> Some guys who aren't being heard, either on the TV or here...
>
> Brad DeLong
>
> Statement by H.E. Mr. Murasoli Maran, Minister of Commerce and
> Industry, Republic of India
>
[...]
Here are some others...
--
No to the WTO, No New Round - Turn Around
Statement of Southern and East African popular organisations, Harare 6 - 8 October 1999
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Popular organisations of civil society from Southern and East African countries met in Harare, Zimbabwe from 6 - 8 October 1999 to analyse the impact of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on our regions and to develop common strategies in the context of the coming Seattle Ministerial Meeting of the WTO. Our delegations come from South Africa, Swaziland, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Mauritius Uganda, Kenya and Ghana.
We observed that since the launch of the WTO in 1994 there has been, as a result of economic liberalisation and privatisation in the South, a process of deindustrialisation, destruction of social services leading to huge job losses and mass impoverishment of our people. The WTO has facilitated the further concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few transnational corporations and finance capital based in the highly industrialised countries of the North and tiny elites in the South.
The WTO is illegitimate because it serves as an instrument for the acceleration of globalisation in the interests of capital and represents a new form of colonisation. We must put a halt to this. In this context our people are faced with the challenge of launching a new struggle for "independence" based on alternative values and development strategies. This requires the development of a new emancipatory project based on people to people solidarity and co-operation. Relevant and democratic international and regional institutions must emerge that promote this alternative.
At the WTO Seattle meeting a few countries in the North propose to initiate a new round, the so-called "Millennium Round". They want to establish a series of new "agreements" on investment, government procurement, competition policy and accelerated tariff reduction to ensure that they are able to gain even greater control over our resources and markets as well as the further exploitation of our people.
The "Millennium Round" represents a great danger to the future of our region and the people of Africa. We are united in the belief that the Seattle WTO meeting should not agree to the opening of a NEW ROUND. It is not an inevitability. Instead we echo the call made by more than 1300 civil society organisations internationally to say "NO NEW ROUND, TURN AROUND".
We call on the people of our region and our social movements, the trade unions, women's youth movements, civic and religious organisations, consumer groups and others to mobilise against the WTO and the new "Millennium Round". This campaign must be part of the on-going struggles against unemployment, poverty and social inequality.
We call on our heads of states:
*To firmly say no to the proposed Millennium Round; *To use their voting rights in the WTO to block any new issues coming on to the WTO agenda; *To ensure a thorough review and transformation of the existing WTO agreements;
We resolve to:
*Raise awareness of citizens on the damaging effects of the policies of the WTO, IMF and the World Bank; *Mobilise our people and our organisations in Africa in a day of action on the 17 November against the WTO and a new "Millennium Round"; *Send a strong delegation to Seattle to be part of the global mass campaign to stop the new round and to ensure that our governments resist the pressure for further economic liberalisation; *Develop further co-operation between popular organisations in the Southern African region as part of our efforts to oppose the neoliberal assault and promote alternative strategies.
Participants: Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union, Afrodad, IRED, MWENGO (Southern and East Africa), Ecumenical Support Services, Ecumenical Documentation and Information Centre in Southern Africa; - Zimbabwe; Mozambican Coalition for Economic Justice - Mozambique; Lalit; Ledikasyon Pu Travayer - Mauritius; Third World Network (Africa), Africa Trade Network - Ghana; Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit, - Namibia; Dept Political Studies University of Swaziland - Swaziland; Ugandan Human Rights Commission, Consumers International, Uganda consumers Protection Association - Uganda; Food and Allied Workers Union Motheho Integrity Consultants, Oxfam GB, Centre for Southern African Studies, University of the Western Cape, Alternative Information and Development Centre (AIDC) - South Africa