Transnational Institute: WTO / IRAQ / US Military Bases in Latin America etc

international | anti-war / imperialism | opinion/analysis Friday September 26, 2003 11:24 by tni

25 sept 2003 issue of newsletter

25 September 2003

In this issue of TNI News you will find:

1. Failed WTO Ministerial in Cancún
2. Iraq and the crisis of the UN
3. New publication: US military airbases in Latin America
4. New from TNI fellows:
- Saul Landau on Guillermo Novo, alleged assassin of Orlando
Letelier
- Praful Bidwai on genocide in Gujarat
- Praful Bidwai on South Asia's relations with Israel
- Boris Kagarlitsky on corruption in Russia
5. Obituary: Xabier Gorostiaga

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FAILED WTO MINISTERIAL IN CANCÚN

That resistance to the powerful is possible was demonstrated by
an alliance of developing countries, supported by the protests of
global civil society, during the WTO Ministerial Meeting in Cancún
last week. The talks collapsed when the so-called G21 alliance
stood up to the bullying tactics of the US and European Union, to
their great shock. The main controversy was ongoing agricultural
subsidies in the North and the impact on Southern farmers. This
victory should give an impetus to movements around the world to
continue the struggle for a better, more people-oriented global
order, and against that of the global corporations and elites.

TNI fellows Walden Bello, Susan George, Dot Keet, John Cavanagh
and Brid Brennan were in Mexico for the WTO meeting, playing a
key role in the People's Forum on Alternatives to the WTO and
participating in the protests on the Mexican streets. Below are
some of the preliminary accounts and analyses they have
produced.

There is Life after Cancun
By Walden Bello
The collapse of the WTO meeting in Cancún represented a victory
for people throughout the world. The coalition of developing
countries that emerged at the summit (Group of 21) is a new
development that could alter the global balance of forces. The
group found a natural ally in global civil society, whose challenge
now is to redouble its efforts to dismantle the structures of
inequality and to push for alternative arrangements for global
economic co-operation that would truly advance the interests of the
poor, the marginalised and the disempowered.
http://www.tni.org/archives/bello/cancun2.htm

A Turning Point for World Trade?
By John Cavanagh and Robin Broad
At the WTO meeting in Cancún, it was the first time in decades of
globalisation negotiations that democracy trumped narrow elite
interests. India, Brazil, China and nearly two dozen other poor
nations, representing more than half of the globe's population,
negotiated as a bloc. With backing from a wide array of citizen
groups, they rejected the meeting's final text, which, as usual, was
crafted to address the corporate interests of richer nations. In
short, the many derailed a trade agenda for the few.
http://www.tni.org/archives/cavanagh/turning.htm

WTO Ministerial Collapses in Cancún
By Walden Bello
In dramatic fashion, the World Trade Organization's Fifth Ministerial
collapsed today. Irreconcilable differences among developed and
developing countries put the finishing touches to a one and half
year long global campaign to derail the Cancún meeting.
http://www.tni.org/archives/bello/collapse.htm

Reports from Cancún
By Dot Keet, on behalf of the African Peoples Caucus in Cancún
"The impact of African peoples' organisations at the WTO
Ministerial in Cancún was out of all proportion to their numbers
present, thanks to our political convictions about our needs and
aims, our political experience in mass actions, our strategic sense
and tactical skills, and the dynamism of our political expression."
http://www.tni.org/archives/keet/cancun.htm

Within the week-long activities of the People's Forum, an
information day on 'Social Alternatives to Free Trade Agreements'
was co-organised by the Hemispheric Social Alliance (HSA) and
RMALC (Mexico) to which partners in the TNI regionalisms project
contributed. Resistance and alternatives across Latin America
were showcased. Please see the programme at
http://www.tni.org/altreg/acts/cancun.htm

For more information, please visit TNI's WTO page
http://www.tni.org/globecon/wto/index.htm

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UN & IRAQ

Bush's speech at the UN General Assembly showed that the US
has no intention of changing its unilateral approach to world
politics. Resistance to US unilateralism is apparent within the UN,
seen not least in Kofi Annan's speech. The US is pushing for a
Security Council resolution to provide legitimacy for the illegal
occupation of Iraq. This would enable reluctant other governments
to commit troops and financial aid, though it is clear the US
intends to hold onto command in Iraq. This has to be resisted if the
already shaken credibility of the UN is to be preserved.

Back to the UN!
By Phyllis Bennis
Bush's decision to return to the UN for military and financial
assistance regarding the occupation of Iraq reflects Washington's
worries about how to deal with the growing costs of the occupation.
Washington wants a UN-endorsed multilateral military force to
participate in the occupation of Iraq, but the commander would be
an American and would not share authority and decision-making
with the UN nor with governments sending soldiers. The Security
Council should stand defiant of US pressure, and that will
ultimately depend on the public pressure brought to bear on
member governments, as well as on backing from other members
of the United Nations.
http://www.tni.org/archives/bennis/backtoun.htm

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NEW DRUGS & DEMOCRACY PUBLICATION

Forward Operating Locations in Latin America:
Transcending Drug Control
TNI Drugs & Conflict Debate Papers No. 8
September 2003
This issue of Drugs & Conflict explains the background to and
operation of the US Forward Operating Locations (FOLs) in
Ecuador, El Salvador and Aruba/Curaçao established since 1999.
Serious concerns have arisen about the possible use of these
military airbases in support of US military involvement in the
Colombian conflict, as the war on drugs has been explicitly
incorporated into the "global war on terrorism".
http://www.tni.org/reports/drugs/debate8.htm

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NEW FROM TNI FELLOWS

Guillermo Novo and me
By Saul Landau
Guillermo Novo, a suspect in the case of the 1976 murder of
Orlando Letelier, an exiled Chilean politician and TNI director at the
time of the assasination, was finally brought to trial for allegedly
plotting to assassinate Fidel Castro in Panama in 2000.
http://www.tni.org/archives/landau/gulliermo.htm

Judging Genocide
By Praful Bidwai
Last year's genocide in Gujarat, in which 2000 people died,
deserves a special independent National Tribunal for hate-crimes
and genocide as the local administration failed to prevent and
prosecute the crime.
http://www.tni.org/archives/bidwai/judging.htm

How not to deal with Israel
By Praful Bidwai
After Ariel Sharon's visit to India, a debate was triggered in
Pakistan as to the merits of warming up relations with Israel. But
any strategic proximity with Israel based on "solidarity" in fighting
"terrorism" is fundamentally misconceived.
http://www.tni.org/archives/bidwai/israel.htm

The Business of Party Lists
By Boris Kagarlitsky
The early 1990s in Russia was a period of conversion of political
power into property. To protect that property many businessman
entered politics. Now some demand redistribution, but for that state
power is necessary.
http://www.tni.org/archives/kagarlitsky/business.htm

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Xabier Gorostiaga (1937-2003)

Our dear friend and TNI Advisor Xabier Gorostiaga died on 14
September 2003 in Loyola (Spain) after losing a one-year struggle
against a brain tumour. Many of us remember seeing him the last
time at the Second World Social Forum in Porto Alegre in 2002.
The slogan 'Another World is Possible' could have been his
invention (some even believe he was indeed the source) for he
displayed an infectious optimism and a profound belief in
alternatives. With Xabier's departure we lose a brilliant analyst and
a strategic and 'globalist' thinker, bridging effectively the gap
between academia and political practice. We also lose a
remarkable friend, genuinely interested in personal experiences
and always searching for light in the darkness. He will be
remembered as "the most all-round and happiest priest I ever
encountered" (Hugo Cabieses) and as an inspiring example for all
those working to make another world possible. Gracias Xabier por
la vida que nos diste!

Please see background on and tributes to this great man at
http://www.tni.org/history/docs/gorostiaga.htm

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