Anti-Globalization

Some 21 civil society organizations staged a protest rally on Tuesday to denounce the role of the development partners and their allied ‘elite class’ and bureaucrats in development process, saying they were responsible for misusing foreign aid.

They [the development partners in Bangladesh, the ‘elite class’ and the bureaucrats] have made the country increasingly indebted since liberation, the protesters from rights based organizations told the rally.

Bangladesh government on Monday began a two-day dialogue in Dhaka with multilateral lenders and donor countries seeking approval of the poverty reduction strategy, a lender-driven development document.

Parallel to the ongoing BDF meeting, the rights organizations — Arpan, AMKS, Eso, Bangladesh Krishak Federation, CSRL, EquityBD, Kishani Sohva, Lead Trust, On line knowledge centre, Protikrit, Karmajibi Nari, La via campesina, MFTD, Prantik, Purbasha, RCSV, Swadhin Bangla Garments Sramik Federation, Solidarity Workshop, Sirajganj Flood Forum, Uddipan, Voice, and World Development Movement, UK—organised the rally in front of National Press Club in the city.

The organizers demanded sovereign, democratic and responsible financing to ensure that the benefits of aid and loans reach the poor through a transparent and accountable manner.

Speakers at a press conference yesterday said loans and grants of the World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other international financial institutions are destructive for Bangladesh as the donor agencies take away more kickbacks than what they have provided as aid or loans.

Only 25 percent of the foreign aid and loans provided to the country go to the target group while the rest of them are attained for the auxiliary and support services, they added.

The speakers said this at the press conference organised by VOICE, a rights-based research group, and Aid Accountability Group, a civil society alliance, at the National Press Club in the city.

They called on the government to reject destructive aid and formulate an independent economic policy instead of PRSP and to make all loan agreements public ensuring transparency and accountability.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=126405

VOICE, a rights research organisation, on Sunday called upon the government to reject ‘destructive foreign aid’ that has crippled national policymaking by robbing it of ‘sovereignty and independence’.
The rights leaders, at a press conference ahead of the meeting of the Bangladesh Development Forum, insisted that the government should announce when it will stop receiving conditional external assistance and begin to prepare the national budget with domestic resources only.
They added that only 25 per cent of foreign aid and loans reached the target group while the rest went to auxiliary and support services including the fees of foreign consultants.
‘The people of Bangladesh are becoming more and more indebted due to the loans given by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and thus have become more vulnerable to foreign manipulation,’ Ahmed Swapan Mahmud, executive director of VOICE, told reporters at the National Press Club.
He pointed out that the lender-driven Poverty Reduction Strategy had failed to reduce poverty — rather the percentage of the poor has increased in recent years.

We call for a new legal framework for climate refugees to realize their social, political, cultural and economic rights.
 
Many developing countries of the global south are facing serious catastrophe due to climate change. Hundreds and thousands of people from these developing nations have already been displaced and millions more will be displaced if appropriate measures are not taken today. The current rate of climate change is rapidly increasing due to the onslaught of global warming caused by excessive carbon emissions, and more frequent and extreme draught, flooding, cyclones and sea level rise are the life-threatening results. All of these consequences not only pose mortal danger but also lead to the destruction of the means of livelihood which sustain millions of people in the global south. Recent studies show that around 30 million people from the coastal areas of Bangladesh, 300 thousand from the Maldives, 10 million from Vietnam, 10 million from Mediterranean Egypt, and 600 thousand from Guyana will be displaced due to loss  of land as a result of climate change effects.

Writing history’s longest suicide note

The UN office in Ratchadamnoen Ave., Bangkok, where the intersessional
global climate negotiations was recently held with glacial speed. Photo by Red Constantino

Here we are.

The morning after.

When the plane finally touched asphalt I could call home.

Kamuning in the heart and also beneath my feet.

Content canine Emil is sleeping on my left, at peace with the slow day
in the corner where he fought and defeated the ugly things that once
attempted to impose their space in our house.

In front of us, the bougainvillea planted years ago in the street.

The plant is stretching out, with multiple trunks stemming from a
single base, thorned stems shooting upwards, towards the sun, merging
with the crown of the old chesa.

The Asian Peoples' Solidarity for Climate Justice was formed to prepare the civil society program in parallel with the United Nations climatetalks, 28 September to 9 October 2009, Bangkok.

On 29 there was a press conference organized by The Asian peoples's solidarity for climate justice where Farjana Akter from VOICE read out the statement which is below:

We, the Asian Peoples’ Solidarity for Climate Justice,  are gathered here in Bangkok, Thailand to take our stand in the face of an unprecedented conflict.
It is a conflict over resources, a conflict driven by unfettered profiteering and the slavery of consumption, it is a conflict brought about the domination and ascendancy of private interest over public good.

Among the direst consequences of this conflict is global warming and the planetary impacts that are just beginning to unfold as we speak, such as rising seas, mass forced migration due to massive drought and the increase in frequency and severity of extreme weather events. The impacts also include rapid economic meltdown and the destruction of jobs and livelihoods, because the environmental ills the world is facing today are inextricably wedded to the global economic and financial system.

Despite strong pressure from communities and NGOs, the ADB continues to support destructive carbon-intensive development projects such as coal-fired power stations, large dams and private sector-biased highways, thereby accelerating the adverse impacts of increasing global temperatures. Farjana Akter of VOICE, an active Forum member, talks about the consequences of such reckless programs and direct impact of climate change in Bangladesh.

Most of the rural people of Bangladesh think that the changing climate, as well as the frequent natural disasters, happened by God's hand. These are natural disasters. They also think that because of our sins God gives us these troubles. These simple and vulnerable people are quite far removed from global politics and injustice order. They do not know that they are victims of climate change.

Neoliberal doctrines fail to cut poverty Seminar told

Privatisation and trade liberalisation instigated by neoliberal doctrines have failed to reduce poverty or ensure social protection for the poor, instead it increased concentration of wealth and disparity in the society, speakers said at a seminar yesterday.

Neoliberalism did not only cause a devastating consequence to developing countries like Bangladesh, it also has shaken the northern economy, they added.

A comprehensive set of social protection policies must be introduced to replace the unfocused and ad hoc social safety net as a strategy of addressing poverty, they said.

This should be looked into with rights-based approach instead of mere service delivery, they suggested.

Neoliberalism is a political view, arising in the 1960s, that emphasises the importance of economic growth and asserts that social justice is best maintained by minimal government interference and free market forces.

The seminar on 'Neoliberalism, Poverty and Social Protection Policies' was organised by VOICE, a research and public education organisation, at the National Press in Dhaka.

[Dhaka, 5 July 2009] Speakers in a seminar spoke about how neoliberal policy doctrines have failed to reduce poverty or ensure social protection for the poor. Neoliberalism has not only had devastating consequences in developing countries like Bangladesh, it has also shaken the northern economy.

The seminar titled `Neoliberalism, Poverty and Social Protection Policies’ was held in the city’s national press club today. It was organized by VOICE, a research and public education organization and moderated by its executive director Ahmed Swapan Mahmud. The panel included Monower Mustafa, a researcher and development activist; Mohsin Ali, Coordinator of Governance Advocacy Forum; and Saiful Haq, Genral Secretary of Biplobi Workers Party. Ahmed Swapan Mahmud also presented Voice’s keynote paper at the seminar.

 “Neoliberal policies have been proved ineffective and have failed to offer any better solution for society.” said Ahmed Swapan Mahmud. “Rather, they create marginalization, deprivation, economic injustice, insecurity and poverty at large.” Mentioning existing Social Safety Net Programms (SSNPs) he told the seminar that these ad-hoc measures are merely neoliberal tools, while the programmes do not play any real role reducing poverty.

Subject : Neoliberalism, Poverty and Social Protection Policies

Date : 5 July 2009

Time : 10 am.-1:00pm.

Venue : VIP Lounge, National Press Club

Speakers : Eminent economists, sociologist, academicians, NGOs leaders and civil society activists

Organized by : VOICE

You are coordially invited.

Regards,

Ahmed Swapan

Cell No. 01711881919
www.voicebd.org