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Local protests vs. globalization demand RP to get out of WTO
Manila - Workers, peasants, urban poor, government employees and other sectors gathered today to launch the two-day peoples Camp Out “Land, Food, Jobs Not Imperialist Plunder” against World Trade Organizationled by party list group ANAKPAWIS and militant mass organizations Kilusang Mayo Uno, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, PAMALAKAYA and COURAGE.
While heads of states, economic managers and multinational companies are set to begin the 5th WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancun, Mexico tomorrow, workers organizations and anti-globalization advocates all over the world set-off with broad peoples protests and demonstrations against the latest WTO round aiming to approve several iniquitous agreements on trade and investments. In Manila, militant workers and peasants led the alternative people’s conference against WTO. “We demand the Philippines’ immediate withdrawal from the WTO. It’s better for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resign from office if she will continue to support WTO and related foreign impositions.”
“Workers are fervently opposing ominous foreign impositions including the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA), General Agreements on Trade in Services (GATS), Trade Related Investment Measures (TRIMS), and Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). These policies primarily pushed by US, European Union and other powerful capitalist countries and financial institutions already brought damaging effects to the livelihood and economies of impoverished people all in the guise of globalization and trade liberalization,” KMU Chairman Elmer Labog said.
WTO: Massacre of jobs, deeper poverty
The labor leader also stressed that globalization policies in real terms caused massacre of jobs, poverty, intensified land grabbing, destruction of natural and human resources. Globalization is anything but prosperity and development for the people. It is actually imperialist plunder and exploitation on a global scale. The suffering and exploitation of workers reached greater heights under trade and investment liberalization. Outright attacks on workers’ rights and livelihood are done all in the name of greater profit for big foreign and local businesses.”
The Philippine government’s constant support and promotion of foreign investments gave full liberty to monopoly capitalist countries to dump their surplus capital and products to poor and developing countries. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s unwavering advocacy of foreign dictated policies brought the country into a deeper quagmire of difficulties.
Labog urged the Philippine delegation to the Cancun conference led by Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Chairman Mar Roxas to rethink its position on the economic agreements and reject the Multilateral Investment Agreement (MIA) actively pushed by WTO sponsors. “The wide-ranging protests joined by various sectors will only prove broad public discontent over Arroyo’s present leadership. Her supposed proficiency on economic management only served the selfish and vile interests of her foreign benefactors including the Bush government and several multinational corporations and investors.”
The workers group will sponsor a Forum-Workshop on “The Impacts of Globalization on Filipino Workers” as part of the alternative people’s conference. Tomorrow, September 10 at 1 pm, KMU, KMP and ANAKPAWIS will lead the contingent to a protest rally at the United States Embassy in Roxas Boulevard and Malacanang in Manila.