Indonesians join actions against WTO
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.