International Campaign

on Illegitimate Debt

Issue 4, October 31, 2007 English version. Version française / español disponible.

Week of Global Action vs Debt and IFIs OCTOBER 14 to 21

The bulletin received a few articles and pictures of activities for the Week of Global Action vs Debt and IFIs. In addition to the articles below, we are also attaching the complete list of activities as posted in the website debtweek.org and/or submitted to the debtweek steering committee.

* Continental Mobilization Of The Indigenous Peoples Of Abya Yala

October 12, in the historic capital of Tawantinsuyo, the pututos launched their cries of historic resistance to heaven and this sound reached all the people of the Abya Yala, to unite them in one continental voice that has decided to pass from resistance into construction of power.

In Peru, mobilizations were all over the country. The central act of the Mobilization on October 12 was held in Cuzo. Launching the historic claim to respect collective rights, against the invasion begun 515 years ago, and that today continues under the guise of imposed neoliberal economic models, sacking by the transnational companies and commercial agreements.

Also in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile and Ecuador, the people and the communities marched to the Capitols, making their voices, songs, dances and feelings felt, that they will unite the indigenous peoples and nations of all the continents, strengthening among themselves.

* PHILIPPINES

The following activities were held during the week-long action against Illegitimate Debt, Unfair Trade, and Worsening Poverty

October 14 – Opening: Creative and symbolic action against Illegitimate Debt, Unfair Trade, and Worsening Poverty.

October 15 – World Rural Women’s Day – mobilization and dialogue at Department of Agriculture; Faith-based Congress Against Illegtimate Debt; National Conference and Launching of the Report “Slow Trade – Sound Farming: A Proposal to Reform the International Trading Regime”; Foodtography: Lights on Hunger, Rights to Food

October 17 – Workers’ March against IFI’s Privatization Program and Violation of Workers’ Rights; Stand Up and Speak Out Against Poverty and Inequality (GCAP-Philippines)

October 18 – Climate Change and Poverty Day - solar café, photo exhibit, and forum by Greenpeace Southeast Asia and basic orientation on climate change by PNCC to grade six pupils of St. Joseph College

October 19 – Dramatic action at the World Bank Office; Forum: Unmasking Aid for Trade; Roundtable Discussion on Hunger Mitigation Program

October 20 – South – South Dialogue with Marcos Arruda of Brazil (sponsored by FDC and Jubilee South); Solidarity Night against illegitimate debt, unfair trade, and worsening poverty

* JAPAN

ATTAC Japan used the week of global action as an opportunity to kick off the process to cancel illegitimate debt. An open seminar was held on social movements in Central and South America against neoliberalism where the Bank of South as a clear alternative to IFIs will be on the agenda. The seminar served as starting point for debt cancellation campaign hopefully contributing to the success of making the Japanese government write off around the G8 Summit planned in Japan next July.

* WORLD vs BANK – European Campaign on the World Bank

The World Bank Campaign Europe held a public hearing on the World Bank in co-operation with the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal October 15 in The Hague, Netherlands, one week before the Annual Meetings of the World Bank.

2007 is the year where donor governments negotiate the 15th replenishment of funds to the concessional arm of the World Bank, the International Development Association (IDA). The conclusions of the Hearing will put donor governments under pressure to set more precise objectives for how taxpayers’ aid money should be spent, and to audit performance on a regular basis. The documentation of the Hearing will also provide a solid source to feed an intensive debate about the future of the organisation, the current development model and potential alternatives.

Witnesses from all Southern continents gave testimonies of the impacts of World Bank policies and practices, especially in the areas of conditionalities and fossil fuel project funding. Well-known and respected experts drafted a declaration presented in a press conference the next morning.

Witnesses included Gonzalo Salgado, National Consumer Defence Network, Nicaragua; Miguel Palacin, CONACAMI Peru; Collins Magalasi, Action Aid Malawi; Temo Tamboura from, CAD Mali; Svetlana Anosova, Berezovka Initiative Group, Kazakhstan; Michael Karikpo, Environmental Rights Action, Nigeria.

Members of the Expert Panel were Maartje van Putten (Former member of the World Bank Inspection Panel); Francesco Martone (Senator, Italy); Elmar Altvater (Political economist Germany); Medha Patkar (Founder of the National Alliance of People's Movements, India); Charles Abugre (Development Economist, Ghana)

Other Speakers at the Tribunal were Antonio Tricarico and Lidy Nacpil for introductory remarks.

You can cast a vote on the website www.worldbankcampaigneurope.org to tell your development minister to act now and to seriously question and change World Bank policies. Change cannot wait!

* UNITED KINGDOM

JDC’s Lift the Lid Campaign

In July, Jubilee Debt Campaign held a public meeting in Parliament, which heard first hand testimony from Haiti and DRC on the effects of illegitimate debts, and promoted the campaign to identify and cancel illegitimate debts in the UK. It discussed the roles that MPs and campaigners must play to ensure transparency and responsibility in future development lending.

The meeting heard from Colette Lespinasse, Director of GARR Haiti, and Mfuni Kazadi, Co-ordinator of CDERDC, on the experience of illegitimate debt burdens on people in their countries. Jubilee Debt Campaign presented its Lift the Lid campaign’s demands for the investigation of past lending, and the cancelling of debts resulting from irresponsible lending: to corrupt and oppressive governments, on unfair terms, or to benefit companies in the North and not the people of the South. MPs were encouraged to sign the Parliamentarians’ Declaration for Responsibility in Sovereign Lending, as part of preventing unjust and unpayable debts from building up in the future.

For the Global Debt Week, Jubilee Debt Campaign campaigners lobbied their MPs on illegitimate debts, to sign the Parliamentarians’ Declaration and to put more pressure on the UK Government to investigate past lending.

Jubilee Scotland Vigil against Indonesian Arms Debt 14-19 Oct

As part of the global debt week, Jubilee Scotland held a 6-day dawn till dusk vigil in Edinburgh to campaign for the cancellation of arms debt owed by Indonesia to the UK government. Nearly $1 billion is owed through the UK Export Credit Guarantee Department for the sale of Hawk Aircraft and Armoured Personnel Carriers in the 1990s. These arms were sold to the ex-dictator General Suharto and used against both pro-democracy protesters and in the massacres in East Timor. The vigil is part of a wider campaign for the UK to cancel this illegitimate debt and to highlight how the arms trade fuels the international debt crisis

For more information go to <http://www.jubileescotland.org.uk/>

and to see the online video petition please go to http://www.youtube.com/jubileescot

* SPAIN: Who Owes Who?

An ample group of organizations and social movements have united under the motto “Who owes Who?”, at the assembly of the “Week of Global Action Against Debt and IFI’s” from October 14-21 in a dozen Spanish cities. Madrid, Gran Canaria, Badajoz, Murcia, Palencia, Córdoba, Asturias, Barcelona, Manresa, Tarragona, Gavà, Castelldefels or Sabadell are some of the places where civil society has mobilized to organize actions, conferences, marches and many other activities, in various places in coordination with the mobilizations of the Day of Global Action Against Poverty.

In Barcelona, the Week of Global Action Against Debt and IFIs urged people to analyze debt from three perspectives: financial, ecological and social through presentation by prestigious speakers from the North and the South, testimony, documentaries and participatory activities. The 5-day activity aimed to deepen the understanding of the problem, generate awareness about it’s causes and consequences, foment debate that brings people closer to diverse and enriching opinions and experiences and promote alternative proposals.

* CADTM Activities

1. Thomas Sankara Concert

October 15, 1987, the President of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara, was assassinated for rising up against the domination of the powers of the North. During its short political career, he brought major achievements in favour of his people by positioning himself in particular for: the non payment of the debt; the fight against corruption, food self-sufficiency; women's liberation; the fight against imperialism.

To commemorate with force the 20th birthday of the death of the African Che Guevara, the CADTM (Committee for the Abolition of the Thirld World Debt) and the GTS (Group Thomas Sankara of Liege) organized a militant concert last October 13, 2007 KENY ARKANA with KAER & MIGONE (Starflam) as guests.

For more info on Keny Arkana: www.keny-arkana.com For more info on the CADTM: www.cadtm.org

Join the GTS of Liege: www.groupesankara.be Contact:

2. CADTM Congo Brazzaville

The CADTM Brazza runs an important action of consciousness-raising in the media on the question of debt and debt audits. On DRTV, 2nd chain of Congo Brazzaville, it took part in a debate of 3 people on the topic "Debt of Africa, between debt burden, financial trap and impoverishment", during a one hour and a half programme entitled "Challenges and Strategies". The program was broadcast last Saturday, September 22 at 8pm, was aired again on Monday 24 and broadcast 4 other times in the following week. Discussed were: the history of the debt, SAP and their impact on everyday life, the economy and finances of the country, the HIPC initiative, and debt audit.

On Saturday, October 7, on DRTV, a one hour programme, entitled "Challenges and Strategies", featured APASH/CADTM Brazza on the topic "HIPC, a fool’s bargain", a follow up on the departure of the IMF delegation. No agreement could be found between the IMF and the Congolese State, which refuses to stop subsidising its oil refinery (and thus refuses an increase in the fuel prices) as the IMF requires.

3. CADTM Ivory Coast

The FNDP (National Forum on Debt and Poverty), member of the CADTM network, organized various activities of consciousness-raising during the global week of action against debt and IFIs. On October 14, a declaration against debt and IFIs was read during the television news programme. From October 15 to October 19, animations and conferences were organized across important places of the city of Abidjan (i.e. universities, parliaments). This program aims to increasing consciousness among the population of Ivory Coast and to draw the attention of the IFIs’ representatives in Ivory Coast to the consequences of the debt.

4. Seminar on the International Debt Observatory

CADTM organized in Namur (Belgium) a three –day seminar (from the 15 to October 17, 2007) for a comprehensive understanding of the debt within the framework of the International Observatory of the Debt. The program included sessions on how to read and understand technical documents, discussions on the link between external debt and internal debt.

This formation was followed by a strategic meeting of the members of the OID, October 18 in Brussels. For information and registration please contact:

* Switzerland

The CETIM (Center of Europe and Third World) organized a symposium about international cooperation, development, development and aid, ALBA, Bank of the South, and Debt audits from the 7th to the 9th of December.

Contact: Julie Duchatel and Florian Rochat

* USA - Jubilee USA Network

For Jubilee USA, The Cancel Debt Fast campaign was the central event of the 2007 Sabbath Year. It was a nation-wide, 40 day rolling fast calling for cancellation of unfair and illegitimate debts and for more responsible lending. The fast ran from September 6 – October 15, 2007. Rev. David Duncombe, a retired United Church of Christ minister who led similar fasts in 1999 and 2000, engaged in a 46-day water only fast to help persuade Congress to support the Jubilee Act for Expanded Debt Cancellation and Responsible Lending.

The Cancel Debt Fast campaign was a success. Since the launch of the campaign on September 6th -

·  At least 18,000 people fasted with David for a day or more and contacted their Member of Congress in support of the Jubilee Act. At least 8,000 women religious participated and more than 10,000 Jubilee supporters from 33 states sent in paper plates stating they are “Hungry for justice” to their Member of Congress.

·  27 new U.S. Representatives signed on as new co-sponsors of the Jubilee Act.

·  A legislative hearing on the Jubilee Act has been scheduled in the House Financial Services Committee for November 8.

·  35 high-profile authors, religious leaders and political leaders including Nobel Laureates Wangari Maathai and Adolfo Perez Esquivel, 5 Members of Congress, and 2 former African presidents joined or endorsed the fast.

·  Major press outlets have taken notice of the fast and the debt issue, including the Washington Post, Religion News Service, the Christian Post, the Boston Globe, and Sojourners.

·  Bi-partisan Jubilee legislation (S. 2166) was introduced in the US Senate on October 16th, and in its first week, it garnered 10 co-sponsors. Several presidential candidates as well as the Chairman and Ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are among the Senate bill’s original co-sponsors, and a hearing is in the works there as well.

·  The ONE campaign made the campaign a key priority and a focus of the Stand Up, and generated 48,000 letters and more than 4,000 calls to Congress from grassroots supporters in a single day in support of the Jubilee Act.

Jubilee USA achieved its main policy goals for 2007: the scheduling of a hearing on the Jubilee Act in the House and the introduction of companion legislation in the US Senate -- as a result of the fast.

For more information about the fast at www.jubileeusa.org and about the Jubilee Act, including the text of the bills, at http://www.jubileeusa.org/jubilee-act.html

Other Activities and Developments

Ecuador and Bolivia: Debt and the New Constitution (LATINDADD)

It is important to achieve a new Constitution that incorporates language for a sovereign policy on debt according to national interests.