7-09-05, 9:43 am
There are moments in history where you need a bit of irony to get you though and to keep you going. This week British imperialism unashamedly celebrated the Battle of Trafalgar, their defeat of the French and the consolidation of their empire across the globe. We will have the leader of that same imperialist tradition Tony Blair in a few days time striding across a green lawn lauding the great advance made by the contemporary imperialist powers to help the worlds poor, in the form of the miniscule debt relief. I would like to thank the comrades of the CPB in taking the initiative to organise this gathering on the eve of the G8 Summit, a summit with no legal status or political legitimacy. It is clearly a summit of those who serve the interests of monopoly capitalism, of international finance capital, of imperialism. It is also fitting that those same leaders should be meeting in a hotel owned by Diageo, a global drinks corporation and member of Blair's Africa Commission. It reflects the political reality.
We gather at a very important moment for Europe with the defeat of the EU Constitution in both France and then Holland. The European ruling elites of politicians, corporate executives, bankers, military chiefs and hangers on, like the ETUC, have suffered a major setback. It is important that we acknowledge that this significant victory is due in the main to the mobilisation of the working class in both countries.
I will not engage in any further comment, as I believe that this afternoon's meeting will deal most extensively with this issue. But only to point out that with struggle we can advance and our class enemies can be defeated but without struggle they most certainly will not.
The current stage of the EU process of ever greater integration and centralised control is the outcome of forces operating within the EU itself. On the one hand there is European social democratic tradition, and the belief that 'a united Europe' is the best basis to protect the 'European Social Model', with its mixed economy and high levels of social protection: On the other the representatives of European Monopoly capitalism, in their objective need to combine and concentrate capital and production. So the current strategic political and economic direction of the whole process is itself the working out of globalization and neo-liberalism. The EU as an institution imposes disciplinary neo-liberalism upon its constituent members.
The imposition of neo-liberalism globally is outcome of this economic and political necessity. The process of the Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice treaties and the single market, was the brainchild of the European Round Table of Industrialists, as are the current European Partnership Agreements with over 70 different poor countries.
I would like to deal with a number aspects in my contribution: From an Irish experience and how we as a party evaluate the situation. In Ireland development NGO's are a very well organized and influential force.
ROLE OF NGOs
The topic under discussion 'The EU, neo-liberalism and global poverty; - if we examine the materials produced by many of the NGO's, and in particular those from Europe they have a very weak and underdeveloped understanding of the EU of what it is, its very nature, the role that it plays globally. They approach imperialism and its representatives from a supplicant position. The EU is presented as something different not the same as the as neo-liberalist USA but we know the reality is that they are both implementing and perusing the same agenda.
There is now a name for these NGO's called 'CONGOs' Co-opted NGOs. Many have become funding dependent on both national governments and the EU. It has to be said that not all development NGOs adopt such positions and it is these NGO's that we should attempt to build influence with. They reach into areas that the traditional left does not reach. Like all social organization either the left influences them or the establishment will co-opt them.
Increasingly, the NGOs are being co-opted by institutions like the World Bank and the EU in a 'consultative capacity'. The line between advocacy and being a conduit for these institutions is increasingly becoming blurred. These positions and misconceptions need to be challenged.
Some have even fallen in behind the agenda of Blair, Brown and Bush, in their campaign to exploit the genuine compassion felt by many millions of ordinary people. One has to ask the question why did the rally take place yesterday and not next Thursday? Why should the G8 heads meet unhindered and uninterrupted?
ROLE OF EEC/EC/EU:
Since its foundation the EEC/EC/EU has used its influence within its former colonies particularly within the African Continent and the Caribbean to maintain and consolidate neo-colonialist domination, unfair trading relations and their dominant economic position. The EU has 19% of world trade so it is a major player in trade negotiations.
It started with former 37 French colonies. It developed into the Lome Convention in 1975 followed by three other Lome Conventions 1979, 1985 & 1990. Today the EU is negotiating what they call Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) due to come into effect on the 1st January 2008 with African/Caribbean/Pacific nations around 70 in all. It is clear from the content of these EPA that the relationship is a neo-colonialist one. Their aid is tied up in structural adjustment programmes, aid is conditional on countries adopting, not negotiating, major economic changes including privatisation of natural resources like water, oil and opening up of their home markets to competition etc.
The EPA countries exports are based upon EU preferences; countries are obliged to go along with what the EU puts forwards even if it is not their most preferred option. The EU recently attached the Singapore issues which in effect means they must meet the WTO's criteria. WTO compatibility, rather than development indicators, become the bench marks.
Structural Adjustment Programmes:
Structural Adjustment Programmes are geared to meet the needs of the developed countries. There are a number of consequences following from this policy:
The EU can change policies and priorities at any given time to suit its needs and prevailing political and economicconditions.
Increased access for EU corporations through free trade agreements.
It skews economic priorities in favour of cash crops or the exports of raw materials.
It intensifies the dependency relationship by the fact that the majority of trade is with the developed countries.
Regional inter-trade is left underdeveloped.
Capital flows out of these countries thereby further undermining their ability for self-development.
Wholesale Privatisation
Public Private Partnership is enforced.
Priority to be given to Private Enterprise and discrimination against public enterprises.
The economic priorities of Corporations and Western Governments determine the investment priorities not the needs of the local population.
Financial control shifts away from the national governments to global institutions like the World Bank, IMF and WTO.
Loss of government revenue from tariff reductions.
It is well demonstrated that free trade between countries of un-equal levels of development will in the main benefit the stronger members of the free trade areas far more than the weak ones. It poses grave dangers to self-reliance and diversification. The EU EPA is primarily about facilitating investment and trade, and enforcing neo-liberalism.
POLITICAL INTERFERENCE:
A more dangerous addition under the Cotonou Agreement entails the EU to make a number of major alterations, allowing for greater political interference by the EU into the ACP countries, under the guise of combating corruption and in defence of good governance. This is rich coming from one of the most corrupt institution in the world the EU Commission.
IRISH HISTORICAL EXPERIENCE:
Ireland has experienced much of the same distorted economic dependency when we were part of the British Empire. It was partly on the backs of the Irish peasantry that capital accumulation to fund the building of the British Empire was raised. We witnessed half our population either die of hunger in the Great Hunger or forced to immigrate in the mid 19th century, while ships loaded with grain and cattle and other food stuffs left Ireland to Britain to satisfy the imperial market.
This is how colonialism and imperialism works. These are not new ideas but have been developed and honed by centuries of exploitation and domination by the imperialist powers. What James Connolly described as 'Old Wine In New Bottles'.
SMOKE AND MIRRORS:
A cursory glance at the recent debt cancellation announced on the 18 poorest countries in Africa is $56 billion, which is about 6% of the total external debt of all low income countries that need 100% debt cancellation now. The current debt cancellation adopted by the G8 is just about the same as two years interest payments from the south to multilateral and bi-lateral creditors; in 2003 this was $23 billion. It took those same 18 countries eight years to satisfy the crippling policy conditions running into hundreds of stipulations being imposed upon them to qualify for debt cancellation.
The 1990s were a time of increasing inequality in all parts of the world, with wealth, in the 3rd world as in the 1st, sticking to sticky fingers. The EU is one of the institutions driving this trend. Where accountability was forced on it, in the French and Dutch referenda, it suffered a defeat; - in international trade no such accountability exists. The popularity of the 'Make Poverty History' slogan shows that EU institutions do not represent popular opinion in their international policy either.
Sleazy politicians have adopted this slogan with all the sincerity of landed gentry handing out charity to the 'deserving poor'. It is our responsibility to turn the popular goodwill and sympathy into solidarity with the peoples' anti-imperialist struggle.
In international relations where trans-national corporations call the shots, corruption is endemic and inevitable. The African bourgeoisie has been a willing partner in the robbery and destruction of the continent. African corruption and wars are driven by the global market, not by the African market, which is negligible.
The press and politicians of the west have recently discovered that some African governments are corrupt; traditionally they have not attacked the corrupt Mubutu or 'Emperor' Bokassa, but have murdered incorruptible's like Patrice Lumumba of the Congo, or Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso.
POWER TO THE POOR:
It is also clear that Trade Concessions without land reform could benefit large landowners who are equipped to grow cash crops on an industrial scale. Brazilian beef and sugar are not only a threat to European beef and sugar industries but to peasant producers in the Caribbean and Africa and, not least, to the Brazilian landless and poor peasants.
The beneficiaries of trade reform could well turn out to be international pirates like Vestey's, who own vast tracks of land all over the planet. This same company failed to prove their title to land in Venezuela, which will now be distributed to peasants who will grow food.
Four Latin American Countries Bolivia, Guyana, Honduras and Nicaragua will still be paying $1.4 billion in debt service over the next five years to the Inter-American Development Banks.
The call for debt relief, increased aid and fair trade is a small step towards reparation for centuries of colonialism, slavery, supper exploitation of both the people and the natural resources of all the colonised nations and peoples. For without all that super exploitation the great palaces, cities and galleries and museums of Europe would still be green field sites. We can only concur with Hugo Chavez when he states that we can only end poverty by giving power to the poor. That is not on the agenda of the G8.
From Solidarity Network
--Eugene Mc Cartan represented the Communist Party of Ireland at the Alternative Summit in Edinburgh last weekend.
