European Marches against Unemployment - News and Archives
Absender : andereu@knoware.nl (Coalition for a Different Europe) Org.-Empf. : Undisclosed recipients: ;@?? Betreff : THE OTHER VOICES 12, September 1998 Datum : Mi 02.09.98, 16:54 (erhalten: 02.09.98) Groesse : 21719 Bytes ----------------------------------------------------------------------
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THE OTHER VOICES
MONTHLY E-MAIL NEWSLETTER OF THE
INTERNATIONAL COALITION FOR A DIFFERENT EUROPE
ISSUE 12, SEPTEMBER 1998 _________________________________________________________________
Contents
- Cardiff - Vienna - Cologne: a short overview - News from The Netherlands - Students Call for European Week of Mobilisation - International Week of Action Against MAI September 21-29th - Mexican NGOs Criticize EU-Mexico Free Trade Negotiations - Agenda
| THE OTHER VOICES are distributed by: | | Towards a Different Europe | P.O. Box 54 | 1000 AB Amsterdam | Netherlands
| Tel: +31-20-4708833 | Fax: +31-20-6763931 | E-mail: ander.europa@xs4all.nl
| Compiled by Olivier Hoedeman
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Cardiff - Vienna - Cologne: a short overview
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Thousands of people came to Cardiff to protest against the European Union's summit 15/16th of June, most of them for the demonstration on the 14th. Under the slogan "No to Big Business Europe", people from Wales, the rest of the UK, France, the Netherlands and many other European countries marched against the neoliberal policies of the EU. At the counter summit, organised by "Reclaim Europe", people from a wide range of organisations discussed alternatives to the EU's current economic development model and strategies for change. The days of the summit a number of creative actions took place, from the occupation of the labour party's headquarters in Wales by British unemployed to a delegation of international activists ironically welcoming the EU leaders with chearing and singing and banners demanding "More social cuts!", "Build more motorways!", etc. For more information about what happened in Cardiff, contact Reclaim Europe! Email: europ@globalnet.co.uk
Now the EU Austrian presidency has started and Austrian movements and NGOs are busily preparing a number of events the next months. The main activity will be a counter summit and demonstration during the EU Summit in Vienna in December, which we will have more information about in the next issue of The Other Voices.
In June 1999 two major international summits will take place in Cologne, Germany: the EU summit on June 4 - 6 and the summit of the G-8 (the seven largest industrialized countries plus Russia) June 18 -20. More than 35 German organisations, groups and networks have been involved in the first preparatory meetings for the counter summits and demonstrations around these two events. For more information, contact WEED: Bertha-von-Suttner-Platz 13, D-53111 Bonn. Tel. +49-228-766130. Fax: +49-228-696470. E-mail: weed@bonn.comlink.apc.org . Internet: http://www.weedbonn.org We will keep you updated through The Other Voices about the further development of these exciting plans. The European Marches Against Unemployment, Job Insecurity and Exclusion will mobilise for a very large demonstration on June 5th.
There is a special email listserver with news in German about the activities against the EU and G-8 Summits in Cologne June 1999. To subscribe send an email to: listserv@LINK-LEV.dinoco.de subject: subscribe EU+WWG-L No text
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News from the Netherlands
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New Plans Towards a Different Europe After a fairly quiet year following the EU summit in Amsterdam, Towards a Different Europe is now ready to step up its activities again. There are plans for a number of public debates the next months on the shadow sides of European unification and even more in spring 1999 in the run-up to the European Parliament elections. The first issue of our new magazine, baptised Ander Europa Magazine is launched early September. If you read Dutch, you can order a free copy of this first EU-critical magazine published in The Netherlands, from our secretariate. Towards a Different Europe also wants to give active support to the counter summit in Cologne next June and the demonstration planned there by the European Marches, also by mobilising large numbers of people from the Netherlands to attend these events. .
2.500 Guilders for Arrested Danes 27 Danes won a major victory over the Dutch police when the court in Amsterdam decided they had been illegally arrested and kept in prison during the EU Summit in June 1997. The Danes, who were among the hundreds of people who were "preventively arrested" by the Dutch police, will receive each 2.500 guilders in compensation for the scandalous treatment they suffered. The judges were strongly criticized the police for their behavior towards the arrested Danes. Everybody who was preventively arrested during the Amsterdam EU summit is now likely to be entitled to 2.500 guilders compensation, which could cost the dutch police more than 700.000 guilders.
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Students Call for European Week of Mobilisation
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The basic idea of the European Week of Mobilisation is to organise student activities and mobilisations with a heavy media impact in several European cities in the same week, to show that with the European unification process also students have to co-operate and put together their demands/campaigns/struggles.
Student Unions who want to support the platform and carry out actions during the week of the 16th to the 20th of November are invited to sign up the paper as promoters. Other organisations like NGOs, trade unions, political parties etc. and even individual persons (like MPs for instance) can sign the paper after the 7th of September as supporters. To sign up or for more information, please contact Frederic krier (UNEL) at freed_unel@hotmail.com , or contact any other of the organisations who have signed the paper.
European Week of Mobilisation
As important decisions are more and more taken at international level, the organisations signing this paper have decided to set up an international platform of student co-operation. The European Week of Mobilisation from the 16th to the 20th of November 1998 is meant as the first step to organise ourselves to propose an alternative to the current policy.
The current process of European unification is limited to financial and monetary issues, with economic criteria which leave little space to governments to develop a satisfying social and education policy. We think this process cannot be continued without a more active participation of the people. The enthusiasm of the governments hides the tragedy of twenty million unemployed, among them a large number of young people, who are pushed to the margins of a society richer than ever.
The answers of the governments to this problem are: flexibility, lower cost of work, and cuts to the welfare state. Moreover the real needs of the people are not taken into account, like social security and education. We think that education should be considered as one important instrument to fight unemployment. Under the pressure of the industries educational systems are being transformed: according to this logic education has only to fulfill the function of supplying the labour market producing "qualified workers". So students are seen no longer as independent persons, but as "human resources".
Consequences of cuttings in social budgets are an increasing youth delinquency, social marginalisation and the rise of racism. In our opinion education is the necessary condition to develop a critical thought, to be able to take part actively in a democratic society. Institutions of education, universities and schools, should be a public space of emancipation and of free development of the individual. An important function of these institutions should be to help finding solutions for the social, economic and ecological problems of mankind. Education should be recognised as a priority for Europe.
As student unions we demand: - a free access to education without any social or material selection, also for foreigners - a complete democratisation of all institutions of education which includes the participation of society and an equal representation of students - a sufficient financial support of students which gives them the possibility to be independent of their precarious jobs or their families - an education policy which gives equivalences between diplomas and master degrees, and allows student mobility as well as scientific exchanges rather than competition between researchers - an increase of investments on public education of both national governments and the European Union - the institutional recognition of students' organisations
Signed by (26.7.): Verband der schweizerischen StudentInnenschaften/Union Nationale des Etudiant-e-s de Suisse Union Nationale des Etudiant-e-s du Luxembourg Union Nationale des Etudiants de France-Independante et Democratique freier zusammenschluss von studentInnenschaften Unione degli Universitari
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International Week of Action Against MAI September 21-29th ________________________________________________________
In France, just as in Canada, US, Belgium and New Zealand, the disclosure of the content of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment caused indignation and at long last generated public debate. The "Dracula strategy" worked : the meaning of this "writing of the constitution for a single global economy" has been grasped by scores NGOs, trade-unions, political organisations and social movements. They are now working together in a common resistance to the "Silent Coup" of TNCs and investment banks via the MAI.
Their determination has been reinforced by the success of the Paris April 28th international gathering right under the windows of the OECD, which generated a vast amount of press and impressed the negociators. At an international strategy meeting in Paris the following day, april 29, it was decided: - to track the MAI agenda in every fora where it is shifted , and track the bilateral negociations - to prepare a common international letter reiterating are refusal of this agreement and the fact we were not dupe of a few cosmetic changes - that the French coordination would organise a similar event for international venue, on a larger scale for the date when the negociations resume.
Alarmed by the spread of the movement, the ministers of the OECD countries in their declaration of April 28th announced the suspention of the negociations for six months, promised transparency and an "active public debate". Nothing of the sort has happened. French officials still decline to answer our requests for information; the EU and the US rushed to sign the infamous Transatlantic Economic Project in London on May 18th. In the meantime we know from unofficial sources that France and the EU are favouring shifting the MAI to the WTO, while the United States still want it at the OECD.
To respond to these moves, representatives from Canadian, American, Belgium, Swiss and French coalisions met in the south France in June. It was decided to intensify our collaborative efforts and we agreed on the following plan of action
I - An international letter against the revised MAI, against moving it to WTO and reaffirming our common democratic principles, for signature early September and publication mid-September.
II - AN INTERNATIONAL ACTION WEEK SEPT 21-28 Each coordination in their home countries are invited to multiply events and actions in their capitals and the provinces. The aim is to bring back the MAI in the front page of newspapers, build up for October mobilisation, exert political pressure, all while exposing the real actors behind the stage and their full agenda. Conferences and press conferences, gatherings or demos, publications, postering, delegations to meet negociators and political officials and symbolic actions against business lobbies or TNCs pushing for signature of "their" treaty. Each country, with a common press communiqu‚, will be able to announce events happening elsewhere. Resistence must appear massive, internationaland decentralised. Please send us as soon as you can informations on the events you plan (ecoropa@magic.fr or ab.ire@wanadoo.fr ).
III - INTERNATIONAL GATHERING IN PARIS IN OCTOBER, Negociations should resume on Monday 19th and Tuesday 20th at the OECD in Paris. Confirmation pending. We must plan ahead, and yet be ready for an eventual postponment of the date.
Representatives of anti-Mai coalisions from all countries where they exist are asked to do their upmost to come to Paris, arriving on Saturday 17th. The Belgians and Swiss will come in larger numbers, other countries smaller but significant delegations. French movements will call their regional members to come to Paris.
Provisional shedule : Saturday evening and full Sunday : Plenaries and workshops (suggested programme and key speakers will follow for you to comment on and improve). During these two days a smaller international group will also finalise the peoples' treaty (or alternative treaty) : our common declaration of principles and fundamental rights vis … vis investors and their investments. Tony Clarke tclarke@web.net from the Polaris Institute, Canada is centralising all suggestions and amendments on his draft. In France, Susan George sgtni@globenet.org , from the Observatoire de la Mondialisation, is also working on a people treaty and liaising with Tony Clarke. In Belgium, G‚rard Lambert gerardlambert@skynet.be and Paul Lannoye (Ecolo Party), are consulting around a set of basic principles and obligations of investors. Monday morning : a common symbolic action and international press conference. Afternoon : lobbying of each countries delegates and meetings with one's national press Tuesday: international rally close to the OECD. A very festive event, combining main speeches from anti-MAI coalision leaders and from Southern movements with theatre, concerts, human chain etc...
Practicalities Unfortunatly, the French anti-Mai coalision can not pay for trips from abroad. So you should get your organisation to fund you. The same applies for accomodation. But we can help finding unexpensive hotels, and or free rooms or beds in activists flats.
Please try and answer reasonably soon and give us news on campaigns in your country and events for the September week of action. Looking forward to hearing from you, keep up the good work.
For the Coordination fran‡aise contre l'AMI
Agnes Bertrand - Thierry David
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Mexican NGOs Criticize EU-Mexico Free Trade Negotiations
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The following statement, supported by more than 60 social organizations in Mexico, was published in "La Jornada" on June 23rd 1998. Please sign on and distribute this message further.
CITIZENS OF MEXICO BEFORE THE EUROPEAN UNION
A Group Promoted Since 1996 by Red Mexicana Ante el Libre Comercio (RMALC), DECA Equipo Pueblo AC, Centro de Derechos Humanos Miguel Agustin PRO, Comision Mexicana para la Promocion y Defensa de los Derechos Humanos (CMDPDH), Convergencia de Organismos Civiles para la Democracia, Foro de Apoyo Mutuo (FAM) and Red Mexicana para el Cabildeo among others.
"TOWARDS A JOINED AND INTEGRAL STRATEGY BY MEXICAN NON- GOVERNMENTAL AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS BEFORE THE COMMERCIAL TREATY WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION"
By virtue of the approvation by the Senate of the Mexican Republic of the Interim Accord on Commerce and Issues Related to Commerce with the European Union, on one side and the Mexican United States, on the other, the signing non-governmental and social organizations lament that during the initial negotiations some vices characteristic of the negotiations concerning the Free Trade Agreement of North America (TLCAN) were reproduced, such as:
- Not informing opportunely and truthfully about the various negotiated aspects, - Not allowing the participation of civil society in the negotiations, - Not consulting amply the various sectors of society, nor the legislative powers.
The above puts in evidence the lack of will by the Mexican government to acknowledge the full right of the citizens to design and propose public policy. We are interested in attaining a Global Agreement that differs from TLCAN, an agreement which is all inclusive, promotes fair social and economic development, and which guarantees the equal distribution of benefits of said Agreement.
We, non-governmental and social organizations, express our willingness to participate in subsequent negotiations of the Global Agreement which will take place in the next two years. Similarly, we are satisfied with the acceptance of Article 13 of the Report of the Interim Agreement which took place in the Senate of the Republic, and which states: "the results of the negotiations for the commercial, bilateral progressive, preferential and reciprocal opening, regarding the Interim Agreement must be submitted, on the part of the Executive, for the approval by the Senate of the Republic", because with it, a new possibility of participation by civil organizations in conjunction with that legislative organ opens.
Due to this, we exhort civil society to join our demands to the executive powers for the full observence of the following points:
1. The creation of clear and concrete mechanisms for the participation and consultation of non-governmental organizations, as well as other social sectors in the design, formulation, evaluation and verification of the agreement. 2. The promotion and protection of the right to information by creating communication channels that keep Mexicans informed about all the aspects, advances, effects and conditions of the Agreement. 3. The legal strengthening of the democratic clause, which must not remain as lacking content and as a mere political declaration, of either values and principles, but a real commitment with democracy and human rights. 4. The execution of annual reports in which the organizations participate and where the impact of the agreement in various sectors or areas is evaluated. 5. A social agenda must be included where concrete measures are incorporated to protect, compensate, and offer fair solutions to the social crisis which has accompanied the economic opening policies, and in which the need to reach an integral agreement that benefits ample social sectors and not only a privileged group of large companies.
We manifest our preoccupation with the silence that has prevailed in the European Parliament in relation to the recent events in Chiapas and, on the other hand, our approval for the declarations by the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations, Mary Robinson, regarding the serious situation on human rights in the Chiapas region, on her appeal to the Mexican government to urgently examine ways to restore dialogue with the communities, as well as for the reduction of military presence in the region and for the search of a peaceful solution.
(Please send your adherence as an organization to the Mexican Commision for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights or the Mexican Action Network Before the Free Trade Agreement, and Equipo Pueblo) with the following electronic addresses: cmdpdh@laneta.apc.org , rmalc@laneta.apc.org , pueblodip@laneta.apc.org
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Agenda
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September 12th, Berlin: national demonstration of the unemployed in Germany
September 21 - 28th: International Week of Action Against the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI)
October 17 -20, Paris: NGO Gathering Against the MAI
November 12 - 13th, Brussels: European Convention for Full Employment. Contact: Ken Coates, MEP, 8 Regent Street, Mansfield, Notts, NG18 1SS, United Kingdom. Fax: +44 1623 427155.
November 16 -20: European Week of Mobilisation (student unions)
December 10 - 12th, Vienna: demonstration during the EU Summit in Vienna
June 5th 1999, Cologne: demonstration by European Marches Against Unemployment, Job Insecurity and Exclusion
June 19th 1999, Cologne: actions against the G-8 Summit
Contact:
"Marches europeennes contre le chomage, la precarite et les
exclusions"
104, rue des Couronnes
F-75020 Paris France
Tel : +33 1 44 62 63 44
Fax : +33 1 44 62 63 45
E-mail : marches97@ras.eu.org
URL: http://www.mygale.org/02/ras/marches/
Contact: "AC!", France, Voice/Fax: +33-1-43495037, e-mail: aguiton@sud.unions.eu.org.
Last Modified: October 1998