[mobglob-discuss] Letter to the World Bank about Bolivia water conflict

[Tom_Childs at Douglas.BC.CA]

Subscribers,
	Here's a pertainent letter to sign on to if you are connected to a
civil society group or anti-capitalist organization, and can endose the
letter on behalf or your colleagues.  It's about profits over people.
There's a degree of urgency to this following post. I would put forward my
name on behalf of MGJ if i get at least a half dozen replies from the list
that simply say "go ahead"...that would probably be enough yeas to
constitute a consensus and i'd be proud to be the MGJ rep.
Salud,  tom
  ----- Forwarded message: -----On behalf of Oscar Olivera - Bolivia
Organization: Vereniging Milieudefensie
From: "Bertram Zagema" <Bertram.Zagema at milieudefensie.nl>
Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2002 11:41:30 +0200
Subject: Letter to World Bank about Bolivia water conflict

Dear Friends

Last November Bechtel initiated legal action against Bolivia in a
secret trade court controlled by the World Bank.

A long time ago the Coalition for the Defense of Water and Life along
with other organizations are organizing a campaign against Bechtel's
demand to our country. We need your solidarity and your help.

In attach is the letter we will be sending to the World Bank late
next week.  What we need from you at this point is nothing more than
support - your name to add to the letter.

Please note, that the letter is ONLY FROM ORGANIZATIONS, not
individuals. So, if you represent an organization (an environmental
group, a union, a nonprofit organization, etc.) please consider
endorsing this letter by replying to this note (to the mails that you
will find below) with the following information (NO LATER THAN NEXT
MONDAY, AUGUST 26TH)

Name
Title
Organization
Country

Thanks for your support and Solidarity

Oscar Olivera F

Coordinadora de Defensa del Agua y de la Vida

-------------------------------
Marcela Olivera F.
Coordinadora de Defensa del Agua y de la Vida
Federaci=F3n de Trabajadores Fabriles de Cochabamba
Calle Bol=EDvar 310, tercer piso
Cochabamba, Bolivia

Tel/Fax: (591-4) 4503530
Cel: (591) 70722165
E-mail: marcelaolivera at mindspring.com
E-mail: marcelaolivera at ceibo.entelnet.bo



James D. Wolfensohn, President, World Bank
Ko-Yung Tung, Secretary-General, ICSID
David D. Caron, tribunal president
Henri C. Alvarez, tribunal member
Jos=E9 Luis Alberro-Semerena, tribunal member
ICSID Dispute Resolution Panel
c/o International Centre for the Resolution of Investment Disputes
World Bank
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433

RE: Demand for public participation
       Aguas del Tunari S.A. (Bechtel) v. Republic of Bolivia (Case
No. ARB/02/3)

Dear Sirs:

The signers of this letter represent more than [# to be added] civil
society organizations and public leaders across five continents.  We
are writing to you out of our shared commitment to the right of
people to participate in the public matters that affect their
communities and nations.  With this letter we respectfully request
that you guarantee public participation in the arbitration between
Aguas del Tunari/Bechtel Enterprises and the Republic of Bolivia, a
case that directly implicates one of the most fundamental human needs
- access to water.  This case is the most visible and important cases
that has come before a World Bank/ICSID tribunal - Aguas del
Tunari/Bechtel Enterprises vs. Bolivia.

BACKGROUND

The history of this case is well-known worldwide.  Under direct
pressure from the World Bank, the Bolivian government put up for
private lease the water system of its third largest city, Cochabamba.
 In 1999, following a process with just one bidder, a 40 year
concession was granted to Aguas del Tunari, a majority-owned
subsidiary of Bechtel Enterprises of California set up for that sole
purpose.  Within weeks of taking over control of the water system,
the company raised water rates by an average of more than 50% and in
some cases far higher.  Families living on a minimum wage of $60 per
month (and often less) were ordered by the company to pay as much as
25% of their income just to maintain their water service.

The people of Cochabamba, unable to pay the bills presented them by
the company and unable to get any satisfactory relief from the
Bolivian government, were forced into massive and widespread public
protests.  To protect the company's contract the Bolivian government
took extraordinary measures against its people, including a
declaration of a state of emergency, the suspension of constitutional
rights, and the violent repression of the protests, resulting in more
than 100 injuries and the death of one 17 year old boy, Victor Hugo
Daza.  In April 2000, with the government unable to stop the
protests, the company abandoned its management of the water system
and left the country.

THE BASIS OF OUR DEMAND FOR PARTICIPATION

To be clear, in our view the World Bank/ICSID should not be handling
this case to begin with.  The World Bank/ICSID system is one of what
the New York Times recently called "secret trade courts" ("A Fairer
Trade Bill" New York Times editorial, July 25, 2002), in which urgent
public matters are decided behind a shroud of secrecy, without full
information and without any of the opportunities for public vigilance
and participation that are the basis for public legitimacy.   Such
public involvement is essential to the legitimate resolution of
disputes, like this one, that directly affect issues of fundamental
public concern.

Moreover, the World Bank/ICSID handling of this case is even more
unjustified for two specific reasons unique to this case:

First, the World Bank is by no means a neutral party in this matter.
It is well-documented that it was the World Bank itself which
directly forced the government of Bolivia to privatize the water
system of Cochabamba, making that privatization a condition for both
debt relief and funds for water system expansion and thereby setting
the events of this case in motion.  Additionally, during the water
revolt in Bolivia in April 2000, World Bank president James
Wolfensohn personally made public comments about the case, justifying
water price increases.  Further, despite the Bank's role in the
history of this case, Mr. Wolfensohn violated one of the most
important principles of objectivity when he directly appointed the
President of the arbitration tribunal that will decide the case.
These facts have created strong and well-justified public doubt that
ICSID can resolve this dispute fairly.

Second, Bechtel/Aguas del Tunari's claim of ICSID jurisdiction rests
entirely on a bogus claim of being a Dutch corporation (and therefore
benefiting from Holland's bilateral investment treaty with Bolivia
which invokes ICSID as arbitrator of any trade disputes between the
two countries). Bechtel/Aguas del Tunari moved its registration to
Holland only after it signed its water contract with Bolivia, in a
forum-shopping exercise already repudiated by the Dutch government.

Given, however, that the World Bank/ICSID has acceded to
Bechtel/Aguas del Tunari's request to take this case, this makes it
all the more imperative that the process be opened to public
participation and scrutiny, as laid out in this letter.

We would also note that Bechtel/Aguas del Tunari has already made
plain their willingness to advance fraudulent information about the
case.  In response to widespread public and press attention to the
company's rate hikes, a Bechtel Enterprises spokeswoman, Ms. Gail
Apps, widely distributed the following statement to members of the
public and the media inquiring abut the rate increases it imposed,
"For the poorest people in Cochabamba rates went up little, barely 10
percent."  Data drawn directly from the water company's computers
make clear that the rate increase in question averaged more than 50%.

If Bechtel/Aguas del Tunari is willing to assert clearly fraudulent
information such as this on the public record, one can only imagine
what misinformation the company will be willing to provide to the
tribunal behind closed doors and away from public scrutiny.  For this
reason as well, civil society groups directly knowledgeable about the
facts at hand must be able to participate actively in the case, to
assure that the tribunal receives a complete and accurate rendering
of those facts.

THE METHODS OF PARTICIPATION PROPOSED

For all these reasons, we propose that the Tribunal adopt the
following procedures:

1) Grant the Petition of Affected Individuals and Organizations to
Participate in the Case

We call on the Tribunal to grant the petition to participate made by
key Bolivian leaders, including Oscar Olivera of The Coalition for
Water and Life; Father Luis S=E1nchez, a member of Cochabamba's public
water company board of directors (SEMAPA); Omar Fern=E1ndez of the
Cochabamba Federation of Irrigators; and Congressman Jorge Alvarado,
President of the Cochabamba delegation of the Bolivian Congress.
These leaders, represented by able and experienced Bolivian and U.S.
counsel, represent tens of thousands of people with a direct stake in
the case.  Their participation is essential to legitimate resolution
of this dispute.

2) Publicly Disclose all Documents Filed with the Tribunal

In order to provide for adequate public scrutiny of the claims made
by the two parties, especially given the record of misinformation, we
call on the Tribunal to place into the public record all documents
filed with the Tribunal.

3) That the Tribunal Members Travel to Bolivia to Receive Public
Testimony

It is clearly within the purview of the tribunal to come directly to
Cochabamba, Bolivia and receive testimony from the people directly
affected by the case and who have important information to share with
the tribunal:

 "the Tribunal may, if it deems it necessary at any stage of the
proceedings - visit the scene connected with the dispute, and conduct
such inquiries there as it may deem appropriate. [Convention On The
Settlement of Investment Disputes Between States and Nationals of
Other States: Powers And Functions Of The Tribunal, Section 3,
Article 43].

We call on the panel to invoke that power in this case and to travel
to Cochabamba to receive appropriate public testimony relevant to the
case.

4) That the tribunal hearings be made completely open to the public.

All tribunal hearings should be open to the public, including making
all transcripts of the testimony public, as well as all tribunal
decisions and awards.

CONCLUSION

No ICSID case has ever drawn the public attention that this case has
and will continue to, and for good reason.  The actions of Aguas del
Tunari/Bechtel in Bolivia left a city of more than 600,000 people in
turmoil for four months.  They left hundreds injured and one young
boy dead, and jeopardize thousands of peoples' access to the most
fundamental element of life.  This case is about far more than the
calm transfer of assets from one economic institution to another.  It
is a matter of deep importance to far more than the two parties who
now have formal access to the process.  We hope the Tribunal will
grant our requests and the petition to participate, and will honor
the legitimate right of civil society to also have an active and
constructive role in this case.

Sincerely,

[list of names under development]

Bolivia

Oscar Olivera, Fedration of Factory Workers and Coalition for the
Defense of Water and
Life (La Coordinadora)
Gabriel Herbas, Bolivian Forum on the Environment
Marcela Olivera, Coalition for the Defense of Water and Life (La
Coordinadora)
Omar Fern=E1ndez, Cochabamba Federation of Irrigators
Father Luis S=E1nchez, member boiard of directors, SEMAPA (public water
company) Jorge Alvarado, President of the Cochabamba delegation of
the Bolivian Congress
Jim Shultz, executive director, The Democracy Center
Tom Kruse, Center for Agriculture and Labor Development Studies
(CEDLA)


United States

Sarah Anderson, Institute for Policy Studies, Global Economy Project
Nancy C. Alexander, Citizens' Network on Essential Services
Marie Dennis, Director, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Jerry Mander, President, International Forum on Globalization
Mark Ritchie, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Kevin Danaher, Co-Founder, Global Exchange
Cam Duncan, Inter-American Regional Secretary, Public Services
International
Anthony Arnove, Editor, South End Press
Lori Wallach, Director, Global Trade Watch, Public Citizen
Tom Lewis, International Socialist Organization

The Netherlands

Edith van Overveld, Latin America Centre, Netherlands
Berrie Jurg, Friends of the Earth, Netherlands

Canada

David Diamond, Headlines Theatre

Ghana

Rudolf Amenga-Etego, Integrated Social Development Centre, Ghana
Charles Abugre, Integrated Social Development Centre, Ghana
Patrick Apoya, Community Partnerships For Health and Development,
Ghana
Denis Chirawurah, Peoples's Actions For community Transformation,
Ghana


cc: Alejandro Escobar, ICSID general counsel
     Claudia Frutos-Peterson, ICSID counsel


Bertram Zagema
Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands)
P.O.Box 19199,  1000 GD Amsterdam, the Netherlands
tel: (31)-20-5507387,  fax: (31)-20-5507310
email: Bertram.Zagema at Milieudefensie.nl






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