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"
