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NATIONAL
ALLIANCE OF PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT
C/O Chemical Mazdoor Sabha, Haji Habib Building,Naigoan
Cross Rd.
DADAR(EAST),MUMBAI 400014
June 12, 2000
SUPPORT THE PRAGUE ACTION AGAINST WORLD BANK -
IMF
AGAINST THE HEGEMONY OF CAPITAL AND FOR A SANE NEW WORLD
The People’s Organisations from all over India have protested on June
5th, the World Environment Day, against the proposed infamous port and
the police atrocities for the sake of the Multinational companies like
UNOCAL and NATELCO. The police had beaten and terrorised the men and
women on April 7, leading to the death of the main activist, Lt. Col.
Pratap Save on April 20. We consider this another victim of the so called
globalisation. Though the multinational company is of the controversial
project, another large conglomerate from India is out to encroach upon
the people’s rights. And we all are equally opposed to this. The one
incident shows the gravity and the complexity of the challenge of the
New
Capitalism. On June 5, therefore, there were nationwide protests and
opposition to the controversial port project. On June 12, hundreds of
fisherpeople have gathered in Delhi to reassert their right over the
water-bodies in the country and to oppose the multinational mega trawlers
in the sea. Our appal for joining the Prague action comes on the backdrop
of these recent developments.
This reinforces our resolve to resist the national and international
capitalism and the injustice, inequality and destruction in the name
of Development. We, the people’s movements of India reiterate our solidarity
with the global movement to oppose the multilateral agencies like World
Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organisation
(WTO). We express our total support for the action against these agencies,
that is being organised in Prague. We declare our opposition to the
policies and the project of the Capitalist powers and the pliant state.
Their policies do not represent the people’s will of our country. The
National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) has been protesting
against the Globalisation process that is being thrust upon the people
of our country and of all the Third World countries by the power elite
in collusion with the corporate giants and the multilateral agencies.
We declare that all of them will face stiff resistance in India and
in all
the countries in South Asia, if they try to bulldoze the people’s rights,
resources and democratic decision making processes.
For over a decade, the people in India have experienced the first effects
of the increasing onslaught of these forces. The supremacy of the Capital
has marginalised the human resources and natural resources and they
have been subservient to the money. People’s movements in India have
been resisting the previous economic and political processes of the
centralised, bureaucratic and corrupt regimes also. The ‘ the "New Economic
Policy" is but a powerful extension of the already existing policies.
In the new image of development, a virtual reality has been created
where the so-called information technology, entertainment
industry, consumerist production and export-import economy, which has
been hyped as the ‘progress’ and real economy. All this marginalises
the real issues and concerns of the common people- the issues of livelihood,
sustainability, land, water, agriculture, forests, the issues of freedom
from inequality, injustice and exploitation.
With the Globalisation, the Pepsi, Coke and bottled ‘pure’water became
the ‘in’ thing while the state has abandoned its responsibility to provide
safe drinking water in public places and in villages. The land, forest
are being handed over to the private interests and now there is proposal
to ‘privatise ’ the water bodies and water utilities. The multinational
mega-trawlers are wrecking havoc on the fishing communities and marine
ecology of the country while the dams, factories and other such projects
have been devouring the land, forests, creating unchecked pollution,
generate unbridled corruption and violation of the law of the land.
The public utilities, like roads, electricity, water supply are being
handed over to the private conglomerates. While we hold no brief for
the corrupt and inefficient bureaucrats and management of the public
enterprises; but the privatisation is no panacea for that, as they tend
to be more irresponsible and are dependent on the hidden subsidy of
public money and resources like land, water and finance. The multinational
and national capitalists invest in the sectors like power generation
and oil extraction, only with either the state guarantee of benefit
(escrow account) or the inflated prices. The public corporations are
being crippled for their sake. We want the efficient, responsible public
utilities.
The increasing corporatisation is having adverse environmental and social
impacts. The coastal lands, hinterlands, water-bodies and forests are
being made free for the pollution, over extraction and outright destruction
of the natural resources of this country. The Ministry of Environment
has been made subservient to the Ministries of Power, Industry and Water
Resources. The private and multinational companies have been violating
the environmental norms with impunity. The statutory bodies like Pollution
Control Board in the state have been made powerless. Thousands of the
chemical and hazardous industrial units have been polluting the riverbanks
and coastlines like in Konkan and Gujarat. They have become
dumping grounds and production grounds of hazardous and unwanted products
in the Developed countries under the garb of development, posing a threat
to natural resources and lives of the people.
The rights of the Third World people are being seriously curtailed in
such unequal treaties. Agricultural economics, food security and the
indigenous seeds are jeopardised due to the unequal treaties imposed
as a result of the WTO. Recently, Indian government lifted import restrictions
on hundreds of agricultural products, including wheat. Much before the
Agreement on Agriculture is brought in the USA, the Indian agriculturist
has been facing the import of the ‘cheap’ wheat, sugar and palm oil.
As it is, the agriculture has been a losing proposition. The Indian
agriculturists do get far less state support in comparison with the
agriculture in USA or Europe. The WTO regime wants the further cut in
state support and making way for the easy import of the agricultural
products. This has been a double attack on Indian agriculture. It seems
that the MNCs and agencies have been trying to achieve through other
means, what they failed to get done at Seattle Conclave of the World
Trade
Organisation (WTO) in November, 1999
Instead of the necessary foodgrains, our lands are being corporatised
and are used for export oriented crops, which are again meant for urban-industrial
market in and outside country. The food security and bio-diversity of
the country is threatened with the disingenuous patent regime and corporate
agribusiness, which tend to usurp the rights of the farmers and common
knowledge base into the hands of the people.
We unequivocally
stand for the labour rights and for the environmental protection; but
we have no illusion that the hypocritical concern for these issues by
the developed countries, in the form of labour and environmental standards,
is a ploy to protect the commercial interests.
The entire gamut of ‘globalisation’ and WTO kind of development has
been usurping the resources like land, water and water bodies from the
hands of the people in this country and has been resulting in squeezing
of the employment opportunities, causing large scale retrenchment and
unemployment.
The priorities of the state have shifted from the well-being and protection
of the interests of the common people to the safeguarding the interests
of the capitalist powers. The government is acquiring the land and other
natural resources in the hands of the people and communities in the
name of ‘public purpose’ and handing them down to the companies. As
has happened in the case of Enron Power project in Maharashtra and Maheshwar
in Madhya Pradesh, the state police and administration was used to protect
the interests of the private companies, suppress the people’s protest
against the companies.
The laws and rules of this country are being changed to facilitate the
free play of the capital. Long before the Multilateral Agreement on
Investment becomes a reality, the Indian government has been changing
the laws regarding the labour, agriculture, land acquisition, displacement,
environment and patents. There is a move to change the land acquisition
act with the corresponding changes in the laws regarding displacement
and rehabilitation. The purpose is to make the lands available far more
easily for the companies in the days of globalisation.
The WTO and ‘free trade’ hype has been eroding the already minimal decision-making
powers in the hands of local and national institutions. Decisions have
been taken somewhere else and the people and people’s organisations
in this country are not at all being informed, let alone consulted.
Laws are being changed and the rights of the people are being curtailed.
The Parliament, state legislatures have become the ineffective bodies,
which agree to every stipulation dished out by the bureaucracy, couched
as experts. The business community and multinational corporations have
a free access in the corridors of powers; they form the consultative
and advisory bodies attached with finance and industry ministries; but
not
a single people’s movement or organisation has been seriously consulted
on the basic issues of economy and policy. This has been the serious
erosion of the rights of the marginalised section and their organisations
in real policy making of this country. The people’s movements, particulalry
those opposing the globalisation agenda, are being increasingly suppressed
in every part of the country.
We make it clear that the present policies of Indian government and
the bureaucrats, their cohorts in big business and big media do not
represent the priorities and concerns, opinions of billions of Indians.
Their decisions, policies and projects are being opposed and will be
resisted tooth and nail by the Indian people. We warn the Indian government,
all the big business, multilateral conglomerates and multilateral financial
agencies that any attempt to further usurp the rights and resources
of the people will result in fierce resistance.
Number of alternatives to the present development mania have been emerging
out of the efforts of number of groups all over our country – to create
decentralised, sustainable, equitable and peaceful, non-violent world.
However, we assert that we will have to oppose the present destructive
development pattern, to safeguard, encourage and spread these sane and
safe alternatives.
We will keep trying for the New International economic, political and
ecological order, based on equality, justice and democratic decision
making. We consider that opposing the hegemony of these capitalist powers
is a precondition of a Sane New World. We express our solidarity with
the people’ s organisations all over the world in opposing this hegemony
and resolve to create a humane and sustainable world.
The NAPM has been active against the Globalisation, Privatisation and
Liberalization, which in effect are the free run for the capitalists.
In the recently held Third National Convention of the Alliance at Chhota
Badada, on the banks of Narmada, about 350 delegates from seventy
orgnisations from all over India, decided to extend the solidarity to
this action in Washington on April 16. The National Executive meeting
at Jaipur in May, has declared support for the S-26, Prague Action.
On September 28, the organisations throughout India remember the martyrdom
of the senior trade unioninst Shankar Guha Niyogi of Chhattisgarh Mukti
Morcha, who was murdered at the behest of the industrialists. He and
his organisation had started a new trade unionism, which included the
health, education and anti-addiction campaign among the labourers. The
CMM has been a strong and multi faceted movement of the unorganised
labour. On September 28, 1989, over 300 organisations in India had gathered
at Harsud, in the Narmada valley, to declare opposition to the prevalent
model of destructive, unsustainable and unjust development. The Prague
Action comes around these events and the organisations in India have
linked the actions at local level with the Prague Action.
We stand for the people’s rule, resources in the hands of communities,
equality and freedom from exploitation. We stand for a sustainable and
creative existence of human being and the nature.
In Solidarity,
NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF PEOPLE’S MOVEMENTS
AND ALL THE ALLIED PEOPLE’S MOVEMENTS IN INDIA.
Contacts
Thomas Kocherry – National Coordinator (nff@md2.vsnl.net.in)
Sanjay Mangala Gopal- National Co-coordinator (admin@sanjay.ilbom.ernet.in)
Medha Patkar – National Convenor (medhapatkar@vsnl.com)
Vimal- National Convenor (napmdel@ndf.vsnl.net.in)
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