KCTU, Korean Peasants’ League (KPL), KoPA and Korean People’s Solidarity etc. building a new coalition, “People’s Action against Neoliberal Globalisation” to tackle the WTO, FTA... (Quoted by KoPA News)

Korean organizations held a press conference/protest in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in the morning of 27^th July, against the WTO GC. Although the number was small due to vacation season, we had worker, peasant, student representatives. Peter Rosset and Maria Elena Martinez from UNORCA Mexico, who were in Korea for other events, also joined us.

One more news is that we have formed a new coalition, “People’s Action against Neoliberal Globalization”, consisting of KoPA, Korean People’s Solidarity, KCTU, KPL, KGEU and other many mass and activist organizations, and sectoral coalitions. KoPA has been working hard during the last couple of years to bring this together and played a significant role in its formation. The aim is to bring different movements and organizations together into a broader front against the WTO as well as other issues such as FTAs and autonomous liberalization measures. Until now, the different sectoral and multisectoral coalitions have worked on a case by case basis, but there was a need to bring the several coalitions as well as individual organizations together. So, we will be concentrating most of our activities related to globalization in this new coalition. Our immediate task will be preparing for the MC6 in HK. We do not have the numbers yet but there will be a very large delegation from Korea going to HK.

Press Statement

NO to WTO! Stop the Doha Development Agenda Negotiations!

From today until 29^th July, the WTO General Council meeting will take place in Geneva, Switzerland. After member nations agreed on the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) framework at the General Council held at around the same period last year, they had been driving hard to progress the negotiations. The aim is to agree upon a preliminary modality for the negotiations during the this General Council, finalize the modality during the ministerial in Hong Kong this December, and then inaugurate the set of new trade rules at the end of 2006 or beginning of 2007.

Finalizing the modality of the WTO DDA negotiations and then inaugurating the set of new trade rules signifies reorganization of the entire world based on neoliberal principles. Already workers and peoples of the world have been under vicious neoliberal attack that has led to impoverishment, exploitation and discrimination. However, with the new trade rules, these attacks will become even harsher. The WTO has the potential to control every part of our lives, and the new trade rules named ‘Doha Development Agenda’ will in fact become the ‘global constitution for transnational capital’, with executive, judicial and legislative powers.

However, due to the resistance against the WTO by the world’s peoples and resistance on the part of developing and least developed countries inside the WTO, the negotiations are not moving as much as developed countries hope for. The previous ministerial in Cancun collapsed, while the July framework was narrowly passed by ‘Five Interested Parties’, who had undermined the principle of multilateralism and pushed for the framework by force. Even now, the US and EU refuse to give up their export subsidies, which only benefit transnational agribusinesses, and are under criticism from third world countries. The number of countries that had made its second offers in GATS negotiations only amount to 24 including Korea. Furthermore, there are speculations that an agreement in the NAMA negotiations will also be difficult due to the resistance from developing countries. In fact, on 8^th July at the informal heads of delegation (HOD) meeting at the WTO, WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi warned that “progress is nowhere near sufficient in terms of our critical path to Hong Kong,“ and that ”these negotiations are in trouble."

This continuous stall in talks basically means that the resistance of world’s peoples is getting all the more stronger and that, as a result, the crisis of the WTO is deepening while its legitimacy falling to the ground. It proves that the people, who had been saying “NO!” to the WTO regime, are right and legitimate.

However, the US, EU and other major powers try to turn a deaf ear to the very real opposition and are merely pushing the interests of transnational capital in all parts of the negotiations. Therefore, we cannot overlook the possibility that a group such as the FIPs, led by the US and EU, can unilaterally and illegitimately push forth the preliminary modality during the upcoming General Council.

What is more deplorable, however, is the loyalty of the Noh Moo-Hyun government to these WTO negotiations and neoliberalism. The Korean government had paved the way for liberalization in rice, by making secret bilateral agreements under the name of postponing tariffication of rice, at the same time abolishing the rice price support system. Also, one of the four countries that had submitted revised offers in GATS before the deadline of May 31^st was Korea. Furthermore, the government is about to initiate talks for a free trade agreement with Canada in addition to FTAs finalized with, or in negotiation with, Singapore, EFTA, Japan and ASEAN. It is promoting various policies that marketize education and healthcare, privatize public utilities, water and lifeforms, expand irregular labour. If Noh Moo-Hyun’s neoliberal policies aim at changing the Korean economy and society from the inside, the WTO and FTAs warrant them as international law and give another push from the outside.

The resistance against the WTO is truly global. Right now in Geneva, hundreds of European activists, trade unions and peasants are saying ‘NO!’ to the WTO General Council, and have organized a ‘Peoples’ Council’. 25 peasants, members of the Korean Peasants League, are participating in these events. The 10^th September is the second anniversary of Lee Kyung-Hae’s sacrifice in Cancun, who had immolated himself after shouting “WTO kills farmers!”. This will be another occasion during which there will be global anti-WTO struggles in the spirit of Lee Kyung Hae. People will mobilize against the October General Council, and the APEC summit, due to take place in Busan in November, will also face an all-out struggle by the people.

These protests will culminate into a climax during the 6^th Ministerial meeting in Hong Kong from 13^th to 18^th December. Preparations to counteract the ‘MC6’ are already underway internationally. The Korean people’s movements will send a large ‘off-shore struggle delegation’ consisting of peasants, workers, students, and social and civic organizations. The largest-ever delegation will fight together with the workers, peasants, women, students, urban poor, migrant workers, environmentalists to put an end to the negotiations.

We sternly oppose to any modality being passed at the WTO General Council and demand the following:

Immediately stop all DDA negotiations!
Abolish the WTO that drives all peoples to destitution!
Immediately stop all neoliberal policies!

27^th July, 2005

Preparation Committee for ‘People’s Action against Neoliberal Globalization’