Lack of awareness dampens anti-APEC protests

Lack of awareness dampens anti-APEC protests

By Lara Parpan

MANILA (AFP): Despite concerns about economic imperialism and
the death of local industries, as APEC member economies trudge
toward their goal of free trade the protests have been muted and
few, analysts say.

With two months to go before Manila hosts the eighth summit of
leaders from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum,
protests by non-government and populist groups have been luke-
warm and marked by little understanding about the loose 18-member
economic grouping, analysts said.

"Most of the people don't care, in spite of the best efforts
of governments to conduct information campaigns," political
analyst Alex Magno told AFP.

Even businessmen do not understand what APEC is all about,
said Julius Caesar Parrenas of the Philippines' Institute for
Strategic and Development Studies, who is also executive
secretary of the country's APEC Business Advisory Council.

In the Philippines, leftist groups decry what they see as
eventual domination by APEC's developed economies of its members
with developing economies, as the organization pursues its goal
of open trade by 2020.

"There is a small group opposing APEC based on an ideological
principle. But you can expect this," Parrenas said, adding that
"they really don't have that much impact."

Some peasant groups also charge that the Philippines
government has disregarded human rights by ordering the
demolition of shanties along main streets in the capital ahead of
the APEC summit.

Meanwhile, in other member countries, a lot of the opposition
to APEC's free trade objectives comes from governments -- ones
who are reluctant to open up their economies.

An official of Japan's Ministry of International Trade and
Industry noted that in Japan opposition to liberalization of the
food sector "is deep-rooted. "

In Malaysia, Minister of International Trade and Industry
Rafidah Aziz has described free trade as "a lie."

Indifference and lack of understanding make "general public
reaction neutral" in the region, with little interest in public
protests, Magno said.

Parallel to the APEC leaders' summit in November, 500
participants from non-government and populist organizations,
academic and pressure groups from the region will come to Manila
for a conference on "fair trade and sustainable development."

"The gathering is an effort to focus the attention of the
international community on the need to reflect such concerns as
human rights, gender and social equity, and environmental
sustainability in the APEC agenda," said a statement from a
group, named the Manila People's Forum on APEC 1996.

But Parrenas said given the sensitivity of human rights issues
for some of APEC's member countries -- citing China as an example
-- "it would be difficult to include human rights" on the agenda.
He also noted APEC's principle of consensus-building among its
members.

"It isn't the level of development but the level of openness,"
he said, citing as examples the United States, Japan and South
Korea which have developed status but still have reservations on
liberalization.

In Thailand, protest is basically non-existent because
"Thailand's dismantling of trade barriers is faster than the APEC
commitment," said one Thai economist.

Opposition is clearly absent in Hong Kong and Singapore,
bastions of free trade. These two member economies' proposals for
free trade and liberalization were hailed as models for other
member economies when presented in February 1996.

But Desmond Ch'ng of Malaysia's Southern Johore Securities
said developing economies should take time to look into APEC and
not forget tariff-reduction schemes under the General Agreement
on Tariffs and Trade.

"We should not rush into the liberalization of the economy
because we have to ensure that all our prime sectors can compete
on a level-playing field," Ch'ng said.