project complied with the standards of the cabinet at the time and was thus approved. If the project also complied with the international funding agency's standards at the time of appraisal in 1990, many of the serious unexpected impacts could have been avoided. The Pak Mun project has given an expensive lesson that expected benefits from fisheries turn out to be much lesser than unexpected costs for fisheries management, for fisheries compensation, and for complicated conflict resolution concerning social aspects of fisheries." Each major study, report, review and survey prepared for the WCD has been rigorously peer-reviewed by the primary interests involved. In the case of Pak Mun, for example, that includes review and comments by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), the World Bank, and civil society organisations. Not all reviewers will agree with the authors' conclusions in the study. However, reviewers of the Pak Mun study identified a number of issues where interpretations of the evidence continue to diverge. Among the disagreements are questions of the scope of environmental impacts and their mitigation, as well as the economic rationale of Pak Mun within Thailand's overall power generating system: * World Bank country director, Mr. Shivakumar: "EGAT complied with the World Bank standards at the time of appraisal in 1990. The height of the dam was reduced and its location changed to drastically reduce resettlement of persons and to preserve the Kaeng Tana and Kaeng Saphue rapids which are tourist attractions. This was done at a substantial sacrifice in power benefits...The method the Bank used to evaluate the economic viability of the project was the appropriate one for a power project which was being constructed as a component of an integrated system. And this methodology complied with the Bank's guidelines." * EGAT Dep. Governor, Mr. M.L. Chanaphun Kridakorn: "The power benefit of the Pak Mun Dam is the core benefit of the project. Other benefits such as fishery, irrigation, etc. are secondary, and are not necessary for project justification. The peak generation of 126-136 MW has been achieved in 1995-1999 indicating that Pak Mun can serve more than the dependable capacity of the peak month used in the planning criteria which was already conservative. Further, Pak Mun dam construction did not induce a sudden damage on fish diversity in the Mun river. Evidence reveals that the number of fish species found during the year 1969 to the year 1993 was only 158. And EGAT paid compensation not only to directly affected families but also to indirectly affected." The WCD case studies aim to present an independent view as well as documenting differing perspectives on the evidence presented by the study team. Thus, it incorporates comments it felt were matters of fact and accuracy that could be independently verified. Where significant differences remain, these are noted in the executive summary, and the report, and in the annexes where the full text of reviewers comments are reproduced for all parties to consider. In the interest of transparency, participation and inclusiveness, WCD distributes the report to the public, partners, participants and media, and posts it on the web site: www.dams.org. A recent editorial in the Bangkok Post called the study "an eye-opening report," but then asked, appropriately, "What next? The study was done by an independent, neutral party to tell it like it is. If respected, the long-denied truth can help resolve conflicts between the people and the state in the face of spiralling natural resource wars." Indeed it can. The Pak Mun case study provided one of many insights into the work of the Commission. The WCD Final Report goes beyond learning from the past and presents a new framework for decision making with clear directions and practical guidance. It does not tell either the people or the state what to do. It does, however, provide the clear evidence, historic context and a step-by-step framework from which all parties can carefully develop lessons from the past to shape policies for their future. ____________________________________________________________________________ The World Commission on Dams was founded by industry, NGOs, governments, environmentalists and aid agencies to undertake the first independent, comprehensive global assessment of large dams and establish common ground in the fiercely contested battlefield of resource development. To do so, it read 947 papers and ten in-depth case studies, met nine times on five continents, listened to stories of 130 people from 68 countries, reviewed hundreds of dams, debated for many days, and rewrote draft after draft until all twelve Commissioners agreed on the evidence on the performance of dams in the past, and how to make sustainable decisions about water and energy development in the future. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Mon Oct 9 21:04:24 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2000 05:04:24 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1608] The Star (KL) on Malaysia and AFTA Message-ID: <007701c031e9$13bf0280$8284a7cb@notoapec> Thursday, October 5, 2000 Afta not affected by Malaysian delay CHIANGMAI: Malaysia's stand to delay the tariff reduction on its automotive sector does not affect the implementation of the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) by 2003, said chairman of the third Asean Investment Area (AIA) council meeting Abhisit Vejjajiva. "We feel that the liberalisation under Afta on the whole is on schedule,'' Abhisit, also Thailand's minister to the office of the prime minister, told a joint press conference after the council meeting in Chiangmai yesterday. Abhisit said that the formulation of modality for members to defer the scheduled implementation of Afta by 2003 prepared during the senior economic officials meeting which ended on Tuesday, indicated that the the group wanted to continue to implement the agreement in a systematic way. The modality to defer the tariff schedule and the issue whether or not Malaysia is required to pay compensation to affected countries following the delay in the tariff will be forwarded to the 32nd Asean Economic Ministers' Meeting today. As for the AIA council meeting yesterday, Abhisit said that the council would continue to undertake several programmes to turn Asean into a competitive investment location. One suggestion was to develop an Asean Investment Portal, a new initiative to facilitate investment flow by providing a gateway integrating Asean to the world, he said. In addition, Abhisit said the council had suggested the launching of new regional investment publications to enhance transparency and greater awareness of Asean's investment environment. The council also noted the need for further development of the Asean Supporting Industry Database (ASID) to facilitate the growth of the supporting industries in the region, added Abhisit. They had also agreed to develop measures to capture data on cross-border mergers and acquisitions following the significant role of cross-border mergers and acquisitions as a source of foreign direct investment (FDI), said Abhisit. The council also saw the need to regularly update the compendium of Asean Investment Policies and Measures for public use and to enhance transparency. Concerning the achievement of the AIA meeting, he said member countries had completed their negative lists (temporary exclusion list and sensitive list under the Common Effective Preferential Tariff) for agriculture, fishery, forestry and mining sectors. They had finalised their individual action plans to implement the facilitation and liberalisation programmes of the AIA agreement, said Abhisit.--Bernama From notoapec at clear.net.nz Mon Oct 9 21:08:11 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2000 05:08:11 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1609] Australia and NZ set to enter Afta - The Star, Malaysia Message-ID: <000701c031e9$bbb1b320$8acda7cb@notoapec> The Star online thestar.com.my Friday, October 6, 2000 Australia and NZ set to enter Afta CHIANGMAI: Senior officials yesterday recommended Asean allow Australia and New Zealand to join its free trade zone in a move they reportedly estimate will raise combined GDP by US$27bil. Finance officials from the 10 Asean member nations presented their economic ministers with a report recommending the Antipodean neighbours, which have their own trade alliance called Closer Economic Relations (CER), join the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta), a senior Asean representative told AFP. "We recommended that the Afta-Cer free trade agreement is feasible and advisable,'' said Cesar Virata, who chaired a group of senior officials and private sector representatives who studied the issue. Virata was speaking at a meeting of Asean economic ministers at the northern Thai resort of Chiang Mai. Efforts to forge ties with Australia and New Zealand "are certainly steps in the right direction,'' added Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai. The report recommends Asean begins talks with Canberra and Wellington on Afta within one year. "Discussions could begin as early as the end of 2000,'' said Karun Kittisaporn, director general of Thailand's Foreign Trade Department. The odds of the two countries joining Afta are now relatively high, another official told AFP. "The opening up of markets for products is always the desired outcome,'' said Philippines trade minister Manuel Roxas. But Roxas also warned Asean needs to consider whether integrating Australia and New Zealand could hurt South-East Asian industries. "We must consider the pace at which we open up our markets, so that it is consistent with our needs,'' he told AFP. The detailed report on Afta-CER now will be presented to the Asean economic ministers. They are expected to make a decision on it by the end of the conference on Saturday. If the economic ministers approve Canberra and Wellington's entry and set a timetable, they will then turn the process back over to officials to hammer out the details, said Roxas. Australia has been lobbying to join the Asean zone for several years. Economic and trade ministers from Canberra and Wellington will discuss the Afta-CER merger when they arrive in Chiang Mai on Friday, officials in Canberra had previously said. "In the longer term, what we are proposing to do will benefit all regional economies and I think it's very, very important that we continue to draw the regional economies closer given what's happening internationally on a global scale in terms of trade,'' Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile had said.--AFX From notoapec at clear.net.nz Mon Oct 9 21:11:56 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2000 05:11:56 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1610] Asean rejects free trade zone with Australia, New Zealand Message-ID: <008901c031ea$1f821160$8284a7cb@notoapec> Saturday, October 7, 2000 Business Australia Asean rejects free trade zone with Australia, New Zealand CHIANG MAI: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) yesterday rejected a proposal for establishing a US$1 trillion free trade zone with Australia and New Zealand. The Asean economic ministers instead agreed on a weaker proposal for a "closer economic partnership,'' a joint press statement said. "We can't be over-ambitious. It's not an easy thing to merge the two regions together,'' Thai Deputy Prime Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi said. The statement said the economic partnership between the two regions would be defined further by officials who would make proposals next year. The ministers met with their counterparts from the Closer Economic Relations pact from Australia and New Zealand to discuss a report by a joint task force that recommended setting up a tariff-free zone "at the earliest possible time.'' The report said such a free trade area was "not only feasible but advisable'' as it would create a market of 560 million people and bring a benefit of US$48bil in extra gross domestic product by 2020.--AP From notoapec at clear.net.nz Mon Oct 9 21:14:06 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2000 05:14:06 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1611] Afta advised to go beyond tariff deduction (thestar.com.my) Message-ID: <009101c031ea$6ccdaa60$8284a7cb@notoapec> Friday, October 6, 2000 Afta advised to go beyond tariff deduction CHIANGMAI: The Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) liberalisation process should go beyond the reduction and elimination of tariff on goods, Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai said yesterday. It should include removal of non-tariff trade barriers as well, Chuan said in his keynote address at the opening of the 32nd Asean Economic Ministers' Meeting (AEM). "Clearly, past experiences have shown that trade liberalisation schemes cannot be effective unless both tariff and non-tariff barriers are removed,'' Chuan said. He said the Asean leaders had taken steps to speed up the Afta process, enhance Asean investment climate and to strengthen the Asean Surveillance Process on financial and monetary issues. However, Chuan said despite Asean being closer to the realisation of a free trade area now than ever before, there still remained a number of criticial issues which needed to be addressed in order to make Afta a real success. Due to the pivotal role that Afta would play in stimulating trade and improving the region's investment climate, Asean needed to move promptly to fulfil its goals and objectives, he said. Chuan said: "As such, we must make certain that any flexibility injected into its framework is adopted and undertaken in a pragmatic manner so as not to jeopardise our long awaited vision. Malaysia has requested to delay tariff cuts on its completely built-up (CBU) and completely knocked-down (CKD) units to 2005 from 2003. This was agreed by Asean Economic Ministers (AEM) during the informal AEM meeting in Yangon, Myanmar last May. The delay has sparked talks that affected Asean countries, like Thailand, may ask Malaysia to pay compensation.--Bernama From notoapec at clear.net.nz Mon Oct 9 22:30:57 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2000 06:30:57 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1612] NZ Herald 9.10.00 on ASEAN-CER FTA Message-ID: <000e01c031f5$4b6a9a80$aacda7cb@notoapec> Wheels come off Asian market bid 09.10.2000 - Plans for a free-trade region including New Zealand, Australia and Southeast Asia have collapsed, with Asian countries ruling out the idea. A meeting of regional Trade Ministers in Chiang Mai in Thailand has rejected a New Zealand-Australia push to bring down trade barriers between the countries, opting instead for a Malaysian proposal that will result in more talks between officials on the idea of a closer economic partnership. But not a single tariff will be lowered. Australia and New Zealand were hoping for a deal that would lead to a single market of 530 million people. While officials from Asean nations (Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar) had recommended that formal talks on the details of a free-trade zone should begin, the free-trade plan failed at the political level with Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines opposed. Malaysia's Trade Minister, Rafidah Aziz, said that the environment was "just not right" to start the negotiations. The free-trade zone had to be looked at in totality. "It has to be a political decision and then we have to have the right environment. It's not simply an economic thing, it's political." Mrs Aziz said Malaysia had not blocked progress. "It is very important that we do things in a pragmatic and realistic manner. Please get rid of the notion that we put a brake on anything at all." Indonesian Trade Minister Luhut Pandjaitan echoed the "pragmatic and realistic" line. "We are not yet ready from the Indonesian side to set up a wider free-trade zone." Thailand Deputy Prime Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi said: "We can't be over-ambitious. It's not an easy thing to merge the two regions together." Asean ministers also denied there had been setbacks. "You talk about two setbacks. I think we were talking about two progresses being made," Dr Supachai said. Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines have thorny relations with Australia, and there is reported to be some political mistrust, along with protectionist pressure, within those countries. While the decision seems to have ended hopes of a single trade market soon, ministers on all sides are still claiming progress. "It's a very significant step forward," said New Zealand Trade Minister Jim Sutton. "It is now an inter-governmental process, which is a necessary step. It's gone better than I had expected, better than I had hoped." It has been estimated that a zone would increase New Zealand's GDP by $17.7 billion over the next 20 years. Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile said the outcome of the meeting was a significant step forward in terms of Australia's economic relationship and partnership with the Asean grouping. "Never before have we moved this far forward in terms of the development of that relationship." Federated Farmers president Alistair Polson said the outcome of the Asean meeting was encouraging. The recommendation by senior officials that New Zealand and Australia become part of the Asean free-trade area was one of several developments that put him and the group's chief executive, Tony St Clair, in good heart as they headed to Canada for the fourth Cairns Group farm leaders meeting. The regional trade meeting also included talks with the European Union, and discussion about a new round of World Trade Organisation talks. A WTO meeting in Seattle last year failed to agree on an agenda for trade reform. Dr Supachai said Asean countries agreed there was a need for the WTO to take more notice of developing countries. - REUTERS, NZPA From kevin.li at graduate.hku.hk Wed Oct 11 18:22:54 2000 From: kevin.li at graduate.hku.hk (Kevin Yuk-shing Li) Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 17:22:54 +0800 Subject: [asia-apec 1613] NGO FORUM on ADB is looking for Volunteers Message-ID: <39E4316D.4C604E40@graduate.hku.hk> NGO FORUM ON ADB *Please feel free to forward this information with those who may be interested in the position. The NGO FORUM on adb is looking for Volunteers The NGO Forum on ADB is an Asian led loose network of non-government organizations (NGOs) and community based organizations who conducts advocacy work and other activities related to the Asian Development Bank. The Secretariat of the FORUM currently housed here in the Philippines is in need of volunteer staff who is expected to assist the following tasks: - Monitoring ADB?s implementation of its information dissemination policy - Providing support in raising information for campaign and advocacy support to Forum members - Facilitating of information and communication from the bank to the Forum member - Managing the library and information database of the Forum - Providing support in the advocacy work of the Forum and the Forum network - Providing support in the capacity building program of the Forum - Writing and research tasks related to advocacy work on ADB The ideal candidates should - possess strong writing, communication and interpersonal skills - have interests to work on issues related to Financial Institutions such as Asian Development Bank. - have knowledge of various information technology including internet and webpage making - The ideal candidates should also be willing to relocate to the Philippines Intersted applicants may send their resume to: Takahiro Nanri Convenor thnanri@jca.apc.org or Deniza F. Ismael-Villota den@asiagate.net NGO FORUM ON THE ADB 4/F Rm. 402,107-A Kalayaan Avenue, Quezon City, Philippine 1101 TELEFAX: 929-7987 forum@asiagate.net ************************ Takahiro Nanri Convenor, NGO Forum on the ADB RM 402 4/F, 107-A Kalayaan Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines 1101 TeleFax: +63-2-929-7985 Mobile (Philippines): +63-917-399-6718 Mobile (Japan): +81-90-1425-0130 Email: thnanri@jca.apc.org From amittal at foodfirst.org Thu Oct 12 04:38:48 2000 From: amittal at foodfirst.org (Anuradha Mittal) Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2000 12:38:48 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1614] Book Signing/Speaking Event Message-ID: <0.700000824.960838667-212058698-971293128@topica.com> PLEASE POST AND DISTRIBUTE Views From the South, Speaking Event, October 12, 2000 Jerry Mander, President of the International Forum on Globalization (IFG) and Anuradha Mittal, Co-Director of Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy will be at the Modern Times Book Store, 888 Valencia Street @20th, San Francisco, on October 12 at 7:30 pm to talk about their new book, Views From the South, co-published by Food First Books and the IFG. Ever since the Battle in Seattle, the World Trade Organization has been featured prominently in the news. For all their talk of being dedicated to the welfare of the Third World, the WTO has damaged the economies of several countries and encouraged the growth of labor markets that more closely resemble sweatshops. Views from the South with foreword by Jerry Mander, Afterword by Anuradha Mittal, edited by Sarah Anderson, collects the works of Third World activists such as Martin Khor, Walden Bello, Vandana Shiva, Dot Keet, Sara Larrain, and Oronto Douglas. It examines the effects of the WTO and provides alternative agendas geared towards people, not profits. 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 sap at web.net Fri Oct 13 04:30:40 2000 From: sap at web.net (Faruq Faisel) Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2000 15:30:40 -0400 Subject: [asia-apec 1615] Job Opening: Program Manager, Sri Lanka Canada Development Fund Message-ID: <003e01c03483$d1e54e80$1a0000c0@look.ca> Apology for cross posting. Please circulate Program Manager, Sri Lanka Canada Development Fund Application Deadline: October 23, 2000 South Asia Partnership (SAP) Canada is looking for a PROGRAM MANAGER for its Sri Lanka Canada Development Fund Program. SAP Canada is a forum in Canada on South Asian human development issues. It has a membership of other NGOs and a broad constituency of civil society organizations in Canada and is a member of SAP International, which serves a network of SAP organizations in five countries of South Asia. Position Summary Responsible for the Canadian-based program of SLCDF, the Program Manager coordinates issue-based workshops, NGO consultations and publications, and develops Sri Lankan-Canadian linkages. S/he also facilitates Canadian NGO support to Sri Lankan programs and provides technical assistance on programming and institutional development as needed. S/he is responsible for liaison and reporting with CIDA, Canadian and Sri Lankan Boards and the Colombo Secretariat. Responsibilities ? Coordinate and implement issue-based workshops and program consultations for Canadian organizations interested in Sri Lanka ? Write analytical material and oversee communications ? Foster new relationships, linkages with Canadian organizations, Sri Lankan-Canadian community ? Facilitate and monitor Canadian support for Sri Lanka-based programs ? Participate on the SLCDF Management Committee to review, monitor and evaluate the program ? Manage liaison with CIDA ? Document and disseminate in-Canada lessons learned from the SLCDF program ? Report regularly to CIDA, SAP Canada Board, SLCFD Management Committee on SLCDF activities ? Maintain a results-based management and monitoring system ? Work with the SAP Canada Director of Finance and Information Systems Manager to develop and maintain appropriate financial, administrative and MIS systems for the effective operation of the program Requirements ? Demonstrated experience in development education ? Proven experience in program, administrative and financial management ? Familiarity with results-based monitoring and evaluation ? Familiarity with CIDA requirements and bilateral project management ? Knowledge and understanding of international development issues ? Understanding of gender and human rights issues and analysis ? Experience working with the Canadian NGO community ? University degree ? Familiarity with South Asia, preferably Sri Lanka ? Solid interpersonal skills ? Demonstrated writing and documentation skills ? Computer literate (Windows, MS Word) ? Fluent in English, preferably bilingual (English/French), knowledge of Sinhala or Tamil an asset Starting Time SAP Canada aims to fill the position by November 1, 2000, or as early as possible. Contract Basis All positions in SAP Canada are provided on a time-specific contract basis, with a full compensation package comparable to many Canadian NGOs. Applications Applicants should forward a personal r?sum? and a statement of interest indicating experience and abilities relevant to the features of the position to: Executive Director, SAP Canada 1 Nicholas Street, Suite 200, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 7B7 Fax 613 241 1129 Email sap@web.ca (Emailed applications should also be mailed or delivered in hard copy). Due to time constrain, SAP staff will be able to acknowledge only those applications being considered for possible interview and will not be able to discuss the position at length by telephone. For further information on SAP Canada, please visit: www.sapcanada.org From sap at web.net Fri Oct 13 04:32:07 2000 From: sap at web.net (Faruq Faisel) Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2000 15:32:07 -0400 Subject: [asia-apec 1616] Job opening: Program Manager, India Linkage Program Message-ID: <003f01c03484$30925e00$1a0000c0@look.ca> Apology for cross posting. Please circulate Program Manager, India Linkage Program Application Deadline: October 23, 2000 South Asia Partnership (SAP) Canada is looking for a PROGRAM MANAGER for its INDIA LINKAGE PROGRAM. SAP Canada is a forum in Canada on South Asian human development issues. It has a membership of other NGOs and a broad constituency of civil society organizations in Canada and is a member of SAP International, which serves a network of SAP organizations in five countries of South Asia. Position Summary To manage a program of interaction and cooperation between Canadian and Indian civil society organizations focused on a human development agenda, including issues of sustainable development, democratic participation, gender equality and peace. (This is not a development assistance activity but a program of building mutual knowledge, support and solidarity.) Responsibilities ? To build an information base on Indian networks and organizations involved in human development issues; ? To build a body of information and analysis on Indian development issues and make it available to a broad constituency; ? To facilitate contact and cooperation between Canadian and Indian organizations (NGOs and others); ? To organize workshops and seminars, arrange speaking tours and exchanges; ? To identify and encourage activities for Canadian NGOs and others to contribute to human development in India; ? To manage specific knowledge building projects with Canadian and Indian partners; ? To develop and operate or coordinate activities to promote a better public understanding of the Indian development situation and how Canada might effectively relate to it. Requirements ? Minimum five years relevant and productive experience with non-governmental/civil society organizations involved in international development; ? Sound knowledge and experience in development issues relating to South Asia in general and India specifically; ? Good knowledge of the international development community in Canada and internationally; ? High quality writing and editing skills, including ability to gather and synthesize written material; ? Proven ability to communicate verbally and in writing in a variety of media; ? Demonstrated organizational aptitude and skills for such activities as seminars, tours, exchanges, etc.; ? Ability to work with and facilitate group activity and to build and sustain a wide range of productive working relationships; ? Excellent English language capability, French a desirable asset, Indian languages useful. Starting Time SAP Canada aims to fill the position by November 1, 2000, or as early as possible. Contract Basis All positions in SAP Canada are provided on a time-specific contract basis, with a full compensation package comparable to many Canadian NGOs. Applications Applicants should forward a personal r?sum? and a statement of interest indicating experience and abilities relevant to the features of the position to: Executive Director, SAP Canada 1 Nicholas Street, Suite 200, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 7B7 Fax 613 241 1129 Email sap@web.ca (Emailed applications should also be mailed or delivered in hard copy). Due to time constrain, SAP staff will be able to acknowledge only those applications being considered for possible interview and will not be able to discuss the position at length by telephone. For further information on SAP Canada, please visit: www.sapcanada.org From sap at web.net Sat Oct 14 01:38:44 2000 From: sap at web.net (Faruq Faisel) Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2000 12:38:44 -0400 Subject: [asia-apec 1617] Presentation: Peoples war in Nepal Message-ID: <006601c03544$d36a9640$1a0000c0@look.ca> Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and South Asia Partnership (SAP) Canada Invite you to a Presentation on PEOPLES WAR IN NEPAL ROLE OF GOOD GOVERNANCE AT A TIME OF POLITICAL UNREST By Dr. Rohit Kumar Nepali Executive Director, South Asia Partnership (SAP) Nepal On: Tuesday, October 17th, 2000 At: 1 to 3 PM In: Room 769, CIDA, 200 Promenade du Portage, Hull In the Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal, a Maoist insurgency has spread over more than half the country in the last four years. The "Peoples War" launched in 1996, has multiplied from three to 45 of Nepal's 75 districts. Human Rights have been widely violated, and development activities have been stopped or slowed down. The government of Nepal has been trying to suppress the insurgency by using police force. The majority of the civil society organizations in Nepal believe that peace can only be brought through dialogue, not by brutal force. SAP Nepal strongly believes that civil society can play an effective role to create a congenial environment for enhancing peacebuilding process through dialogue between concerned parties. SAP Nepal has created District Network of partner NGOs in 8 districts and is in the process of establishing in more 3 districts. These forums have been conducting interactive dialogues and advocacy programs to promote good\ governance. At this seminar, Mr. Rohit Nepali will brief the audience on the latest developments concerning the crisis in Nepal and explain SAP Nepal's initiatives. A question and answer period will follow the presentation. For more information: Rajkumari Shanker, CIDA, e-mail: RAJKUMARI_SHANKER@ACDI-CIDA.GC.CA Faruq Faisel, SAP Canada, Phone: 241 1333, extension 226, Fax: 241 1129 e-mail: sap@web.net Please RSVP: sap@web.net --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 URL: www.sapcanada.org From aaronj at interchange.ubc.ca Sat Oct 14 14:02:04 2000 From: aaronj at interchange.ubc.ca (Aaron James) Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2000 22:02:04 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1618] Southeast Asia's Market Slump Message-ID: <3.0.6.32.20001013220204.007b1da0@pop.interchange.ubc.ca> [Full text can be found in "Economies" at http://quote.bloomberg.com/newsarchive/] Southeast Asia's Market Slump, Political Woes Point to Trouble By David Saunders and Alison Jahncke Hong Kong, Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Whatever happened to Southeast Asia's economic recovery? The Philippines, Indonesian and Thai stock exchanges are among the world's worst performers, their currencies are sliding and their leaders are in trouble. While those economies have returned to growth since the Asian crisis of 1997 and 1998, their prospects may now be getting worse, not better. That's clearly the case in the Philippines. The peso tumbled to a record yesterday amid a swelling budget deficit and charges that President Joseph Estrada took more than $6 million in gambling bribes, prompting the central bank to raise rates four percentage points. On the same day, the government cut its 2001 growth forecast and said inflation is set to soar. "The risks for Southeast Asia going ahead -- and the rest of the region -- are high and building," said David Fernandez, head of Asian economic research at J.P. Morgan & Co. Sliding markets, cooling global demand for the region's exports and rising oil prices "are warning signs about growth." Investors are fleeing. The key Thai, Philippine and Indonesian stock indexes have lost more than half their value this year. That puts them among the world's six biggest losers. The rupiah has shed about 20 percent of its value this year, the peso has slid 17 percent and the baht has weakened 14 percent. "The bloom is off Asia -- it's just not the way it used to be," said Bob Lees, secretary-general of the Honolulu-based Pacific Basin Economic Council, whose corporate members include Bangkok Bank Pcl and San Miguel Corp. "I don't see any breakthrough that's going to see billions of dollars flowing into the region soon." -------------------------- Aaron James 101 - 1717 Comox Street Vancouver, British Columbia V6G 1P5 phone (work): 604-255-7346 phone (home): 604-602-1626 fax: 604-255-0971 http://members.tripod.com/aaronjeromewestjames From aaronj at interchange.ubc.ca Sat Oct 14 13:37:21 2000 From: aaronj at interchange.ubc.ca (Aaron James) Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2000 21:37:21 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1619] Stiglitz (former IMF head) on globalization Message-ID: <3.0.6.32.20001013213721.007b1da0@pop.interchange.ubc.ca> Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) October 11, 2000, Wednesday, LENGTH: 1072 words HEADLINE: Economist says bad management of trade creates hardships BYLINE: Dave Hage; Staff Writer BODY: After riots in Seattle and protests in Prague, the debate over globalization has settled into a tiresome standoff between insiders and outsiders. The outsiders are environmentalists, labor leaders, students, anarchists. They stand at the barricades, chucking bricks at McDonald's and heresy at the International Monetary Fund. The insiders are elite economists and financial technocrats. They look down from their offices and defend the orthodoxy, insisting that markets deliver efficiency and that trade creates wealth. Then along comes Joseph Stiglitz _ a dangerous man, an insider who defected. Stiglitz, an owlish intellectual who reminds audiences of Richard Dreyfuss, probably won't win the Nobel Prize in economics when it is announced this week. But he has earned every other distinction in the field _ a Ph.D. from MIT; the top prize for young economists from the American Economic Association; faculty positions at Yale, Princeton and Stanford. In 1995 he became chairman of President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers and in 1997 chief economist for the World Bank. Then, in a series of increasingly public critiques, Stiglitz delivered a stinging attack on the world trading system, a dissent that culminated with his resignation from the World Bank last year. Stiglitz came to Minnesota last week to speak at the annual Nobel Conference sponsored by Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter to coincide with the announcement of the Nobel prizes. Stiglitz argues that free trade and open markets could be forces for good _ reducing poverty in the Third World, sharing technology across borders, moving investment from rich nations to poor. But he says that trade has been "badly managed" by the rich countries and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), causing unnecessary instability and hardship in the developing world. Stiglitz takes the debate to a higher level _ not just because he dissects the orthodoxy with its own tools, but because he uses the anecdotes of an insider to confirm the suspicions of the outsiders. A few years ago, for example, Ethiopia came to the IMF seeking a loan to stabilize its troubled currency. Stiglitz had visited the east African nation and thought its progressive new leaders were taking the country in the right direction. But economists at the IMF balked at providing the loan. They didn't like Ethiopia's bookkeeping _ it counted foreign aid as well as tax revenues in reporting a balanced government budget. Stiglitz asked: So what? Foreign aid is unreliable, IMF economists replied. Stiglitz went home and had one of his World Bank researchers run a study; it turns out that foreign aid is actually a more stable revenue source than tax receipts for poor countries. But when he took these findings to his counterparts at the IMF, they refused to reconsider. "They wouldn't look at the facts," he said in an interview. "It was like talking to the wall." About a year later, when the World Bank was preparing its widely read annual report on world economic conditions, the scholar in charge solicited several essays challenging the view that economic growth was reducing poverty. A top U.S. Treasury official read the draft and insisted that the criticisms be softened, according to Stiglitz. The editor resigned in protest, saying that politicians were rewriting staff research. Then there was the debate over trade with South Korea. The Clinton administration was preparing for trade negotiations with its Asian ally and wanted to urge "capital market liberalization" _ that is, allowing Korean banks and corporations to borrow more easily from foreign lenders. Research by Stiglitz's staff at the Council of Economic Advisers showed that this might actually destabilize a small nation if its banks and regulators weren't ready for huge, fickle flows of money _ which is exactly what happened two years later. But when Stiglitz prepared a briefing paper on the matter, his rivals in the administration said the president didn't even need to study the question. If Stiglitz finds fault with the big institutions of world trade, however, he would not tear them down. In fact, he thinks that free trade will ultimately be a good thing. And suddenly he sounds more like the leading scholars in international economics. "Globalization does represent the best chance to lift the poor out of poverty they have lived in for centuries," he told the audience at Gustavus. Later, in an interview, he added: "In China or Indonesia, the alternative to a job in a Nike factory might be unemployment and destitution. What you want is not for Nike to shut down, but for Nike to recognize that it doesn't cost much to build a factory with air conditioning, regular work breaks and so on." What Stiglitz would like to see is better management of globalization, management that spreads the wealth. In particular: - The rich nations of North America and Europe should eliminate all tariffs and quotas on goods from developing countries. The poor nations would prosper faster if the rich nations would buy their sugar, peanuts, grains, textiles, shoes, garments and other low-tech goods. - Congress should fund the debt-relief program proposed by President Clinton so that poor countries, especially in Africa, don't have to spend so much of their current income repaying old debts to rich nations. - The IMF and the World Bank should have governing boards with greater representation from developing nations. The agencies now are funded chiefly by rich nations and operated by Western or Western-trained technocrats. These experts, Stiglitz says, often fail to understand the importance of such basic development tools as free primary schools and land redistribution. Though Stiglitz has gained the reputation of a firebrand since his resignation from the World Bank, an hour's conversation shows him to be modest, funny, thoughtful, deeply concerned about social justice _ and ultimately optimistic. "The marches (in Seattle and Prague) have had an effect," he said. "Remember that the marches of the Civil Rights movement and the (European) revolutions of 1848 had an effect too." Maybe Stiglitz will turn out to be neither an insider nor an outsider, but a bridge between the two. . _ Dave Hage is a Star Tribune editorial writer. -------------------------- Aaron James 101 - 1717 Comox Street Vancouver, British Columbia V6G 1P5 phone (work): 604-255-7346 phone (home): 604-602-1626 fax: 604-255-0971 http://members.tripod.com/aaronjeromewestjames From sap at web.net Tue Oct 17 06:12:37 2000 From: sap at web.net (Faruq Faisel) Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2000 17:12:37 -0400 Subject: [asia-apec 1620] PD ENCOUNTERS SERIES Message-ID: <00ac01c037b6$590d6700$1a0000c0@look.ca> PD ENCOUNTERS SERIES Participatory Development Forum and South Asia Partnership (SAP) Canada Invite you to a Presentation on CONSULTATIONS WITH THE POOR: LESSON LEARNED IN NEPAL By Dr. Rohit Kumar Nepali, Executive Director, South Asia Partnership (SAP) Nepal On: Friday, October 20th, 2000 At: 12 to 2 PM (bring your lunch!) In: Room 202, 1 Nicholas Street, Ottawa In September 1998, the Asia Branch of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) launched a yearlong inquiry called "The Poverty Reduction Project". The goal was to take into account recent developments in Asia and deepen Asia Branch's understanding of the nature and the effects of poverty and what can be done to help people move out of poverty. South Asia Partnership Canada engaged four of its local partners to talk to villagers in Cambodia (with the Cambodia Canada Development Program), Nepal (with South Asia Partnership Nepal), Pakistan, (with South Asia Partnership Pakistan) and the Philippines (with the Philippine Development Assistance Program). These organizations work primarily with community-based organizations and were able to talk with people experiencing the worst conditions of poverty in their respective countries. Mr. Rohit Nepali, Executive Director of South Asia Partnership Nepal, had overseen the consultation in Nepal. In his presentation, he will describe different PRA tools that were used to generate both quantitative and qualitative data and share the lesson learned in Nepal through the use of this process. A question and answer period will follow the presentation. For more information, please contact: Faruq Faisel, SAP Canada, Phone: 241 1333, extension 226, Fax: 241 1129; e-mail: sap@web.ca There is no charge for the event and donations to the PD Forum will be greatly appreciated. Please forward this message to and invite interested friends and colleagues! RSVP to Christa at the PD Forum: pdforum@web.net or (613) 792-1006 Participatory Development Forum 1404 Scott Street PO Box 3000, Station C Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 4M8 CANADA Telephone: (613) 792-1006; Fax: (613) 792-1206 E-mail: pdforum@web.net Please visit our website: http://www.web.net/pdforum _____________________ The PD Forum is an international network of development practitioners, NGOs, action-researchers, private sector representatives and policy makers committed to promoting a philosophy of participation that advocates for people's capacity and right to define and control their own development, in order to achieve social justice and equality. From notoapec at clear.net.nz Wed Oct 18 09:47:11 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 13:47:11 +1300 Subject: [asia-apec 1621] NZ ABAC appointees announced Message-ID: <000901c0389c$f4515b40$b984a7cb@notoapec> APEC Business Advisory Council Appointees Wednesday, 18 October 2000, 9:36 am Press Release: New Zealand Government 17 October 2000 APEC Business Advisory Council Appointees Announced Sir Dryden Spring has been appointed as the incoming Chair of the New Zealand delegation to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), Prime Minister Helen Clark announced today. The other two New Zealand representatives to have been appointed to ABAC are Peter Masfen, Chairman of the Montana Group, and Wendy Pye of Wendy Pye Ltd. APEC Leaders agreed in 1995 to establish a permanent independent source of business advice for APEC. Philip Burdon has been New Zealand?s chair since 1995. Sir Dryden?s two-year term will commence when Mr Burdon steps down immediately after this year?s APEC Leaders? Meeting in Brunei in November. Mr Masfen and Ms Pye will also commence two-year terms of appointment at the same time, replacing outgoing ABAC members Douglas Myers and Fran Wilde. "ABAC plays an important role in providing a direct business input to APEC," Helen Clark said. ABAC representatives from all twenty-one APEC economies meet several times a year to discuss the APEC work programme and make suggestions. They produce an annual report, and have an opportunity to discuss this with the Leaders of APEC economies at the annual APEC Leaders? Meeting. Sir Dryden Spring, a former Chairman of the NZ Dairy Board, is Chairman of Goodman Fielder New Zealand, Ericsson Communications (NZ) Ltd and WEL Energy Group Ltd. He is also Deputy Chairman of the Goodman Fielder group, and has a range of senior directorships. Peter Masfen is Chairman of the Montana Group, New Zealand?s largest wine producing and exporting company, while Wendy Pye is the founder of a highly successful company producing and exporting reading and other educational materials. ?We are fortunate to have been able to engage the services of these three outstanding business people to boost New Zealand?s profile at APEC,? Helen Clark said. Ends From amittal at foodfirst.org Wed Oct 18 10:04:53 2000 From: amittal at foodfirst.org (Anuradha Mittal) Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2000 18:04:53 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1622] Food First vs. Dennis Avery on Cuba organic farming Message-ID: <0.700000824.1451961176-212058698-971831093@topica.com> Copyright 2000 The Montreal Gazette October 16, 2000, Monday, FINAL SECTION: Editorial / Op-ed; B2 LENGTH: 375 words HEADLINE: In farming, Cuba sets good example BYLINE: Peter Rosset BODY: I am shocked that you would publish ''Cubans big on organic farming - but they are starving'' by Dennis T. Avery (Comment, Oct. 10), without bothering to either fact-check the essay or do a background check on the author. Mr. Avery, the author of ''Saving the Planet With Pesticides and Plastic'', has made a well-funded career of attacking organic farming wherever it is found. It is not surprising that the anti-organic Mr. Avery, employed by a right-wing think tank, the Hudson Institute, would take on organic farming in Cuba. At the Institute for Food and Development Policy, we have spent 25 years researching the global food system. Over the past decade no country has caught our attention more, as a positive example of a different way of growing food, than Cuba, for the way it has overcome a severe food crisis through self-reliance and sustainable agriculture and organic practices. While Cuba still suffers from sporadic shortages of various food items, that is not the fault of Cuban farmers, who today produce more food with far less pesticides than they did in the 1980s. Rather, those shortages, when they occur, are more a result of the economic isolation of the island nation enforced by its northern neighbour, the United States. When Mr. Avery says ''Cubans are rationed each month'' to small-sounding quantities of various foods, he leads us to believe that the ration is all Cubans eat. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The government-provided ration provides only part of the average Cuban's diet, the remainder of which comes from what they purchase in stores, farmers' markets and roadside stands, eat at workplace and school cafeterias, or grow themselves. Another example: Mr. Avery cites persistent low yields in Cuba's sugar crop as evidence that organic farming doesn't work. What he fails to mention is that sugar is one crop where the new the policies of production incentives and organic farming practices have yet to be widely implemented. Mr. Avery's right-wing rantings do nothing to further a constructive debate on the directions that future food and agriculture policies should take. Peter M. Rosset Co-Director, Institute for Food and Development Policy Oakland, Calif. ************************************************************* The following is the original to which Peter Rosset responded ************************************************************* Copyright 2000 The Montreal Gazette October 10, 2000, Tuesday, FINAL SECTION: Editorial / Op-ed; B3 LENGTH: 713 words HEADLINE: Cubans big on organic farming - but they are starving BYLINE: DENNIS T. AVERY BODY: Cuba is being honoured as the only country trying to feed a modern society with organic farming. Its organic-farming association was awarded an ''alternative Nobel Prize'' last year in the Swedish parliament. Eco- activists across the First World praise Cuban efforts to control pests with natural predators instead of chemicals. Peter Rosset of the Food First Institute recently called Cuba ''the world's largest and most successful experiment in self-reliant alternative agriculture.'' For Cuban families, all this must have a hollow ring. Cubans are rationed each month to about five pounds of bread, six pounds of rice, one pound of beans and seven eggs. The low yields from Cuba's organic farms mean constant hunger and near- malnutrition. Most of the world's farm yields are trending upward, but the sugar crop, which used to finance much of Cuba's economy, yields only two- thirds as much as when Fidel Castro came to power 40 years ago. This pattern of agricultural failure can no longer be blamed on Cuba's state farms. In fact, Cuba has shifted about one-fourth of its farmland to a new pattern it calls linking the worker with an area: a team of four workers is given responsibility for production in a restricted area of about 32 acres. They even get a percentage of the extra profits if they achieve high yields. (Can you say ''family farm?'') But even the new production teams haven't been enough to adequately nourish Cubans. ''As for the population's consumption, the main efforts are being made in the area of rice production,'' Agriculture Minister Alfredo Jordan said recently on Havana radio. ''As for tubers and vegetables, despite an increase in their production, it is still not enough to meet the demand.'' Jordan added, ''Efforts are also being made to cover the population's animalprotein needs. This last sector is where most of the difficulties are found and in which recovery is slowest. It is true that agriculture production has increased, but it is still far from covering the population's needs.'' The Cuban minister tells visitors frankly he would love to have higher-yield fertilizers and crop protection chemicals, but Cuba is too broke to buy them. The collapse of the Soviet Union ended Cuba's financial subsidies from the East Bloc. Cuba can't earn much cash from sugar because European export dumping and pervasive sugar import barriers depress prices. Despite the organic focus, Cuba's agriculture still uses about $100 million worth of fuel a year, $80 million worth of chemical fertilizers and $30 million worth of pesticides and other high-yield inputs. But it's not enough. Agricultural failure hasn't made the Cuban government shy, of course. Cuba recently simultaneously hosted the Sustainable Agriculture Networking and Extension project of the UN Development Program and an international organic-farming conference. ''It was especially moving to see the reactions of the foreign visitors as the Cubans showed them the enormous strides they have taken in overcoming the food crisis brought on by the collapse of the socialist bloc in Europe,'' Rosset gushed. ''Last year, Cuba had the highest production totals in its entire history for almost all key food crops.'' Of course in the old days Cuba could afford to import about half of its food, along with all the fertilizer and crop-protection chemicals needed to support the crops it did grow at home. Today, the suppressed economy has little earning power except for tourism and tobacco. The mayor of Havana told Rosset a recent household survey showed 40 per cent of the food eaten in one of the city's neighborhoods was grown right in the neighbourhood. It had to be. With farm workers eating up the low yields from their organic fields and government rations inadequate, Havana's residents are desperately serious gardeners. Of course, that means less time for relaxing, sports or hobbies. They've got to be pulling weeds, squashing bugs and worrying about the mosaic virus in their off hours from the factories. If Cuba is the world's greatest alternative agriculture success, what's the second best? Ethiopia? Rwanda? - Dennis T. Avery is director of global food issues for the Hudson Institute of Indianapolis. 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 amittal at foodfirst.org Sat Oct 21 04:21:41 2000 From: amittal at foodfirst.org (Anuradha Mittal) Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 12:21:41 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1623] RALLY AGAINST THE SARDAR SAROVAR DAM!Protest the Indian Supreme Court Ru Message-ID: <0.700000824.1944456008-951758591-972069701@topica.com> An Urgent Action from International Rivers Network and Friends of the River Narmada--supported by Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy RALLY AGAINST THE SARDAR SAROVAR DAM! Protest the Indian Supreme Court Ruling ----------------------------------------------------------------------- When: Monday, October 23, 2000 10-11 AM Where: Indian Consulate 540 Arguello Blvd. (near Geary) San Francisco We urge you to join us for an emergency rally to support villagers fighting destructive development on India's Narmada River. The Delhi Supreme Court ruled 2 to 1 on Wednesday to allow construction to resume on the Sardar Sarovar Project. Writer Arundhati Roy has called the decision "absolutely disgraceful" and "a very sad moment in the history of democracy". Construction is expected to resume within two weeks. Most work on the project had been suspended since 1994. The ruling came despite evidence that claimed project benefits will not materialize, better alternatives are available and rehabilitation of the 500,000 people affected by the project is impossible. We urge you to come to the Indian Consulate on Monday and show your opposition to the dam and the Supreme Court verdict. Directions and background info are below. For more info, contact Susanne Wong International Rivers Network 510-848-1155 swong@irn.org Subbu Vincent Friends of the Narmada 510-445-0646 svincent20@hotmail.com Aniruddha Vaidya Friends of the Narmada 408-980-0672 asvaidya@netscape.net *For more information on the struggle, go to www.narmada.org. ---------------------------------------- DIRECTIONS TO THE CONSULATE ---------------------------------------- Driving directions from the East Bay/Hwy 101: Take 80 West to SF. Take the Fell St. Exit and stay to the left. Continue on Fell and make a right onto Stanyan. Turn left onto Fulton. Turn right onto Arguello. The address is 540 Arguello Blvd. Driving directions from Hwy 280: Take 19th Avenue/ Golden Gate Exit and continue on 19th Avenue, which merges into Park Presidio Drive. Turn right on Fulton Street. Turn left on Arguello Boulevard. Directions from BART: Take Montgomery Exit. Go to street level and catch the 38 or 38L(faster) bus and get off at the corner of Arguello and Geary. (The buses come every 7-8 min and the trip from the Bart station to the consulate is roughly 30 min.) -------------------------------------- PRESS RELEASE International Rivers Network Berkeley, California www.irn.org For Immediate Release: October 18, 2000 Contact: Patrick McCully (510) 543 3317 IRN Condemns Indian Supreme Court Go Ahead for Sardar Sarovar Dam International Rivers Network strongly condemns today's majority ruling by the Indian Supreme Court allowing construction to resume on the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada River. "The ruling is utterly illogical and an insult to democracy and justice," said Patrick McCully, Campaigns Director of International Rivers Network. The Sardar Sarovar Project is one of the world's most controversial dam projects and would forcibly displace more people than any other infrastructure project in the world except for China's notorious Three Gorges Dam. "Sardar Sarovar symbolizes an outdated and internationally discredited approach to water management," Patrick McCully added. The Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save the Narmada Movement) filed their case against Sardar Sarovar in 1994. The NBA presented the court with evidence showing that the project will not work as planned, that alternatives are available, that the necessary environmental studies have not been done, and that proper rehabilitation of the hundreds of thousands of people who would lose their livelihoods to the project is impossible. The NBA have for more than a decade led a mass campaign of non-violent resistance to the dam. The court had stalled construction on the part-built dam wall for most of the past six years. But the final ruling allows the height of the dam to be raised by five meters immediately and then in further five-meter stages based on approval from government committees which have shown themselves to be controlled by pro-dam interests. One of the three judges on the Supreme Court bench, Justice S.P. Bharucha, issued a dissenting opinion stating that construction should be stopped pending new environmental studies. The court has given project authorities four weeks to draw up a plan for the resettlement and rehabilitation of the 200,000 people to be displaced by the Sardar Sarovar Reservoir. A resettlement plan for Sardar Sarovar was supposed to have been completed in 1981. "If the authorities can't produce a credible plan in nearly two decades, how can they write one in a month?", Patrick McCully asks. Several hundred thousand other people will lose - or have already lost - their livelihoods to irrigation canals, housing for construction workers, the desiccation of the river downstream of the dam, and a wildlife reserve planned to compensate for the ecosystems to be flooded. For more on the reaction to the Supreme Court judgement go to www.narmada.org ------------------------ NARMADA BACHAO ANDOLAN 10/19/00 ACTION ALERT ON SUPREME COURT VERDICT - NARMADA CASE The anti-people judgment by the Supreme Court of India has sent a shocking wave across the Narmada as well as other river valleys but also fields and villages, homes and hamlets of those struggling against inhuman backlash of development. We have been, since the verdict is announced, receiving calls and messages of solidarity, enquiring about the next move. Grateful to all who have always been with us throughout the long, perseverant struggle and who are with us today, feeling utmost responsible to take the struggle ahead with greater strength and commitment, we are amidst planning our way ahead. With all of us, the full timers and main representatives of various parts of the valley with a few supporters who can make it, coming together in Badwani, Nimad. We will be reviewing the legal judgment, our moral commitment, political situation to chalk out a multiple front strategy. We have over years, indicated our direction and taken to a non-violent path of struggle. This is a time to look back and look forward with all humility at our command and determination to continue to wage a war....... We know, however, that many of our supporters, sympathisers, all of you from different walks of life....have already begun with meetings and even thought of immediate phase that we suggest a few actions, gathered from various supporters, to you: a. please mobilise all our old and new friends supporters, sympathisers, belonging to different organisation, movements b. do request others and send yourself protest letters to the President and the Prime Minister, expressing your condemnation and solidarity with the movement both. Indian supporters should also send letters to the Chief Justice. You know what should be written in these. Whatever you feel and think....yet a few hints: 1. The President has powers to declare any law or government order as not applicable specifically in a tribal area (Schedule V of then Constitution of India) 2. The Prime Minister had written to us a very sensitive letter last year suggesting that he values the lives of the strugglers highly and without us, the complex issues of Narmada can't be resolved. 3. The Chief Justice signed the judgment written by Justice Kripal and not by Justice Bharucha. (Please look into the main features of the judgment circulated by us, separately). c. Do organise, even if small, action such as 1. a delegation to the Minister / Chief Minister, Ruling party chiefs in your state / region esp. in Maharashtra, M.P. gheraoing them to question on their role. 2. A support campaign on the streets and in the educational and other institutions with a statement pointed on the cloth scroll to be signed by all, addressing the President / Prime Minster / Chief Justice of India. 3. Plan a conference / panel discussion / debate / public meeting on the Supreme Court Verdict, involving pro-people lawyers, former judges, legal experts, senior activists or journalists. 4. Send letters to the editor to all the Press in maximum number, commenting on the judgment, supporting the movement, bringing out implications, questioning anything anti-people, reported in the media 5. Encourage the maximum number of authors / columnists to write articles. Meet the editors, senior journalists and other to brief them and convince them about the unjustifiability d. Please let us know who all can join us in tour across the valley to talk to the people, to work towards, mobilise strength for next actions. e. Be prepared to mobilise whosoever and wherever please to come and join us in the next action which wouldn't be too far, as we expect at this stage. Be with us, spare time for us... Medha Patkar Sanjay Sangvai Noorji Padvi Keval Singh Pervin Jehangir Joe Athialy 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 amittal at foodfirst.org Mon Oct 23 09:31:09 2000 From: amittal at foodfirst.org (Anuradha Mittal) Date: Sun, 22 Oct 2000 17:31:09 -0700 Subject: [asia-apec 1624] The People's Caravan--Press Release Message-ID: <0.700000824.294033259-951758591-972261069@topica.com> For Immediate Release Contact: Nick Parker October 20, 2000 (510) 654- 4400 ext. 229 The People’s Caravan 2000 Citizen’s On the Move for Land and Food Without Poisons Kicking off in India, The People’s Caravan is a grassroots led mass mobilization and alternatives building initiative to tackle growing control of transnational corporations of our agriculture and food system and to demand the human right to feed oneself. Organized by the India based Society for Rural Education and Development and Tamil Nadu Women’s Forum; UBINIG and Naya Krishi Andolan (New Agriculture Movement) in Bangladesh; KMP – the Peasant Movement of the Philippines; and Pesticide Action Network (Asia Pacific), in collaboration with Food First/The Institute for Food and Development Policy, The People’s Caravan 2000 – Citizen’s on the Move for Land and Food initiative is taking place between November 13-30, 2000. "Marginalised communities all over Asia and the world are making a stand against globalisation, against the transnational dominance and control of their lives and its detrimental effects," said Sarojeni Rengam, Executive Director of Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP). "This includes increased pesticide use; the onslaught of genetic engineering; increased landlessness and land diversion from food production; and the erosion of food safety and diversity, culture and livelihoods—the main themes of the People’s Caravan. The people are fighting back," stated Ms. Rengam. "The People’s Caravan 2000, will not only challenge but also celebrate local initiatives towards sustainable healthy agriculture," said Anuradha Mittal, Co Director of Food First. "It hopes to foster community supported agriculture via closer linkages between farmers and consumers, uphold our local food diversity and knowledge, and reclaim our right to feed oneself." >From India, the People's Caravan will travel to Bangladesh and the Philippines demanding the human right to feed oneself, which is threatened by the global corporatization of industrial agriculture. Partner groups in Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and Korea are planning to hold their simultaneous Caravan activities and join up the final leg of the Caravan in Manila on November 30, 2000 commemorating "One year Since Seattle." For more information about the People’s Caravan, Please contact Nick Parker, Media Coordinator, Food First at (510) 654-4400 ext. 229. ### 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 notoapec at clear.net.nz Thu Oct 26 07:41:24 2000 From: notoapec at clear.net.nz (APEC Monitoring Group) Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2000 11:41:24 +1300 Subject: [asia-apec 1625] WTO interim ruling on US/NZ/Australia sheep strife Message-ID: <001001c03ed6$1c0cd3a0$83cea7cb@notoapec> Australian Financial Review, 26 October 2000 WTO rules against US in lamb row By Brendan Pearson The World Trade Organisation has ruled in favour of the Australian and New Zealand governments in their high-profile dispute with the United States over restrictions on lamb exports. The confidential interim finding was delivered to the respective governments this week ahead of the public release next month of the report of the three-person adjudicating panel. The complaint was launched last year after the Clinton Administration imposed a series of barriers including a 9 per cent tariff on all Australian lamb exports and a prohibitive 40 per cent tariff on shipments of lamb above 1998 levels of 35.5 million kilograms. The binding decision by the global trade body should lead to the removal of these safeguard restrictions before their expiry in late 2002. The result is a significant victory for Australian trade negotiators bruised by two recent defeats in WTO cases involving subsidies to Victorian leather producer Howe & Co and the salmon import ban. The dispute emerged as a major bilateral irritant, with the Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, warning US President Mr Bill Clinton last year that any barriers to Australia's $110 million lamb trade would be regarded as "the most serious threat to the bilateral trade relationship for several years". Local farm leaders were also furious, with National Farmers Federation boss Mr Ian Donges describing it as the "Everest in hypocrisy". But President Clinton rejected these representations, and instead imposed a three-year program of safeguard measures to shield the US sheep and lamb industry from competition while it underwent a program of restructuring. Nonetheless, Australian lamb sales to the US have continued to grow over the past year, with product remaining competitive despite the 40 per cent tariff on sales above 35.5 million kilos. Once the ruling is made public, the US can appeal against it and may also be granted up to 15 months to implement the ruling. But given that the three-year safeguard program is due to expire in late 2002, it is likely the WTO will require prompt implementation of the panel decision. If the US fails to comply within specified time frames, Canberra may be authorised to impose retaliation or seek compensation. From amittal at foodfirst.org Tue Oct 31 08:34:17 2000 From: amittal at foodfirst.org (Anuradha Mittal) Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 15:34:17 -0800 Subject: [asia-apec 1626] The People's Caravan 2000 Message-ID: <0.700000824.1867816119-951758591-972948857@topica.com> Building up to the Peoples' Caravan 2000, which will take place from Nov. 13-30, 2000, we will issue several press releases to keep our members informed. many thanks, Anuradha Mittal The People's Caravan 2000 Land and Food Without Poisons! FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Nick Parker 30 October 2000 (510) 654-4400 (x 229) PRESS RELEASE Trade Liberalisation Still Forging Ahead with Dangerous Consequences for Developing Countries Bilateral and regional trade agreements forged by the United States (US) outside multilateral institutions like the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to protect its own market and advance its interests has alarmed various non governmental organisations and civil society groups across the globe. These agreements, merely promising illusory benefits, are highly inequitable and cause for concern says Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP), a coalition of over 150 groups in 18 countries. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the victory obtained by civil society groups at the historic "Battle of Seattle" in halting further trade liberalisation is quickly being eroded. The reforms being obtained by the US are the same reforms fiercely opposed by developing countries at the last ministerial meeting of the WTO in Seattle. The US, unsuccessful in Seattle in linking labour issues to trade, has successfully included this issue in a recent agreement with Cambodia and through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which became US law in May 2000. The latter demands that African countries guarantee international labour standards and sets a minimum age for child labour. "While we support labour standards, we believe they should not be linked to trade. The linkage of labour to trade is clearly a protectionist instrument. The proper fora for discussion of labour standards is the International Labour Organisation", said Sarojeni Rengam, Executive Director of PAN AP. Anuradha Mittal, Co Director of Food First, "United States through the WTO has created a race to the bottom and is largely responsible for exploitation of workers around the world. And when the US has economic concerns around trade, it raises social policy such as labor standards in trade talks. This hypocricy of US administration needs to be challenged." Through the AGOA, the US also requires African countries to minimise government interference in economic matters. Martin Khor, Director of Third World Network pointed out that these requirements " very much constrain a country's ability to set its own balanced policy or strategy in relation to the government's role in the economy." To alert and caution developing countries on these recent developments, PANAP together with its partners in India, Bangladesh and the Philippines, in collaboration with the U.S.-based Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy is organising "The People's Caravan:Citizens on the Move for Land and Food Without Poisons!" from November 13-30. The People's Caravan will highlight how such agreements, purportedly providing benefits, will in fact lead to developing countries and its people suffering at the mercy of TNCs the real winners. The reforms obtained by the US sets a dangerous precedent for poor countries to sign trade agreements with developed countries that promise to make them globally competitive on the world market. "If one takes a closer look, it is clear that these agreements have one thing in common the US has successfully managed to obtain market access for its goods while protecting its own markets from cheaper goods from these developing countries", Ms. Rengam said. The People's Caravan, travelling through India, Bangladesh and the Philippines will culminate in Manila on November 30 with a celebration of activities to commemorate "One Year Since Seattle". 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