-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- Dave Hartley http://www.asheville-computer.com/dave IMF Chief gets pie-in-face, Burnt In Effigy By Bangkok Protesters Pie Picture at: http://news.excite.com/photo/img/r/economy/unctad/ngos/20000213/ban04?r=/pho to/ap/000213/12/world-trade-camdessus IMF Chief Camdessus Retiring MondayUpdated 12:35 PM ET February 13, 2000 By NAOMI KOPPEL, Associated Press Writer BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - During his 13 years as head of the International Monetary Fund, Michel Camdessus transformed himself from a faceless bureaucrat into a well-known - and much-criticized - figure. Camdessus, 66, retires as the IMF's managing director Monday, more than a year before his term expires. He is the IMF's longest-serving IMF chief. He often drew criticism from some governments and activist groups that partly blamed his financial policies for poverty in the Third World. His career ended in a more physical act of criticism. Before Camdessus gave his final speech at a U.N. trade conference in Bangkok on Sunday, an American activist threw a cream-and-fruit pie in his face. But the pie-throwing incident gave Camdessus a last chance to show the iron side of his character, going ahead with his speech - a defense of the IMF as a force for global good - without mentioning the assault on his dignity minutes earlier. Camdessus instead hit back at countries that had criticized him over the years, hinting at hypocrisy. "Some governments from time to time find it convenient not to express their public support for actions they support wholeheartedly in our executive bodies," he said. "We will all be unable to discharge our ever-growing responsibilities if we are not perceived for what we are - the faithful instruments of the community of nations." Many in Thailand held Camdessus personally responsible for exacerbating the recent Asian economic crisis by insisting on high-interest rates that have been blamed for ruining businesses and leaving millions out of work. The IMF and Camdessus in particular became convenient scapegoats for some governments. Camdessus, a former governor of the Bank of France, was picked in 1998 by Asiaweek magazine as Asia's most powerful man. Under Camdessus, the IMF coped with financial crises in Asia, Africa, Russia and Latin America. But the IMF was never popular internationally, and calls have increased for the organization to operate with the transparency it often demands of poor countries. In recent months, the IMF has been tested by allegations that billions of dollars of aid money destined for Russia had been misappropriated. The United States is proposing significant changes. It wants the IMF to focus on short-term emergency loans and to withdraw from making long-term loans to poor countries that can obtain money from private sources. When Camdessus' retirement was announced last year, British Chancellor Gordon Brown praised him as a visionary. But on Bangkok's streets, protesters who see the IMF as part of a world system favoring rich countries cheered at the pie throwing and burned Camdessus in effigy. Camdessus, typically unflappable, refused to press charges against the pie thrower. Poor Nations Seek Share of Wealth By DIRK BEVERIDGE, AP Business Writer BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Economic globalization may be inevitable, but the leaders of poor nations told an international trade conference Saturday that it holds painful and frightening consequences for their countries. The weeklong U.N. Conference on Trade and Development, which started Saturday, was being touted as a place for trade officials to redeem December's debacle in Seattle, where street protests turned violent and World Trade Organization ministers failed to launch a new round of global commerce talks. But security issues plagued the Bangkok meeting as well, with an American anti-free trade activist dodging a cordon around the conference to throw a pie in the face of International Monetary Fund chief Michel Camdessus. Following the embarrassing incident, Camdessus went ahead with a speech, his last before stepping down as IMF chief. He used the occasion to counter claims that his organization has ignored the concerns of ordinary people. "Globalization can now be seen in a positive light ... as the best means of improving the human condition throughout the world," he said. Camdessus said foreign investment in the Third World has enormous potential to close the income gap, while information technology has given poor nations access to knowledge that was once the preserve of the rich. The U.N. meeting, held every four years, focuses more on the developing world and a feeling among many of its leaders that they cannot access wealth created by a global system centered on high technology and increased power by multinational corporations. Such corporations - some already financially more powerful than medium-sized countries - will keep getting bigger through mergers and acquisitions, warned Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. "While we welcome their collaboration with our local companies, we fear if they are allowed into our countries unconditionally, they may swallow up all our businesses," said Mahathir, long a vocal critic of the West. "I am worried and frightened at the preparations being made by corporations in certain industries and business activities in order to take advantage of liberalization and globalization." Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said Saturday that his country, the richest in Asia, would agree to open its market to most goods from the poorest countries - but only if the United States and Europe go along. The Europeans have given the idea a warmer response than the Americans, Japanese officials said privately. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for a "Global New Deal," with rich nations extending a helping hand to their poor neighbors. "The downsides of globalization are indeed painful," said Philippine President Joseph Estrada, whose nation lags many of its neighbors economically. "But taking the bigger pills against its ills is superior to living inside a sterile bubble." After the pie-throwing incident, Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai ordered stepped-up security at the convention center and hotels where delegates from some 190 nations are gathered. Shortly after the order was issued, 500 protesters outfoxed hundreds of officers and set themselves up directly in front of the main gates. Police in riot shields surrounded the demonstrators, who sat down and refused to be moved. No violence was reported. After an hour, the demonstrators on their own cleared the area. While the U.N. meeting is essentially a forum for developing nations and not a place where policy is set - like the WTO - organizers have promoted this session as a chance to rebuild confidence in global trade after the debacle in Seattle. WTO Director-General Mike Moore is huddling here with trade officials from various nations for that purpose. UNCTAD is meeting in the capital where Asia's economic crisis began July 2, 1997, with the devaluation of Thailand's currency. That devaluation revealed major cracks in the developing world's efforts to boost its economies quickly. Thailand announced this week it would be leaving the IMF's rescue program, a symbol that Asia is bouncing back, with regional growth expected to average 4 percent this year. ================================= *** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. *** <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soap-boxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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