NGOs criticize govt for failure to defend farmers at WTO talks
NGOs criticize govt for failure to defend farmers at WTO talks
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
criticized on Friday the Indonesian delegation's "poor"
performance at the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial
meeting in Doha, Qatar, saying that they had failed to fight for
the nation's interests.
Bonnie Setiawan, program officer of the International NGO
Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) asserted that the
delegation did not even have sufficient knowledge about global
trade issues.
The Indonesian delegation, comprising 32 people, was led by
Minister of Industry and Trade Rini Soewandi.
"Our delegation failed to voice the people's interests as they
did not hold a dialog with the Indonesian community, such as
businesspeople, to seek inputs," he said.
"We have repeatedly asked the government to hold a dialog with
the public to seek inputs before leaving for the WTO meeting,"
"We condemn the government's decision to agree on the
launching of a new round of trade talks without discussing it
with the Indonesian people first," he told a media conference.
Trade ministers from 142 countries, including Indonesia agreed
on Wednesday to launch a new round of trade talks aimed at
setting agenda for further eliminating trade barriers.
Bonnie said that trade liberalization would have serious
consequences to local businesses and the overall economy because
domestic industries were not yet ready to compete head-on with
foreign giants.
He did not elaborate, but other NGO activists had expressed
concern that trade liberalization would cause massive layoffs.
NGO activists have also demanded Rini immediately consult the
House of Representatives, as the results of the Doha WTO talks,
which ended on Wednesday, would affect existing laws.
They also said that the government must inform the public of
the results of the WTO meeting because it would have social and
economic implications for Indonesia.
Elsewhere, Bonnie welcomed the success of developing countries
in championing the cause for cheaper drugs at the WTO meeting.
WTO members agreed to provide "flexibility" to developing
countries for access to cheap medicines through a waiver of
patents in emergency cases.
He also applauded the efforts of India's delegation in
fighting for its nation's interests.
India, which has been one of the more vocal among the
developing countries in criticizing the WTO, showed consistency
during the meeting, he said.
Earlier, Rini said that the government was satisfied with the
result of the WTO meeting, saying that the elimination of farm
export subsidies would help local farm products to compete
overseas.
She also said that the new round of trade talks would benefit
developing nations like Indonesia because trade liberalization
would help boost trade volume.