All-India Convention of FAIG calls for

Intensify Struggle against US War against Afghanistan and for Quitting WTO

Packed beyond capacity, the MCPU Shaw Auditorium at Raj Niwas Marg at Delhi was the venue for the All India Convention of Forum Against Imperialist Globalization (FAIG) on 2nd November 2001. The Convention was against the US war on Afghanistan, against the Doha round of WTO negotiations and against WTO itself. Over 1000 participants from various states assembled for the convention.

The Auditorium was decorated with banners and posters demanding that India Quit WTO and against the US Attack. Proceedings began with the arrival of the Inaugural Speaker, Shri S.P. Shukla, ex-Commerce Secretary, GOI and earlier part of the Indian delegation at GATT talks. The three convenors – V. Venkatramaiah (Gen. Sec. AIKMS), Saibaba (Gen. Sec. AIPRF) and Savitri (PMS, Maharashtra) – took the stage along with the guests.

In his inaugural address, Shri S. P. Shukla said that we are at a point where the crisis is not merely economic, but the terroristic aspect of imperialism is on display. WTO-IMF-WB represent the trinity being used by imperialism to loot the developing world. Today we are concerned about WTO because firstly there is an impending Doha round of talks and secondly, because WTO has become a symbol of global capital and also has a special status. IMF and WB are openly labelled as servile to imperialism. But WTO was given the mask of a democratic organization. Everyone is given one vote, and imperialism says majority votes will decide issues. All this deceived people and even many intellectuals in our country are taken in by the mask and feel WTO will show the way to development. They say it is a multilateral, rule based organization. For this reason it is relevant and necessary to study the birth of WTO so we can expose the reality.

Discussing the GATT talks and how WTO evolved, Shri Shukla showed clearly how it was directed towards upholding imperialist interests. He said while the Indian Govt. has been repeatedly saying that it will not succumb to imperialist pressures only the Doha round will show the truth. He said the people must intensify the struggle against WTO and many forms of struggle are necessary on many fronts. For the past 10-15 years the fascistic aspect of finance capital is coming to the fore, as shown also by the attack on Afghanistan. This is because finance capital is losing its sustainability. He also said that there are many organizations fighting against WTO in India and in order that the struggle gains strength, we must face this challenge unitedly.

After the inaugural session, the convenors announced a five member Presidium consisting of Aparna (IFTU), Arjun Prasad (AIPRF), Geeta (PMS, Maharashtra), Shri Thomas Mathews and President, BKU (Ekta). The further proceedings were divided into three main sessions: Why India Must Quit WTO, US Attack on Afghanistan, and People’s Struggles against WTO.

The first session on WTO opened with the address of Shri K.R. Chowdhary ( Former Prof. of Economics, Hyderabad Central University). In a systematic presentation he concisely argued why India should quit WTO. He said the three major reasons are that WTO is not beneficial to India, has caused enormous damage to India’s economy particularly the agrarian economy, and much more danger is to come. Dealing extensively with Agriculture he said despite govt. propaganda, WTO has totally failed to enhance India’s share in international trade.

Dealing with the various agreements under WTO which influence agriculture, he said tariff subsidies in America and other developed countries have risen 5 times in the past seven years, while third world producers bear increasing burdens. His entire speech was rich in facts and examples and laid bare the attack on our agriculture. He also spoke of the other changes, like the threat to security of livelihood, the passage of control of natural resources and their ownership to MNCs, attack on food security and even the right to a PDS. Small industries were being closed down. The health system was under seige with rising cost of medicines as also the attack on the right to run a subsidized health system. Agreements like TRIMs and TRIPs are against our own laws and sometimes even against the Constitution. We cannot even implement land reforms and without that we cannot develop agriculture and get any competitive advantage.

The second speaker of this session was Shri V. Venkatramaiah of AIKMS who also outlined several facts of the WTO attack especially on agriculture. Venkatramaiah said that WTO should be rightly called World Terrorist Organization. This is a correct term because WTO is the worst nightmare for developing countries. Apologists of WTO are claiming that it is promoting growth, but with many facts and figures V. Venkataramiah showed that this proposition is absurd. In reality WTO is responsible for snowballing poverty and unemployment. It is a most unequal, most undemocratic treaty, and that is why “Quit WTO” is the only appropriate slogan for India. He also described in details the agrarian crisis in India. He concluded by saying that it is necessary to develop a militant people’s movement to demand that India Quit WTO.

The next session began after lunch, and opened with several teams presenting anti-imperialist songs and a short skit by Disha (Haryana). The session opened with Shri Gautam Naulakha, Resident Editor of EPW, speaking against the US attack on Afghanistan.

Gautam Naulakha was categorical that the attack on 11th September in New York was murder and not a correct method of political initiative. But under cover of 11th September a wave of repression has been unleashed world over. The war in Afghanistan is a gross violation of international law. On the 28th of September the UN General Assembly met and did not sanction any American war. In Afghanistan, in past 23 years, 10 lakh people were killed, 15 lakh were made refugees; the present war has rendered a further 15 lakh as refugees. Speaking about US imperialism’s long time and long term interests to get a foothold in Afghanistan, Gautam Naulakha traced the history of imperialist intervention in the area earlier by USSR, and then by the US. He also touched on the Kashmiri people’s democratic movement, and the attack on democratic rights in India under the garb of ‘war against terrorism’, namely ban on SIMI and promulgation of POTO.

Next Shri Saibaba, Gen. Sec. AIPRF, supplemented Shri Naulakha’s presentation. Saibaba said that 1500 people have died in Afghanistan since the start of war, exposing US claims of targeting ‘terrorists’. They have dropped more than 1 million tons of bombs on that country and over a thousand missiles have been fired at it. He pointed out that the US attack had managed to put the anti-globalization worldwide protests backstage and even the Doha round of talks would be held under the presence of the so called “war against terrorism” and US will seek to force its way on issues. The US war is not against terrorists but against the people of the world. US continues to sell arms around the world. Bush is right when he says he has embarked on a ‘long war’, because it is not a war directed against a few terrorists as US would have the world to believe, but its is a war against the people of the world.

The third session had only one speaker, Savitri, who spoke on the people’s movements. She traced the history of resistance to imperialism from 2nd World War downwards and traced certain movements.

After this, some organizations with observer status in FAIG, presented their views. Others could not be allocated time due to police pressure to complete the programme. Two resolutions were presented – the Convention approved them by clapping.

The resolutions were against the WTO round at Doha, calling for quitting WTO, no expansion of talks at Doha Round, and protests by FAIG at all centres between 9th and 13th November against WTO. The second resolution was against the draconian POTO and demanded its withdrawal in toto and also called to build movements so that POTO cannot be passed in the winter session of Parliament and is struck down.

In conclusion, a march against War and WTO was begun from ISBT to Red Fort. However, despite adequate prior information, police blocked the marchers near ISBT. Raising slogans against War, WTO and Police Raj, the over thousand marchers were arrested and taken to Civil Lines Police Station, where they were released at around 9 P.M. The arrested included all the All India Convenors and the Coordination Committee members. Due to this activists due to return to their states at night had their schedule totally disrupted.

Constant Police Disruption

In fact a marked feature of the programme was the consistent interference by the police led by the North Delhi DCP and their attempt to disrupt the programme. Despite having written police permission for use of the Hall for the Convention, despite having informed the police well in advance about the Rally, the police arrived at the Hall at about 11 am and began creating problems. First they entered the Hall to check if the proceedings were ‘seditious’ or anti-national. Then they resorted to tearing down the posters in the lobby, confiscating the cassettes of progressive songs being sold there in order to “check the seditious material” and so on. Repeatedly they ordered the auditorium management to put off the mike and cut the electricity. Eventually the area DCP arrived and proceeded to tear down all the posters outside the lobby along with the police force. The police also tried to frighten the Hall management and volunteers and tried to create an atmosphere of terror.

Finally, even though the area SHO worked out the details of the rally route with the organizers and also agreed to allow the rally to start at 5 P.M., the police eventually blocked the Rally. On the other hand they harassed the Hall authorities that if the rally began anywhere near the Hall, it should withdraw permission for use of the dormitories by those teams which were staying overnight! Such unprecedented interference with a Hall meeting in the capital shows the Vajpayee Govt.’s abject surrender before US imperialism and their determination to curb all protests against the unjust war by fascist repression.

However, the participants, raising full throated slogans against war and against WTO as they were arrested, were inspired by the programme and resolute to carry forward the struggle. The successful Convention not only enthused the participants but held out promise of a powerful untied struggle against imperialist globalization.