Consumers Domain
The relevance of IMF & World Bank
"I wonder if the journey will be short as I hope
or much longer than it seems,
but either way I've made up my mind..."
--from "Moving Forward" by Hoobastank
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) are two financial institutions that are supposedly envisioned to help poor countries especially those ravaged by the wars of the 20th century. However they have long become the mechanism by which developing countries are controlled by the industrialized countries led by the US and other G8 countries.
Mainly, it is through IMF and World Bank where poor South countries (Third World countries) are tied down by the bondage of debt. The loans extended by these financial institutions have been the instrument in controlling the economies of the developing world and imposing economic prescriptions for the interests of the big economies.
For decades now, people all over the world especially from the poorer countries have witnessed how the programs of IMF and World Bank have led to the growing disparities between the rich and poor. People are becoming angrier that social services that before were responsibilities of government and were accessible to the people, are now being privatized and converted into profit-oriented enterprise.
This week the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) will be holding its annual meeting in Singapore. Sadly, civil society groups are barred from holding protest activities which are basic rights to speech and assembly. Worse is that leaders of various groups which are vocal critiques of IMF and WB are barred by the Singaporean government to attend parallel conferences to show the impact of their programs to the grassroots communities and the economies of South countries as a whole.
Now this column would like to accommodate a joint Press Statement of civil society groups worldwide.
Dated September 8, 2006, the statement below was signed by the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) -- Philippines, Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) based in Indonesia, Jubilee South based in the Philippines, 50 Years is Enough coalition based in the US, Campagna per la Riforma della Banca Mondiale based in Italy and Friends of the Earth International based in Netherlands among others.
Civil society groups condemn civil society clampdown for Singapore World Bank/IMF meetings
Civil society groups worldwide have reacted angrily to the Singaporean government's ban on up to 20 delegates who plan to attend Bank/Fund annual meetings there next week. They have also condemned the pressure apparently brought by Singapore's government on the administration of neighbouring Batam, Indonesia, where a major civil society conference will be held next week. Yesterday it appeared that permission would not be granted for the conference, but today, following an international outcry, official sources in Jakarta confirmed it can go ahead.
Three years ago when the IMF & World Bank designated Singapore for their joint annual meetings civil society groups predicted these difficulties. Lidy Nacpil of Jubilee South commented "Singapore's thorough restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly are well known. The sounds of shock and disappointment from the IMF and World Bank cannot be taken seriously". "The IMF and World Bank are trying to shed their image as economic disciplinarians and reposition themselves as civil society-friendly and as good governance champions, but these events show how little they have changed", said Nacpil.
"Three years ago, we went through a similar ordeal when the World Bank chose to have its annual meetings in the Emirate of Dubai," said Sameer Dossani of the 50 Years Is Enough Network. "It seems that the only countries where the IMF and World Bank feel secure are those with no respect for human rights and civil liberties."
Antonio Tricarico of Campaign to Reform the World Bank, Italy -- one of the organisations whose staff are banned from going to the Singapore meeting said "Italian government representatives in Singapore contacted me to say that I would not be allowed entry to Singapore because I am on some kind of ‘black list'". Other organisations known to be on the banned include list INFID (Indonesia), Freedom from Debt Coalition (Philippines), FOCUS on the Global South, (Asia region) and World Development Movement (UK). These are all well-known groups committed to non-violent advocacy on economic justice issues.
The civil society outcry this week has reversed the announced ban on the International People's Forum in Batam,Indonesia, an island just 45 minutes from Singapore by ferry. Indonesian lead organisers INFID confirm that the conference will go ahead from September 15-17 -- just before the official meetings in Singapore. "Local and international organizers have been planning this conference for months," said Dian Kartikasari of INFID, an organizer of the event. "We are expecting over 1000 participants from more than 40 countries around the world. The conference will be a space to discuss opposition to neoliberal economic policies promoted by the IMF and World Bank and alternative models of people-centered development."
Civil society groups chose the location in Indonesia because of the notorious restrictions in Singapore and because of Indonesia's vibrant network of civil society groups and its own sour experience enduring IMF mistreatment during the East Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s.
As well as the events in Singapore and Indonesia civil society groups are planning a week of mobilisation against the World Bank and IMF in 74 countries between 14 and 20 September.
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