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Workers storm US Embassy to demand the dismantling of WTO
In a protest at the United States Embassy this morning, the militant labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) reiterated their demand for the Philippine government to immediately withdraw its membership to the World Trade Organization. “WTO policies only aggravated the suffering of workers and other poor Filipino people.”
“The current miserable condition of Filipino workers and the bankrupt domestic economy proves that foreign imposed policies adopted by the government are not in any way beneficial to the people. It brought nationwide poverty to greater heights and intensified the dependence of local economy and industries to foreign multilateral financial institutions, banks and corporations,” said KMU Secretary General Joel Maglunsod.
“The WTO is a global catastrophe initiated by US, European Union governments together with international banks and corporate giants. They are using the WTO to further pass on to poor countries the crisis of their economies. With the patronage of puppet governments, they are dumping surplus products and capital to poor and developing countries to further extract profit, exploit cheap labor force and plunder natural resources. The handful of powerful governments controlling the WTO brought enormous misery to billions of people all over the world.”
Maglunsod said that the multilateral investment agreement and the expansion of other WTO agreements being pushed in the Cancun round will only exacerbate the bankruptcy of the local economy. “The Arroyo government will commit grand economic suicide and all the more endanger the people if it persists in supporting the WTO proposals pressed in Cancun. We must do everything we can to expose the damaging effects of WTO impositions. President Arroyo must heed the people’s demand and withdraw the Philippines from WTO. Her refusal to do this merits her immediate ouster or resignation as President.”
In a protest at Mendiola near Malacañang Palace after the US Embassy, the labor group also lambasted Mrs. Arroyo for being a staunch supporter of foreign-dictated economic policies. “Arroyo willingly played the role of America’s errand girl in the Asia Pacific. Instead of joining other countries in opposing WTO imposed policies, Mrs. Arroyo reaffirmed her advocacy to foreign policies. Her perverse economic principles caused deeper poverty and misery for Filipinos.
