Indonesians join actions against WTO
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), farmer and labor unions from across Indonesia gathered in Jakarta on Tuesday for a two- day meeting to prepare for the Sept. 10 to Sept. 14 World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial summit in Cancun, Mexico.
The groups hope to travel to Cancun to protest against trade liberalization efforts they say benefit only developed countries and multinational corporations, while marginalizing developing countries.
"About 75 NGO representatives are gathering here to discuss our position for the upcoming WTO summit," the executive director of the Institute for Global Justice, Bonnie Setiawan, told The Jakarta Post.
Unlike some United Nations summits, WTO summits have never provided seats for participants or observers from outside the official delegations of the organization's member countries.
Bonnie said "international civil society" would gather in Cancun and hold parallel meetings as a counterbalance to the WTO.
"We see that the WTO only caters to the interests of developed countries. Therefore, Indonesia has to assert its interests as a developing country.
"For example, if food trade is liberalized, the government will no longer have the authority to manage distribution, thus it will not longer be able to ensure the food supply for the poor," he said.
He said international NGOs would urge the WTO not to liberalize the agricultural sector, and not to force developing countries to buy expensive patented pharmaceuticals.
The NGOs attending the two-day meeting included the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI), the National Front for the Struggle of Indonesian Workers (FNPBI), the Indonesian Women's Coalition (KPI) and the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi).
Wahyuningsih, an agricultural activist from Karawang, West Java, said farmers in her village had never benefited from a WTO agreement, and cheaper imported foods cut into their income.
Indra Lubis, the campaign and international relations coordinator at the Indonesian Farmers Federation told the Post five of the group's members planned to participate in anti- liberalization protests in Cancun.
"Five of us will join tens of thousands of farmers from around the world, including hundreds from Southeast and East Asian countries," he said.
Indonesia is a founding member of the WTO, which was established in 1995 as a result of talks on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
The first WTO ministerial summit was held in Singapore in 1996. The last summit, the organization's fourth, took place in Doha, Qatar, in 2001.
On the schedule for the fifth WTO summit are those matters left unsettled at the Doha talks, including industrial product tariffs, agreements on agriculture, trade related aspects of intellectual property rights and a general agreement on trade and services.
The European Union and the United States are expected to press ahead with the liberalization of government procurement and investment, among other areas.
Developing countries have long insisted on protecting these areas against liberalization, arguing they are unprepared to compete with multinational corporations.