[Onthebarricades] Anti-capitalist, anti-corporate and anti-neoliberal protests, October 2008
global resistance roundup
onthebarricades at lists.resist.ca
Fri Sep 11 18:55:18 PDT 2009
* PHILIPPINES: Protesters target global migration forum
* FRANCE: Mass protests against "Fortress Europe" summit
* PUERTO RICO: Activists block luxury development project in year-long
protest camp
* GREECE: Clashes during anti-neoliberal general strike
* PERU: Energy corporation faces deadline to leave in community protests
* PERU: Rio Tinto mine halted by community protest
* BRAZIL: Indigenous protesters occupy, burn down hydro project
* US: Bank hit over road-building links
* INDIA: Concern over pharma incentive scheme
* KOREA: Repression as beef protests tail out; left protests
undemocratic regime
* US: Company sabbed over private prison links
* INDONESIA: Bandung - Rally against pro-US event, capitalism
* GREECE: Anti-privatisation protesters blockade runway
* NIGERIA: Workers protest gas privatisation
* PAKISTAN: Workers protest against privatisation, power crisis, price
hikes and anti-union laws
* MEXICO: Teachers, residents clash with police over neoliberal reforms
* MEXICO: 1968 anniversary marked with protests, clashes
* MEXICO: Oil neoliberalism protesters blockade parliament
* PHILIPPINES: "Militant" protest groups target oil firms, price rises
* ITALY: Left stages anti-Berlusconi protests
* PERU: Protests over low wages, cost of living, corruption
* GERMANY: Frankfurt - Anti-market protesters take over stock exchange,
hang banner
* GERMANY: Munich - Millionaire fair faces protests
* UK: Protesters march on Royal Exchange in bailout protest; protests
also in Scotland
* US: Detroit - anti-bailout march
* ICELAND: Wave of protests over collapse begin
* ARGENTINA: Protest to protect pensions from crisis
* US: San Francisco - Protests disrupt mortgage forum
* US: Detroit - Protesters denounce mortgage "state of emergency"
* SPAIN: Anti-poverty protesters target bailout
* SOUTH AFRICA: Anti-poverty protest
* CANADA: Protests over homelessness, economic crisis
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/129585/Protesters-march-to-PICC-vs-global-forum-traffic-snarled
Protesters march to PICC vs global forum; traffic snarled
10/27/2008 | 10:59 AM
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MANILA, Philippines - Traffic in the southbound part near the Manila
City Hall was snarled Monday morning as protesters started their march
to the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.
Radio dzBB's Carlo Mateo reported that militant workers joined the march
to protest the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD).
Organizers of the march, who gathered earlier at Liwasang Bonifacio,
earlier said they expected up to 10,000 workers to join them in
protesting the event.
The protesters were to bring up the issues of export policy, union
rights for migrants, and migrants' rights.
As of 10 a.m., there was no report of any violent confrontation with the
Manila Police District (MPD), which deployed civil disturbance
management unit (CDMU) operatives in key areas along the route to the PICC.
The MPD also brought in reinforcements from other CDMU units in Metro
Manila. -
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/129602/Cops-foil-workers-march-vs-migration-forum
Cops foil workers' march vs migration forum
10/27/2008 | 01:04 PM
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MANILA, Philippines - Militant workers protesting the Global Forum on
Migration and Development (GFMD) were foiled in their attempt to stage a
protest at the forum's venue in Pasay City Monday.
Radio dzBB reported that two battalions of Manila police blocked the
militants' path at the corner of Taft Avenue and Ayala Boulevard.
Traffic along Taft Avenue was snarled Monday morning as the riot police
blocked the workers who were marching to the site of the forum at the
Philippine International Convention Center.
Earlier, traffic in the southbound part near the Manila City Hall was
snarled as protesters started their march from Liwasang Bonifacio to the
PICC.
Organizers of the march, who gathered earlier at Liwasang Bonifacio,
earlier said they expected up to 10,000 workers to join them in
protesting the event.
The protesters were to bring up the issues of export policy, union
rights for migrants, and migrants' rights.
For their part, the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the
Philippines in Metro Manila were placed on full alert in time for the
global forum on migration in Pasay City.
Expected to attend the conference are some 1,000 foreign delegates from
151 countries and 20 international organizations. At least 15 ministers
from different countries are also attending.
Police started dry runs of security arrangements at the Cultural Center
of the Philippines complex as early as last week, inconveniencing
motorists and commuters affected by the arrangements.
The second Global Forum on Migration and Development will run from Oct.
27 to 30.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon will keynote the opening of
the four-day conference on Monday at the PICC in Pasay City with foreign
affairs secretary Alberto Romulo. - GMANews.TV
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/news/view/20081026-168525/Protesters-kick-migration-forum
Protesters ‘kick’ migration forum
By Julie M. Aurelio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:50:00 10/26/2008
Filed Under: Migration, People, Labor
MANILA, Philippines—Militants and football players “kicked out” the
Global Forum on Migration Development (GFMD) set to be held in the
country next week, as they played ball yesterday morning at the
University of the Philippines sunken garden.
Members of Anakpawis said the soccer ball they were kicking symbolized
the international forum, which they claimed did not promote the welfare
of Filipino migrants toiling abroad.
“It will just be the capitalist countries that will benefit from it as
they formulate policies for the globalization of labor,” said Randy
Evangelista, Anakpawis public information officer.
The GFMD will be held on Oct. 27-30 at the Philippine International
Convention Center in Pasay City.
The forum is expected to draw over 1,000 foreign labor ministers and
other dignitaries from 151 countries.
In an interview, Evangelista said policies promoting the migration of
Filipino workers were a modern-day form of slave labor which showed no
concern for the welfare of the workers themselves.
“Migration is actually a manifestation of the lack of job opportunities
here in the country. What the government should do is provide for stable
social services, education, health and work so that we can achieve
self-sufficiency,” said Evangelista.
He and other Anakpawis members kicked around a soccer ball with regular
football players to show their vehement opposition to the GFMD.
They were also able to get soccer players from the Ateneo grade and high
schools and UP College of Medicine to join the spirited protest.
“We didn’t have to explain it that much to them. After all, global
migration also affects them as students,” said Evangelista.
Instead, the protesting footballers will support the International
Assembly of Migrants and Refugees to be held at Rizal Memorial Stadium
in Malate, Manila, on Oct. 29.
“We hope the actual concerns of migrants will be addressed there,”
Evangelista said.
Lian Santos, deputy secretary of Migrante, said migration should not be
seen as a solution to poverty and the lack of jobs in the country.
“It’s not a solution to the problem. If workers keep going to other
countries, then the Philippines will have less development,” he pointed out.
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/10/411986.html
Filipino Workers hold March to protest against the GFMD
Alliance of Progressive of Labor (APL) | 31.10.2008 00:25 | Migration |
Social Struggles | Workers' Movements | World
As the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) opened today in
Manila, at least 5000 workers from the Philippines and other countries
in every region of the world came together in one of the broadest labor
mobilizations ever organized in the entire history of the global trade
union movement.
Foreign leaders of global unions around the world joined the Workers
March in solidarity with the Solidarity Action of Labor against GFMD
(SALAG), the first national labor formation created to respond to issues
on migration and development. SALAG which led the rally includes the
Labor Alliance for Better Order and Reform (LABOR), the different
national public sector unions that are members of the Public Services
International (PSI) in the Philippines, and the Solidarity of Union and
Labor Organization for New Government (SULONG).
The Workers March started off at the Liwasang Bonifacio and later on
advanced towards the Philippine International Convention Center
(PICC)—the venue of the GFMD.
“We workers marched today to collectively express our indignation over
the GFMD and the agenda it represents—an agenda that seeks to promote
the export of labor and the sidestepping of workers rights. We march for
the workers and migrants who have been excluded in the process that
claims to speak for them!” said Josua Mata, one of the spokespersons of
SALAG.
“For us the GFMD has lost any legitimacy and meaning when it slammed its
doors to the migrant workers,” Mata said.
The GFMD is an annual consultative, non-binding and government-led
process which will be attended by representatives from governments in
around 150 countries. It has become the venue to discuss issues related
to migration and development. The first GFMD took place in Brussels,
Belgium in 2007.
This year the Philippines is host to the 2nd GFMD which will be held on
Oct 27-30.
The workers held the march to condemn the GFMD for failing to ensure
protection and promotion of migrant workers rights in the migration and
development discourse. The streets to PICC turned into a sea of black
with 5000 workers marching together in black shirts carrying the slogan
“Movement of Workers, Unions without Borders.”
SALAG attacked the GFMD for merely focusing on remittances, temporary
movement of workers, and securing bilateral agreements for exchange of
labor between countries. Further, SALAG pointed out how the GFMD has
become “a space for governments to construct an unsafe and unjust
environment for migrant workers.”
“The GFMD is about creating borders to keep the ‘odd workers’ out,” said
Mata. “These are the “undocumented workers or those workers that
governments and recruiters would like to dispose off as soon as they
have outlived their use. All in all the GFMD really is a hypocritical
process to promote the agenda of worker-hungry private employers and
recruiters who treat migrant workers as commodities and virtual slaves,”
said Mata.
SALAG also slammed the state for marketing the Philippines as a model
country in terms of managing labor migration in the 2nd GFMD.
“The Philippines is not the model country in labor migration. We are
instead the living testimony to the failure that is the
remittance-driven development strategy,” claimed Annie Enriquez-Geron,
spokesperson of the public sector unions under SALAG.
“In fact, they shouldn’t even be talking about migrant workers’
remittances. They dont have the right to talk about migrant workers’
money!” she added.
The GFMD is held at a time when countries all over the world are
anguishing from the global financial crisis.
In response to the global economic slowdown, the Philippine government
has just recently set up an emergency program worth P 1 Billion to help
migrant workers who will be affected by the crisis. However, SALAG
believes this is just a manoeuvre to cover up the real agenda of the
government.
“It is absolutely wrong to think that the government with its P 1
Billion emergency program will bail out our OFWs,” Enriquez-Geron said.
“In fact, it would be the other way around. It will be the workers who
will bail out the government out of the financial crisis as the state
will surely push more of its workers out of the country to save its
fragile economy that relies mainly on remittances sent by migrant workers.”
“No wonder then that the government is more than happy to announce that
the deployment of OFWs has increased and even breached the one million
mark in just the first nine (9) months of this year despite the global
economic slump,” explained Enriquez-Geron.
SALAG believes that at its current state, the GFMD is just an expensive
but pointless exercise.
“Come to think of it we don’t really need the GFMD when the only thing
that the governments really have to do is implement the already existing
ILO and UN Conventions on human rights and workers rights,” said Renato
Magtubo, spokesperson of SALAG.
“We believe GFMD is merely a forum to advance the export of labor. It is
a forum meant to legitimize a remittance-driven development strategy.
And we workers do not believe in such a strategy. Workers are not
commodities that are to be traded but human beings with fundamental
rights,” Magtubo said.
###
Solidarity Action of Labor Against GFMD (SALAG)
SALAG is the first broad and independent national labor formation in the
Philippines created to respond to issues on migration and development.
SALAG includes the Labor Alliance for Better Order and Reform (LABOR),
the different public sector federations affiliated with the Public
Services International, and the Solidarity of Union and Labor
Organization for New Government (SULONG).
SALAG represents the voice of Filipino workers—whether they are here in
the country or working abroad. It is a platform that will strive to
protect and defend the rights of our OFWs—their right to decent work and
pay, their right to organize into unions and associations, and their
right to bargain and negotiate for better working conditions and pay.
SALAG also serves as the platform that will resist any attempts to
curtail these rights in a bid to promote a development paradigm solely
motivated by profit or so-called remittances. Consequently, SALAG is a
direct action of labor against the biggest fraud by governments against
migrant workers rights that is the Global Forum on Migration and
Development (GFMD).
Global Unions
Global unions are international trade union organizations working
together with a shared commitment to the organize workers, defend human
and workers rights, and promote promote trade unionism. There are eleven
established global unions organized along industry / sector lines. These
are the following: Building and Woodworkers International (BWI),
Education International (EI), International Federation of Chemical,
Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Union (ICEM), International Federation
of Journalists (IFJ), International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF),
International Trasnport Workers’ Federation (ITF), International
Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF), International
Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and
Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF), Public Services International (PSI),
Union Network International (UNI), International Arts and Entertainment
Allianc (IAEA).
http://www.apl.org.ph/
Workers Set to Rock The GFMD With Protest Action
Workers are set to pour out into the streets of Manila tomorrow, October
27, to denounce the biggest fraud being concocted by governments against
migrant workers rights – the Global Forum on Migration and Development
(GFMD).
At least 10,000 workers, including 200 representatives of Global Unions
from around the world, are expected to march from Liwasan Bonifacio to
the PICC where they intend to deliver the labor movements’ position on
migration, development and human rights.
The Solidarity Action of Labor against GFMD or SALAG will lead the rally.
Leaders of SALAG questioned the existence of the GFMD process. Apart
from developing international instruments enforceable by the labor
movement, the workers believe that all that is needed is for governments
to ratify and implement the ILO core conventions and the UN conventions
on human rights and development.
The GFMD has no right to talk about migration, development and human
rights when migrant workers themselves are not present in this forum.
According to SALAG leaders, the GFMD is a forum meant to legitimize a
remittance-driven development strategy. This is a flawed strategy has
not redounded to national development and instead has resulted in grave
social costs and has led to massive “brain drain” and even “brain
waste”. As a means of job generation, it has become a sorry excuse for
government to abandon the goals of full employment and local
industrialization.
With the clear and present danger of the financial meltdown and economic
recession in the US going global, the weakness of labor export strategy
is further exposed as the rights and welfare of the migrant workers of
the world are imperiled once more.
SALAG reiterates that workers are not commodities that are to be traded
but human beings with fundamental rights! Thus instead of labor export
policy, governments should promote full employment through sustainable
development.
The rally organizers promised that tomorrow’s march will be festive.
SALAG is a broad labor formation in the Philippines created to respond
to issues on migration and development. SALAG includes the Labor
Alliance for Better Order and Reform (LABOR), the different Philippine
public sector unions affiliated with the Public Services International,
and the Solidarity of Union and Labor Organization for New Government
(SULONG).
Member Organizations of SALAG
= Labor Alliance for Better Order and Reform (LABOR)
• Partido ng Manggagawa
• National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE)
= Public Services International Affiliates in the Philippines
• Alliance of Filipino Workers (AFW)
• Alliance of Government Workers in the Water Sector (AGWWAS)
• Confederation of Independent Unions in the Public Sector (CIU)
• Manila Water Employees’ Union (MWEU)
• Maynilad Water Supervisors’ Association (MWSA)
• NAPOCOR Employees Consolidated Union (NECU)
• Philippine Government Employees Association (PGEA)
• Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLINK)
= Solidarity of Union and Labor Organization for New Government (SULONG)
• Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL)
• Association of Genuine Labor Organizations (AGLO)
• Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP)
• Kongreso ng Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Pilipinas (KPMP)
• Liga ng Manggagawa
• Manggagawa para sa Kalayaan ng Bayan (MAKABAYAN)
Alliance of Progressive of Labor (APL)
Homepage: http:// http://www.apl.org.ph/
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,3724657,00.html?maca=en-rss-en-top-1022-rdf
Thousands Protest Against "Fortress Europe" in Paris
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: The streets of Paris
were filled with protestors
Several thousand people took to the streets of France's capital to
protest against sweeping new immigration guidelines agreed by EU leaders
as the British government warned of tougher entry restrictions.
Immigration as an economic issue is exercising governments across Europe
with unemployment set to rise as recession threatens in the fallout from
the global financial crisis.
French demonstrators unfurled a banner proclaiming "Bridges, not walls"
at the Paris rally. Other signs that read: "We are all immigrant
children" and "Detention centers are lawless places, a state secret."
In Le Mans, central France, a 60-year-old woman doused herself in
flammable liquid in front of a detention centre and set herself on fire
in protest at authorities' threats to deport her partner back to Armenia.
The Paris rally along with a 'citizens summit' was organized by some 300
international NGOs, many of them from African nations. Its organizers
adopted a declaration Friday evening expressing their dismay at a policy
"which would turn Europe into a fortress."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/oct/20/development-activist-environmentalist-heritage-protest
Activists block £145m development in Puerto Rico
• Protesters say public land sold illegally to developer
• Court ruling to give people free access is ignored
• Richard Luscombe in San Juan
• The Guardian, Monday 20 October 2008
• Article history
San Gerónimo Fort, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Photograph: US National Trust
When San Juan's tiny San Gerónimo fort last saw hostile action, its
handful of cannons repelled an invasion by more than 60 British warships
in 1797. Despite its size, the coastal garrison played an unlikely yet
decisive role in the defence of Puerto Rico's capital city.
Two centuries later, the historic fort is again at the heart of a battle
for the Caribbean island's future. This time the warring parties are
environmentalists campaigning against what they see as the continual
destruction of an already overcrowded coastline, and the developers of a
$250m (£145m) project to rejuvenate the ancient waterfront with a giant
hotel, residential, shopping and entertainment complex.
For more than a year, protesters have camped in tents at the site as
cranes and 15-storey tower blocks of luxury flats rose around them,
cutting off public access to the fort that has fallen into disrepair
behind padlocked iron gates.
They say that the construction is taking place on public land illegally
sold by the government to a private developer, which has reneged on
promises to maintain the fort and adjacent waterside walkways.
Their protests are not just about the preservation of the 17th-century
stronghold and its place in history. The environmentalists have chosen
the Paseo Caribe development as a pivotal stand against the intense and
largely unchecked pace of growth in Puerto Rico in recent years.
"This is a strategic battle," said Miguel Angel Reyes de Jesus, one of
about 100 protesters at the site demanding the demolition of buildings
nearing completion.
"If they win here they will take all of the country. We must stop this
for the sake of our children and those who will come after them."
Similar community activism has halted a hotel expansion project on the
north coast and plans for two new huge resorts in the congested north
east of the island, where protesters camped for two years.
The Puerto Rican government, surprised by the scale of public opposition
and concerned by the threat to water supplies and wildlife, rescinded
construction permits. Hopes that Colombian-born developer Arturo
Madero's licences for Paseo Caribe project would also be revoked were
raised last year when justice department secretary Roberto Sánchez Ramos
declared that the government had made a mistake in allowing the complex,
and neighbouring Caribe Hilton hotel, to be illegally built on public land.
In January the island's supreme court took the opposite view, removing
the final legal hurdle to the project and allowing building work to
surge ahead, with a caveat that the historic fort should reopen.
"San Gerónimo is a public asset that belongs to the people of Puerto
Rico, and access to it should be given free of restrictions," Chief
Justice Hernández Denton ruled.
So far, that has not happened. An access road through the middle of the
building site is closed to all but construction traffic and an armed
police officer at the fort's locked gates turns away anyone who gets too
close.
"This is public land that belongs to the people of Puerto Rico and what
is happening here is illegal," said Benito Reinosa, 77, an activist who
joins the protest most days. "We were a small group but we have grown as
people became aware of what was going on. We'll keep fighting until
these buildings are demolished."
Madero, meanwhile, maintains that his company, Lema Developers, has
acted properly throughout. The protesters, he has said, have nothing to
do with the environment and would oppose development of any kind.
The conflict turned violent last year when a small group of construction
workers attacked the camp, Reinosa said, because they were angry over
losing pay when a lone protester held up building work for two weeks by
climbing a crane.
"It's incredible that the authorities haven't permanently closed the
camp and even more incredible that they allow the protesters to stop
[our] work," said Glory Cruz, spokeswoman for Trabajadores Pro Ambiente
y Empleo (workers for the environment and employment).
Dr Antonio Fernós, a lawyer and author whose book - From San Gerónimo to
Paseo Caribe - chronicles the history the development from its planning
stage , said the legal challenges would continue.
"These lands were public under the Spanish crown, and were treated as
such when they were ceded to the United States in 1898 and then to the
people of Puerto Rico in 1929," he said. "This is the looting of a
cultural treasure."
Backstory
San Gerónimo and the larger San Antonio fort along the San Juan islet
were crucial to the successful Spanish defence of the city against a
1797 British invasion. Puerto Rico was ceded to the US after the
Spanish-American War of 1898, and became a self-governing territory of
the US in 1947. The San Gerónimo fort, owned by the Puerto Rico
government, is in the care of the Caribe Hilton hotel.
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/newsbriefs/setimes/newsbriefs/2008/10/22/nb-06
Protesters clash with police in Athens
22/10/2008
ATHENS, Greece -- A union protest in Athens turned violent Tuesday
(October 21st) after riot police fired tear gas at a group of
demonstrators throwing stones. The street protest was part of a
nationwide, 24-hour strike called by Greece's major trade unions, the
General Confederation of Workers of Greece and the Civil Servants
Supreme Administrative Council. The strike was in response to the
government's taxation policy, provisions of the 2009 state budget, the
social security system and the planned privatisation of state-owned
companies. Thousands of people participated in the demonstration,
causing massive disruption of public transport. It also crippled
schools, universities, banks and post and tax offices. (In.news -
22/10/08; AP, Reuters, AFP, Makfax - 21/10/08)
http://www.iii.co.uk/shares/?type=news&articleid=6966229&action=article
(AFX UK Focus) 2008-10-22 19:06
Talisman says no plans to leave Peru over protests Article layout: raw
LIMA, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Talisman Energy, Canada's No. 3 independent oil
explorer, said on Wednesday it had no plans to pull out of Peru, after
local media reports said community leaders had given the company an
ultimatum to leave.
The Calgary-based group, which is looking for oil in Peru, has two lots
in the northern Amazon jungle. Several indigenous groups live in the
area, including the Achuar people, whose leader has said protesters will
throw the company out if it does not stop work by Nov. 15.
"We are not planning on leaving Peru any time soon," David Mann, a
Talisman official, said.
"My understanding is we have all the agreements and consents we require
from communities in the areas where we're operating. There may be other
groups that are outside our area of operation who are asking for
something different."
Talisman's chief executive met with a small delegation of Achuar leaders
in April and said the company would not operate without their consent.
Protesters say oil work harms the environment and sows seeds of conflict.
"We, as indigenous people, reject the Canadian company Talisman. We do
not want them working in our territory. We want the Peruvian state to
respect us, and the armed forces to stop helping the company," Cesar
Zuniga, president of the Achuar indigenous group FENAP, said on local radio.
Talisman, which operates in some 20 countries, was criticized by human
rights groups for its activities in Sudan in the late 1990s and earlier
this decade. Conflict over oil exacerbated Sudan's civil war, which
lasted from 1983 to 2005.
(Reporting by Dana Ford; Editing by Walter Bagley)
http://www.rootforce.org/2008/10/20/peru-protests-force-halt-to-new-copper-plans/
Peru Protests Force Halt to New Copper Plans
Oct 20th, 2008
Rio Tinto, the world’s second largest mining company, announced that it
had temporarily suspended all work on a new metal processing plant in
northern Peru, after activists threatened to invade company facilities
in protest. Media reports did not make it clear who the “activists”
were, but local community opposition to the project has been strong.
Reuters referred to the metal-testing plant as “key to a pre-feasibility
study of [the company's] mammoth copper project, La Granja.”La Granja
contains between 4 and 8 billion tons of copper, which Rio Tinto hopes
to be extracting at a rate of 300,000 tons per year by 2014. The company
continues with ore exploration at La Granja.
Peru is the world’s second largest producer of copper; neighboring Chile
is the first.
http://www.rootforce.org/2008/10/22/peru-indigenous-issue-oil-ultimatum/
Peru Indigenous Issue Oil Ultimatum
Oct 22nd, 2008
Indigenous nations in Peru’s northern Amazon have warned Canadian oil
exploration firm Talisman Energy that if it does not cease all work in
the area by November 15, protesters will force it out.
‘We, as indigenous people, reject the Canadian company Talisman,” said
Cesar Zuniga, president of the national organization of Peruvian Achuar.
“We do not want them working in our territory. We want the Peruvian
state to respect us, and the armed forces to stop helping the company.”
The company, which has previously come under fire for rights violations
in Sudan, said it would not stop work.
Over two weeks in August, indigenous protesters occupied a variety of
energy installations in both the north and south of Peru’s Amazon,
eventually forcing concessions from the federal government.
http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/10/22/afx5591692.html
Talisman says no plans to leave Peru over protests
10.22.08, 3:06 PM ET
LIMA, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Talisman Energy, Canada's No. 3 independent oil
explorer, said on Wednesday it had no plans to pull out of Peru, after
local media reports said community leaders had given the company an
ultimatum to leave.
The Calgary-based group, which is looking for oil in Peru, has two lots
in the northern Amazon jungle. Several indigenous groups live in the
area, including the Achuar people, whose leader has said protesters will
throw the company out if it does not stop work by Nov. 15.
'We are not planning on leaving Peru any time soon,' David Mann, a
Talisman official, said.
'My understanding is we have all the agreements and consents we require
from communities in the areas where we're operating. There may be other
groups that are outside our area of operation who are asking for
something different.'
Talisman's chief executive met with a small delegation of Achuar leaders
in April and said the company would not operate without their consent.
Protesters say oil work harms the environment and sows seeds of conflict.
'We, as indigenous people, reject the Canadian company Talisman. We do
not want them working in our territory. We want the Peruvian state to
respect us, and the armed forces to stop helping the company,' Cesar
Zuniga, president of the Achuar indigenous group FENAP, said on local
radio.
Talisman, which operates in some 20 countries, was criticized by human
rights groups for its activities in Sudan in the late 1990s and earlier
this decade. Conflict over oil exacerbated Sudan's civil war, which
lasted from 1983 to 2005.
http://intercontinentalcry.org/amazon-tribe-lays-waste-to-hydro-dam-site/
Amazon tribe lays waste to hydro dam site
In an attempt to protect the Juruena river in western Brazil, an
estimated 120 members of the Enawene Nawe tribe occupied the
construction site of a hydroelectric dam on October 13, and then burned
it to the ground.
“They came armed with axes and pieces of wood, banished the employees
and later set fire to everything” said Frederico Muller, a coordinator
working at the site. At least 12 trucks were destroyed, along with a
number of offices and housing units. All told, Muller suggests that
there was at least a million dollars in damages.
Reporting on the action, Survival International says that right now,
there are 77 dams slated for construction along the river. “The Enawene
Nawe say [these dams] will pollute the water and stop the fish [from]
reaching their spawning grounds.”
The Enawene Nawe see this is a major threat because the relatively
isolated tribe depends on fish for survival. They are one a few tribes
in the world that do not hunt or eat red meat. Fish also plays a crucial
role in their customs and traditions… They say that if the fish get sick
and die, then so will they.
Before the Enawene took action, they had been taking part in a
“consultation process” (information exchange) with authorities, where
they learned the full extent of the development. It exceeded far beyond
what they had been told up to now, prompting the Enawene to immediately
walk away.
Given the Enawene’s loud response, some form of reprisal can
unfortunately be expected.
If you would like to support the Enawene Nawe, you can send a letter
online that urges the demarcation of their land. For more news and
background, visit Survival International’s page on the Enawene Nawe.
Photo © www.24horasnews.com.br (More photos available here)
http://www.rootforce.org/2008/10/29/bank-hit-over-i-69-connection/
Bank Hit Over I-69 Connection
Oct 29th, 2008
The ATM of a Chase Bank in Bloomington, IN was smashed on October 28.
This is the third action in Bloomington to target the bank for its
financial relationship with Gohmann Asphalt Company, which is involved
in building I-69. Gohmann has been a major focus of anti-I-69 protests
in recent months.
I-69 is a Corridor of the Future.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Pharmaceuticals/Protest_over_govt-funded_pharma_RD_incentive_Bill/articleshow/3616549.cms
Protest over govt-funded pharma R&D incentive Bill
20 Oct 2008, 0128 hrs IST, Sushmi Dey, ET Bureau
NEW DELHI: The government’s plan to boost research and development using
public funds has raised sharp reactions from public interest groups on
the commercial rights of the products that would reach the market at the
end of such research.
Health care activists fear the taxpayer who paid for developing
medicines under the scheme may not be able to get them at a fair price
if such products are allowed to be patented by its developers. Granting
monopoly rights to anyone for products developed using public money is
unfair, they say.
The Public Funded R&D Projects (Protection of Intellectual Property)
Bill is now awaiting Cabinet approval. Groups like Medecins Sans
Frontieres (MSF), Delhi Science Forum and People’s Health Movement fear
that patenting public-funded inventions may result in additional tax for
consumers. The proposed Bill intends to allow incentives to public
sector research and development organisations to patent and
commercialise their inventions.
While the proposed law would enable scientists to benefit from
commercialisation of their inventions, such groups want safeguards to
ensure that the move does not affect the interests of the people.
“Government-funded research is paid for by taxpayers. How are we going
to be assured that these people are going to be benefited once these
inventions are licensed to companies,” MSF project manager (campaign for
access to essential medicines) Leena Menghaney asks.
Sources indicate that patient groups’ objection is based on the premise
that the Bill includes medical innovation and is likely to increase
health care spend and impact affordability of essential medicines.
http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2008102057938
Protest Leading Fugitive Arrested in Seoul
OCTOBER 20, 2008 08:44
A deputy leader of an online community against President Lee Myung-bak
was arrested yesterday on the charge of leading illegal street
demonstrations.
Baek Eun-jong, 55, was apprehended by the Jongno Police Station in Seoul.
“We arrested Baek yesterday," a police spokesman said. "He had been
hiding in the (Buddhist) Jogye Temple for more than 100 days. We will
send him to an arraignment hearing for his involvement in illegal
protests.”
To evade police, Baek sought safety at the temple on July 5, along with
fellow fugitives. He ventured out Saturday to join a demonstration at
Cheonggye Plaza and got arrested.
The goal of the street protest, meanwhile, changed from blasting U.S.
beef imports to urging action on the economic downturn. Over the last
two months, they had not held a rally.
A total of 1,100 members of leftist groups held a demonstration at the
plaza Saturday, criticizing the Lee administration for the national
economic crisis. They said recent tax cuts will help only the top one
percent of the income bracket and blasted the police crackdown on
protestors as undemocratic.
Authorities said the latest protest was an overture for continuing
demonstrations to topple the administration by highlighting the hobbling
economy. The protesters plan to launch a new organization this coming
Saturday.
http://blogs.thenewstribune.com/crime/2008/10/26/prison_protestors_vandalize_local_mortga
Lights & Sirens
Go behind the yellow tape with the The News Tribune's Crime & Breaking
News Team.
Sunday, October 26th, 2008
Prison protesters vandalize local mortgage office
Posted by Ian Demsky @ 04:33:35 pm
Plywood covered four of the picture windows in the Wells Fargo home
mortgage office in Old Town Tacoma on Sunday. Inside a woman with a
purple vacuum strapped to her back sucked shards from the carpet.
The vandalism of the storefront at 2215 N. 30th St. appears to be part
of a larger social protest rather than a random act of mischief.
Vandals have targeted the San Francisco-based financial services
company’s offices and ATMs in several states in opposition to its stake
in The GEO Group – a private company that operates prisons including the
Northwest Detention Center, a federal immigration lockup on the Tacoma
Tideflats.
The News Tribune received an e-mail Saturday, claiming the weekend
attack was “done in solidarity with the 13 people recently detained by
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in Shelton, WA and the people
recently detained in San Francisco, CA.” It’s not clear if any other
local branches were hit, but the e-mail only mentioned one.
“They are blinded by their greed and will allow the most dreadful things
to arise in their quest for profit,” the e-mail continued. “... While
the bankers count their money, the jailers in the detention center treat
the people inside like subhumans.” (The full e-mail is posted after the
jump.)
Attempts to reach officials with Wells Fargo and GEO Group’s corporate
offices Sunday were not successful. Tacoma police took a phone report on
the incident, spokesman Mark Fulghum said.
Wells Fargo owns 8 percent of GEO Group’s stock, making it the third
largest shareholder, according to federal Securities and Exchange
Commission filings and fatpitch.biz, a Web site that compiles stock
ownership information.
Wells Fargo held more than $51 million in GEO Group stock in its
Advantage Small Cap Value fund at the end of September, according to the
bank's Web site.
In July, a study – released by the International Human Rights Clinic at
Seattle University’s law school and the Seattle-based group OneAmerica,
With Justice for All – alleged mistreatment at the Tacoma facility
ranging from excessive strip searches and overcrowding to a lack of due
process, the Associated Press reported.
A spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement called the
report “a work of fiction.”
Throughout the summer vandals have smashed windows, spray painted
polemics and destroyed cash machines at Wells Fargo branches in
California, Oregon and Washington, according to the September/October
issue of Earth First!
The article says a branch in Tacoma was hit June 10 and “stop prisons”
was spray painted on the wall. An independent media Web site also listed
an August attack in Minneapolis.
---------------------------------------------------
Students protest speech on US
Jakarta Post - October 16, 2008
Bandung, West Java -- Dozens of students in the
National Student Front staged a rally at the
Indonesia Education University (UPI) campus in
Bandung on Wednesday, protesting against capitalism
and a speech being delivered about the American
election by a US delegate.
"America follows a capitalist system, and many
Indonesian bureaucrats have become capitalists, but
our brothers and sisters were refused entry to the
university because they could not pay registration
fees," Heru, one of the students, said. He spoke in
front of the Isola building, where the meeting was
held to discuss the US campaign information.
About 50 students attended the meeting to see a
presentation by Commander Rolfe K White, US Embassy
Office of Defense coordinator. After the meeting,
White said the US Embassy in Indonesia just wanted
to inform students about the stages in the
presidential election to be held on Nov. 4.
"We started it (speeches) on the election within
Indonesian universities to encourage more dialogue,
so it is not just one way," he said.
A similar meeting was also held at the American
Corner of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB)
Library on Wednesday. About 50 ITB students
listened to a presentation by US Vice Ambassador to
Indonesia John Heffern.
---------------------------------------------------
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/14/europe/EU-Greece-Olympic-Airlines.php
Greece: Protesters block Athens airport runways
The Associated Press
Published: October 14, 2008
ATHENS, Greece: Protesting workers at Greek carrier Olympic Airlines
have blocked both runways at Athens International Airport, briefly
disrupting flights.
Airport officials say the demonstration lasted about 10 minutes, forcing
planes to circle the airport. Police are reporting no arrests.
Olympic's employee unions oppose government plans to sell the
loss-making airline under a plan that would see most workers transferred
to other public sector jobs.
The protest took place Tuesday.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200810160776.html
Leadership (Abuja)
Nigeria: Gas Company Workers Protest Privatisation of NGC
Ben Dunno
16 October 2008
The Nigerian Gas Company Limited (NGC) Warri Chapter of the Petroleum
Employees and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) and
National Union of Petroleum Employees and National Gas (NUPENG)
yesterday, protested the planned privatisation of NGC by the Federal
Government.
The joint union numbering over two thousand who took over the company's
premises as early as 7.30am yesterday, chanting anti government
political songs, called for the immediate removal of the Director
General of the Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPR), Mrs. Irene Chigbue.
Some of the placards read, "This reform is satanic" Down it" "Federal
Government / BPE stop sales of NGC and PPMC now." "BPE/Federal
Government privatisation is a monster". "We cannot be fooled again by
BPE." NGC/PPMC workers say no to Privatisation."
Briefing newsmen during the peaceful protest that prevented workers from
entering the premises of NGC, the representative of the leadership of
NUPENG, Mr. Otorwiewiere Richard said that the decision to stage the
peaceful protect was reached at her congress held on October 13, 2008,
where the purported sale of NGC was discussed.
Otovwiewiere noted that NGC workers as law abiding citizens of Nigeria
identifies with the President Yar'Adua administration's focus on the
development of the country but said that the joint union was vehemently
opposed to the planned sale of Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) and Petroleum
and Pipeline Marketing Company (PPMC).
The joint union also called for the immediate reversal of the sale of
EPCL, just as it demanded that the proceeds accruing from the sale of
NNPC Pension Fund Ltd be credited to her account with immediate effect.
He regretted the initial mandate of the National Council of
Privatisation which was intended by the Federal Government to identify
ailing companies and privatise them, have been betrayed by self style
leaders bent to destroy the Nigerian economic system.
He accused BPE of circumventing the good intention of the Federal
Government in revamping ailing companies when as a vestige of the
Obasanjo's administration started personalising national assets using
the BPE's notoriety in sending Nigerian workers and companies into
oblivion as seen in DSC, ASLCON, NITEL and the current shameful
activities in NPA that has draw attention of the National Assembly.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=143610
PWF protests against price hike, privatisation Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Noor Aftab
Islamabad
Pakistan Workers Federation (PWF) Monday held a protest demonstration
against privatisation, growing price hike, anti-labour laws and
increasing power loadshedding across the country.
Hundreds of participants of the demonstration belonging to different
workers’ organisations holding banners and placards chanted slogans
against the unfavourable social conditions for the poor segments of the
society.
PWF Secretary General Khursheed Ahmad, Akram Gundha of Pakistan Workers
Forum, President of CDA Employees Union Aurangzeb, Raja Waqar of RPWD,
Ramzan Jadoon, an office-bearer of Wapda union, Zafarullah Khan, Malik
Zahoor Awan and former MNA Mian Aslam were also present on the occasion.
Addressing the protestors, Khursheed Ahmad said the government was
pursuing the privatisation policy that would result in dire consequences
for the national economy and serve no purpose.
He said the privatisation of the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited
(OGDCL) would be harmful to the economy and any such plan be shelved in
the larger national interest. “If the government wants to privatise
state entities, it must consult with the representatives of the workers
to formulate such policies that can serve the very cause of workers,” he
said.
Referring to the efforts to privatise Qadirpur Gas Field, he said it was
hard to understand why the government was trying to sell it out despite
the fact that it had been showing profit for the last many years.
Khursheed said the local investors have been investing money in the
foreign countries due to uncertain economic conditions in their own
homeland. “The government should introduce new policies to convince our
own investors to bring back capital to their own country to keep
international financial institutions like International Monetary Fund
(IMF) away from our economy,” he said.
Akram Gundha said the government has been taking unilateral decisions
and the workers were not being taken into confidence in decision-making
process. He demanded abolishment of those provisions in the Industrial
Relations Act 2008 that damaged the interest of the poor classes and
made their lives miserable.
Other speakers who spoke on the occasion said workers and labourers
acted as the backbone of the economy and if their interests were not
protected then the dream of increased growth could never be translated
into reality.
They said the increasing power loadshedding across the country has
already caused severe recession and thousands of employees and daily
wage earners have lost their jobs and source of income respectively.
The speakers said any agreement with IMF would further aggravate the
situation and lead to unprecedented price hike.“The only way to cope
with price hike and other highly important issues is to consult with all
the stakeholders and take decision after developing consensus among
them,” they said.
They also demanded of the government to introduce amendments in the
Industrial Relations Act 2008 and make it beneficial to the working
classes who were being subjected to exploitation.
Later, the protestors started their march from Rawalpindi-Islamabad
Press Club (Camp Office) towards the Parliament House, but the police
personnel intercepted them and did not allow them to move forward.
The labour leaders held talks with the representatives of the local
administration for sometime after which four of them were allowed to go
to the Parliament House.
http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=92056&feedType=VideoRSS&feedName=TopNews&rpc=23&videoChannel=1&sp=true
Teachers and police clash in Mexico
(01:10) Report
Oct. 10 - Hundreds of teachers, residents and police clash in Morelos
state during a violent protest against a new education plan.
Marches and protests have taken place around the country and teachers in
the state of Morelos have been on strike for 60 days, forcing the
closure of primary schools. Pavithra George reports.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/international/americas/2008/10/04/177305/18-police.htm
Saturday, October 4, 2008 10:16 am TWN, AFP
18 police injured in ‘1968 massacre’ clash
MEXICO CITY -- Mexican authorities said 18 police were injured Thursday
and 20 people arrested as marchers marked the anniversary of a bloody
student massacre in 1968.
The confrontation with police in the country’s capital came as an
estimated 30,000 people rallied in honor of students killed 40 years ago
by Mexican security forces, demanding justice for victims.
“We have 18 police officers wounded, not seriously,” said Police chief
Manuel Mondragon.
“Twenty people were arrested, all precisely identified by video
surveillance systems,” secretary of the city municipality, Jose Angel
Avila, told a press conference.
Clashes erupted near the main Zocalo square when students tried to paint
graffiti on a city building wall, and police moved to arrest them, a
witness said.
The march recalled the notorious 1968 massacre in Tlatelolco when
Mexican security forces killed between 44 and 300 protesters, 10 days
ahead of the Mexican Olympic Games, and hastily erased evidence of the
crime.
Shouting “October 2 is not forgotten,” protesters set off from the
Square of Three Cultures where the massacre took place and from the
capital’s Chapultepec park to meet for a rally in the main Zocalo square.
“I’m here to denounce the most despicable act committed in Mexico,” said
26-year-old Aarceli Bernal, in Tlatelolco, where students drew chalk
figures on the ground covered with blood stains and doves in the place
of hearts to represent those killed.
In one corner of the square, an altar covered in candles showed
newspaper images of the massacre in which soldiers stood ready to fire.
In other pictures frightened people were running and dead students lay
in improvised morgues.
Forty years on, the details of the massacre remain unclear, with no
perpetrators prosecuted and impunity in Mexico widespread.
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuId=29&ContentID=100993
18 police injured in clashes as Mexicans mark ’68 massacre
3rd October 2008, 12:45 WST
Mexican authorities said 18 police were injured today and 20 people
arrested as marchers marked the anniversary of a bloody student massacre
in 1968.
The confrontation with police in the country’s capital came as an
estimated 30,000 people rallied in honour of students killed 40 years
ago by Mexican security forces, demanding justice for victims.
“We have 18 police officers wounded, not seriously,” said Police chief
Manuel Mondragon.
“Twenty people were arrested, all precisely identified by video
surveillance systems,” secretary of the city municipality, Jose Angel
Avila, told a press conference.
Clashes erupted near the main Zocalo square when students tried to paint
graffiti on a city building wall, and police moved to arrest them, a
witness said.
The march recalled the notorious 1968 massacre in Tlatelolco when
Mexican security forces killed between 44 and 300 protesters, 10 days
ahead of the Mexican Olympic Games, and hastily erased evidence of the
crime.
Shouting “October 2 is not forgotten,” protesters set off from the
Square of Three Cultures where the massacre took place and from the
capital’s Chapultepec park to meet for a rally in the main Zocalo square.
“I’m here to denounce the most despicable act committed in Mexico,” said
26-year-old Aarceli Bernal, in Tlatelolco, where students drew chalk
figures on the ground covered with blood stains and doves in the place
of hearts to represent those killed.
In one corner of the square, an altar covered in candles showed
newspaper images of the massacre in which soldiers stood ready to fire.
In other pictures frightened people were running and dead students lay
in improvised morgues.
Forty years on, the details of the massacre remain unclear, with no
perpetrators prosecuted and impunity in Mexico widespread.
Some of Thursday’s protesters called for punishment for those
responsible for the 1968 massacre, while others criticised the current
government of President Felipe Calderon.
Amnesty International appealed to Calderon on Thursday to finally
establish the truth about the massacre and said the failure to confront
the clampdown on some 8,000 students and workers had left a “deep scar”
in Mexican society.
At the end of August, in some of the biggest demonstrations in recent
years, hundreds of thousands demonstrated in Mexico City and across the
country against growing insecurity and reports of corrupt police.
MEXICO CITY
AFP
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008304843_mexoil24.html?syndication=rss
Originally published October 24, 2008 at 12:00 AM | Page modified
October 24, 2008 at 2:37 PM
Comments (1) E-mail article Print view
Plan to overhaul Mexico's nationalized oil industry stirs protest
As riot police surrounded the Mexican Senate offices to hold back
protesters, lawmakers on Thursday passed a controversial overhaul of the
nation's flagging oil industry — the third-largest supplier to the
United States
By Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press
ALFREDO ESTRELLA / AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Police charge demonstrators Thursday to clear a path for buses carrying
senators, who had passed a controversial energy bill.
MEXICO CITY — As riot police surrounded the Mexican Senate offices to
hold back protesters, lawmakers on Thursday passed a controversial
overhaul of the nation's flagging oil industry — the third-largest
supplier to the United States.
The bill — which now goes to the lower house, where prospects for
passage are good — would allow more private and foreign investment in
the state-run oil monopoly Petróleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, to help boost
production.
The measure, watered down from changes proposed by conservative
President Felipe Calderón, has drawn criticism from analysts who say it
may be too limited to do Mexico much good in tapping new petroleum
deposits to bolster a shaky economy. Leftist critics, meanwhile, worry
that it would open the door to privatizing a state industry, long seen
by many Mexicans as a source of national pride.
The protest was led by leftist firebrand Andrés Manuel López Obrador,
who lost to Calderón in a disputed presidential election in 2006 and who
opposes any effort to privatize Pemex. The final version was backed by
Calderón's National Action Party, the once-ruling Institutional
Revolutionary Party and senators from López Obrador's Democratic
Revolution Party.
Mexico nationalized the oil industry in 1938 out of anger over what it
saw as exploitation by American and other foreign firms, and it has long
treated Pemex as a central part of its identity. Foreign and private
firms are barred from investing directly in Pemex.
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/129107/Militant-drivers-mass-up-in-QC-for-protest-caravan
Militant drivers mass up in QC for protest caravan
10/24/2008 | 09:09 AM
Email this | Email the Editor | Print | ShareThis
MANILA, Philippines - Militant jeepney drivers massed up in Quezon City
early Friday to prepare for a protest caravan against three big oil
firms in Makati City.
Radio dzBB's Mao dela Cruz reported that as of 9 a.m., at least 20
passenger jeepneys were already parked near the Quezon City Hall where
participants in the protest caravan are expected to converge. Joining
the caravan were private vehicles carrying more jeep drivers.
The report said the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator
Nationwide (Piston) and Pasang Masda will lead the protest caravan.
Piston secretary general George San Mateo said the first stop of the
protest caravan will be the office of Chevron at Glorietta 1 Circle,
followed by Shell in Salcedo Village. The caravan will then proceed to
Petron's office along Gil Puyat Avenue.
Both groups said that with world oil prices going down, pump prices of
fuel should be as low as P35 per liter. - GMANews.TV
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/128590/Transport-groups-set-protest-caravan-at-Big-3s-offices-Friday
Transport groups set protest caravan at Big 3's offices Friday
10/22/2008 | 12:24 PM
Email this | Email the Editor | Print | ShareThis
MANILA, Philippines - Major transport groups will hound the offices of
three major oil firms in Makati City this Friday to push for a rollback
of fuel prices to P37 per liter.
In an interview on dzBB radio, Pinagkaisang Samahan ng Tsuper at
Operator Nationwide (Piston) secretary general George San Mateo said
Wednesday they expect 200 to 300 drivers to take part in the protest.
"Kakalampagin natin sila at hilingin na ibaba ang presyo ng diesel sa
P37 (We intend to press them into rolling back prices of diesel to P37
per liter)," San Mateo said, noting that the present world oil price
level of $70 per barrel should merit the rolling back of prices in the
Philippines to that level.
San Mateo, however, stressed Friday's action is not a strike but merely
a caravan protest involving 10 to 15 passenger jeeps, with about 20
drivers per jeep.
On the other hand, he said drivers will hold a noise barrage in Quezon
City at 5 p.m. Wednesday as an "opening salvo and buildup" to Friday's
protest. - GMANews.TV
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view/20081018-167148/Tricycles-block-Mendiola-to-protest-VAT
Tricycles block Mendiola to protest VAT
By Tina Santos
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 19:04:00 10/18/2008
Filed Under: Unrest, Conflicts & War
MANILA, Philippines -- Hundreds of tricycles snarled early morning
traffic at the historic Don Chino Roces Bridge (formerly Mendiola) in
Manila on Saturday as drivers and members of militant groups gathered to
call for the repeal of the 12-percent value-added tax on fuel, food, and
electricity.
The protesters, members of the Sanlakas-Bukluran ng Manggagawang
Pilipino, were initially blocked by anti-riot policemen at the corner of
Morayta Street and C.M. Recto Avenue.
But they were eventually allowed to march and hold a program at the foot
of the bridge after they presented a rally permit from the city government.
The bridge, which is near Malacañang, is a no-rally zone, except during
weekends and holidays.
"We are here to call for the removal of the 12-percent VAT on fuel, food
and electricity," said militant leader Leody de Guzman. "The prices of
basic commodities continue to rise rapidly and this situation is
aggravated by the Arroyo government's implementation of VAT."
The demonstrators voluntarily dispersed around noon.
http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Italian_leftists_stage_two_anti_Ber_10112008.html
Italian leftists stage two anti-Berlusconi protests
Published: Saturday October 11, 2008
Activists from Italy's left took to the streets of Rome Saturday to
protest against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's conservative policies
and his avoiding prosecution for alleged corruption.
Members of the small Italy of Values party flooded the Piazza Navona in
the heart of Rome for a signature campaign against a law described as
"the impunity guaranteed to Silvio Berlusconi."
Some 3,500 makeshift stands had been put up across the country to get
the required 500,000 signatures to enable a referendum on January 8 on
the law protecting Berlusconi from prosecution while he is in power.
"When dictatorship is at the door, we must resist it immediately before
it is too late," former anti-corruption judge Antonio Di Pietro, leader
of the values party, told the crowd.
Italy's Nobel laureate for literature Dario Fo called the law
"unconstitutional" and one that "would never be accepted in any other
civilised country."
The controversial measure grants immunity from prosecution to the four
highest ranking politicians in the state while they are in office.
Berlusconi, 72, with a media empire in Italy, had been on trial since
March 2007 on charges of giving 600,000 dollars (380,000 euros) in
bribes to a British lawyer to hold allegedly incriminating information
in a tax fraud case.
A Milan court threw out the case earlier this month after the new law
was passed in July.
Meanwhile Italy's far-left Communists and Greens staged another
demonstration in Rome against the conservative policies of Berlusconi's
government.
The organisers said the rally drew some 300,000 people, while police put
the figure at around 100,000.
It was the first protest by the far left after losing to the Italian
right-wing in parliamentary elections in April.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7658360.stm
Wednesday, 8 October 2008 07:51 UK
Protesters decry Peru corruption
President Garcia has seen his approval rating fall
Thousands of people have taken to the streets in several Peruvian cities
to protest against the rising cost of living and low wages.
The demonstrations, planned weeks ago, took place just days after a
scandal allegedly involving officials taking bribes for oil concessions
emerged.
Voters say corruption is one of their main concerns about President Alan
Garcia's government.
Mr Garcia, who took office in 2006, has seen his popularity fall sharply.
The demonstrations, organised by the biggest trade union, were called to
demand a change in the government's free market policies, which
opponents say have failed to improve living standards for many Peruvians.
But just days after a scandal allegedly involving kickbacks in return
for oil contracts emerged, the protesters also took up the theme of
corruption.
In the capital, Lima, thousands of workers, including teachers, builders
and doctors marched on Congress on Tuesday, calling for the cabinet to
step down.
The governing party, Apra, is stealing while the people are struggling,
they chanted.
Trouble broke out when a group that did not appear to be linked to the
main protest began throwing stones at the police, who responded with
tear gas.
Damage control
The demonstrations could not have come at a worse time for President
Garcia, with opinion polls putting his approval rating at its lowest
level since he took office, says the BBC's Dan Collyns in Lima.
Mr Garcia ordered an investigation after the alleged scandal surfaced on
Sunday, and insisted that the government must be purged of corruption.
But the damage control may be too late to save the government's
reputation, says our correspondent.
On Sunday, a TV station broadcast a tape of a top state oil official and
a lobbyist apparently agreeing to favour an oil company in a round of
auctions for oil concessions.
The taped conversation was allegedly between Alberto Quimper, a
executive with the state energy agency, Perupetro, and a prominent
lobbyist Romulo Leon.
The company, Discover Petroleum of Norway, has said it made payments to
Mr Leon and to a law company employing Mr Quimper, but it denied paying
any bribes, Reuters reported.
"The application process (was) completely open and transparent, and
could not possibly have been influenced by any bribes," Discover said in
a statement.
Peru's energy sector has pushed hard to attract billions of dollars in
foreign investment in the country's huge mining industry and its
fast-growing oil and gas sector.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUKTRE49Q5IM20081027?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews
Anti-market protesters invade Frankfurt bourse
Mon Oct 27, 2008 4:32pm GMT
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Protesters entered the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on
Monday, shouting slogans and waving banners denouncing financial markets.
The protesters from the anti-establishment Attac movement, who hung a
banner over the stock exchange's big board displaying a graph of
Germany's benchmark DAX index, were inside for a few minutes, a Reuters
photographer on the scene said.
He said there were about 15 protesters and that three security guards
escorted them from the building in the heart of Frankfurt's banking
district.
Stock exchange operator Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE) said nobody had been
injured and that trading had not been halted.
The group had registered as visitors and launched the action from the
visitors' gallery, Deutsche Boerse said in a statement, adding that
security measures for visitors would be tightened.
"Disarm the financial markets," read one Attac banner. "Put people and
the environment above shareholder value."
A trader on the stock exchange floor said the protesters had time to
throw around "thousands" of leaflets.
"The financial crisis is a symptom of a deeper rooted sickness: of an
economic system that even when it is performing correctly subordinates
all social goals to shareholder value and the profits of investors at
the expense of jobs, social equality and environmental protection. It
has to end. The casino should be closed," Attac said in a statement
about the protest in which it said 25 activists had taken part.
Attac recently staged a protest outside the Frankfurt stock exchange
demanding an end to "casino" capitalism.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/27/business/EU-Germany-Exchange-Protest.php
Protesters hang banner at Frankfurt exchange
The Associated Press
Published: October 27, 2008
FRANKFURT, Germany: Nearly two dozen protesters from a German
anti-globilization group threw leaflets and hung a banner at the
Frankfurt Stock Exchange on Monday chanting, "Disarm financial markets."
The protesters managed to climb over barricades during a tour of the
exchange in downtown Frankfurt and hung a banner from the balcony that
read "Disarm Financial Markets; People And The Environment Ahead of
Shareholder Value."
One man screamed "The poor people are starving in the world!"
The protesters were met by curious glances from the floor and some
applause, and were eventually removed by security.
"The anger of the people over the failure of the bankers and politicians
is massive," said Stefan Schultheiss, one of the demonstrators, in a
statement on the group's Web site after the protest.
The statement went on to say that the recent failures of the financial
system were being corrected unjustly with taxpayers' money, "so that the
casino can go on."
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,3712009,00.html?maca=en-rss-en-top-1022-rdf
Society | 16.10.2008
Munich "Millionaire Fair" Faces Angry Protests
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: "Your wealth makes us
sick," is the motto of the demonstration targetting the fair
A fair specializing in luxury goods for the extremely wealthy opens in
Munich on Thursday amid a raging financial crisis and anger at growing
inequality. Social groups will be out on the streets to protest the event.
It's tough being rich these days. Not only are the well-heeled seeing
their assets plunge in value in the global financial crisis, now even
small highlights on the social calendar, such as the "Millionaire Fair"
in Munich, are at risk of being spoiled by a noisy group of social
activists.
Among the protest actions planned for the opening day of the exclusive
life style event is a symbolic slave market that aims to turn the
spotlight on wage dumping in Germany and around the world.
"Our aim is not to pillory people, but to attack existing social
conditions," said Walter Listl from the city's Social Forum. "Riches are
the cause of poverty."
Just a few meters away from the entrance to the venue on Thursday, Oct.
16, demonstrators will be auctioning off cheap labor, singing
anti-capitalist songs and staging sketches lampooning the bank bailout.
Inside, visitors will be admiring private jets, high-end cars, lavish
jewelry and haute couture.
This is the first time that the Millionaire Fair, first held in 2002,
has taken place in Germany. Previous venues have included Shanghai,
Moscow and Amsterdam. The affluent southern German city of Munich in the
country's richest state, Bavaria, is an obvious choice. It also played
host to the Luxury Fair earlier in the year.
Playground for the rich and famous
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:
Refreshments at the fair include champagne and caviar
Fair organizers expect the event to attract some 20,000 people,
including the rich and famous, top business people, luxury goods
retailers, bon viveurs and just the plain curious.
At 39 euros ($52) for an entrance ticket, you don't need to be a
millionaire to get in. And who knows who you might rub shoulders with.
Film stars like Joan Collins and Elizabeth Hurley and singer Bryan Ferry
were among the guests at previous Millionaire Fairs.
For four days, some 100 firms will be setting out their stalls across
16,000 square meters of exhibition space. According to the official Web
site, "the creme de la créme of luxury goods industry will be presenting
their most beautiful one-off creations, the most exclusive products and
unusual services to the event's discerning visitors."
Or as one supplier's press release puts it, the fair will offer "a
cornucopia of all the most beautiful and luxurious things the world has
to offer."
"Obscene display of perverse wealth"
In Walter Listl's eyes, it represents "an obscene display of perverse
wealth."
"According to UN statistics, a child dies every five seconds of
malnutrition or from easily treatable diseases," Listl added. "They’re
showcasing mobile phones studded with precious gems. We can’t just sit
back and ignore that."
Germany's first Millionaire Fair is prompting Munich's Social Forum to
break new ground. The network of some 40 local groups -- all with a
decidedly anticapitalist bent, according to Walter Listl -- has not
targeted specific events like this before.
"It's the first time that we have staged something a bit spectacular
aimed at a particular event of this kind," Listl said. "We are doing it
for very topical and acute reasons."
The timing of the Millionaire Fair and the global financial crisis as
well as the growing gap between rich and poor in a country whose express
goal has been "prosperity for all" has got the social activists out on
the streets. The motto of the demonstration: "Your wealth makes us sick."
"We're not planning to approach or talk to the millionaires or the
wannabe millionaires," said Listl. "We want to bring public attention to
the degree of poverty that exists in this country -- and elsewhere."
It remains to be seen how the two worlds will react to one another, or
even to what extent they will even meet. There will be a police cordon
around the venue. The organizers were unavailable for comment.
Julie Gregson
http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Protesters-stage-bailout--rally.4582183.jp
Protesters stage bail-out rally
Published Date: 11 October 2008
By RHIANNON EDWARD
DEMONSTRATORS jostled with police while trying to force their way into
the Royal Exchange building next to the Bank of England in London
yesterday during a protest against the UK government's bank bail-out.
After being turned back, the protesters ran through nearby city streets
and pushed past a small group of police officers who tried to stop them.
There were no arrests, and no-one was injured, according to police.
Several hundred people, mostly students and Socialist Worker Party
activists, turned out for the late- afternoon protest against the
government's £50 billion plan to partly nationalise major banks, while
guaranteeing a further £250 billion of bank loans.
"Whose money? Our Money!" chanted the protesters, some of whom carried
placards reading "Why should we pay for their crisis?"
The building the protesters tried to enter had been a centre of commerce
from the 1500s, but is now a shopping centre.
Many directed their anger at City bankers.
"They do nothing," said Martin Smith, one of the protesters. "If times
are good they get money; if times are bad they get money."
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=9161236
Protesters angry over bailout clash with police near Bank of England
Associated Press - October 10, 2008 6:03 PM ET
LONDON (AP) - Anger in Britain over the government's bank bailout is
evident in the streets of London.
Several hundred people turned out for a late-afternoon protest today,
most of them students and Socialist Worker Party activists. They
chanted, "Whose money? Our Money!" And some carried signs reading "Why
should we pay for their crisis?"
The demonstrators jostled with police and tried to force their way into
the Royal Exchange building next to the Bank of England. After being
turned back, the protesters ran through the streets, pushing past a
small group of police officers who tried to stop them.
Police say there were no arrests, and no one was injured.
The $86 billion plan partly nationalizes major banks, while guaranteeing
a further $431 billion of bank loans.
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/10/410432.html
Edinburgh Financial Protest: "We wont pay for your crisis!"
Makhno | 11.10.2008 21:55 | Analysis | Social Struggles | World
"We Wont Pay for Your Crisis!"
Edinburgh is set to have a demonstration against the government's
criminal bank bailout, at the Corporate Headquarters of HBOS.
People all around Scotland are angered by the huge amount of taxpayers
money planned to be spent on bailing out the very banks that have caused
this crisis, and this demonstration is sure to attract a large crowd as
a result.
The top of the Mound in Edinburgh's Old Town is a symbolic and apt
choice of rally point for this protest, with the corporate headquarters
of HBOS (one of the crisis banks set to be bailed) out and the High
Court just across the road. HBOS even has a public "Museum of Money" in
its building.
Interestingly, the protest seems to have first been announced on a
facebook group called "We wont pay for your crisis", and begun by a
person calling themselves Tom Joad, a character from John Steinbeck's
'The Grapes of Wrath', who is angered and radicalised by the 1930's the
economic crisis and exploitation of that time.
The description of the facebook group states: "The banks are being
bailed out with £500 billion of our money. This is 5 times what the
government spends on the NHS per year. Due to the greed of the bankers
and speculators, there will be rising unemployment, lowering of wages,
rising bills, public services cuts. Let's meet at HBOS headquarters on
the Mound and tell them that they won't get away with this robbery."
This planned protest comes quickly in the wake of a lively student and
Socialist Worker Party demonstration about the financial crisis in the
centre of the City of London on Friday 10th. The Edinburgh protest no
doubt aims to be a similarly heated event.
We can all see that the militant rhetoric of the facebook group is
correct. Ordinary people like ourselves will get hit twice by the
governments plans to rescue the banks - Firstly, we, the ordinary
people, are paying for the bailout - this will happen through higher
taxes. service cuts and benefit cuts. These things hit those who cant
afford it hardest.
Not only will we have to spend our tax money to correct the mistakes of
the greedy bankers, but Secondly the economic collapse, that they
caused, will mean that we cant afford our repayments on our mortgages
and secured loans. This is because this crisis will will mean that we
will lose our jobs, wages, pensions and benefits, and we will see a rise
in the cost of living, making ordinary people poorer. This means that
for many of us our homes are now at risk of repossession from those same
banks we will be bailing out.
Instead, what should be happening is that our £500 billion be used to
guarantee that our homes will not be repossessed, that our jobs wont be
lost, and wages wont be cut. However, with this bailout plan, the banks
will be getting our tax money, and our homes, and most likely aim to
continue business as usual. This is criminal!
See you at 16:30 on the 24th, at the top of the mound.
Makhno
Homepage: http://scotland.indymedia.org
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/10/410362.html
City of London clashes, London - Pictures.
Terence Bunch | 10.10.2008 22:54 | Globalisation | Social Struggles |
London
As financial markets continue to slump around the world, angry students
and activists gather in the City of London to voice their anger over the
British governments plan to commit over 50 billion GBP of public funds
to shore up confidence in British markets.
The protest comes as the scale of the crisis is revealed to include
police forces, councils and other public bodies who have been betting
with public funds on the markets, raising questions about public
accountability and transparency within the public sector.
The Metropolitan Police Authority alone lose over 30 million GBP within
a wider national loss estimated at over 1 billion GBP.
The protest comes on the day international markets continue to fail with
widespread losses around the world. City of London, London. October 10th
2008.
Terence Bunch
e-mail: terry.bunch at terencebunch.co.uk
Homepage:
http://www.terencebunch.co.uk/PUBLIC/financial-crisis-bank-bail-out-anti-capitalist-protest-london-10-10-2008.php
http://www.workers.org/2008/us/michigan_1009/
Emergency protest builds for organizers’ conference in Michigan
By Kris Hamel
Detroit
Published Oct 4, 2008 10:26 PM
Activists with the Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures and
Evictions called an emergency demonstration in downtown Detroit on Sept.
25 to protest the trillion-dollar bailout of the financial industry and
demand an immediate moratorium on home foreclosures nationwide.
Detroit, Sept. 25.
WW photo: Alan Pollock
Some 50 protesters gathered at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center and
marched through the financial district with banners and signs declaring,
“Bailout the people, not the banks!” Protesters stopped and rallied
outside Comerica, National City and Charter One banks, all of which
participated in the subprime mortgage fiasco perpetrated on workers and
the poor in Michigan and throughout the U.S.
Detroit City Councilperson JoAnn Watson told the demonstrators: “The
banks are getting bailed out. The auto companies want a $50 billion
federal loan to help them regain market share. What about us? What we
need is a bailout for Detroit, for the people!”
Protesters chanted, “The people need jobs and relief—not one more penny
for Wall Street!” and “Stop foreclosures and evictions—moratorium now!”
During the protest, motorists honked their horns continually and raised
their fists in support of the demand to bailout the victims of the
financial crisis, not the bankers who caused it.
The demonstration was covered widely on local media, including
CBS-affiliate WWJ news radio, the Detroit Free Press, Fox affiliate TV2
and ABC affiliate channel 7. On Sept. 26 the Free Press reported that
many Congressional representatives from Michigan have been flooded with
calls and emails against the bank bailout.
Coalition organizers Vanessa Fluker and Abayomi Azikiwe spoke at a rally
of the Gray Panthers during their national conference in Detroit on
Sept. 27.
At a coalition meeting Sept. 27, plans were made to continue the
struggle in Michigan, including a statewide organizers’ conference after
the November elections.
Coalition activists plan to meet with Detroit Mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr.
to request that he declare a state of emergency in the city and formally
apply to Gov. Jennifer Granholm for a foreclosure moratorium.
The next meeting of the Moratorium NOW! Coalition will be on Oct. 11 at
the Central United Methodist Church, 23 E. Adams, 4th floor, Detroit, MI
48226. For more information or to send a donation, call 313-887-4344,
email moratorium at moratorium-mi.org, or visit www.moratorium-mi.org.
________________________________________
Articles copyright 1995-2009 Workers World. Verbatim copying and
distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without
royalty provided this notice is preserved.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7691485.stm
Sunday, 26 October 2008
Protests in Iceland over economy
Hundreds of people have been protesting in Reykjavik after the
near-collapse of the country's economy.
This week it became the first Western country in more than 30 years to
approach the International Monetary Fund for aid.
http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=92427&feedType=VideoRSS&feedName=TopNews&rpc=23&videoChannel=1&sp=true
Icelanders bank protest
(01:40) Report
Oct. 19 - More than two thousand people gather outside the Icelandic
parliament to demand a new head of the central bank.
They demanded the resignation of the head of the central bank and a new
monitory policy.
The demonstrators were referring to Central Bank Governor David Oddsson
a former prime minister and close ally of the current premier.
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE49O21G20081025
Icelanders call for PM to resign over crisis
Sat Oct 25, 2008 3:40pm EDT
REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Icelanders demonstrated in the capital Saturday to
call for resignation of the prime minister and the central bank chief
for failing to avert the financial crisis that has crippled the economy.
Demonstrators, numbering about 2,000 according to organisers, also
demanded that the North Atlantic island take steps to join the European
Union soon.
People gathered in front of parliament and marched to a government
building in the center of Reykjavik where they chanted calls for Prime
Minister Geir Haarde and central bank head David Oddsson to resign.
Protesters called for early elections to speed up EU membership.
Iceland's financial system has all but collapsed since the country was
forced to take over three of its biggest banks this month.
The coalition government, whose term runs out in 2011, is divided on the
issue of EU membership, with Haarde's Independence Party opposing it
while its junior partner, the Social Democratic Alliance, is in favor.
Protest organiser Kolfinnur Baldvinsdottir told Reuters: "We need
elections ... that's the issue to vote for."
Friday, the government said it had agreed terms for a $2 billion aid
package with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The deal still needs to be approved by the IMF board and Haarde said
Friday he expected it would take about 10 days for the review to take place.
(Reporting by Sakari Suoninen; editing by Andrew Dobbie)
http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=92714&feedType=VideoRSS&feedName=TopNews&rpc=23&videoChannel=1&sp=true
Argentines protest for pensions
(01:33) Report
Oct 24 - Pension fund workers opposed to the government's plan to
nationalise pension funds stage a protest in the capital Buneos Aires.
In a bid to protect private pension funds from global market turmoil,
the Argentine government has introduced a bill to take control of the
funds. But the decision is being criticised by opposition leaders who
say it is just a way for the government to shore up its finances.
Around 9.5 million have private pensions, and around 40 percent contribute.
In 1994 Argentina privatised pension funds, but in 2006 people were
given the option of investing in a state pension.
Basmah Fahim reports.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122471882370960597.html?mod=rss_whats_news_us_business
• OCTOBER 23, 2008
Protesters Besiege Mortgage Convention
By AMY HOAK and ANDREA COOMBES
SAN FRANCISCO -- It looked like a scene from the 2006 "Borat" movie:
Mortgage executives at a large gathering caught off-guard by
disturbances in the audience.
But unlike the movie, where Borat streaks through a ballroom of mortgage
brokers without a stitch of clothing, the protesters who charged the
stage at the Mortgage Bankers Association's annual convention this week
weren't going for laughs.
Much of the contretemps involved political group Code Pink, originally
founded by women to protest the Iraq war. But the group has started to
focus on the housing crisis and its economic fallout.
On Tuesday, several members of the group interrupted Karl Rove during a
panel discussion with a political focus. Some shouted from the audience,
and one woman went onstage and attempted to handcuff Mr. Rove. All were
escorted from the room.
A day earlier, Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin walked onstage during
a panel discussion with the new chief executives of Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac and demanded a moratorium on foreclosures. Meanwhile,
outside the Moscone West Convention Center here, another group of people
picketed as convention attendees entered.
For an industry group that focuses on mortgage rates, home sales and
refinancing, the public outcry provided an emotional charge to the
mortgage bankers' normally staid annual convention. Some felt the need
to defend their industry. "I'm darn proud to be a mortgage banker," said
John Courson, the trade group's chief operating officer. "We put people
in houses, we invest in communities, and we know it has to be done right."
But David Kittle, the next chairman of the MBA, conceded the industry
had been less than rigorous in the training of loan officers, and said
the group needs to rebuild its reputation in 2009.
To many protesters, that might seem an understatement. With a record
number of homes entering foreclosure, the protesters said not enough is
being done for individual homeowners as the Treasury Department plans to
spend $700 billion to rescue the financial sector.
"The main point, and the main issue for everyone, is there should be a
stop to foreclosures and evictions, and the government should be
assisting the victims of the crisis and not the people who created it,"
said Richard Becker, spokesman for the Party for Socialism and
Liberation. The group picketed outside the convention center on Sunday
and Monday.
Mortgage bankers should be punished if it's found that they knowingly
put people into mortgage loans that people couldn't afford, Mr. Becker
said. "Jail them, don't bail them" was a popular rally cry outside the
convention center.
Code Pink offered a similar argument. As the financial rescue plan
emerged, "we realized that this was...a terrible misuse of taxpayer
dollars, just like the war in Iraq," said Ms. Benjamin. "Now, seeing
another $700 billion being proposed to go for a bailout that wasn't
going to help the people at the bottom...we felt like it was a similar
kind of rape and pillage of, in this case, the American taxpayer."
Cheryl Crispen, senior vice president of communications and marketing
for the MBA, said the industry is doing whatever it can to address the
foreclosure problem. The industry's Hope Now alliance has helped 2.3
million people since its inception last year stay in their homes by
giving them loan modifications and workouts, she said. Throughout this
housing crisis, she said, there has been a lot of finger-pointing about
who deserves the blame -- lenders, speculators and borrowers. "There is
enough responsibility to go around," Ms. Crispen said.
—James R. Hagerty contributed to this article.
http://www.workers.org/2008/us/detroit_1023/
Protest demands mayor declare ‘state of emergency’
By Kris Hamel
Detroit
Published Oct 19, 2008 5:06 PM
This city has been devastated by high unemployment, mass foreclosures,
abandoned homes and widespread poverty. About 20 protesters gathered
outside the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in downtown Detroit on
Oct. 10 to demand that interim Mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr. declare a state
of economic emergency and formally apply to Gov. Jennifer Granholm for a
moratorium on foreclosures.
WW photo: Alan Pollock
A delegation of activists from the Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop
Foreclosures and Evictions then went inside to the mayor’s office to
deliver a second letter demanding he take immediate action to alleviate
the suffering. Cockrel had ignored an earlier letter from the coalition
sent before he assumed office in mid-September.
The letter stated in part: “The people of Detroit cannot stand to wait
one more day for the imposition of an emergency moratorium to stop
foreclosures. Under MCL 10.31, et seq., upon application of the mayor of
a city, or on her own volition, the governor may proclaim a state of
emergency and designate the area involved. We are requesting that you
formally apply to Governor Granholm to declare a state of emergency in
Detroit, and demand she use her police powers to place a two-year
moratorium on foreclosures in the City.”
The letter asked Cockrel to respond within one week. Coalition
organizers are planning further actions to ensure that the mayor answers
their demands. They will hold a mass demonstration in Detroit on Oct. 27
and are preparing to take the struggle to the next level.
The Moratorium NOW! Coalition is also demanding passage of State Senate
Bill 1306, which would call for a two-year moratorium in Michigan. The
coalition will hold a statewide organizing conference in Detroit on Dec.
6 to further broaden the struggle against foreclosures and evictions.
Inquiries and donations can be sent to the coalition at 23 E. Adams, 4th
floor, Detroit, MI 48226. Call 313-887-4344, e-mail
moratorium at moratorium-mi.org or visit www.moratorium-mi.org for more
information.
________________________________________
Articles copyright 1995-2009 Workers World. Verbatim copying and
distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without
royalty provided this notice is preserved.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44326
SPAIN: Only Banks Get Aid, Anti-Poverty Protesters Complain
By José Antonio Gurriarán
MADRID, Oct 17 (IPS) - "We think it’s disgraceful that billions of
dollars are available to bail out banks, and there is no money to
eradicate poverty in the world," said Marina Navarro, the spokeswoman
for some 1,000 social organisations in Spain taking part in
demonstrations against poverty between Friday and Sunday.
"We can understand the need for certain measures to address the economic
crisis triggered by financial institutions in the United States, but we
are completely opposed to that happening at the cost of an increase in
hunger, poverty and inequality around the world," the representative of
the Spanish Alliance Against Poverty told IPS in Madrid.
The Alliance Against Poverty, made up of civil society organisations,
trade unions, community associations, religious institutions and other
groups, held demonstrations Friday to mark the International Day for the
Eradication of Poverty and will continue mobilising over the weekend in
response to the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), whose
campaign slogan this year is "Stand Up and Take Action".
From Oct. 17-19, millions of people around the world will literally
stand up in protests and other events to demand that their governments
make the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) top priority in budget
allocation.
Taking 1990 levels as a baseline, the MDGs include a 50 percent
reduction in extreme poverty and hunger; universal primary education;
promotion of gender equality; reduction of child mortality by
two-thirds; cutbacks in maternal mortality by three-quarters; combating
the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensuring
environmental sustainability; and developing a North-South global
partnership for development.
"Far from meeting the MDGs, the number of poor people around the world
has grown by 50 million, bringing the total to over 900 million," said
Navarro, referring to the first of the eight goals assumed by the
international community in 2000, which have a 2015 deadline.
"I know it is a very harsh term, but I can’t find a better one: isn’t it
disgraceful that it cost 700 billion dollars to bail out the banks in
the United States, five times more than what the United Nations approved
for reaching the MDGs?" asked Navarro.
In practically every large city and provincial capital in Spain, people
have been mobilising over the last few days and will continue to do so
through the weekend as part of the Alliance Against Poverty campaign,
whose main aim is to call for compliance with the first MDG, against
extreme poverty and hunger.
Developing regions, especially parts of Asia, have achieved steady
economic growth and have seen the overall poverty rate shrink from 80 to
20 percent in the last 25 years. In addition, the proportion of children
under five suffering from malnutrition dropped from 33 percent in 1996
to 26 percent in 2006.
"That’s true, and it should be highlighted as extraordinary progress,"
said Navarro. "The case of Mozambique is also exemplary -- one of the
countries in the world with the greatest economic difficulties, which
managed to reduce poverty to 10 percent of the population, thanks to
active social policies and to donor countries like Germany, Spain,
Britain and the Netherlands."
But, she added, "half of the population of sub-Saharan Africa, and 1.4
billion people in poor regions around the world, still live on less than
1.25 dollars a day, according to the World Bank."
In Spain’s large cities, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators are
expected to stand up against poverty from Friday to Sunday.
In Friday’s enormous march in Madrid, signs carried by protesters also
expressed concern about the unequal distribution of wealth, both between
and within countries.
Another prominent activist who has been working hard over the last few
days for the success of the campaign to sensitise Spanish society on the
questions of poverty and hunger is Alliance Against Poverty spokesman
David Ortiz, the only civil society representative to accompany Spain’s
socialist Prime Minister José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero to the U.N.
General Assembly in New York in late September.
"It is outrageous that as wealth grows around the world, so does
inequality, and far from meeting the MDGs, we are getting farther and
farther away from them in many cases," Ortiz told IPS.
"In Latin America, the average income has gone up considerably in the
last few years, but poverty has grown too, and there are intolerable
problems of inequality that must be addressed," he said.
"And in Africa, the number of people living in extreme poverty grows day
by day, while a small elite becomes extremely wealthy. These are
situations that are intolerable from a human standpoint," he said.
The demonstrators taking part in the march in Madrid reminded the
Zapatero administration of its pledge to increase official development
aid to 0.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2012.
Ortiz said things have changed since the socialist party (PSOE) came to
power in Spain in 2004, but argued that a much greater improvement is
needed.
Under the previous government, of the centre-right Popular Party, "aid
stood at 0.2 percent of GDP, and it has now grown to 0.4 percent and
will apparently expand to 0.5 percent in the budget to be approved in
the next few days," he said.
"But we have to reach 0.7 percent of GDP as soon as possible, in Spain
as well as in other countries, because the situation is critical, with
millions of children and adults having their basic needs unmet or dying
of hunger," said Ortiz. (END/2008)
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_General&set_id=1&click_id=139&art_id=vn20081018085024659C393795
Many join world protest against poverty
October 18 2008 at 03:02PM
By Graeme Hosken and Hazel Sambo
South Africans joined people across the world in a protest against
global poverty on Friday.
The local demonstration saw members of churches, non-government
organisations and anti-poverty groups coming together on the lawns of
the Union Buildings to demonstrate against what they said was
governments' inaction in addressing the plight of two billion poor
people across the world.
Friday's march coincided with the International Day for the Eradication
of Poverty, and saw demonstrators demanding that governments from across
the world tackle worldwide poverty.
"Instead of spending millions on arms deals, money should be put into
social grants which can be used to uplift the poor, especially
children," said Kumi Naidoo.
Naidoo, co-chairperson of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty, a
coalition of non-governmental organisations, churches and trade unions,
said it was time action was taken against poverty.
"If trillions of dollars can be spent to bail out corrupt bankers, then
surely money can be found to feed the poor. We are telling our
government that they now need to deliver on their promises of
alleviating poverty in this country instead of wasting it on frivolous
things such as the military," he said.
Naidoo said there were serious issues which were affecting poor South
Africans, especially the country's youth.
Citing horror poverty stories that "occur daily" in South Africa, Naidoo
said there needed to be an improvement of social and welfare grants.
"These grants need to be increased in value and (should) cover children
up to the age of 18."
Pointing to the country's high unemployment rate as contributing to
poverty in SA, Naidoo said if poverty was to be addressed, better paying
jobs would have to be created.
Handing over a memorandum to a government official, Irfan Mufti, of
Global Call to Action Against Poverty, said people needed to unite and
address the world's governments with one voice to make them aware of
what poverty was really like. He said people did not deserve to be poor.
"It is not necessary for two billion people to remain sentenced to a
life of poverty. Governments need to realise that they have a
responsibility to uplift people from this life sentence and help these
billions of people who will without their help die," he said.
Bishop Paul Verryn, of the SA Council of Churches, called on politicians
to take a major pay cut to find out what it was like to live just above
the poverty line.
"Today is a fight for the respect of all humanity and about how the poor
are battling to get access to basic services.
"We are calling on government ministers and politicians to take a pay
cut so that they earn just above the poverty line to know what everyday
life is like for the majority of South Africans," he said, adding that
change would only come once the world developed a sense of humanity.
South African Human Rights Commission's Jo Mdhlela said questions had to
be asked on what had happened with government's promised wealth
distribution and eradication of poverty projects.
"These are promises which government should not be allowed to walk away
from."
http://www.streamsofjustice.org/2008/10/dont-ignore-homeless-during-economic.html
Monday, October 20, 2008
Don't ignore homeless during economic crisis: protesters
Last Updated: Saturday, October 18, 2008 | 8:45 PM ET
Demonstrations were held across B.C. on Saturday to demand more
affordable housing and better protection for renters as part of
Homelessness Action Week.
In Vancouver, the day also marked the end of a five-day fast and vigil
at Vancouver City Hall by church and social activists who said they are
fed up with government inaction.
Church activist Dave Diewart said there were many who honked their horns
to show support as they drove past the camp, but there were others who
yelled, "Get a job."
The government didn't do much to provide housing while the economy was
strong, Diewart said, and might now use the excuse of the economic
downtown to do even less.
"It just doesn't seem like the urgency is there, despite the crisis
across the country," he said.
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