Who made these old men and women swing bamboo sticks?
Like other continents, protests against the WTO was organized in this Korea peninsula. While the 4th Ministerial Meetings were taking place in doha, Korean social and labour movements organized several rallies.
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Who made these old men and women swing bamboo sticks?
- Korean people's struggle against WTO will never end!!
Like other continents, protests against the WTO was organized in this Korea peninsula. While the 4th Ministerial Meetings were taking place in doha, Korean social and labour movements organized several rallies. On November 9th, KoPA(Korea People's Action against Investment Treaties and the WTO) and Korea People's Solidarity organized a demonstration with overseas activists under the title of 'People's Action Day to Protest the WTO, Liberalization of rice market, BITs/FTA' in central area of Seoul. This action was designed to expose the destructive effects and results of the WTO itself, and the so-called 'New Round' which imperialist countries and TNCs have tried to launch since the Seattle Ministerial in 1999. Many overseas labour activists who had participated in the international conference organized by KCTU from November 5th to 8th joined this demonstration. On November 13th, around 20,000 farmers who have been most negatively affected by the WTO gathered in Yeoido where National Assembly is located. Peasants demanded that the government must ensure price of rice appropriate to cost of production and also that the WTO must be dismantled. Furthermore, some protestors shouted "Down with the Kim Dae-Jung government." This evidently shows that Kim's regime has turned its back on peasants' demands and livelihood rights, Korean farmers previously had seldom addressed Kim Dae-Jung directly.
Finally, the so-called 'New Round' has been launched in the name of 'Doha Development Agenda' during the WTO Fourth Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar. From Seattle 1999 to Genoa 2001, world social movements, NGOs and labour movements have shouted "no more liberalization, no more globalization and no more expansion of the WTO, but moratorium to New Round". Alternatively, we have demanded "people before profit", "world is not for sale", "fair trade system that does not hurt world peoples and the Third World countries". These are still in our heart despite the symbolic characteristics of the slogans. However, imperialists and TNCs never take note of these demands which are vital to the survival of world peoples.
US imperialists were able to launch the WTO regime in 1995, under the conditions of the post-Cold War era. Due to the dismantlement of socialist countries, imperialists had an unprecedented chance not to continue playing a game of 'give and take'. During the Cold War, US had to make a 'little' concession for poor countries on an economic level in order to maintain the anti-Soviet Bloc on a political level. Especially, countries in South East Asia benefited most from that stance. However, as soon as the Cold War era ended in early 1990's, it was not necessary for the US to maintain even a 'little' economic concession. As the only Super power, the U.S. could now play an one-sided game without any political consideration, to launch new multilateral trade system which substituted the old-fashioned and ineffective system, the GATT. Thus the WTO, a so-called 'rule-based system' came into being. It includes new sectors under the rule of free trade, such as agricultural products, intellectual property rights and services. Considering that TNCs based in the US have the most competitiveness in those areas, it is not too difficult to know why the US urge so strongly the inclusion of those issues into the WTO, in spite of complaints from Third World countries.
Economy cannot be thought apart from the specific political situation of that specific period. In this context, today seems to be very similar to when the WTO was launched. After 9.11, the Bush administration declared that 'War against Terrorism' will be committed on every level including economic front. And Bush's puppet, US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick echoed that free trade is the best way to fight terrorism. They have realized their first victory at the economic front through the WTO, not only by the on-going attack against Afghanistan people but also by the attack on people's rights of resistance, forcing every country to line with the US The US showed again its 'wonderful' capability to use the political situation - international coalition against terrorism - to one-sidedly reinforce the WTO system to the benefit of TNCs, with assistance from EU and Japanese imperialists.
Regardless of whether the New Round was actually launched or not, the 7-year of the WTO was a history of the destruction of livelihood rights and people's sovereignty. The negative effects of the WTO regime have already had effect on the Third World countries and world peoples. Small farmers all over the world have collapsed and lost their tool for survival because of the Agreement on Agriculture(AOA), which prevents member countries from giving domestic support and compel them to open their agricultural markets. Poor people cannot access vital medicines and are dying because of TNC's exclusive patent rights protected by TRIPs. And the GATS agreement destroy public sectors such as education, telecommunication, culture, health care and water. It is time for the people to fight back at the WTO and neoliberal globalization.
In Korea, there were not many and diverse participants in anti-WTO demonstrations until now. It was mostly farmers who were protesting the WTO, because of the liberalization of the rice market and cut in domestic supports which threaten their survival. However, other social and people's movements have little considered the WTO as their own issue. The disastrous effects of the WTO, such as liberalization of the public sector through the GATS, have been only exposed a little to the ordinary people. Facing this situation, KoPA is trying to expose various effects of the WTO and to build broad links that include various movements. In order to achieve this, KoPA and the Korea People's Solidarity will continue to organize struggles against the WTO. On December 5th, KoPA will organize a workshop on the effects of the New Round on Korean economy. On December 2nd, Korean people will reaffirm their demands of "No to WTO, No to New Round" in a mass People's Rally. We expect more and more people to join the anti-WTO front in the near future. Korean people's struggle against the WTO will never end!! [PICIS]
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