An open meeting to discuss and plan action around this call will be held on
Tuesday 26th June, 6pm, LHMWU Conference Rm (Miscelaneous Workers Union),
74 Astor Tce, Spring Hill. - Everyone Welcome!!!!
Globalise Solidarity! People before profit! Time for a Treaty! Protest
CHOGM October 6-9 Brisbane
CALL TO ACTION
We encourage any anti-corporate activists, indigenous groups and
indigenous solidarity groups, trade unions, environment groups, campaign
coalitions, political parties, community groups, student unions and all
progressive organisations or individuals to endorse this call by adding
their name.
1. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting(CHOGM) will be held in
Brisbane this year on October 6-9. This will occur directly after the
Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF) in Melbourne from October 3-5. CHOGM
brings together 54 heads of state and will feature notable guests such as
the Queen, John Howard, re-elected British PM Tony Blair, and the PM of
Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe.
2. One of the purposes of the CHOGM meeting will be to put pressure on
Third World countries to support the new WTO round of trade negotiations
which will be discussed at the WTO meeting this November in Qatar. CHOGM
represents 40% of the membership of the World Trade Organisation. During
the 1999 Durban meeting CHOGM issued the Fancourt Declaration which called
for the implementation of the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations.
3. A new WTO round would be disastrous for workers, the poor and the
environment everywhere, in particular in the Third World. The General
Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) will be a key part of any new trade
agreement. GATS is about opening the 'service sector' - everything from
public services and the environment -- to deregulation and privatisation.
4. The failure of the US and others to launch a new round of trade
negotiations at Seattle is the most significant concrete victory for the
movement against corporate globalisation. That is why we are calling for
activists, unionists, students and environmentalists to unite to defend
this victory by taking action against the CBF in Melbourne and at CHOGM in
Brisbane.
5. We support the call by the prominent leader of the anti-corporate
movement, Walden Bello, to boycott the Qatar meeting of the WTO.
6. We support the call from Jubilee 2000 for the unconditional cancellation
of all Third World debt.CHOGM and the CBF are dominated by rich Western
countries like Australia, Britain and Canada, all of which force poorer
member states to meet millions of dollars in repayments every year.
7. Privatisation, cuts to spending on health and education, union-bashing,
deregulation, shifting the tax burden to the poor, is a key part of the
Howard's corporate agenda in Australia. The Labor party also embraces this
agenda. Protesting at CHOGM is crucial to building opposition to this
corporate agenda in Australia as well as around the world.
8. We recognise that much of the wealth of the imperialist governments of
the Commonwealth has been stolen from indigenous peoples. We support the
demands of the Indigenous owners of Australia for real land rights and a
treaty between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
9. The convergence on CHOGM will also demonstrate the strength of our
international solidarity with the people struggling for workers' and human
rights, as well as democratic rights and against homophobia, in counties
such as Pakistan, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Fiji. In addition we condemn the
imperialist governments for their ongoing support for military dictatorships.
10. We the undersigned support the call for a ( )mass people's march to
converge on CHOGM to send a clear message of our opposition to corporate
elite's agenda of globalising poverty and exploitation at the expense of
the majority. We intend that such a ( ) mass action will strengthen the
will, courage and determination of all those around the world who are
struggling for global justice. The whole world will be watching.
11. We are also interested in coordinating activities and discussing other
proposals that incorporate the politics of the movement against corporate
globalisation such as a Counter-Conference to CHOGM, a Boycott the WTO
campaign and (a range of acts) of non - violent civil disobedience planned
to protest the CHOGM meeting
12. Our demands include:
*Treaty for Indigenous Australians!* Boycott the new WTO trade round!
* Cancel Third World debt!
* Stop GATS!
13. The union/community group/organisation/individual agreed with the above
call to action and resolves to support the mass unity march to converge on
CHOGM on October 6.
An open meeting to discuss and plan action around this call will be held on
Tuesday 26th June, 6pm, LHMWU Conference Rm, 74 Astor Tce, Spring Hill.
--
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