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| Autopsy of the World Social
Forum |
Suhas
Chakma |
The
4th World Social Forum held in Mumbai from January
17 to 21, 2004, ended with a pledge to end the
rhetorical analysis and adopt a programme of
action for implementation in the next year's
summit. Unless the WSF is able to adopt such a
programme of action, polemics will soon suffer
from the law of diminishing returns. However, if
the process of adoption of the NGO Declarations in
the World Conferences organised by the United
Nations were any indication, adoption of a
programme of action in the next WSF would be akin
to climbing up the Mount Everest. |
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While the chorus is
against globalisation, the participation of over 100,000
people from 130 countries undoubtedly contributes to
globalisation. Many anti-globalisation activists
themselves take advantage of globalisation. Therefore,
what is required is ethical globalisation. Moreover,
globalisation is no longer synonymous of Western
globalisation. While West Pakistan failed to impose Urdu
on Bengalis of East Pakistan in 1950s and New Delhi
failed to impose Hindi on its south in 1960s, Hindi
successfully made inroads across the subcontinent
through cable TV. Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi has
replaced Bangladesh TV, Pakistan TV, Nepal TV and
MTV.
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In most cases,
globalisation only accelerates the exploitation,
iniquities and discriminatory practices and mechanisms
already in-built in societies or in the state apparatus.
Jharkhand, the heartland of India's indigenous peoples,
has been the epicentre of India's industrialisation
since the colonial times. It is resourceful with
minerals including 37 per cent of the country's coal
reserves and 40 per cent of its copper reserves.
Jharkhand ranks number one State in India in the
production of iron ore, copper ores, mica, kyanite,
uranium and asbestos. Despite over a hundred years of
industrialisation, the Adivasis remain poor due to the
denial of the right to entitlement.
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The so-called South
is no less exploitative than North. The maltreatment of
the migrant workers across West Asia and South-East Asia
requires little introduction. In fact, the UN
International Convention on Migrant Workers has been
ratified only by migrant-workers producing countries and
not the recipient or potential recipient countries. The
absence of rule of law across West Asia and South-East
Asia in comparison to Europe is starkly clear. Rather
than prosecuting the guilty personnel for torture and
other abuses against migrant workers, Ms Irene
Fernandes, Director of Tenaganita, an NGO working with
migrant women, was sentenced to 12 months prison by a
Malaysian court in October 2003 for allegedly
"publishing false information with malevolent
intentions." Her only crime was to highlight abuses
against the migrant workers, mainly
Bangladeshis.
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For poorer countries
of South, origin of capital makes little difference like
the Adivasis of Jharkhand. In 1996, India and Nepal
signed a bilateral trade agreement. This agreement
allowed Nepal-produced goods wide access to the Indian
market with drastically reduced "local content"
requirements. Because of the alleged smuggling of
non-Nepal produced goods, Indian Government reacted with
anti-dumping duties. The bordering State governments of
Bihar and UP also imposed luxury taxes on Nepali
products. India finally obtained strong amendments to
the treaty when it came up for renewal in early 2002.
However, since Nepal opened up in 1960s, Indian business
and industrial entrepreneurs poured into Nepal to secure
benefit. Of the total joint venture investors in Nepal,
approximately 33 per cent are Indians. The 1955
Indo-Nepal Treaty gives advantages to the Indian
nationals in comparison to others.
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"Capitalism" is no
longer synonymous with "western capitalism". The
complicity of the oil companies such as Talisman Energy
Inc. of Canada and Lundin Oil AB of Sweden, for human
rights violations in Sudan has been well documented.
Amid mounting pressure from rights groups, Talisman and
Lundin sold their interests in 2002. These West-based
corporations, however, have now been replaced by the
state-owned oil companies of China's China National
Petrolium Corp., Malaysia's Petroleum Nasional Berhad
and India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (Videsh)
Ltd. The question remains as to how and whether any
pressure could be brought to bear upon these state-owned
oil companies from Asia about the corporate
responsibility against human rights
violations.
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In the global
village, the possibility of another world must mean
ensuring equal access to education, health care, food,
housing and other basic human needs, respect for rule of
law and human rights, good governance and corporate
responsibility and accountability. The focus of the next
WSF must, therefore, be equally on national and
multinational capital alike if it is not to turn into a
self-censoring exercise of the apologists from the
neo-developed and developing countries. In "an open
meeting place", which WSF claims, semantics will rule
the roost.
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