Articles
Global Justice Movements Converge on Revolutionary Ground
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Collective adrenaline ran high as the World Social Forum opened on March 24 in Tunis. It had not yet been five years since a peaceful revolution brought a dictatorship long backed by Western political superpowers to its knees and ignited the fire of the Arab Spring that burns to this day. And it had not yet been a week since shooters stormed the Bardo Museum, killing 22, and retesting the resolve of a delicately budding democracy.
Tens of thousands of delegates from across the globe converged in Tunis not only to show support for Tunisian sovereignty, but also to share their own local struggles and solutions while advocating change in the face of interlinked systemic injustices. The opening march easily demonstrated the diversity of the constituency--bands of Tunisian students in perfect stride with Latin American labor organizers and Sub-Saharan African small-scale food producers, knit together by the unraveling food, climate, energy, and financial crises.
Amidst this vibrant mix of social actors, it was no coincidence that Via Campesina, the world's largest--and arguably best organized--movement showed up in full force with a delegation from five continents. "It is on us to do something," said Elizabeth Mpofu, the Zimbabwean farmer and organizational powerhouse who leads Via Campesina's 250+ million peasant, pastoralist, fisher and indigenous members. "We know we are poor, but we are also very intelligent, and we know what we want," she added.
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Bandung + 60 : Declaration of the South Center
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The South Centre is very appreciative of the wonderful initiative and great efforts by the government and people of Indonesia for hosting this Asian-African Summit in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the 1955 Asian-African Conference held in Bandung, and for inviting the South Centre to attend this extraordinary and important gathering of countries of the South.
I bring the warm greetings from our Chair, H.E. Benjamin Mkapa, former President of the United Republic of Tanzania, the members of the Board, and the Secretariat of the South Centre.
This year’s Asian-African Summit is a fitting follow-up to the 1955 Bandung Asian-African Conference, which marked the first attempt at multilateral cooperation between developing countries “on the basis of mutual interest and respect for national sovereignty”. The Bandung Conference brought together the generation of gifted and courageous Asian and African leaders who had won or were in the middle of winning their battles of independence. The final communiqué from Bandung in 1955 contained the 10 principles of the “Bandung Spirit”, containing the basic principles for South-South cooperation in the South’s efforts to promote peace and cooperation in the world. These principles remain as valid as ever in today’s world which is in economic and political turmoil.
Inequality ... a political problem
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I had the opportunity to listen to Paul Krugman last week. He gave the keynote speech in a conference on inequality in Brussels. Theme of the conference: No prosperity for all in Europe if we do not tackle inequality. Underlying message: inequality is hindering growth and the distribution of wealth.
Krugman was there to debunk some of the myths. No, there is no shred of evidence that inequality promotes growth, as some neoliberals continue to say. But there is only little evidence that inequality hinders growth. What it is all about is the political economy, the concentration of wealth. We have a lot of evidence that there is a close link between inequality and politics.
The wealthy have become very powerful, they are the ones who promoted financial deregulation, they are the ones promoting so-called free trade agreements, they are the ones blocking all reasonable legislation that could help to improve the social situation in this world.
The IMF's role in the Greek economy
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In February, Greece agreed a four-month extension to its loan from the European Central Bank (ECB) and European Commission (EC), which along with the IMF comprise the Troika of lenders to eurozone states since 2010. The loan is subject to a review of the reforms the government commits to undertake during the extension. The IMF, however, is not part of the new agreement.
Greece currently owes €245 billion ($260 billion) to the three creditors. Conditionalities required for the financing include measures such as privatisations, looser labour laws and pension cuts (see Observer Winter 2015). The Greek government was elected on a platform repudiating the legitimacy and economic value of the loan conditionalities, and demanding an overall reduction in its debts. This democratic mandate is now threatened because Greece faces a number of payments to the IMF and bondholders while negotiating with its European partners. During negotiations prime minister Alexis Tsipras has repeatedly stated that further financial support is necessary so that Greece can make urgent payments.
Mediterranean Tragedy
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Our thoughts are with the thousands of victims that continue to perish in the Mediterranean, year after year. The only dream these people had was to reach the shores of the European Union with the promise of a better life and a future for themselves and their children.
However, the ‘European values’ do not cross borders. They are strictly reserved for European populations and are denied to people coming from elsewhere. Basic human rights, as if they could be different in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe…
‘Fortress Europe’ is killing people. But let us not forget that ‘Fortress Europe’ is made by the governments of the European Union’s member-states. And let us not forget that these governments have always refused to define a common European policy on immigration and asylum.
This is the tragedy. In the same way as the Greek people are forced to pay for the debts made by their banks and governments, African people pay the price for the lack of political courage of 28 national governments.
