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Date: Sun, 27 Aug
2000 14:48:02 PDT
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To:
From: "Peoples' Global Action Secretariat" <pgasec1@gmx.net>
[Add to Address Book] Subject: S26 Calls for Action
** please help
us to spread this message by different means **
At http://www.agp.org/agp/praha
you will find the calls to action writen or endorsed by the current
convenors of Peoples' Global Action (PGA) to mobilise for the next global
day of action against capitalism on September 26, the day when the 55th
(and hopefully last) Annual Meeting of the World Bank and the IMF is
supposed to start in Prague. Please use them as you wish. Translations
into different languages will soon be added.
At http://www.x21.org/s26/
you will find many more calls from organisations and movements from
the whole world. At http://inpeg.org/frontcover.html
you will find the general position of INPEG, the Czech (but increasingly
international) platform organising against the WB/IMF meeting.
Below you will find
short excerpts of the European, Asian, Latin American, South Pacific
and North American calls for S26 (the complete texts can be found at
http://www.agp.org/agp/praha). The Asian call is a provisional one,
a new statement will be developed at the upcoming PGA Asian meeting
in Bangladesh, 15-16 September 2000.
Please note that
the normal PGA email address <pga@agp.org> is not working since
several months, because of the cyber-attacks that the PGA mail server
has been object of (we seem to be attracting too much attention from
the supporters of the global capitalist regime). We are working on a
better security system, but until them please address all correspondance
to the PGA secretariat to the address pgasec@gmx.net
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I. Since the first
global days of action against capitalism in May 98 (simulataneous to
the WTO summit in Geneva and the G8 Summit in Birmingham), the global
days of action of June 18, 1999 (coinciding with the G8 Summit in Cologne),
November 30, 1999 (during the WTO meeting in Seattle) and Mayday 2000
have mobilised hundreds of thousands of people in scores of countries.
A new form of international resistance to capital is taking shape through
these global actions.
People's Global
Action Against "free" trade and WTO is again calling for worldwide
demonstrations and actions against the Annual Meeting of the International
Monetary Fund / World Bank (IMF/WB) which will be held in Prague, Czech
Republic. These institutions are key elements of capitalism's war against
the people and the environment of this planet. Therefore, the Convenors
of People's Global Action invite you to respond to the calls from our
friends in Prague and other parts of the world to action on or around
the 26th of September 2000.
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II. Summary of
the CALL OF EUROPEAN PEOPLE, MOVEMENTS AND ORGANISATIONS
... Some 20,000
representatives of capital are expected to come to Prague in September
to attend the 55th annual summit of the IMF and the World Bank. This
prestigious meeting will be the first of its kind in Central and Eastern
Europe. The delegates will meet to propose a scheme of further liberalisation
of the world economy by defining new loan priorities and structural
adjustment conditions.
... Within the framework
of the Structural Adjustment Programmes, the IMF and World Bank ...
strengthen the position of capital but worsen the situation of the majority
of the world's population. The removal of social and environmental regulations,
and cuts in public spending, result in the inaccessibility of healthcare
and education, sharp increases in living costs, job losses, unemployment
and curtailment of union rights. The impact on agriculture is especially
devastating, since production aimed at local self-sufficiency is suspended
and the countries are compelled to grow single cash-crops for export,
which leads to food shortages and in some countries even to famine.
The impact of the IMF and World Bank activities on the environment are
also devastating - the megalomaniac projects of the World Bank result
in the destruction of local eco-systems as well as in the forced displacement
of millions of people.
As a result of these
policies millions have become refugees. They have no place to stay in
their native countries and are criminalised and treated with contempt
by the very powers which have caused their displacement. We are opposed
to the racist restrictions on immigration across Europe and defend the
freedom of movement of all people.
... Let's take the
Czech Republic - where the meeting will take place - as one example.
In 1990 a Czech government accepted a structural adjustment programme
(SAP) and a $3.9 billion loan from the IMF. From that time on, all governments
implemented, with greater or lesser intensity, policies of liberalisation,
deregulation, privatisation, high interest rates and cuts in public
spending ... real incomes of working class families and agricultural
workers in the Czech Republic have dropped dramatically. The value of
basic social benefits has fallen by 44 percent since 1997 and by 60
percent in comparison with GDP since 1991. Women's lives are becoming
harder and harder as they suffer disproportionately from exploitation,
sexism and unemployment. The environment suffers from becoming a pool
of cheap raw materials for the multinationals. Racism against Roma and
Sinti minorities has increased, as racism is used to divert people's
attention from their real problems.
... More than 4
billion people live on a daily income of less than $2. About 17 million
children die every year because of easily curable diseases. One third
of the inhabitants of the Southern hemisphere will not reach the age
of 40. And 250 million children in so-called developing countries have
to work as slave labour for transnational corporations to support their
families.
Meanwhile, there
are 50 million people living in poverty and 5 million homeless in the
European Union. There are 30 million people in the US suffering malnutrition...
we are witnessing the daily mass murder of tens of thousands of people
and a daily crime against the human right to live in dignity and happiness.
We do not think
we can oppose this development by lobbying institutions like the IMF
and the World Bank. Rather, we rely upon a movement that has to be built
at a grassroots level, promoting the unity of the many and diverse everyday
struggles against the consequences of a global capitalist system...
We do not think that globalisation can be opposed by the protectionist
policy of nation states. We believe that the alternative is a society
which is not based on profit for a few but on the genuine needs and
desires of everybody, on the principles of solidarity, mutual assistance
and sustainable living, a society which rejects all forms and systems
of domination, discrimination and all forms of oppression... [I]t is
only by mass direct actions, civil disobedience and practising direct
grassroots democracy that such a movement can be created. Resistance
must be as global as capital - and much more creative... Let's change
our future and create a new world!
[Adopted by the
European organisations and movements mobilising for Praha 2000, which
includes the Italian Ya Basta! network, Western European convenors of
PGA]
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III. Summary
of the PROVISIONAL ASIAN CALL
In Sri Lanka, the
clutches of the WB, IMF and the Trans-national companies linked to them,
increased their stranglehold over the destiny of its people, since the
introduction of the Policy of an Open Economy in 1977. Following the
conditions laid down by those institutions since then, the State made
drastic reductions in its allocations on welfare services such as health,
education, subsidies for agriculture and so on.
... As a result,
the living conditions of the people rapidly deteriorated. For example,
the share of the income of the poorest 20 percent in Sri Lanka declined
from 7.5 percent in early 1970 to 4.5 percent towards the end of 1980...
The prescriptions of the WB and the IMF for the last 23 years on the
path of development have produced only more poverty, wider social disparities,
violence, an unending war, and damage to the country's environment....
More harmful implications
of such development are yet to be introduced. For example, water tax
for the farmers, privatization of the remaining service-oriented institutions
such as the postal service and banks. The labour laws, which were introduced
after long struggles during past decades to protect the rights of workers
are to be liberalised to attract the investors.
We stand in solidarity
too with the millions of the world's poor both in the South and also
in the North, who are burdened by the "globalization" policies
and commit ourselves to the international call of protest against these
deadly institutions...
Movement for National
Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR), Sri Lanka, Asian convenors of
PGA
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IV. Summary of
the CALL TO ACTION FOR THE SOUTH PACIFIC
In September (26-28)
the 55th annual meeting of WB/IMF will be held in Praha, Czech Republic.
The Kaupapa of this Hui is to speed up the process of "freeing
the world economy", in other words, more of what we've had in the
last 20 years ...
... While it may
seem that the powers that be in New Zealand have already voluntarily
relinquished economic control to the dictates of the IMF/WB/WTO, there
is still much to lose for us, and especially for our smaller island
neighbours in the Pacific. Recent government reports have already shown
that the economic restructuring of the 80s have failed Maori. The economic
gap between Maori and non-Maori has continued to widen. Maori employment
was devastated in this time and the disparity in health has increased,
as has our youth suicide and mental health statistics. ...
These latest rounds
of talks plan future liberalisation of trade through regulation of government
and also by tightening loan priorities to developing countries. Effectively,
more economic blackmail that we have already seen throughout the commandeering
of the South Pacific Forum by the WTO/IMF/WB. Whereby small island nations
are being bullied into APEC/WTO consistent policies by linking economic
reforms with future economic aid.
... Therefore, the
calls also goes out to all organisations and people of the Pacific to
unite and tautoko this Kaupapa in order to send a powerful message of
resistance to this new wave of global colonisation.
Foundation for an
Independent Aoteoroa and Aoteoroa Educators, PGA convenors for the South
Pacific
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V. LATIN AMERICAN
CALL
Millions and millions
of Latin American women and men have been condemned to increasing poverty
by the programs imposed by the IMF and World Bank. In our countries,
the governments unquestioningly execute their structural adjustment
programs and globalising policies which seriously damage the economic,
political, social and cultural life of our peoples.
Globalisation, the
new name given today to the capitalist savagery and pillage which began
for our peoples in 1492, assassinating millions of indigenous people
and transforming the blacks into merchandise, has brought misery to
the countrysides, growing destruction to the environment and ecosystems,
the displacement of the population towards cities and less fertile lands,
a reversal of land reforms, the privatisation and deterioration of public
services such as health, education and water, growing unemployment,
flexibilisation of labour and the transformation of public services,
common goods and of the traditional knowledge and livelihoods of our
peoples into merchandise for capital.
Geneva, Seattle,
Washington, Davos, Bologna mark the path of resistance, an international
resistance to capital, which is growing all around the world. In the
name of that resistance and ofits hopes and dreams, we call to all the
men and women of Latin America to demonstrate and act against the General
Assembly of the International Monetary Fund / World Bank, which will
meet in Prague, Czech Republic, on the 26th and 27th of September.
Latin America has
a long history of resistance to all the forms of savagery and domination.
Today, we are all called to unite our struggles and actions against
the common enemy of our peoples. From the cities, fields and forests,
villages and neighbourhoods, factories and offices, from the houses,
streets and farms, the voices and actions of all Latin Americans who
want a future for their sons and daughters will grow ever stronger -
voices and action born of dignity and of the long history of rebellion
of our peoples….
Movimiento de la
Juventud Kuna, Panama; Confederación Única Nacional de
Afiliados al Seguro Social Campesino - Coordinadora Nacional Campesino
, Ecuador; Federacion Nacional del Trabajo, Nicaragua; Organizacion
Negra Centroamericana, Honduras. Latin American convenors of PGA.
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VI. Summary of
the CALL FOR A DAY OF ACTION AGAINST CAPITALISM ACROSS NORTH AMERICA
ON SEPTEMBER 26, 2000 in Solidarity with the Mass Action during the
IMF/World Bank Meeting in Prague
We live in a time
where progress is defined by the powerful. Instruments are used to achieve
these ends under a system that was founded on the maniacal destruction
of native cultures. Value has been defined as that which benefits investors.
After five hundred years of colonialism in the Americas the beast continues
to evolve. Where bombs and military force are not required other instruments
of control have been invented.
Canada and the U.S
were built on the racist foundations of occupation and lying to the
first people of this land. From the residential schools and reservation
system the occupiers attempted to eliminate the many nations of peoples
that existed in these Americas. A terrible holocaust has not silenced
their stories... This tragic chapter of history has not ended but has
entered a new phase. The new colonialists leave no stone unturned.
... Capitalism has
become a religion. One is not to question this religion, but accept
that only money and profit are things of value. Everything is to be
driven by competition as if life were a game with a select few winners
and many losers. Elections are nothing more than theatre and meaningful
alternatives are obscured by the bright lights of Disneyland.
Under the guise
of "consultation" they choose with whom and under what circumstances
they will meet. Public relations take on many forms. Co-option is the
name of the game. But no amount of pretense will answer the question:
How can the IMF begin to serve the interests of humanity when it maintains
and promotes a system based on the most selfish of values?
... We call on people
everywhere to commit to the call by Peoples´ Global Action for
decentralized autonomous actions around the world on September 26. Join
with people around the world in solidarity with actions directed against
the IMF/World Bank and global capitalism.
The day will be
organized as a decentralized and informal network of grassroots groups
that employ non-authoritarian, democratic forms of organization, and
seek to effect change directly through their own action.
If you or your group
plans to join this day of action, please let others know as soon as
possible, to facilitate networking and communication. There are several
international mailing lists available for open discussions and co-ordination.
A public international contact list is regularly posted to these lists
in order to facilitate decentralized networking. To have your contact
information added to it, please contact resistance@x21.org <mailto:resistance@x21.org>
indicating (a) the country and location in which you plan to take action,
plus any other information you see fit, for instance (b) the name of
your group, coalition or yourself, (c) the events or actions being planned,
(d) your land address, (e) your email address, (f) your telephone number,
(g) fax number or (h) website.
The struggle continues,
Tampa Bay Action Group, co-convenor/ Peoples´ Global Action-North
America, oneworldnow@att.net "La Convergence des luttes anti-capitalistes
(CLAC), The Anti-Capitalist Convergence -- Montreal" -- member
of the provisional PGA-NA co-convenor collective clac@tao.ca
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