_ From: John Clancy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 @lists.tao.ca Precedence: bulk Plan Colombia, FTAA and Black Communities in the process of global struggle. The US Congress has allocated $1.3 billion to the government of Colombia for a military intervention which was denominated Plan Colombia. The official purpose of this �Plan� is to put an end to the illegal growing of coca by destroying illicit crops, to put an end to the guerilla and to stabilise Latin Americas �oldest democracy�. 84 % of the money will flow straight back into US economy as it is destined for military aid, primarily Huey and Black Hawk helicopters. Anyone digging up just a bit more information about the situation in Colombia will immediately see that the drug war is nothing but a pretext and that the real motivation is to secure access to natural resources (especially oil) and to gain control over a geopolitical strategic region in order to continue the implementation of a neoliberal development model in the whole region and especially the planned FTAA (Free Trade Agreement of the Amerias) to be discussed in Quebec / Canada in April this year. A closer look to the region shows us that Colombia is like a natural trade platform, having access to both the Pacific and the Atlantic ocean and being the natural connection between North and South America. The strategic role of this area was already recognised centuries ago by Spanish conquistadores who considered connecting both oceans through a canal. In order to secure the control over this area, the US orchestrated the separation of Panama from Colombia in 1903. The Panama canal is becoming too small to deal with the increasing flow of goods in times of economic globalisation between South East Asia , USA and Europe, especially considering China as an upcoming market. The infrastructure of the Canal is old and slow, so new interoceanic connections are being planned. But Colombia is not only attractive in terms of trade routes crossroad, it is also intended to become a major production place full of sweat shops. Several megaprojects like road infrastructure, dams, oil pipelines, monocultures and harbours in order to efficiently sap the resources are on their way. On top of that, the oil resources in Colombia are enormous and they are even bigger in Venezuela: BP, Exxon, Shell (via Oxy Petroleum a sister TNC) have been granted generous concessions for oil drilling. In order to implement this neoliberal vision of development, Colombia has not only started reforming its constitution in order to make its laws FTAA compatible, but here we are assisting to an organised mass displacement and killing of the population, in particular the black communities, in order to go ahead with these megaprojects. Colombia has seen 3.000 murdered people in the last year and nearly 2 mio people displaced by now. This is a social genocide and one of the cruellest forms of expression of capitalism. Another important factor are the social movements of Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil and Panama which are an obstacle for these neoliberal plans. Bolivia and Ecuador have seen huge indigenous uprisings. Peru�s government is collapsing and especially Venezuela�s external policy (role in OPEC making oil prices raise; contacts to Cuba and Iraq; and the building up of economic relations to other Latin American countries) is causing serious concern in the industrialised countries who�d like to see cheap oil prices, in particular the USA that has a highly energy inefficient economy. The 4 big oil multinationals also see their hegemony disturbed by Venezuela�s attitude. US Senator Coverdell said in an article in the Washington Post on April 10th 2000, that protecting the oil interests in Venezuela justified the US intervention in Colombia. It isn�t wrong to state that Plan Colombia is like a remake of the Vietnam war and a kind of neocolonialism to get the region under control in order to implement the vision of the FTAA. About 25-30 % of the Colombian population is black. Most live in cities but many communities are spread around the Pacific and Caribbean coast. The black communities perceive themselves as the outcome of centuries of struggle for freedom. Struggles against slavery, against colonialism and now economic globalisation. They have developed forms of living which have little or nothing to do with capitalism and that are in harmony with their environment, one of the places on Earth with the highest biodiversity. They struggle to defend their right to live, their constitutional right to autonomy, identity and space to live. Today they are approaching European and North American grassroots groups that have massively articulated around the anti- capitalist protests against the WTO, IMF, WB and that would like to join their struggle and continue the process of global convergence. Since the protests in Prague against the IMF/WB summit, the contact between PCN (Black Communities Process) and European grassroots groups has been developing rapidly. The first exchanges have resulted in: 1) a call by PCN for support in building communication structures and skill capacity to improve communication within the communities and internationally 2) a proposal to consider the planning of a large international presence in �security zones� in the black communities, which are precisely in the way of the planned megaprojects. 3) a call to European and North American grassroots realities to build up autonomous collective alternatives as a response to the economical, political and cultural power of capitalism. Alternatives which articulate along horizontal and participatory forms, which practically implement the right to be different, support selfmanagement capacity and develop structures independently from State structures. The co-operation with the movements from this region that are directly approaching us, represent a chance for a new qualitative development in the global articulation of resistance, and a step to move from resistance towards an offensive in the arena of dreams, creation and conquer of the future. More information about Colombia, PCN and Tours in Europe and North America is available at: http://pages.hotbot.com/edu/stop.wto/Plan_Colombia.html You will also find instructions about how to subscribe to different email lists. Other sites: colombia.indymedia.org www3.gratisweb.com/ciclocrisis (analyses by H. Mondragon) www.derechos.org/nizkor/colombia www.ecopetrol.com.co (official site to oil exploitation in Colombia) to contact PCN directly: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [in Spanish] ---------------------------- ftaa-l ----------------------------- resisting the FTAA and capitalist globalization mobilizing for Quebec City, April 2001 creating alternatives to unsubscribe from this list, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> with the following text only: unsubscribe ---------------------------- ftaa-l ----------------------------- ********* from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subject: Bolivian -Right to Water Delivered-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: <Undisclosed [EMAIL PROTECTED]> From: "robert rodvik" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Fw: Cochabamba Declaration on the Right to Water Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 -----Original Message----- Date: Wednesday, January 17, 2001 1:43 PM Subject: TATA: Cochabamba Declaration on the Right to Water An update on the historic victory of people over privatization in Cochabamba, Bolivia "Aguas del Tunari/Bechtel ... are currently suing the Government of Bolivia for close to US $40 million. They want Bolivians to pay for their bad investment! ... Transnationals such as Bechtel are using bilateral trade agreements to bypass the legal sovereignty of countries." "Here, in this city which has been an inspiration to the world for its retaking of that right through civil action, courage and sacrifice standing as heroes and heroines against corporate, institutional and governmental abuse, and trade agreements which destroy that right, in use of our freedom and dignity, we declare the following: "For the right to life, for the respect of nature and the uses and traditions of our ancestors and our peoples, for all time the following shall be declared as inviolable rights with regard to the uses of water given us by the earth: 1) Water belongs to the earth and all species and is sacred to life, therefore, the world's water must be conserved, reclaimed and protected for all future generations and its natural patterns respected. 2) Water is a fundamental human right and a public trust to be guarded by all levels of government, therefore, it should not be commodified, privatized or traded for commercial purposes. These rights must be enshrined at all levels of government. In particular, an international treaty must ensure these principles are noncontrovertable. 3) Water is best protected by local communities and citizens who must be respected as equal partners with governments in the protection and regulation of water. Peoples of the earth are the only vehicle to promote earth democracy and save water." January 13, 2001 Dear Friends, Warm greetings from the city of Cochabamba, Bolivia. My name is Sarah, and I was present last April when Cochabamba struggled through a week of blockades, general strikes and violent protests, which came to be known as the "War for Water". I am currently collaborating with a group of Bolivian and foreign activists, to support local efforts to maintain control over the region�s water system. Essential to this struggle is the cooperation of individuals such as yourselves, who have demonstrated an interest in battling worldwide trends in privatizing water and commodifying natural resources. The participation of the international community in support of Bolivian efforts has had an important history. During the April "War for Water"/ "Guerra por el Agua", foreigners living in Bolivia and abroad contributed articles, campaigns, and their activism in the streets. Sharing information has allowed citizens of all countries to resist privatization more effectively. Articles sent via Internet inspired many concerned people to write letters of protest to the San Francisco based Bechtel Corporation, influencing them to abandon their investments in the privatization of the Cochabamba water system. More recently, we have witnessed international solidarity efforts bringing purpose and resolution to the local struggle for water rights. Therefore, thank you for your participation, concern, and solidarity efforts. It is our pleasure to inform you of recent events in Cochabamba. The Challenges after Winning Back Our Water In April a broad-based movement of labor, peasants, and university students stood behind the Coordinadora de Defensa del Agua y la Vida (Coalition for the Defense of Water and Life) and to take back their water. Their efforts led to the de-privatization of the local water system--ousting Aguas del Tunari (AdT), Bechtel affiliate-- and substantive changes in water legislation. Once the international corporation left, the challenge for citizens was to monitor the actions of the Government of Bolivia to protect new contracts. A key element is the reconstruction of the local water company, SEMAPA. When the directors of Aguas del Tunari, the Bechtel affiliate, abandoned Cochabamba, they left SEMAPA with substantial debts. In addition, the political and business elite launched a campaign against the Coordinadora, boycotting and neglecting to pay tariffs imposed by SEMAPA. Although the greater public remains very much in favor of the Coordinadora, the campaign in part has wounded the credibility of SEMAPA. Just as the Coordinadora motivated protest, now it seeks to channel the energies and creativity necessary to find real alternative solutions to both corrupt public management and impoverishing privatization of public services. The Coordinadora is committed to finding solutions to the water problem that gives lie to the notion that only the private for-profit sector can provide services, and that treats water not as a simple commodity, but as a public good. The challenges of creating a "social SEMAPA", an efficient company committed to serving the needs of its neediest customers first, are many. The assurance of SEMAPA�s future will depend on obtaining legal and financial stability. SEMAPA is currently undergoing this process with the collaboration of a support team designed to articulate a collective vision of SEMAPA�s future, through a process of popular consultation. In order for SEMAPA to work, we must be successful at improving operations administratively and technically. The support team faces many challenges because people are thirsty for a more immediate solution. My household on the edge of the city of Cochabamba receives water twice a week, mostly in the mornings when water pressure rises enough to get a good shower. With regard to the legal situation, Aguas del Tunari/Bechtel stated in May of 2000 that they intended to take the conflict to international arbitration through the International Court for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) of the World Bank. They are currently suing the Government of Bolivia for close to US $40 million. They want Bolivians to pay for their bad investment! The process for going through ICSID is a 1992 Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) between Holland and Bolivia. It turns out that in late November of 2000, just as Aguas del Tunari was starting to operate in Cochabamba, Bechtel created new holding companies in Holland. Transnationals such as Bechtel are using bilateral trade agreements to bypass the legal sovereignty of countries. However, the government of Bolivia is not recognizing the transfer of shares as legitimate and insisting that the dispute be settled in Bolivian courts. Nine months later the city that impressed the world with its humanity and its resistance to water privatization may have to march once more against international trade agreements. International Delegation Visits Bolivia: As a result of visits made by Oscar Olivera to the United States, as well as US/Canadian solidarity efforts, the Coordinadora hosted a conference the eighth of December entitled Water: Globalization, Privatization, and the Search for Alternatives. A dynamic group of individuals journeyed to Bolivia to witness resistance to globalization on a local scale and to commit their skills and knowledge towards an international plan of action. In attendance were: Maude Barlow, Director, Council of Canadians; Jaime Dunn, Director Blue Planet Project, Council; Chief Gary John, Leader, Seton Lake First Nation and Interior Alliance of First Nations of British Columbia; Antonia Juhasz, International Forum on Globalization; Cameron Duncan, Regional Secretary for Interamèrica, Public Service International. The conference presented before an audience of Bolivian and foreign professionals, students, workers, and activists, a criticism of globalization and water privatization. The Bolivian model exemplifies the successes and challenges of alternatives. The privatization of natural resources on a global scale undermines the authority of our governments. It states that economic freedom is more important than democracy and accepts water, a human "right", as an exploitable "need" for the global market. Bolivia is at a critical moment: if the government decides to join NAFTA, water will become a tradable commodity, and the "right" to water will pass over completely to the hands of corporations like Bechtel. It will prove extremely difficult for Cochabamba to win another battle like the one in April. On a local scale, privatization of natural resources undermines indigenous leadership, and the community initiative to make those resources available to all people. What does privatization mean in small Bolivian communities? It assures more inequality as the gap between the poor and the business elite grows, and less access to resources necessary for nutrition, farming and sanitation. How will we take on privatization and the global economy? The answer--reverse the process of globalization, using our access to this system for international good. Instead of selling water as a human need, open to be exploited economically, we will promote it as a basic human right. Working from our community roots, and building on our international networks, Internet connections we will share our struggle. However, this does not mean exploiting or selling the Cochabamba example, but working from our bases to create together an international agreement that protects water. In order to witness local alternatives to privatization, the delegation, with members of the Coordinadora, visited rural and urban neighborhoods. To the west of Cochabamba, the community of El Paso supports an irrigation system created by members of the community after they won the right over the government-run, privatized model. In thirty days, a team of workers constructed the above ground canal that supplies the community with water. In Altocochabamba, the highest and poorest urbanized neighborhood in Cochabamba, women used to travel to the bottom of the hill to draw water for their families. In an effort to lug enormous amounts of water back up, often they would hemorrhage and die. While Aguas del Tunari imposed its high tariffs and cried privatized water, the people of Altocochabamba were paying for water they were not receiving because of failed promises. Working with SEMAPA the community has made 800 new connections--a social victory for the city�s poorer residents. The tour led us to the neighborhood "10th of December", a mining community that was celebrating the date its workers were relocated from the mines of Potosi to that site in Cochabamba. As many who have worked the dark tunnels of mine labor will tell you, the struggle against poverty runs hand in hand with the fight against lung diseases. Winning access to water was one triumph for this community. The importance of civil action in the struggle for water rights is alive in the histories of these neighborhoods. The alternatives suggest resistance to privatization and effective management of natural resources force people to work as a community. The goal to unite our energies in the global struggle for alternatives is critical. Plan for the Future, Caramba! Opposition to international trade agreements that destroy legitimacy for alternatives like SEMAPA is urgent! With the delegation we will be sharing information on trade agreements and corporations to better prepare ourselves. In addition, we will build a network to prevent a future crisis in Bolivia when it becomes necessary to move the masses. In Bolivia we have already established an informal "Bechtel watch", to monitor their activities in the water crisis. We know they are not the only ones with a stake in Bolivian water, however they are monsters that can be monitored effectively from the States. Therefore, coordinating to campaign against Bechtel is important. In addition, various representatives will be gearing up for the conference in Vancouver, Canada July 5-8, 2001. The title of the conference is Water for People and Nature: A Forum on Conservation and Human Rights, and promises to be the next tool for international collaboration to protect our waters. For more information and registration, please see the Council of Canadians website: http://www.canadians.org/blueplanet/index2.html In addition, a representation of the delegation, foreigners living in Cochabamba and Bolivians drafted a document for future solidarity work. You can sign on to support this commitment on the same website. A copy is enclosed below. I will continue to share relevant information for the international community to pass on. Thank you. In solidarity, Sarah Harden Cochabamba, Bolivia ¡¡EL AGUA ES NUESTRA Y LAS DECISIONES TAMBIEN!! Water is ours, and the decisions too!! "No we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice pours down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream." Martin Luther King Jr. The Cochabamba Declaration December 8, 2000 We, citizens of Bolivia, Canada, United States, India, Brazil: Farmers, workers, indigenous people, students, professionals, environmentalists, educators, nongovernmental organizations, retired people, gather together today in solidarity to combine forces in the defense of the vital right to water. Here, in this city which has been an inspiration to the world for its retaking of that right through civil action, courage and sacrifice standing as heroes and heroines against corporate, institutional and governmental abuse, and trade agreements which destroy that right, in use of our freedom and dignity, we declare the following: For the right to life, for the respect of nature and the uses and traditions of our ancestors and our peoples, for all time the following shall be declared as inviolable rights with regard to the uses of water given us by the earth: 1) Water belongs to the earth and all species and is sacred to life, therefore, the world's water must be conserved, reclaimed and protected for all future generations and its natural patterns respected. 2) Water is a fundamental human right and a public trust to be guarded by all levels of government, therefore, it should not be commodified, privatized or traded for commercial purposes. These rights must be enshrined at all levels of government. In particular, an international treaty must ensure these principles are noncontrovertable. 3) Water is best protected by local communities and citizens who must be respected as equal partners with governments in the protection and regulation of water.Peoples of the earth are the only vehicle to promote earth democracy and save water. " JC Knowledge is Power! Elimination of the exploitation of man by man http://www.egroups.com/group/pttp/ POWER TO THE PEOPLE! Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Change Delivery Options: http://www.egroups.com/mygroups _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
