News :: G8 2006 Protests

People's Forum started today in Mali

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People's Forum

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16 Jul 2006

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In Gao, Mali, the fifth edition of the People's Forum started today as a counterweight to the G8 summit in St Petersburg, Russia. The People's Forum is a popular manifestation to educate, exchange, communicate, inform, plan citizens' actions and elaborate alternatives to neoliberal globalization.

This edition is devoted to the evaluation of the four previous editions and to several crucial topics such as immigration, plunder of the natural resources of the South or privatization of state-owned enterprises. Here's what the chairperson of CAD-Mali (Coalition for African Alternatives Debt and Development), Mrs Barry Aminata Touré, said of those topics in her opening speech.

Debt and CSLP (Strategic Framework for Poverty Reduction): nine months after the much-trumpeted announcement in London by the G8 (eight most industrialised countries), the World Bank has only just revealed its mode of cancelling the debt owed to it by some seventeen heavily-indebted poor countries (HIPC). The agreement, classified as “historic” by World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz, concerns thirteen African countries and four in Latin America. By July 2006 the debt owed by these countries to the World Bank is due to be written off. A total sum of 37 billion US dollars has been announced, to be spread over 40 years.

Despite the proclamations of the World Bank, there is nothing new here. This decision merely consolidates - belatedly - the decision taken by the G8 last year. In addition, over the last ten years, the World Bank has spent only 2.6 billion US dollars to reduce the debt of these seventeen countries, whereas it has a net worth of over 38 billion US dollars. The financial effort is feeble to say the least, yet year after year it boasts a generosity that is totally unwarranted.

Why continue to trust those who already failed and who want to repeat the same errors?

Access to basic social services remains one of our concerns. Our exchanges will relate to the assessment of the privatization of the Malian electricity company Énergie du Mali, its repurchase by the State, the situation of the Malian school which withers under the diktat of the rich countries, of the G8 and of their subsidiaries: the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB).

The EU and the ACP States agreed that current negotiations towards Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) are targeted to come to a close by December 31, 2007. These EPAs present many stakes and challenges for the economies of the ACP countries, amongst which:

how to manage the losses of tax revenues expected in some ACP countries;

how to ensure that the structural reforms of the implementation of the EPAs will not throw the communities into confusion?

how to deal with the increased competition that will be the result of reciprocal exchanges?

how to determine the net advantages resulting from the EPAs, particularly in the least advanced countries (LDC) which already benefit from the nonreciprocal provisions “all except weapons”?

how to face up to a limited capacity of negotiation, since the EPAs' negotiations will burden the already limited resources of the ACP countries?

how to guarantee consistency between the negotiations on the EPAs and the negotiations on the Doha Work Program?

how to improve access to markets for agricultural and non-agricultural products which continue to cause difficulties in the multilateral trade negotiations?

As regards immigration, Europe closes itself and imposes on the Sub-Saharan African countries the opening of their market. In short, capital must circulate but not human beings. This is a violation of all international conventions. The unbalanced negotiations worsened the situation of over-indebtedness and poverty in our countries.

A significant number of young people, confronted by social and economic insecurity and in a desperate situation, with partnership agreements disregarding the human being, choose the alternative: international immigration. Many of them take the dangerous ways of Sahara and of the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla.

Africa holds the sad record of having the most wars and conflicts in the world. Those generate million deaths, casualties, displaced people as well as environmental catastrophes. The plundering of the resources by multinationals and arms companies which have a reputation in the West, is carried out with the complicity of the local kleptocracies and of the surrounding countries. This plays a primary role in the triggering and perpetuation of the conflicts. We can only develop in peace. The social/armed conflicts are one of the major obstacles to the development of Africa.

As regards hunger relief, we refuse to become the dustbin of the world.

We ask for fair international rules favourable to an equitable trade.

We think that “our right to maintain, protect and develop our nutrition capacity while respecting the diversity of our foods and cultures, and without harming the food sovereignty of other countries” should be recognized by the international community.

It is this right, for each country or union of countries, that we call the right of food sovereignty.

Let's unite to build a fair and caring world! Another world is possible.

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Re: People's Forum started today in Mali

09 Jan 2007

by Anonymous Poster

News :: G8 2006 Protests

People's Forum started today in Mali

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