----- Original Message ----- From: james-tait <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; STOP NATO: �NO PASARAN! <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2000 11:45 AM Subject: [STOPNATO] (WW) Czech Republic: Anti-IMF Protests Set / Ecuador: Protests Demand No Privatization STOP NATO: �NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.COM ------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Aug. 24, 2000 issue of Workers World newspaper ------------------------- Workers around the world CZECH REPUBLIC: ANTI-IMF PROTESTS SET Thousands of activists are preparing to face off against the Sept. 21-29 meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Prague, Czech Republic. "This summit is a challenge to those who are concerned about the destiny of today's world," charged the Initiative Against Economic Globalization (INPEG), one of the coalitions organizing the protests. "Let us face the globalization of capital with the globalization of solidarity." Demonstrations by Czech unionists and leftists will take place on Sept. 23. INPEG's Global Day of Action is scheduled for Sept. 26. Solidarity actions are also being organized around the world. The Czech government is mobilizing at least 11,000 riot police for the demonstrations. ECUADOR: PROTESTS DEMAND REFERENDUM AGAINST PRIVATIZATION On Aug. 2, representatives of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) and the Coordinating Committee of Social Movements (CMS) delivered over 1.5 million signatures to the Supreme Electoral Court demanding a people's referendum. The six items proposed for the referendum are the main demands of the movement that overthrew former President Jamil Mahuad on Jan. 21. The first question asks for a ban on foreign military bases on Ecuador's territory. U.S. troops are using the Manta base in eastern Ecuador as part of their war maneuvers against Colombia's revolutionary movement. Economic matters include reversing the "dollarization" of the economy, where the U.S. dollar has become the national currency; immediately returning frozen bank funds, canceling the foreign debt, and ending privatizations. The final point on the proposed referendum is a general amnesty for the participants in the Jan. 21 uprising. CONAIE President Antonio Vargas told the Quito-based Pulsar news agency that the "cease-fire" with the current government of Gustavo Noboa is over. Mobilizations to support the demands and against the government's privatization attempts are planned for Aug. 15. - END - (Copyleft Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb
