IMC India - NO TO IMPERIALIST GLOBALISATION AND WAR!!!!!!

NO TO IMPERIALIST GLOBALISATION AND WAR!!!!!!
By madurai 24/02/2002 At 08:07

Statement by an Asian Delegation to the World Social Forum 2002
February 2, 2002

We, representatives of Asian social movements are greatly dismayed at developments since September 11th which have made numerous parts of Asia the focus of the ludicrous "war on terrorism". By waging war on Afghanistan, the poorest country in the world, the US has given Israeli zionism license to unleash a new reign of terror on the occupied peoples of Palestine. The US presence in Afghanistan and Pakistan has now been extended to South-East Asia with the recent intervention into the Southern Philippines. The US unilateral withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty and its missile defence programme add to the sad reality that US imperialism has started to truly rear its ugly head. Japan is joining the US in this regard by re-arming itself and venturing out into the region to reaffirm its economic hegemony. September 11th is being used as a front to re-legitimise the tyranny of international capital, and the military advance of the US and its allies is only a smoke screen for the increasing expansion of the capitalist economy and the neo-liberal paradigm.

The petro-military-industrial complex is the driving force of the world economy, as is evidenced by the US invasion of Afghanistan in pursuit of the oil and gas reserves of the land-locked Caspian region of Central Asia. Meanwhile, international financial institutions (IFIs) - funded in large part by the US - perpetuate inequality and injustice through structural adjustment, and now other "poverty-reduction" strategies. The IFIs are complicit in the proliferation of militarisation (including religious extremism) and war, and therefore underdevelopment by propagating policies leading to unemployment, increases in prices of basic commodities, and general social and economic deprivation.

The dangerous stand-off between India and Pakistan is one of the most chilling conflicts in Asia today. Pakistan's "non-choice" to join the coalition of terror is the end-result of years of state-sponsored extremism and an urge to receive more IMF monies. The Pakistani and Indian establishments have promoted militarism and bigotry over a period of time and the present military dictatorship in Pakistan and right-wing religious government in India are just following in the line of repressive regimes in the region to be supported by American "democracy".

The Philippines is now the new focus of the American "crusade". The Philippine constitution prohibits the presence of foreign troops on Philippine soil. But then again, when did the sovereignty of nations mean anything to the global hegemon? The Philippine government, like Pakistan's before it, is only too willing to extend its histrical clienteliism of the US in return for political support and good, old-fashioned tied aid.

Perhaps the most flagrant violation of the sovereign rights of a nation continue to take place in Palestine, while the world watches in silence. The Israeli army defies every tenet of international law on a daily basis, massacring women, men, and children, clearing the way for heavily armed settlers to colonise Palestinian land. Targeted assassinations of important political figures contribute further to a growing sense of helplessness and despair that is shredding the unity of the Palestinian people. The "war on terrorism" glosses over the massive state-level terror that is being imposed on the people of Palestine so that Israel and the US can continue their strategic domination of economic assets in the region.

The collusion of individual states in the international capitalist advance reflects the undemocratic and elitist nature of many of the regimes in place in Asia - many of them propped up by the US. Even newly independent East Timor, for so long a symbol of freedom and independence, is now being forced to swallow the bitter pill of Western domination. Political independence in East Timor has been accompanied by a loss of economic sovereignty as the World Bank and IMF dictate the terms on which its economy should integrate into the world system. Afghanistan faces a similar fate as it waits out its 6 months under the US-backed transition regime.

The situation in Aceh is also one that is conveniently glossed over by the so-called flagbearers of freedom. Conflict in Aceh between the Acehnese and the central government of Indonesia is a conflict of natural resources. Since the discovery of natural gas in North Aceh in 1976, the US based Mobil Oil company has initiated a massive exploitation of natural gas fields. To safeguard the interest of this transnational corporation, the Indonesian government declared Aceh as the "military operation zone" (DOM) in1989 sending in military troops. Gross human rights violations are a tragic result.

In Korea, long hailed as the model of the neo-liberal paradigm, the working class is facing unprecedented repression. Over 700 trade unionists languish in jail for demanding their basic rights, a situation mirrored in much of the continent. Meanwhile, the US military design also threatens the carefully crafted peace and reunification process between North and South Korea, and instead is pushing the region back into the throes of conflict.

Women and children are the primary victims of conflict of any kind. In Afghanistan, women were used for the war effort, portrayed as victims of the oppressive Taliban regime and in need of liberation - a liberation which will now make them slaves of international capital instead. In many parts of Asia, women have been exploited as cheap labour in export-processing zones and in the informal economy, as unprotected migrant workers and as prostitutes serving foreign troops, tourists and businessmen, in the generous spirit of neo-liberal globalisation.

We demand an end to the blatant misuse of power and influence which has cost and will cost millions of people in Asia their lives and livelihoods, their freedoms, their dignity, and their sovereignty. The vibrant resistance struggles of Asian people's movements and those across the world represent the struggles to resume control over the rights to work, resources, and development planning within national frameworks of democratic values and processes. Adivasis, farmers, fisherfolk, slum dwellers, informal sector labourers - all have come together to challenge the skewed security paradigm put forth by the US and colluding states in Asia. These movements want human security to reign supreme, and all reject the dictates of international capital. Nonviolence and a rejection of shameless consumerism stand at the very core of these movements, and we at the World Social Forum are convinced that in the final analysis, it is the will of the people that will prevail.

· We demand an end to US militarism in Asia
· We demand that all fundamental human and community rights be protected, and that the IMF and World Bank accept their subservience to the democracies of social movements in Asia.
· We demand that economic sanctions on the Iraqi people be lifted and the brutal policies of the US and its cronies against Iraq be retracted.
· We demand the end of the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
· We demand that US troops leave the Philippines, Afghanistan, Korea, Pakistan and other countries in the region.
· We demand that the US and multinational capital stop their support of the military dictatorship in Burma.
· We demand a freezing of military tension between the nuclear powers of India and Pakistan.
· We demand that the rights of labour across Asia be protected
· We demand the abolition of child labour and compensation of working children as well as a guarantee of their education
· We demand that the US be held accountable for its repeated violations of human rights and its violations of sovereignty of nations in Asia, according to international law

In conclusion, we wish to inform you that we too in Asia are joining in the direct fight against neo-liberalism and its militarist designs during the upcoming
World Cup to be held in June 2002 in Japan and Korea. We urge you to join us in our international day of action which will be announced at the conclusion of the WSF. _____________________________________
Isabelle Delforge - Dominique Van der Borght
Post Box 4723
VIENTIANE - LAO PDR

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Comments

None of your demands will ever be met...

RED FLAG 24/02/2002 11:50

....until you address the fundamental system which creates militarism, exploitation and war in the first place: capitalism and Western Imperialism.

All your bullshit rhetoric about human rights and democracy and a sham and a fraud, until you work to defeat--and ulimately destroy--these two systems.

It seems to me you represent nothing more than the usual pro-Capitalist and pro-Imperialist perspective which defines the politics of most (Western) Liberals.

A (Western) Liberal will cry and complain about every issue in the world but carefully and deliberately attempt to avoid pointing the finger where it rightfully belongs: namely their own system and civilization.

Western Imperialism and its capitalist system are the two fundamental enemies of the Third World. Any attempt to obfuscate or minimize this reality is not much different from the propaganda that is routinely spewed out by the Capitalist Free Press.