Bangkok Appeal to the people of the world
The events of Seattle have changed the balance of forces between the social movements opposed to globalization and the G7 leaders, governments, corporations and global economic institutions, including the IMF, World Bank and WTO, that drive the globalisation project.
Seattle gave expression to the growing international rejection of this new form of exploitation that violates on a massive scale peoples' human rights including, social, economic, cultural, environmental, political and democratic rights.
Seattle showed that we are able to unite against this global project. Our challenge now is to continue our resistance, and deepen the debate amongst ourselves in order to articulate and promote common alternatives.
In that regard, we need to improve our capacity for mobilization at a national and international level, and to strengthen international co-operation.
We therefore appeal to all social movements, north and south, to fight for the cancellation of all debt of developing countries which in the judgment of civil society is illegitimate, immoral or unpayable; to end the IMF's structural adjustment policies in indebted nations; to call for a moratorium on any new negotiations that would increase the power and scope of the WTO, and to exclude from the jurisdiction of the WTO such issues as peasant agriculture, social services, and intellectual property claims; and to impose controls and taxes on capital.
We call on social movements to mobilize in large numbers and unite against globalisation wherever world leaders gather and meet. In particular we call on movements to focus on two main forthcoming events. First, on the UN General Assembly Social Summit Review in Geneva on 22 -25th June , 2000. On this occasion, we will assemble to organize the debate, discussion and articulation of our alternatives; and also to prepare for a mass mobilization in New York on September 5-6, 2000. This will be the Summit of World Leaders in New York, on the occasion of the UN's Millennium General Assembly on 6-9th September. Simultaneous actions will be organized around the world.
We also call for support for mobilization at the following events:
-
Week of protest against debt and corporate globalisation in Washington 9-16th April, 2000, at the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings.
-
Meeting of the Asian Development Bank in Thailand, 6-7th May.
-
The meeting of APEC 6-8th May
-
The Beijing +5 Review in New York, 5-9 June
-
The Africa- EU Summit in Cairo on 27th June.
-
Demonstrations in the run-up to the G7 Global Summit, where there will be an international Jubilee 2000 conference and actions for debt cancellation; in particular demonstrations outside Japanese embassies over this period, as Japan is the chair of the G7 this year.
-
Demonstrations in support of the anti-US bases campaign in Okinawa in the week of the G7 Summit, 21-23 July , 2000.
-
Demonstrations at the World Bank/IMF events in Prague 26-28th September.
-
The Women's March in New York on 17th October, 2000. ASEM People's Forum in Seoul, 17-19 October. · The Dakar anti-debt African meeting, from 11th to 17th December, 2000
