[Kabar-indonesia] 4 JP Reports: Activists Condemn IMF-WB Policies [+Editorial; WTO Talks]

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

4 JP reports (+AFP, AP): 

- Activists condemn IMF-WB policies 

- NGOs urge nations to keep close 
  watch on WB and IMF 

- Editorial: Public Space 

- Developed countries pledge US$5b 
  in trade aid for poor nations 

- Singapore PM silent on controversy 
  over activists

- World officials gather in Australia to 
  jump-start stalled WTO trade talks 

The Jakarta Post
Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Activists condemn IMF-WB policies 

Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam

photo: Anti-IMF Protest: Hundreds of protesters from the People's Movement 
Against Neocolonialism protest Monday in front of Merdeka Palace in Central 
Jakarta. Calling the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank profiteers, 
they urged the government to implement development programs without funding 
from the organizations. (JP/Arief Suhardiman) 

Activists have criticized the lack of transparency in World Bank and IMF 
policy-making and accused the Singaporean government of violating human rights by 
preventing activists from attending the meetings of the two financial bodies 
in the city-state.

The joint statement was made Monday at a pressconference in Batam, Riau 
Islands, the day after the activists ended their alternative IMF-WB meetings. 

Police had earlier prohibited the International NGO Forum on Indonesian 
Development (INFID) from holding a press conference Monday. 

INFID's executive director Donatus K. Marut said they had been told it was 
too late to hold a press conference because the event had already finished. 

"But I told them it was impossible to hold a press conference Sunday night, 
right after the forum had ended," he said, adding that police finally agreed 
after being told that many of the participants had returned home. 

In their joint statement, the activists demanded the financial bodies shift 
to 100 percent grants rather than multilateral loans and called for an open and 
transparent audit of their lending and policies. 

They urged the two institutions not to force policies that undermined the 
economic supremacy of a country, which would "worsen the crises in the education 
and health sectors". 

They also demanded an end to the privatization of public services and to the 
bodies' involvement in projects that harm the environment. 

The activists are considering taking legal action against the Singapore 
government. 

Donatus said they were gathering evidence to take the case to the 
International Court of Justice. 

Shalmali Guttal from non-governmental organization Focus on the Global South 
India, said they would not stay quiet over the Singapore government's 
treatment of fellow activists. 

In the past 11 days, Singapore deported 12 activists to their home countries. 
Eleven of them did not have official accreditation to attend the IMF-WB 
meetings, while one had his accreditation withdrawn after his arrival at 
Singapore's Changi Airport en route to Batam, a 40-minute ferry ride from Singapore, 
activists at the Batam forum said. 

The organizers of the forum said Sunday that another 27 activists who lacked 
accreditation had been warned they might be questioned or turned away on 
arrival at the airport. Nine others were questioned at Changi before being released 
in Singapore. 

On Monday, the Singapore government deported two Indonesian activists who 
were planning to hold a press conference in the city-state to criticize IMF-WB 
agricultural policy. 

Two members of the Indonesian Farmers Federation (FSPI) -- Irma Yanni and 
Achmad Yakub, both of whom lacked meetings accreditation -- were detained on 
arrival at Changi on Sunday and held for about 12 hours. 

Their luggage was searched, they were questioned and their photographs and 
fingerprints taken before being put on a flight back to Jakarta early Monday, 
Irma told Reuters. "I'm very angry about this, I'm not a criminal," Yanni said. 

Singapore police declined to comment. 

In Batam, Peter Hardstaff, head of policy at the World Development Movement 
(WDM), regretted British finance minister Gordon Brown's praise of the 
Singapore government's solid preparations for the IMF-WB meetings. 

"At a time when 2,000 activists were barred from entering Singapore to attend 
the IMF-WB annual meetings, Britain's finance minister praises Singapore. 
It's very ironic," Hardstaff said. 

--------------------------------

The Jakarta Post
Tuesday, September 19, 2006

NGOs urge nations to keep close watch on WB and IMF 

Andi Haswidi, The Jakarta Post, Batam

Some 500 activists gathering in Batam grouped under the International Peoples 
Forum called Monday on all nations to hold international financial 
institutions (IFIs) such as the IMF and World Back fully accountable for the social 
impact they have on developing countries.

"We call on the governments, members of the World Bank and the IMF Board of 
Directors, to keep these institutions fully accountable for their impact on 
human rights, equity, and the sustainability of development," Ravindranath of the 
Jubilee South said representing the forum. 

"We find the World Bank and IMF responsible for policies and actions that 
lead to the intensification of poverty and deprivation, the undermining of 
national sovereignty and democratic governance, and the subversion of the right to 
development," he added. 

The forum contended that IMF and World Bank policy advice and loans have 
constricted the ability of developing countries to craft their own development 
paths and that trade liberalization was at times oversold as an antipoverty 
strategy which often resulted in unintended fiscal consequences and social costs. 

"We stress the urgent need for 100 percent cancellation of multilateral debt, 
transparent and participatory external audits of IFIs lending and policies, 
prevention of the imposition of policy conditions that undermine economic 
sovereignty and exacerbate crisis in health and education, discontinuing the 
privatization of public services and ending IFI involvement in environmentally 
destructive projects," Ravindranath said. 

The world's major financial leaders have long implicitly acknowledged the 
shortcomings of the two institutions. One example was the statement of Robert 
Rubin when he tenured as the U.S. Secretary of Treasury back in the late 
nineties, saying that governments had to modernize the architecture of international 
finance. 

The current internal reform agenda rolled by the IMF clearly shows how the 
institution is trying to cope with a legitimacy crisis. 

Yet, many activists in the forum including key figures such as Walden Bello, 
a professor and an author on political economics, see the reform merely as an 
agenda to "discipline" emerging economies in Asia, especially China, with whom 
many developed countries have suffered a trade deficit. 

The forum successfully demonstrated to the world how the diverse civil 
society organizations were able to voice their in-depth criticism in a peaceful and 
civilized manner. 

In contrast to the peaceful event, while hosting the IMF-WB meet, the 
Singaporean government has demonstrated security measures that have been deemed as a 
violation of human rights. 

Reports and testimonies received by the forum indicate that at least 54 
individuals were banned from entering Singapore or merely transiting before going 
to Batam for the forum. Not all of them were activists, as some were merely 
guest speakers scheduled to present materials for the many sessions in the forum. 

Testimonies revealed that these people were detained at the Changi Airport -- 
some were even subjected to custodial interrogation for 38 hours and harsh 
treatment. 

As a response, the forum plans to take legal action against the alleged 
unlawful treatment and has proposed a plan to launch a massive propaganda program 
promoting a global economic boycott of the city-state. 

The forum has yet to decide on the form of the boycott or legal action. 

-----------------------------------

The Jakarta Post
Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Editorial

Public Space 

Singapore was in the headlines last week, mostly for reasons that any 
government would be less than enthusiastic about. For it took the strict requirements 
for entry into the city-state, including a blacklist of would-be visitors, to 
put the spotlight on its government and hundreds of non-governmental 
organizations set to attend the IMF-World Bank meetings, or related events, there. 

If Singapore was not altogether proud of the coverage, neither was anyone 
else. Enough news and views on what the financial bodies want had been processed, 
along with the messages of country delegates. 

But what were the protests all about other than shouting to get in, and 
eventually, shouting to stay out of the IMF-WB events and Singapore? In the end, 
the general public was disadvantaged, because it likely failed to grasp the 
issues raised by the activists. 

In the past few decades, networking among NGOs has enabled them to regularly 
hold discussions and campaigns parallel to or prior to the events of 
international bodies. The responses of institutions like the IMF, the Bank and the 
World Trade Organization have also facilitated a mechanism that accommodates the 
participation of civil society representatives in their meetings. Access to 
their policy papers and reports have also been made easier in the past few years. 

Details of the IMF-WB talks aside, the main message in this regard is the 
mutual recognition of the necessity of public participation in decision-making 
processes that affect everyone's lives. 

They are too crucial to be left to the elite alone, although many would 
happily leave the technical jargon and discourse to the men and women in suits. 

This message has been much slower to reach governments, as we saw last week. 
Although not as frank as Singapore, other governments are also anxious about 
rowdy activists who care zero about protocol and niceties. Violent incidents 
have certainly helped to give a bad name to activists, from Seattle to 
Singapore. Acts of anarchy are what people remember most, unfortunately, about 
movements and organizations raising counter views to the establishment; the hard work 
that goes into position papers and studies by NGOs and their scholars are 
drowned in the clamor. 

Governments like Singapore's may have tried to be selective and refrained 
from making blanket accusations about activists. But the resulting blacklist 
still failed to be convincing in regards to whether the people mentioned, 
including researchers, were a threat to "security and order, and whether they now have 
criminal records. 

The arguments of these activists may be unsettling, distasteful, radical, or 
ring refreshingly true, depending on one's perspective. What is evident is 
they are making a start on examining the other side of the policies of world 
institutions and governments -- the impact on the people. 

Whatever "agenda" one suspects the activists have, their work with the grass 
roots of society enables them to look closely at, for instance, fancy economic 
models and statistics -- and the people in them; whether they be farmers, 
traders or workers. 

In failing to accommodate their views, we are robbed of an opportunity to be 
informed as much as possible by different sources. 

Many may appreciate the government's efforts to spare citizens from traffic 
jams and rowdy rallies that could turn ugly. The curious among us can still 
look at the websites of civil society organizations that intended to share their 
views during and prior to the IMF-WB meetings. 

But this means there is still much room for governments to cater to a public 
that feels entitled to make its own judgments, based on access to information 
and knowledgeable sources -- on any issue. 

Particularly when it comes to matters that concern our livelihoods, this 
requires a less patronizing attitude, and again, the facilitation of freedom of 
expression. 

----------------------------------

The Jakarta Post
Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Developed countries pledge US$5b in trade aid for poor nations 

Riyadi Suparno and Benget Simbolon Tnb., 
The Jakarta Post, Singapore, Jakarta

Finance and development ministers gathered in Singapore for the International 
Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings pledged Monday to assemble 
over US$5 billion a year in aid for trade and resume stalled trade talks by 
the end 
of the year.

The ministers grouped in the development committee of the bank and the IMF 
expressed concerns over the de facto suspension of the Doha trade negotiations, 
and called on major trading members of the World Trade Organization to resume 
the talks by the end of the year. 

Sofjan Wanandi, president of the Indonesian Manufacturers Association, hailed 
the committee's commitment, saying the financial aid was important to help 
developing countries improve their infrastructure to enable them to compete in 
the free market. 

"The money is of course not enough for developing countries. But I think it's 
good as an initial step," said Sofjan, who was invited by the IMF's finance 
committee to speak Sunday at a special discussion on globalization with 
business leaders from developing countries. 

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, who is also the chairman of 
the International Monetary and Financial Committee of the IMF, said more than 
$5 billion in aid for trade had been committed by donor countries to help 
developing countries build their infrastructure and capacity to trade. 

According to Brown, European countries and the European Commission will 
increase their assistance to a total of 2 billion euros a year by 2010. Japan has 
promised $10 billion over three years and the U.S. a total of $2.7 billion a 
year by 2010. 

"The UK calls for all countries to turn their commitment into concrete and 
credible financing, within a new `aid for trade' framework," Brown said. 

Sofjan said developed countries realized there was opposition from developing 
countries to globalization due to the imbalances that have so far resulted 
from the system. 

"Globalization is a reality, but it is increasingly seen by the people in 
developing countries as a bitter reality," he said. 

He noted that since the Asian financial crisis in late 1997 it has become 
much harder for the Indonesian government to pursue a globalization strategy 
because of dwindling support at home. 

"Criticism of the IMF's involvement in the recovery program became 
widespread. The high and unfairly distributed cost of the crisis, the slow economic 
recovery and increased poverty and unemployment were all seen as indications of 
the failure of the globalization strategy," he said. 

That is why, he said, a number of efforts must be taken by the government, 
with support from international financial institutions, including the IMF, to 
ensure globalization becomes more acceptable to the public. 

He said there was a need for governments to strengthen their role in the 
provision of physical and social infrastructure, including education, health and 
other public services, especially for lower income people. 

"Therefore, improved public governance is key to correcting the image that 
globalization only benefits the privileged few," he said. 

Negotiations of the Doha Development Round were suspended indefinitely 
following the United States' refusal to give even an indication that it might 
further cut farm subsidies. 

Almost all ministers speaking at the development committee meeting Monday, 
including U.S. Secretary of Treasury Henry M. Paulson, Jr., supported the 
resumption of the trade talks. 

"It is encouraging to see the international financial institutions voicing 
their strong support for an ambitious Doha Round outcome," Paulson said. 

He said the U.S. had begun to implement its pledge to double its trading 
related commitments, with aid-for-trade accounts for roughly two thirds of the 
total funding in its Millennium Challenge Corporation Compacts. 

Also speaking at the development committee meeting was Indonesian Finance 
Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, representing 11 Asian and Pacific countries. The 
minister also called for the speedy resumption of the trade talks, and said 
that "aid for trade should not be seen as a substitute for the Doha Round". 

Aid for trade serves as an important complement to a completed Doha 
Development Round that promises more benefits to developing countries, as the name 
suggests, Sri Mulyani said. 

Speaking to journalists earlier, Brown was upbeat the Doha Round would resume 
by the end of the year, as demanded by the development committee as well as 
the International Monetary and Financial Committee which he chairs. 

------------------------------------


AFP, Sept. 19, 2006

Singapore PM silent on controversy over activists

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong stayed silent over a controversy 
concerning foreign activists when he took the spotlight at the opening of the 
IMF-World Bank annual meetings.

Giving the opening address before about 1,000 delegates inside a cavernous 
convention hall, Lee made no mention of the issue which World Bank President 
Paul Wolfowitz earlier said caused "enormous damage" to Singapore's reputation.

Wolfowitz and IMF managing director Rodrigo Rato sat on stage with three 
other officials of the financial institutions as Lee delivered his speech on 
global economic trends, his image projected onto two giant screens.

Rato and Wolfowitz both made direct appeals to Lee last week to admit the 27 
activists whose accreditation Singapore had opposed on security grounds. 

The 27 were among hundreds of activists which the Bank and Fund had 
accredited as part of a long-standing dialogue between the financial institutions and 
their critics.

Some of the 27 had been involved in violence at earlier international 
meetings, Singapore said before it partly reversed position late Friday and said 22 
would be admitted.

The bank continued to press for all 27 to be allowed entry.

Activists said Singapore's position reinforced the city-state's image as a 
restrictive society, despite its economic success.

Delegates who heard Lee's speech said there was no need for him to address 
the controversy over the activists.

"He did not talk about it and I think this isn't the place to talk about 
those things. It's for economic and development questions," said Antonio Salvador 
from Equatorial Guinea.

Raj Pratap Singh, an Indian delegate, called Lee's speech excellent and said 
each country has to handle issues of free speech in their own way.

"Well you know we are the guests here in Singapore and we must respect their 
opinion about how they handle these issues," Singh said.

Political stability has been the bedrock of the economic success of the 
city-state, which grew from a Third World country to become one of Asia's 
wealthiest nations in just one generation.

Critics say this came at a price, in the form of restrictions on freedom of 
speech and political activity.

Shortly after Lee spoke, local democracy campaigner Chee Soon Juan ended his 
three-day standoff with Singapore police at a local park.

They blocked him on Saturday when he tried to leave a government-designated 
free speech area in the park for a march to the IMF-World Bank convention 
centre and the local parliament.

Despite appeals by the World Bank, Singapore refused to waive its 
long-standing protest restrictions during the meetings.

Any public gathering of five people or more without a police permit is deemed 
illegal.

Police have defended their strict security measures, saying Singapore is a 
high-profile "terrorist" target.

-------------------------------------

World officials gather in Australia to jump-start stalled trade talks 

CAIRNS, Australia, Sept. 19 (AP): Trade officials from 18 agricultural 
nations began gathering Tuesday in Australia in hope of jump-starting stalled World 
Trade Organization talks, which developing countries say are critical to 
lifting millions of people out of poverty.

The 20th anniversary meeting of the Cairns Group ofagricultural trading 
nations was set to start Wednesday in the northeastern Australian city of Cairns.

The Cairns group members are Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, 
Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, 
Pakistan, Paraguay, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand and Uruguay.

The group was formed in August 1986 to lobby for the removal of global farm 
trade barriers. Its first meeting was held in Cairns. The bloc is led by 
Australia, which also helps administer the group.

Officials at the meeting will aim to breathe new life into the Doha Round of 
WTO talks, suspended in July largely over a disagreement on how to reduce 
agricultural subsidies and tariffs.

The Doha Round, named after the Qatari capital where they began in 2001, has 
been billed as the WTO's "development round," with dozens of developing and 
agricultural trading nations calling for dramatic cuts in cut farm trade 
barriers that they say limit their access to markets.

They say extensive reforms are needed to level theinternational playing field 
for trade, and to create opportunities that will lift millions of poor 
farmers out of poverty. 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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