<nettime> ATTAC NEWSLETTER 85 - DON'T MISS THE BUS

["geert" <geert@basis.desk.nl>]

From: "Sand in the Wheels" <newsletter@attac.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2001 9:48 PM
Subject: ATTAC NEWSLETTER 85 - DON'T MISS THE BUS


______________________________

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____________________________________________________________

Content

1- Good Havens! - ATTAC may put the writing on the wall
A point of view from a Jersey person on the situation made public by
ATTAC demonstrating in the island last Saturday. All is not good even
in a haven, especially for the locals as the industry, the housing,
culture and agriculture seemed to have failed I a big void made of
secret deposits and foreign money.

2- Good Havens! - To conclude for now
After a day of mobilizations in Andorra but also in Jersey, ATTAC
France Secretary general conclude this day of actions showing its
importance as a start but also as a part of a broader campaign. One of
the results of the day is the creation of ATTAC Jersey, more than a
symbol, the consequence of a drastic difference between the official
speeches and the day to day reality of the population.

3- Demands of the IMF & World Bank: 2001
The following demands are being circulated for endorsement in advance
of the mobilization at the IMF/World Bank annual meetings in
Washington, DC in September/October 2001.

4- Genoa - Don't miss the bus
This July a red London bus will be traveling from Leeds via London and
Paris to Italy for the G8 summit in Genoa. Its mission - to call the
leaders of the G8 countries to sign a *New Deal* on debt in Genoa as
part of the Drop The Debt campaign (a successor to Jubilee 2000).

5- Africa and International Trade
>From the 24 - 28 of May, 2001, we the under mentioned civil society
organisations from West, Eastern, Southern, Northern Africa, and the
Middle East met in Accra, Ghana.  Our objective was to discuss the
pressing challenges facing the people in African and other developing
countries in the global economic system, and to develop a framework of
activities for civil society organisations to confront these
challenges.

6- WTO Tidbits
Dissension within the EU, on textiles, and on the launch of a new
Round at Doha; the US favour Quad discussions on a new Round - on
conditions! No agreement in sight on the Doha agenda. Developing
countries demand an impact study before proceeding with services
liberalisation; some among them favour a safeguard mechanism capable
of being activated in emergency situations

7- ATTAC Finland
The  founding event of Attac Finland  in the house of  the
Finnish-Swedish Workers' Institute of Helsinki  on May 19-20, 2001,
marked the end of a long "incubation period".



______________________________

1- Goods Havens! - ATTAC may put the writing on the wall
____________________________________________________________

By Adrian Walton

ATTAC's demonstration in Jersey seems to have been organized in the
wrong place. Perhaps Whitehall or Threadneedle Street would have been
more suitable. The City of London's uses most of Britain 'feudal and
colonial remnants' as tax havens, as do the Dutch their islands in the
West Indies with the aid of laws undreamt of in the Code Napoleon.

This has been done with the connivance of successive national
governments in their national interests. These national governments
bear the responsibility of possibly unwinding these arrangements in
the future as well as compensating their dependencies for the loss of
revenue.

However, offshore finance has been a mixed blessing for Jersey,
causing overdevelopment, overpopulation, and the squeezing out of many
of the bona fide local population - a kind of bloodless ethic
cleansing over the years, on the one hand to the highest bidder and on
the other hand to the willingly exploited.

The recently published Island Plan continues the trend over the
decades of potentially ineffective policies (measured, it is noted, in
acres rather than in vergées - so much for Jersey's heritage) which
will not answer the plight of locals until there is a possible cutback
in the finance industry.

Perhaps ATTAC's demonstration will represent 'the writing on the wall'
. However, it will be some time before the EU or the OECD get their
act together. By all means 'make hay while the sun shines', but
prudence demands that a start should be made to adjusting to a new
situation. Top of the list should be a transfer to indirect taxation,
a halt on property development other than for basic housing and a
selective payroll tax on the finance industry.

Adrian Walton
Le Pré, Rue des Raisies, St Martin.


______________________________

2- Goods Havens! - To conclude for now
____________________________________________________________

By Pierre Tartakowsky

Speech given the evening of 9th June in Saint Malo

After having evoked the events of the day in Andorra, Pierre
Tartakowsky picks up on what the delegation did, said and noted in
Jersey.

" we were subjected to a welcoming that was at once extraordinarily
courteous and distrustful; courteous were the police who assured us
their "protection" throughout the day; courteous were the people in
charge who "flanked" our comings and goings; courteous were the
authorities who received us in delegation. The distrust had been
maintained at the same level as the "courtesy"; limited movements,
continual warnings. This distrust was found in the words of the
children " Have you come to take our money? Are you going to fight"
and in the presence - discreet but real - of the forces of repression
specially imported from Scotland.

We also encountered solidarity and fear, these being in the residents
of Jersey who took responsibility for the delegation's picnic, the
residents of Jersey who came to thank us for coming, emphasising the
demanding side - to say no more - of the island's political life.

And, within this framework, I'm happy to announce the creation of
Attac Jersey.

Our delegation was received by Colin Powell. We were hardly surprised
by the exchanges we had. We presented Attac, explained that we
obviously didn't have anything specifically against Jersey and its
inhabitants, but, on the other hand, the existence of tax havens
shocked our sense of social justice. That we intended, that very day,
to draw the attention of public opinion and that of the governments to
their existence, and their role of kingpin in financial globalization,
a role that we consider deeply deleterious.

Our interlocutors kept, in general, to the agreed topics, picking up
the arguments that they had developed before the OECD. These arguments
contain two essential points: On the one hand, there are in existence
some tax havens which are problematic, and others which are not; some
which feel bad , some good about themselves; some "co-operative" and
some " delinquent". It would be useless to precise in which category
our interlocutors place themselves. On the other hand, the stakes
being global, global solutions are called for, that is to say the
definition of new legal frameworks, new criteria to be imposed on all
offshore, and other havens. While waiting for this agenda to be
formalised, it is extremely complicated to establish other, less
offending practices

That is what we replied when we agreed with the idea that we were
effectively dealing with global stakes which call for global
solutions. But, that it was necessary to begin somewhere; and that if
we were sensitive to all "moralistic" progression, aiming at black
market money, then we didn't intend to stop there; that the "grey
market" capital, that of the large companies, the great fortunes,
which is feeding speculation and corruption, was not free from social
interpellation. And that the greatest achievement of tax havens
basically lies in the achievement of tax havens themselves.

In the same way, we were able to subscribe to their vow of "better
information", but on the condition that this information be developed
with procedures, controls and a participation of the "civic society".
That the matters in question being to important to be left in the
hands of bankers of governors of tax havens.

What lessons can be drawn from all that and from our day of action?

The first is that we were right in doing it; we succeeded in
transforming a debate of experts, a technical debate, into a pubic and
political debate. In a very short time, we have raised the level of
the debate and of public demands.

It is one reason to continue to develop our "Tobin now" campaign,
with, notably, the letters to be sent to the banks.

The second, which we learnt from the very eyes of our interlocutors;
we are on the offensive and they are on the defensive ; they fear
conflict and they detest us shouting in their faces. In other words,
this should become our plan of action in the weeks and months to come.

Because, we truly intend to continue. Perhaps in Luxembourg the next
time?

In the weeks to come, there will not be a lack of occasions to
denounce the role of the havens; all our campaigns that deal with
debt, the Tobin tax, that deal with international trade, concern tax
havens, as with the free trade zones.

The stand is now given to Frank Norman, descendant and resident of
Jersey, then to the representatives of Attac Poland and Attac Belgium,
the latter presenting the perspectives of action linked to the Belgian
European presidency.

Translation: Tony Savill, volunteer translation coorditrad@attac.org


______________________________

3- Demands of the IMF & World Bank: 2001
____________________________________________________________

By 50 Years is Enough

These demands have been formulated by the 50 Years Is Enough Network,
a U.S.-based coalition of over 200 organizations committed to the
fundamental transformation of the IMF and World Bank, through
consultations over 15 months with the members of its South Council
(representing economic justice organizations in 13 countries in Asia,
Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean) and others.

To endorse these demands, please send e-mail to
demands50years@yahoo.com and include your organization's name and
location as well as contact information. Endorsements may also be sent
by fax to +1-202-636-4238 or by post to 3628 12th Street, N.E. -
Washington, DC 20017 USA.

50 Years Is Enough: U.S. Network for Global Economic Justice

DEMANDS of the IMF & WORLD BANK: 2001

We call for the immediate suspension of the policies and practices of
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group that have
caused widespread poverty, inequality, and suffering among the world's
peoples and damage to the world's environment. We assert the
responsibility of these institutions, together with the World Trade
Organization, for an unjust world economic system. We note that these
institutions are anti-democratic, controlled by the G-7 governments,
and that their policies have benefited international private sector
financiers, transnational corporations, and corrupt officials and
politicians.

We further call for the creation of a neutral and credible "Truth
Commission," composed of individuals with a demonstrated commitment to
poverty eradication, to investigate the actions and impacts of the IMF
and the World Bank. The Truth Commission's findings must be respected
and acted on by the governments, institutional officials, and civil
society organizations concerned with economic development and
international financial policies.

We issue this call in the name of global justice, in solidarity with
the peoples of the Global South and the former "Soviet bloc" countries
of Eastern Europe and Central Asia who struggle for survival and
dignity in the face of unjust, imperialistic economic policies. We
stand in solidarity too with the millions in the countries of the
Global North who have borne the burden of "globalization" policies
that mirror those imposed on the Global South.

Only when the coercive powers of the international financial
institutions are eliminated shall governments be accountable first and
foremost to the will of their peoples. Only when a system that
allocates power chiefly to the wealthiest nations for the purpose of
dictating policies to the weaker and impoverished ones is reversed
shall peoples be able to forge bonds -- economic and otherwise --
based on mutual respect and the common needs of the planet and its
inhabitants. Only when integrity is restored to economic development,
and both the corrupter and the corrupted held accountable, shall the
people begin to have confidence in the decisions that have impacts on
their livelihoods and their communities. Only when the well-being of
all, including the most vulnerable peoples and ecosystems, is given
priority over corporate profits can we achieve genuine sustainable
development and create a world of justice, equality, and peace where
fundamental human rights, including internationally-recognized social,
cultural, environmental, and economic rights, are respected.

With these ends in mind, we make the following demands of the
management, Executive Directors, and Governors of the World Bank and
the International Monetary Fund:

1. DEBT CANCELLATION: We demand that the IMF and World Bank cancel
100% of all claimed debts without imposing any form of external
conditionalities. We concur with the position of Jubilee South that
holds these debts to be illegitimate. Any funds required for this
purpose should come from positive net capital and assets held by those
institutions. Should other institutions, such as the African
Development Bank, require assistance to write off the debts owed them,
we call on the World Bank and IMF to make such funds available. We
believe that civil society in the indebted countries should take the
lead in determining how savings realized through cancellation are
utilized.

2. END STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT: We demand that the IMF and World Bank
immediately cease imposing the economic austerity measures known as
structural adjustment and/or any other macroeconomic "reform" as
conditions of loans, credits, or debt relief. This requires both the
suspension of those conditions in existing programs and an abandonment
of "poverty reduction strategy papers" (PRSPs) and any version of the
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, which conditions
debt relief on policy reforms.

3. TRANSPARENCY: We demand that the IMF and World Bank Group make all
board meetings public and all documents in its possession freely
available to the public (with exceptions to protect confidentiality to
be decided on by a neutral body). This includes all project and
program agreements, board meeting minutes, evaluations of program
failures and successes, etc. All documents must be made available in
the local languages of project- and policy- affected peoples.

4. REPARATIONS FOR STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT: We demand that the IMF and
World Bank accept responsibility for the disastrous impact of
structural adjustment policies, as determined by a neutral and
credible Truth Commission, by paying reparations to the peoples and
communities who have borne the consequences. These funds should come
from the institutions' positive net capital and assets, and should be
distributed through democratically-determined mechanisms.

5. REPARATIONS FOR SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEVASTATION: We demand
that the World Bank Group pay reparations to peoples relocated and
otherwise harmed by its large projects (such as dams) and compensate
governments for loan repayments made on projects which World Bank
evaluations rank as economic failures. A further evaluation by a
neutral and credible Truth Commission should determine which World
Bank projects have failed on economic, social, cultural, and
environmental grounds, and see that appropriate compensation is made.
The funds for these payments should come from the institutions'
positive net capital and assets, and should be distributed through
democratically-determined mechanisms.

6. STOP AID TO PRIVATE SECTOR: (a) We demand that the World Bank Group
immediately cease providing advice and resources to advance the goals
associated with corporate globalization, such as privatization and
liberalization; (b) We demand that the International Finance
Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guaranty Agency
(MIGA) be privatized or closed, and that private-sector investments
currently held by these World Bank agencies be liquidated to provide
funds for the reparations demanded above.

7. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CORRUPTION: We demand that the agencies and
individuals within the World Bank Group and IMF complicit in abetting
corruption, as well as their accomplices in borrowing countries and in
private banks, be prosecuted, with full cooperation from the
institutions, and that those responsible, including the institutions,
recover and return stolen wealth and provide compensation for
unrecoverable stolen resources. We call for a neutral and credible
Truth Commission to assess the culpability of the various parties to
corruption and stolen wealth.

8. ASSESSMENT OF INSTITUTIONS' FUTURE: We demand that the future
existence, structure, and policies of multilateral institutions such
as the World Bank Group and the IMF be submitted to a re-evaluation
conducted through a democratic, participatory and transparent process,
building on the findings of a neutral and credible Truth Commission.
The process must accord full participation to the peoples most
affected by the policies and practices of the institutions, and
include a significant and influential role for all parts of civil
society, including farmers' associations, trade unions, women's
organizations, non-governmental organizations, faith-based groups, and
student/youth organizations.

The accession to these demands would require the institutions'
directors to accept and act on the need for fundamental
transformation. It is possible that the elimination of these
institutions will be required for the realization of global economic
and political justice.

We commit to work towards the defunding of the IMF and World Bank by
opposing further government allocations to them (in the form of either
direct contributions or the designation of collateral) and supporting
campaigns such as a boycott of World Bank bonds until these demands
have been met.

Endorse these Demands! e-mail: demands50years@yahoo.com fax:
+1-202-636-4238 post: 3628 12th Street, N.E. - Washington, DC 20017
USA

______________________________

4- Genoa - Don't miss the bus
____________________________________________________________

By Dontmissthebuss

We are leaving Leeds on 12th July and travelling to London for a big
send off from Trafalgar Square. From the 13th we will be travelling to
Genoa. Our journey plans are quite flexible to some extent. As long as
there are no steep hills en route, our old bus may have difficulties!
We will travel via Paris and the south of France aiming to arrive in
Paris on 14th/15th July.

We have a website- www.dontmissthebus.com

We also have an e-petition (please see the website). It would be great
if the e-peition could be publicised and passed on to as many people
as possible. The e-petition is designed to raise awareness of the Drop
the Debt' campaign.

It would be great if you could help publicise our bus journey to Genoa
in France and meet us. For further information please contact, Joanna
Brown on email at: jozart@lineone.net

"Debt cancellation must go deeper and be delivered more quickly."
Nelson Mandela, February 2001

Who?
A group of eight folks from Leeds, Lincolnshire, London and Uganda.

What?
Traveling on board a 40 year old Red London Routemaster bus with a
maximum speed of 40 mph.

Where?
>From Leeds, via London and Paris, to the G8 summit in Genoa.

When?
Departure: 12th July 2001
Arrival: 21st July 2001

Why?
To join with people from across the globe to call on the World's
leaders to adopt a "New Deal on Debt" as proposed by the Drop The Debt
campaign (a successor organisation to Jubilee 2000).

Get to Genoa

Get on the bus and go
Ask Rosa Parks she will know
Someone must speak
Even rivers have a source
And mountains a peak
Someone must stand
Raise a hand
Point to the sun.

The desert squeezes water out of a rock
stands aside as if to mock
Burying oases under sand
Little children reach for a mirage.
So when someone raises a hand
Like the Jubilee 2000 band
God in Heaven moves
Mercy and Peace fly down like doves.

Get on the bus and go
Believe that what you sow
Will grow and shower much fruit
And the Lord will say:
I was helpless and you walked my way
I was hungry and you fed me
I was injured and you paid the hospital fee
Get on the bus and pray.

We demand for more
Drop the debt; release the children to the fore
Wear the mantle of justice
That the tongueless may announce
the crippled bounce
the chains be broken
and our children be free.

(Susan Kiguli 2001)


______________________________

5- Africa and International Trade
____________________________________________________________

By Third World Network-Africa

>From the 24 - 28 of May, 2001, we the under mentioned civil society
organisations from West, Eastern, Southern, Northern Africa, and the
Middle East met in Accra, Ghana.  Our objective was to discuss the
pressing challenges facing the people in African and other developing
countries in the global economic system, and to develop a framework of
activities for civil society organisations to confront these
challenges.  We paid particular attention to the World Trade
Organisation, the Cotonou Agreement, and the US -Africa Growth and
Opportunity Act, and the dangers they pose to the democratic rights
and development of African economies and the equitable needs of their
peoples. In relation to these, we have deliberated upon the following
issues and reached the following conclusions.

The WTO

Agreements, processes and the institution of the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) are imbalanced against African and other developing
countries.  In essence, the agreements (in particular on agriculture,
TRIMS, TRIPS, services) serve principally to prise open markets for
the benefit of transnational corporations at the expense of national
economies, workers, farmers, women and other groups in the developing
world, and the environment. The WTO system, rules and procedures are
undemocratic, untransparent and non-accountable and have operated to
marginalize the majority of the people of Africa and the world's
people.

Those governments that dominate the WTO, and that, together with the
transnational corporations have benefited from the WTO system, have
refused to recognise and address these problems. Instead, they have
been pushing for further liberalisation through the introduction of
new issues for adoption in the WTO.

Thousands of civil society groups from Africa and all over the world
have continued to campaign against the inequities of the WTO system,
and the system of global economic regulation represented by it.

Before and during the failed Ministerial Conference of the WTO in
Seattle, African civil society groups joined thousands of civil
society groups the world over to oppose the use of the Ministerial
Conference to launch a new round of comprehensive liberalisation,
demanding instead, a turnaround of the global system.   Since Seattle,
civil society organisations the world over have continued to campaign
to take out of the WTO, issues that do not belong to its sphere, as
well as to revise existing agreements,  in order to protect
livelihoods and the right to development of peoples.

 Civil society groups have not been alone in making these demands.
African and other developing countries governments also sought redress
for the imbalances and inequities of the existing WTO agreements,
which have damaged their economies and threatened the livelihoods of
their peoples. At the same time, they opposed the introduction of new
issues in the WTO, and demanded an end to the undemocratic processes
of the WTO that marginalized them.  Since Seattle, these governments
have continued to exert strenuous efforts to keep their demands alive
in the WTO.

 However, the concerns of civil society and the demands by developing
country governments have been ignored by the major powers in the WTO.
Negotiations on the concrete proposals put forward by developing
countries for the review of the agreements in such areas as
Agriculture, TRIPS,  TRIMs and services have been frustrated by the
developed countries. At the same time, the latter have used
negotiations in areas such as services to exert pressure for further
liberalisation, ignoring the concerns of civil society for the
protection of social services and needs.

 Instead, the US, EU, Canada, and Japan have continued to put pressure
on developing countries for the launch of a new round to begin
negotiating new agreements, in such areas as investment, competition
policy and government procurement.   In furtherance of this, and as
part of their determination to launch a new round at the next WTO
Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar, these countries have resorted
to the same undemocratic and non-transparent processes, as well as,
the blatant bullying and divisive tactics that were in evidence in
Seattle.

 At the recently concluded United Nations Conference on LDCs,
governments of the developed countries as well the WTO secretariat
attempted unsuccessfully to use the desperate needs of LDCs (34 of the
48 of which are in Africa) to force them to agree to a new round.

 Earlier, in November 2000, the US and the EU colluded with the WTO
secretariat to use the Ministerial Workshop in Libreville, Gabon as an
attempt to force African ministers to support the launching of a new
round. This was in utter disregard of the Africa's own decisions,
taken by their collective decision-making structures, opposing the new
round and calling for the review of existing WTO agreements.

 Cotonou; AGOA

Regional and bilateral agreements with African countries have also
been utilised by developed countries to introduce the issues that they
have difficulty introducing in the WTO.  Through the domestic law
enacted by the US, the so-called African Growth and Opportunity Act
(AGOA), African countries are pressured to adopt WTO-like, and even
WTO-plus, provisions relating to intellectual property rights
protection, investment and financial liberalisation.  These are all in
exchange for some illusory benefits.  AGOA is being used to trap
African governments into giving up their legitimate rights under the
WTO, and to secure opportunities for US businesses to the detriment of
African domestic economic development

 The Cotonou Agreement is similar.  It sustaining existing aid
relationships between Europe and ACP countries.  However, the trade
component of the agreement contains provisions requiring African
governments' compliance with a range of measures contained in the WTO
agreements. It calls for full compliance with the TRIPS Agreement of
the WTO. It requires African governments to negotiate for adoption of
provisions on competition and investor protection that the European
Union is seeking in the WTO, where they are being opposed by African
governments.  In addition, it provides for the negotiation of
reciprocal free trade agreements between the EU and African countries,
separately or in regional groupings.  This will prejudice agricultural
production, and industrial development within national or  regional
development.

 Both the Cotonou Agreement and AGOA will pressure African countries
to continue implementation of structural adjustment policies, while
dividing them and undermine Africa's efforts at regional integration.

 Underlying Economic Problems

The pressing problems of economic development facing African countries
have grown worse. The developed countries, and international financial
institutions dominated by them, IMF and the World Bank have refused to
seriously consider the means of resolving Africa's debt problem.
Instead, the debt burden continues to be utilised as an instrument to
force African governments to continue - through the so-called HIPC
programme and the Poverty Reduction Strategy Programmes (PRSPs) - with
the structural adjustment policies that severely damage our economies,
harm our people and aggravate the debt crisis.

 Women are disproportionately affected by these problems.  The current
trade regime excarbates their subordination, in particular the
exploitation of women's labour which underpins the free market system,
and enables the perpetuation of gender, class and national inequities
in the global system.

 OUR DEMANDS AND COMMITMENTS

In the light of all this, we will strengthen our efforts in the
on-going campaigns, actions and alliances in Africa and the world, to
change the unfair and oppressive multilateral trade system embodied by
the WTO and other trade agreements,  to reverse the destructive
effects of the current global economic order, as part of the processes
and efforts for an equitable, balanced and sustainable economic
development based on the needs of African people and their priorities.
To these ends we make the following:

 In relation to the WTO

 We are opposed to the launch at the forthcoming WTO Ministerial
Conference in Doha, Qatar of a new round of comprehensive
negotiations.

 For a gender-sensitive, sustainable, equitable and democratically
accountable system of international economic relations, we endorse and
reiterate the demands in the global civil society platform statement,
WTO: Shrink or Sink, in particular:

 - there must be no further expansion of WTO, by bringing in new
issues, such as investment, competition, government procurement,
biotechnology, and accelerated tariff liberalisation;

- social rights and services should be protected; therefore health,
education, energy and other rights and services must not be subject to
liberalisation under the General Agreement on Services (GATS);

- patenting of life forms must be prohibited, and furthermore, the
TRIPS Agreement, a protectionist instrument which promotes corporate
monopoly, restricts developing countries' access to technology, and
denies the poor access to essential medicines, should be removed from
the WTO;

- measures taken to promote and protect food security, food
sovereignty and small-scale agriculture and enterprise must be exempt
from WTO trade disciplines;

- the effective operationalisation and expansion of special and
differential rights for third world countries, that recognise fully
the weak position of developing countries in the international trading
system and that provides them space to participate in the global
economy according their own needs; and

- the decision-making processes and the dispute settlement system of
the WTO must be reformed to democratic, transparent and equitable.

 In relation toCotonou

- We  oppose the free trade pressures within the Cotonou Agreement;
and

- We call for effective and coordinated negotiating strategies, in
order to develop alternative trade arrangements that support
nationally and regionally defined priorities for development.

 In relation to AGOA

- The aims and interests propelling AGOA and the forthcoming Bush
summit must be resisted by African governments and their peoples;

-  African governments must desist from taking measures intended to
satisfy the eligibility requirements under the Act;

 OUR ACTIVITIES

In order to realise the above demands, we will undertake the following
activities

- jointly, or individually, and with other groups and allies;

- in our countries, in our sub-regions, continentally and globally;

- with our diverse range of constituencies; and

- in relation to governments, economic and trade policy
decision-making bodies, at the national, sub-regional, continental,
and global levels.

 We understand that conditions differ from country to country, from
region to region; and among different constituencies.  Therefore these
activities represent options that we can pursue according to our
respective circumstances.  And we will offer support to each other,
and share resources as appropriate, in solidarity with initiatives led
by groups in their own contexts.

 As part of the global social movements for alternatives, we are
committed to pursuit of just, equitable and sustainable alternatives
to the current global system.

Signatories

Abantu for Development, Ghana - Alternative Information Development
Centre (AIDC), South Africa - Arab NGO Network for Development,
Lebanon - Centre for Trade Unions and Workers Services (CTUWS),
Egypt - Counsel des ONG d'Appui au Development (CONGAD), Senegal -
ECONEWS Africa - Kenya - ENDA - TM, Senegal - Environmental Rights
Action (FOE- Nigeria) - Espace Associatif, Morocco - Friends of the
Earth - GHANA - Gender and Trade (GENTA), Benin - Gender Studies and
Human Rights Documentation Centre, Ghana - General Agricultural
Workers Union (GAWU), Ghana - Inter Press Service (IPS)-Burkina Faso -
Inter Press Service (IPS)-Nairobi - IPS - Zimbabwe - Journalists for
Democratic Rights, Nigeria - Les Amis de la Tere (FOE -Togo) - MOSOP -
Nigeria Environmental and Human Rights Group - Nigeria Labour
Congress - NLC - Organisation of African Trade Unions Unity - Ghana -
Organisation of African Trade Unions Unity, Ghana - Oxfam GB West
African Regional Program, Senegal - Railways Artisans Union - Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions - Third World Network - Africa, Ghana -
Worldview International - The Gambia

Third World Network-Africa; 9 Ollenu Street, East Legon; P O Box
AN19452; Accra-North; Ghana
tel: 233 21 511189/503669/500419
fax: 233 21 511188
email: twnafrica@ghana.com


______________________________

6- WTO Tidbits
____________________________________________________________

by the Attac work group on International Treaties

1)  An EU report draws criticism from the International Textile &
Clothing Bureau

A report entitled "Non-commercial impacts of trade policy - questions
raised, search for sustainable development" has provoked a response,
addressed to P. Lamy, from the ITCB (consisting of textile exporters
from 24 big developing countries).  The conclusion of the Commission's
report stressed the negative social and environmental consequences
which could be occasioned by the liberalisation of the textile trade,
particularly the rise in water levels and air pollution. According to
the ITCB, this position is in total contradiction with previous EU
declarations, which had laid emphasis upon the positive effects (less
pollution and more efficient production) of in-trade competition.

2)  Introductory Declaration to the Doha Declaration

S. Harbinson, President of the WTO General Council, has met several
delegations with a view to drawing up the Agenda for the Doha
Conference.

No agreement has been obtained on the specific terms of the
Declaration. All that can be noted is wide support for the necessity
to protect public health systems from unilateral use of the TRIPs
clauses, following the controversy which surrounded the recent
conflict between the TRIPs and treatment for Aids victims.

On another subject, the Brazilian delegate called for the "development
deficit" resulting from incomplete application of the Uruguay Round to
be recognised in the Doha Declaration.

3)  The 13 countries which are candidates for entry into the EU
support Lamy on the launch of a new Round ...

Furthermore, they agree that the negotiations should include
investments and competition.

4)  ...but the European Round Table rejects the EU vision of a new WTO
Round

The European Round Table, a lobby consisting of 45 big European firms
dealing in energy, telecoms, finance and industry, is opposed to the
EU proposal to include investments, competition and public markets in
the negotiations, considering there is not sufficient time to reach a
consensus on such a large number of subjects by November, and that to
keep them on the agenda would be a "recipe for failure" in Qatar.

The ERT prefers to focus on tariff reductions, on agricultural and
current service negotiations, the removal of non-tariff environmental
and food safety obstacles, and suggestions for means to resolve
disputes between countries by negotiation rather than by WTO
procedure.

The new Round, as the ERT sees it, should yield results in 3 years. A
new Round, if it was launched and then failed, would be a "lost
opportunity".  But this should not be interpreted as a victory for
anti-globalisation forces.

5)  The US favours a meeting of the Quad on the launching of a new
Round - but on one condition ...

The Chairman of the US Senate Finance Committee expressed the opinion
that it was urgent to reinforce cooperation between the US and the EU
before the Ministerial Conference in Qatar, and that the Quad should
be used to reach a consensus on the subjects of negotiation.  He
referred to the recent settlement of the banana dispute between the US
and the EU (which was mainly to US advantage). However, he warned that
US-EU relations might become tense again before Qatar if the US loses
its case concerning the US trading companies based abroad, and is
consequently obliged to change its tax regulations. "We should do
everything to prevent this happening" (speech to the European American
Business Council, April 2001).

6) Impact study in the service sector

Discussions on this topic have run into difficulties, some deploring
the lack of available information.  The developing countries insist on
having a complete impact study before going any further in
liberalisation.  For them, the study must lead to a better knowledge
of the effects of liberalisation in certain sectors.  Nevertheless,
the guide to negotiations adopted in March stipulates that the impact
study would go on at the same time as the negotiations for more
liberalisation.

For the moment, only pre-negotiations by sector are on the board.They
will take place in July and August.  Those on market access are not
expected until early 2002.

Negotiations are also underway to make progress on the "unfinished
work" of the Uruguay Round, on the subject of procedure for drawing up
GATS rulings, which various sub-committees have been working on.

Amongst these, the work group on Internal Regulation has discussed
disciplines for professional services and horizontal disciplines.
Discussions have hardly started on the way to treat the numerous
national rulings related to the proposals for negotiation. The
question of whether disciplines applicable to the accountancy sector
could be applied more widely to the professional sectors as a whole
has been examined.  Opinions are divided, on account of the number of
adjustments which would be necessary.

Delegations have concentrated on the concepts of "necessity" and of
transparency in the context of horizontal disciplines on procedures
and qualification requirements, as well as on technical norms and
licence obligations.

The EU, Australia and Japan have presented their reports defining the
concept of "necessity".  Discussions continued on what the definition
should be.  It is a subject which also interests the developing
countries.

Pressure from some developing countries is mounting to reach an
agreement on disciplines with regard to safeguard measures.  From the
point of view of these countries, a mechanism for setting off urgent
safeguards could encourage them to liberalise services even when no
impact study has been made.  However, for the US and the EU, these
disciplines seem neither necessary nor even desirable.  The WTO
considers that these discussions are becoming too technical for the
capacity of developing countries.

Work group "International Treaties", omc.marseille@attac.org

______________________________

7- ATTAC Finland
____________________________________________________________

by Mikael Böök

The  founding event of Attac Finland  in the house of  the
Finnish-Swedish Workers' Institute of Helsinki  on May 19-20, 2001,
marked the end of a long "incubation period" including:

· the research and information campaign on the Tobin Tax conducted by
the state-subsidized  Center for Voluntary Service (KEPA), which has
provided  the nascent Finnish Attac-movement with  dr Heikki
Patomäki's book (in Finnish) on "The implementation of the Tobin Tax"
(Like Publishing House, 1999) etc.;

· the  Tobin Tax-option in the  programme of the present Finnish
government; however, in November 2000, it became clear that the
government is divided on this subject: Conservative Finance Minister
Sauli Niinistö is against the Tobin Tax , while Social Democratic
Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, Green Minister of the Environment
Satu Hassi and Second Finance Minister Suvi Anne Siimes (Left-Wing
Alliance) are in  favour of it;

· the initiation by the "Folkets Bildningsförbund" (The People's
Educational Association"), headed by Per Salskov, of a Finnish-Swedish
Attac-association.

The actual preparations for the founding of Attac Finland  took off
with  opening of the email list attac-lista@kaapeli.fi and  the
website "www.attac.kaapeli.fi" by senior citizens' activists Johan von
Bonsdorff and Mikael Böök in January 2001. Hundreds of people from all
over the country got involved, an interim board (working group) of
Attac Finland was  formed, and contact details of "local
Attac-persons" were published during the next few weeks.

Among the "local Attac-persons" are young students, old trade
unionists, priests, researchers etc.  The interest paid to Attac by
the media increased by a qualitative leap when Social Democratic
member of parliament Susanna Rahkonen not only volunteered as the
local Attac-person of her home-town Espoo (Esbo), but also
successfully set out to convene a local Attac-group in the Finnish
Parliament. A fourth of the Finnish MPs (ca 50 MPs) have declared
their symphaties for the goals of Attac. This has led to repeated
debates on whether it is desirable that MPs and government ministers
participate in civic associations and pressure groups! Ministers
Tuomioja and Hassi have publicly confirmed their membership in Attac
Finland.

At the moment of its founding assembly on May 20, one thousand persons
had joined Attac Finland. Three weeks later the number is already ca
1800. The attac-lista@kaapeli.fi  has as many subscribers. Phone
numbers and email-addresses to ca 25 "Local Attac-persons" are found
at the website and regional Attac-chapters are being founded around
Helsinki, Tampere, Turku, Jyväskylä and other major Finnish towns.
Although several of the local persons live in the country-side, Attac
Finland does not yet have organic links to the farmers' organisations.
On the other hand, a partnership has been established between Attac
Finland and the trade union central of Finland. Notably, the
(Lutheran) Church of Finland has also declared its partnership with
Attac.

The constituent assembly of 20 May elected a 21-person national
steering and co-ordinating organ called the "Attac Working Group".
This includes figures who had been active on the interim board, like
young sociologist Eeva Luhtakallio, but also persons from the trade
unions and the Church. In addition to the aforementioned MP Susanna
Rahkonen, MP Kimmo Kiljunen (also Social Democrat) was elected a
member of the  Working Group.

The Working Group has nominated three of its members as chairpersons:
Ms Malin Sundgren, a young student; Ms Merja Leskinen, who is
international secretary of "Työväen Sivistysliitto" (The Workers'
Educational Association) and Mr Mika Rönkkö, a free-lance economic
journalist.

On June 9, the chairpersons publicized a statement on Tax Havens and
the EU Savings Tax Directive.  Intervening by way of an article in
Helsingin Sanomat (2.6.)  Finance Minister Sauli Niinistö summoned
Attac and  "civil society"  to lend support to the government's policy
on the EU Tax package. Attac Finland declared that it is in favour of
the EU Savings Tax Directive, but added, that this Directive is only a
first and very insufficient measure to combat the tax havens. Attac
Finland also repeated that it expects the Finnish government to act in
favour of the implementation of the Tobin Tax in the EU as well as in
other fora.

Contact:

See http://attac.org/suomi-finland/ (website in English), and
http://www.attac.kaapeli.fi/ (website in Finnish and , partly, in
Swedish).

You may reach Attac Finland via its global address
suomi-finland@attac.org ; the current secretary  of the national Attac
Working Group is contacted via attac@kaapeli.fi

The chairpersons:

Mika Rönkkö (mronkko@kaapeli.fi), Malin Sundgren
(malin.sundgren@helsinki.fi), Merja Leskinen (merja.leskinen@tsl.fi)
Representatives of Attac Finland in Göteborg 17.6.2001: Mikael Böök
(book@kaapeli.fi) Johan von Bonsdorff (seppi@kaapeli.fi), Eeva
Luhtakallio (eeva.luhtakallio@helsinki.fi)

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