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INDIA AND THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

In January [1997] the IMF called on India to get rid of her remaining import restrictions and scale back her import tarifs which are among the highest in Asia. The WTO, speaking with the voice of India's main trading competitors, argued that these import controls were no longer needed as India's successful integration into the New Economic Order continues. more..

THE CARAVAN'S ITINERARY

This itinerary was developed in a participatory manner in the meeting in Cologne. Further details, including specific actions, meetings, and the destination for smaller side trips, will be finalised in the coming weeks.

Date Place where main caravan will go, and proposed side trips
Sat 22 May
Arrival in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Sun 23 May - Thu 27 May
Meetings and actions around the Netherlands. Possibility of side trips, involving only some of the activists to:UK and Scandinavia
Thu 27 - Sun 30 May
Meetings and actions in Belgium. For Mother Earth Peace Camp '2000 Walk for Disarmament'. Possibility of side trips to UK
Mon 31 May
Travel to France
Tue 1 June-Tue 8 June
Meetings and actions around France. Possibility of side trips to Italy and Spain. Part of Caravan to Cologne, Germany, for EU summit (Saturday 5-Sunday 6 June)
Sat 5 - Sun 6 June
Part of Caravan in Cologne, Germany, for the EU summit
Tue 8 June
Travel to Switzerland
Wed 9 June -Tue 15 June
Meetings and Actions in Switzerland. Possibility of side trips to Austria, Czech Republic, Poland or Italy
Tue 15 June
Travel to Germany
Frid 18-Sat 19
G8 Summit in Cologne, Germany. For more information about this weekend visit the next site: http://www.gn.apc.org/june18/
Sun 20 June
Depart from Amsterdam

VISIT
SAMIZDAT

Goals of the caravan

The peasants are coming to Europe for the following reasons:

to confront people in the countries they visit with the consequences of economic globalisation. The Welcoming committee wants to involve as many people from different backgrounds in the organisation and activities of the project.
to promote understanding and cooperation between the Indian peasants and European organisations like trade unions, environmental organisations and, of course, farmer organisations.
to attract the attention of local, national and international media to the disadvantages of free trade and to protest against the WTO.
to promote non-violent civil disobedience as a means of action for political change.
to effect mobilisation in order to hold decentralised mass actions and resistance during the next ministerial conference of the WTO which is to take place in Washington the autumn of 1999.

Peoples Global Action (PGA)

Peoples Global Action against WTO and free trade In February 1998, more than 300 representatives of peoples' movements from 71 countries from all continents met in Geneva and launched a worldwide coordination of resistance against the global market, a new alliance of struggle and mutual support called the Peoples' Global Action against "Free" Trade and the World Trade Organisation (PGA). This new platform will serve as a global instrument for communication and co-ordination for all those fighting against the destruction of humanity and the planet by the global market, building up local alternatives and peoples' power. The PGA is an instrument for co-ordination, not an organisation. The hallmarks of the alliance are:

•A very clear rejection of the institutions that multinationals and speculators have built totake power away from people, like the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other trade liberalisation agreements (like APEC, the EU, NAFTA, etc.).
•A confrontational attitude, since we do not think that lobbying can have a major impact in such biased and undemocratic organisations, in which transnational capital is the only real policy-maker.
•A call to non-violent civil disobedience and the construction of local alternatives by local people, as answers to the action of governments and corporations.
•An organisational philosophy based on decentralisation and autonomy.

The political analysis and call for action of the PGA are reflected in its manifesto, a living document that will be revised at every PGA conference. The PGA has no membership, and it does not and will not have a juridical personality. No organisation or person represents the PGA, nor does the PGA represent any organisation or person. The PGA will only facilitate coordination and information flow with the help of conferences and information tools. There will be conferences of the PGA approximately every two years, about three months before the Ministerial Conferences of the WTO. The conferences of the PGA will be convened by a committee conformed by organisations and movements from all continents representing different sectors of society (plus the local organisers of the conference). The current committee is formed by: CETERA (Argentina), Redes del Amigos de la Tierra (Uruguay), Proceso de las Communidades Negras (Columbia), Pensylvania Consumer Action Network (USA), Canadian Union of Postal Workers (Canada), ORAM (Mozambique), National Alliance of Peoples' Movements (India), Korean Farmers Union (South Korea), Reclaim the Streets (UK), Social and Ecological Union (CIS states), Rainbow Keepers (Ukraine).

Since the first conference of PGA, in May, a lot of actions took place all around the world, while the second ministerial conference of the WTO took place in Geneva, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the GATT. 10 000 peoples in the streets of Geneva 200 000 peoples in the streets of Hydarabad 50 000 peoples in the streets of Brasilia 30 streets party around the world for the protest G8 summit

For more information about the PGA and the actions which took place in May, please consult www.agp.org

Draft program of the project

Draft list of actions

1.Shell Headquarters (Netherlands)
2.European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT) (Belgium)
3.EU Commission (Belgium)
4.Europa Bio (Belgium)
5.Monsanto Headquarters (Belgium)
6.NATO Headquarter (Belgium)
7.Monument to Nuclear Power (Belgium)
8.Food and Agriculture Organization (Italy)
9.World Trade Organization (Switzerland)
10.World Economic Forum Headquarters (Switzerland)
11.Cargill Headquarters (Switzerland)
12.Nestle Headquarters (Switzerland)
13.Novartis Headquarters (Switzerland)
14.United Bank of Switzerland (Switzerland)
15.Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (France)
16.International Chamber of Commerce (France)
17.European Union Summit (Germany)
18.G8 Summit (Germany) 19.European Central Bank (Germany)

This list of actions is still only a framework to work with. The definitive list will be put together in dialogue with the local welcoming committees that are going to prepare the actions and organise food and lodging. All actions have to be in line with the objectives, political contents and positions of the project.

Transcontinental Caravan

500 angry peasants on the road to the power centres of the world

Activists from India and Europe are preparing for a month long tour of Europe. Around 500 Indian peasants feel that is high time that their problems are made known in wealthy Europe. Multinationals, and the liberalising measures of the World Trade Organisation WTO in particular, constitue a huge threat to their current income, way of life and natural surroundings.

The Indian peasants want to protest against multinationals and 'free trade' institutions, and plan to do so (to name but two occasions) during the European summit and the G8 summit that are to take place in Cologne in June.

The initiator of the caravan is the KRRS (Karnataka Raiya Ryota Sanghe), based in the South Indian federal state of Karnataka. The KRRS has an impressive history and is reknowing for its radical campaings against multinationals. The globally active peasant organisation Via Campesina and People's Global Action are both supporters of the caravan.

The Indian peasants wanted to take part in the protest, held in Geneva in May 1998, in connection with the the fiftiest anniversary of the free trade organisations GATT and WTO. However it proved impossible for them to acquire visas in time. In May 1999, the 500 Indian peasants will finally arrive on European soil. They will form a caravan of twenty buses and tour eight countries in one month. Beside these activists from India others from other continents will also be joining the actions.

Agriculture in the 'Third World'

The peasants are coming to Europe in order to meet people and to relate how the so-called 'free'-market economy is negatively affecting their own lives and the lives of the millions of peasants in developing nations. The WTO does not allow third world countries to safeguard their economies against unfair competition and unwanted products. Under pressure from the WTO, laws are made in India granting multinationals power over seeds, even seeds that have always been used by the peasants. The peasants are strongly against this. "We are the original growers of the seed and we will not cooperate with the execution of laws that deny us our inalienable rights to the seed". Patents on animals and plants are rejected by the peasants anyway, because it is immoral and goes against their traditions.

By means of the caravan, the peasants hope to make it clear that the free market ideology constitutes a dead end road: it is the number one cause of poverty and the destruction of nature on earth. Yet politicians claim it to be the solution to many of the enormous problems facing humanity today. The peasants would like to see us unite all over the world to put the economy at the service of the needs of people, while at the same time respecting nature.

The KRRS

The 500 angry peasants who are coming to Europe are, for the most part, members of the organisation KRRS (Karnataka Raiya Ryota Sanghe) which is based in the South Indian federal state of Karnataka. In Karnataka, of the 60 million inhabitants, between 5 and 10 million are members of the KRRS. Usually, whole villages join, which is why the exact number of members is unclear. Members are usually smallholders and leasehold-farmers, but many are also agricultural labourers owing no land of their own.

Actions
The KRRS has organised various spectacular action in recent years: the 'dismantling', with bare hands, of Cargill, a multinational trading in wheat and seed, the 'disabling' of the first Kentucky Fried Chicken in India; and a demonstration against the WTO involving 300,000 people. Regular protests are held at village and district level against corrupt politicians and civil servants.

Alternatives
At the end of May 1995, the KRRS, together with The Third World Network (an umbrella organisation of environmental groups from the third world), established an International Institute for Sustainable Agriculture in Bangelore. The Institute provides training programmes for farmers who want to switch to biological agriculture and helps with the gathering indigenous seeds, the founding of local seed banks and the reintroduction of traditional breeds of plants.

Strategy
According to the philosophy of the KRRS, direct action is necessary in order to facilitate changes. Nanjundaswamy, the current KRRS president, regards the WTO policy as a new form of colonialism. He feels direct action is the only way and has no trust in political parties because none of them want, or dare, to undertake any form of action which attacks the the WTO and multinationals.

Decentralised organisation
The organisation and mobilisation for protests takes place at village, taluk (a couple of dozen villages), district and federal state level. Each village elects a secretary and a president from its midst. These chosen representatives meet each other at taluk and district level. From among them, a kind of executive committee is elected. At a national level, the KRRS forms a part of the umbrella organisation All India People's Resistance Forum (AIPRF), consisting of about 50 Indian mass organisations. Together, these organisations are calling for their government to step out of the WTO and to deny multinationals that misuse the Indian natural resources the right to land.

Caravan in Europe

During an international seminar about globalisation and resistance, that was held in Geneva, between 16 and 31 August, the proposal for the May/June 1999 caravan was presented. The participants, activists from around 17 countries, reacted with enthusiasm. Information evenings in the Netherlands and other countries have also proved that many people think that the project is a good idea. In the mean time, welcoming committees have been established. The Dutch committee is already hard at work. A European committee is acting as coordinator and keeps in touch with the KRRS.

The caravan will commence on 22 May in the Netherlands and end on 22 June in Cologne. The idea is that, in each country, the Indian peasants will have time for effecting direct action in the form of attention-grabbing protest, taking part in public meetings, press conferences and meetings with farmers organisations and having some rest and relaxation.

Protest issues

The caravan will, in all cases devote attention to the following issues. Listed below, together with these issues, are a number of possible protest venues.

•The world's leading political organisations. Good occasions are the European Summit and the G8-meeting in Cologne. Good locations include: the WTO headquarters in Geneva; OECD in Paris; the European Commission and Parliament in Brussels and national parliaments.
•Multinationals. Actions at various headquarters, lobby groups like the European Round Table of Industrialists, EuropaBio, World Economic Forum, and possibly at stock exchanges, banks and the European Central Bank.
•Agro industries, Green Revolution, biotechnology, patents on life. For these issues protests could be held at FAO, the European Commission, EuropaBio, Monsanto, Novartis, Nestle, Unilever, Cargill and Bayer.
•'Third World' debt problems. With actions at the G8 meeting, at banks and at public institutions like ministries and parliaments.
•Militarism and nuclear issues. Possible participation in a peace demonstration ending at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Project outline

General guidelines of the project

The political contents of the project are (in order of importance):

•Global policy-making (with particular emphasis on the push for "free" trade and economic globalisation), with actions at G8 meeting, EU summit, WTO HQ, EU commission, several national parliaments, etc.
•TNCs and transnational capital, with actions at several TNC HQ, at corporate lobbies (European Roundtable of Industialists, Europabio, International Chamber of Commerce, World Economic Forum), and at financial centers (stock exchange markets, big banks, Central European Bank, etc).
•Agribusiness, Green Revolution, Biotechnology, and Patents on Life, with actions at the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the European Parliament and Commission, Europabio, Cargill, Monsanto, Novartis, Nestle, etc.
•3rd World Debt, with actions at the G8 meeting, private banks (eg the United Bank of Switzerland), and public institutions (like national parliaments).
•Militarism and nuclear issues, with actions at the NATO European HQ and the monument to nuclear energy in Brussels.

For all these issues, common positions, based on the PGA manifesto, will be developed by the activists involved in the programme. There will be at least two separate statements for the Caravan-one from Indian activists, and one from European activists. The discussion process should be finished by the end of the year.

The main objectives and guidelines of the project are:

•Bringing the political contents close to people's lives in all the places where actions will take place
•Encouraging as many as possible to get actively involved in the preparation and realisation of the actions and to remain active in confrontational non-violent action in these issues after the project. In order to have as much direct contact with the local population and groups as possible, local hosts are encouraged to organise public events, of the kind that they like (speeches, picnics, parties, etc). Also, meetings with local organisations are an essential part of the Caravan, in order to take contact and get to know what is being done at the different cities.
•Promoting more contact and co-operation between all the organisations (from Europe and other continents) involved in the project.
•Attracting local, national and international media attention on the political contents of the programme. Strengthening and building up new autonomous media. Preparing press conferences everywhere is highly encouraged as well as inviting the media to all actions. There should be local press offices and a central press office, during the Caravan itself, in permanent contact with the local press offices and the media spokespersons in the Caravan. We will invite journalists to join the programme.
•Preparing the field (in Europe and everywhere else) for the PGA days of action against the WTO during the third Ministerial Conference in fall 1999.
•Promoting non-violent direct action and civil disobedience as tools for political change. ) All actions have to be non-violent, and respect public property and small businesses. The actions should also not put foreign activists at risk of being arrested (unless they want to be).

Logististics and funding

•The travel within Europe will be in restored buses that have been renovated by activists sympathetic to the aims of the Caravan. All labour will be voluntary, including the drivers of the buses. Not all of the participants will be in the same place at the same time. There will be side trips, involving smaller numbers, which run in parallel to the main route of the tour. This way the participation is broadened throughout Europe.
•The accommodation can take place in squatted houses, private houses, sports halls, churches, farms and similar places. If it takes place in big rooms (e.g. basketball courts or churches) the rooms should be separated by sex.
•The food will be provided by the local hosts in co-operation with amobile kitchen collective. Most of the Indian participants are vegetarian, and they will bring their own spices and be in the position to cook their food if some basic raw materials (rice, lentils, etc) and pots and pans are provided locally.
•The travel expenses to Europe are borne by the organisations or activists from other continents (or by funders that they might find). There will not be a travel fund in Europe for this purpose, since a major effort will be needed in Europe to finance the rest of the costs.
•All the expenses during the caravan itself will be paid for from Europe for the 600 invited activists from the South and Central and Eastern European countries. Participants from Western Europe, North America and other rich countries are encouraged to participate, but will have to arrange and pay for all their own accommodation, transport, and food.
•The funding for the costs during the caravan will be raised both by the European co-ordinating group, which is based in Leiden, Netherlands, and also in a decentralised manner by local groups involved in the Caravan. All involved local groups in Europe will make efforts to raise money to cover their local costs (eg food, accommodation, publicity etc), and will also be expected to make an effort to contribute to the central costs: costs of buses, European Co-ordination office, and media work, although this will also be the task of the European coordination office.

Process and Participation

The idea for the Caravan originated in India, but has been discussed, and approved as a PGA action, by the Convenors Committee of the PGA. The Convenors' Committee is made up of the following organisations: Proceso de Communidades Negras (Columbia), CETERA (Argentina), Redes de Amigos de Tierra (Uruguay), National Alliance of Peoples' Movements (India), Canadian Union of Postal Workers (Canada), Pensylvania Consumer Action Network (USA), ORAM (Mozambique), Reclaim the Streets (UK), Social and Ecological Union (CIS countries), Rainbow Keepers (Ukraine). Foundation For Independent Anlysis (New Zealand)

At least four preparatory meetings will be held in Europe to discuss the project. The first one was held from the 30th of October - 1st of November in Cologne, Germany; The second one will be in Leiden, Holland, on the 19th and 20th December. There will also be several preparation meetings in India, for Indian activists involved in the caravan. Besides these meetings, all local hosts are encouraged to send one person to the 2nd PGA conference in Bangalore, which many of the Indian participants (and maybe also other non-European participants) of the project will be attending. A co-ordination meeting will take place there since it will be the only occasion when a substantial number of participants and hosts will meet before the programme starts.

For the groups and persons who live in the cities that are part of the schedule, being involved in this project means to organise:

1.accommodation and food (see above),
2.local actions and meetings and other activities.
3.local press work in co-ordination with the other press offices (see above).
4.fudraising

Since all these tasks are a big burden for one single local organisation, local welcoming committees with different organisations, collectives and individuals are being formed all across Europe.

Groups and persons from places which are not in the draft schedule can also participate in the programme, no matter whether they live in Europe or other continents, and their participation is very much encouraged. There are several forms of participation that are possible:

•Spreading information about the project.
•Encouraging local people to join the programme at least during some time. Food, accomodation, and transport costs for Europeans will have to be borne by themselves, since it is unrealistic to arrange these things.
•Inviting a part of the group to visit your town for some days (even if there are no major centres of power to do actions at).
•Organising fundraising events for the project (parties, etc) and spreading the call for donations. Especially this is important during the G8 meeting (18-20 June 1999), which is the highest point of the programme (G8 Discussion List: j18discussion@gn.apc.org To join this discussion list, send an email with SUBSCRIBE and your name in the SUBJECT box, and also in the main body of the message.)

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