KoPA Archives
À̸§
E-mail
ºñ¹Ð¹øÈ£
(°Ô½Ã¹° »èÁ¦ ¹× ¼öÁ¤½Ã ÀÌ¿ëµË´Ï´Ù.)
HTML¾²±â
(HTMLÀ» Á÷Á¢ ÀÔ·ÂÇϽǷÁ¸é üũÇÕ´Ï´Ù)
Á¦¸ñ
³»¿ë
>>> Writer : KoPA >
> > Another world is possible! Let's change the world! > > Today, the United States, world hegemon, the WTO, the IMF and the World Bank have been insisting that "there is no alternative" and have been forcing neoliberal globalization on the world. Right now, government officials from all over Europe and Asia are meeting in the conference halls of that palatial ASEM Tower over there, a tower that cost 1.5 trillion won to build, to talk about pushing neoliberal globalization. > > But we know. We know that neoliberal globalization is the deliberate project of capitalists facing a crisis of falling profits. They'll channel the majority of profits back into financial speculation of TNCs. We know that the grave reality is that this neoliberal globalization will bring about the "globalization of poverty," that is, the other globalization. Neoliberal globalization wreaks havoc, and we have seen the results of that globalization. > > First, exploitation of workers has intensified, and working conditions are determined by the race to the bottom. In the name of "flexibilization of labor," redundancy dismissals are ruthlessly under way, unemployment rates have shot up, and irregularization of work has advanced. Wages have not been raised, but the work pace has accelerated. In many Asian nations, it is nearly impossible to even establish a trade union and even in countries where laws allow trade union activity, governments repression of trade union activities has grown intense. Racial discrimination against migrant workers has allowed even greater exploitation and social exclusion. > > Second, in the course of neoliberal globalization, exploitation of women workers has increased. In most countries, when companies hit hard times, the logic of profit and patriarchy rules, and women workers are the first to be sacked. To make matters worse for women, most women are employed as irregular workers. Left unprotected by trade unions, irregular women workers get less than half the wages of male regular workers. Sexual harrassment in the workplace and sexual assault have increased, and with trafficking of women, prostitution has also increased. > > Third, because of transnational capital's pursuit of profit, destruction of the ecology has proceeded rapidly. In the name of forest development and the construction of large-scale dams, the world ecological system, beginning with the ecological systems of the global South, are being devastated. Genetically modified crops have reduced the diversity of plant species, and the damage from ecological destruction will now boomerang back to the human race. > > Fourth, under the WTO regime, agriculture has become the target of liberalization and small farms are going bankrupt. Small-scale farmers are sinking into extreme poverty, burdened with heavy debt and unable to withstand the attack of major grain producers in the US and agro-business. Agro-business dominates food production, food security is under serious threat, and consumers' right to health is thrown to the wind. > > Fifth, because of neoliberal globalization, most Third World nations undergo cyclical debt crises, and are pretty much in a state of bankruptcy. National sovereignty is under serious attack, Third World people's right to a basic livelihood, workers' rights, women's rights, are in crisis, and the destruction of the environment is becoming even more severe. > > Sixth, although the cold war system has been dismantled, conflict between regions, states, and ethnicities has not decreased, but instead middle- and small-scale wars continue. The arms race, although temporarily halted, has begun to escalate again, and the NMD-TMD plan promoted by the US and Japan is none other than this escalation. This will bring about a completely new and unprecedented arms race that will make the people's lives more miserable. > > We, who take part in the "ASEM 2000 Anti-neoliberalism Seoul Action," demand the following to the governments of Asia and Europe to secure the people's and workers' right to a basic livelihood, women's rights, the preservation of ecological systems, and independent growth in the Third World. > > - Regardless of whether one is a woman or male worker, migrant or local worker, regular or irregular worker, all workers should be guaranteed workers' rights. To pursue this, each country's law and international agreements must be reformed. Restructuring that undermines workers' rights, a restructuring carried out under the excuse of Third World debt crisis, should be withdrawn. > > -. Ecological systems should be preserved and when development takes place, it must not be controlled by the government and big capital but rather the democratic consensus of the people in those communities. > > -. To remove the instability resulting from transnational financial speculation and to ensure the stable development of the Third World, currency trading should be taxed and Third World debt should be totally cancelled. > > -. ASEM discussions on trade and investment liberalization, such as the removal of currency controls and privatization of public enterprises that give advantage to only transnational capital should be immediately stopped. > > -. The government of each country should try to democratize fundamentally or abolish international institutions that promote neoliberal globalization, such as the WTO, IMF, and the World Bank, and each government should oppose bilateral and regional investment liberalization treaties that give total freedom to transnational capital and sacrifice workers' rights and the ecological system. > > -. The NMD-TMD plan, driven by the USA and Japan, places the world in a new arms race and makes the lives of the people more difficult. The NMD-TMD plan should be immediately scrapped. > > If the governments of Asia and Europe don't listen to our above demands and instead accelerate neoliberal globalization and intensify the exploitation and exclusion of the people, we who are gathered here today from all over Asia and Europe will struggle in solidarity through every means possible. The torch of the people's international solidarity struggle that has come here today from Seattle, Dabos, Bangkok, Washington D.C., Millau, Melbourne, and Prague will be passed on to Dakar, Paris, and Proto Alegre. > > We are confident! Another world is before us. > Let's change the world. > > October 20, 2000 > > Preparatory Committee of "ASEM2000 Seoul Action Day against Neoliberalism" >
¸µÅ©
÷ºÎÆÄÀÏ
Copylefted by
JINBO.NET