Columbia is a country of 37 million inhabitants, of which 30% (that is to say 9 210 000 ) are black people descended from slaves. Through a process of struggle and resistance lasting more than 3 centuries we have achieved our liberty, fleeing towards mountains, valleys and coasts which the European conquerors had not yet reached. During the process of adaptation and survival in an unknown world, which has lasted hundreds of years, the free blacks were able to create their own world and culture.

After this period of liberation, exclusion and racism are what have marked the relation of Colombians towards the black population. The draining of resources from our territories by large multinationals, the alienation of our culture, the oppressing conditions of absolute poverty and the denial of all social, economic, political and cultural rights are just some of the ways that this exclusion expresses itself.

Today, in the internal war which Columbia has been going through for several decades, black people have been condemned to a silent extermination. This has been imposed by the state and economic groups, at the same time as the population are denied of their individual and collective rights. This situation has evolved from the uprooting, enchaining, exporting and selling of black people like animals in America, so as to consolidate the conquests which made the northern countries powerful. At the beginning of this new millennium the black people of Colombia are facing ETHNOCIDE; this is being perpetuated by the different actors in the war.

The areas where violent expulsion of the population is occurring correspond to the strategic zones of the war. A million black people have been displaced from their lands ( up till 1st October 2000), which are being occupied by outsiders who accept the authority of the armed groups and the state and are apostles of an economic and political model based in exclusion and which generates destruction and death for the bearers of cultures which are thousands of years old.

The historic project of the black people has its cultural, territorial, environmental and social basis. Its struggle consists in the defense of these areas in which we have lived since ancestral times; created and recreated our culture throughout our history in Colombia and America. We, Black people are demanding the government gives collective community titles; we are struggling for the strengthening of our identity and autonomy which demands the ability to freely decide our own ways of life in accordance with our aspirations and our identity as a people. The capitalist State of Colombia has turned the organised black communities - who are struggling for the defense of territory as a way of life and their cultural principles such as identity - into victims of racism, poverty, marginalisation and military targets of armed groups who defend the interest of politicians, large land owners, drug traffickers and businessmen. These look for the irrational exploitation of mineral resources, the destruction of biodiversity, the implementation of tourist projects, ports, canals, agroindustrial projects, industrial logging, energy infrastructure....

After slavery, displacement is the most criminal aggression against the black population of Columbia and America. Displacement is a result of intimidation and massacres; it results in invisibility; the loss of territories, the loss of access to natural resources, the tearing apart of families, solidarity, self esteem, and the right to live in peace in accordance with our traditions, customs and cultural aspirations.

We demand the different actors in the war in Columbia to stop the armed conflict, respect their autonomy, their fundamental rights and not to fight in their territories. We call on the international community to accompany us, to show solidarity and to struggle with us to consolidate, in this capitalist world; the territories of the black population in accordance with the teaching of their ancestors: the territory is the space where you can be and remain; where your ideals and your own history remains, where life, happiness hope and freedom will reign.

Success! We didn't just blockade the meeting. We actually closed it down ! This has never happened before to a global governance institution. After trying to hide it, even the mainstream media (Herald Tribune for example) admited implicitly that the third day was cancelled because of the protests. The very interesting insiders story from a World Banker shows much more. (voir Focus on Trade No.55, October 2000 www.focusweb.org/focus/pd/apec/fot/fot55.html* A World Bank Staffer's Odyssey in Kafka's Prague*) According to him, a great number of the delegates were so scared the first day that they refused to leave their hotels on the second ! And the first day people were looking out the window every time a grenade exploded. So the immediate, concrete objective was achieved 300%.

In Prague, for the first time we met and struggled together with a new generation of radicals from Czech republic, Poland, Hungary and in smaller numbers from other countries East. There massive involvement (two thirds of those arrested were Czech) was a very good surprise. So was the often positive attitude of Czech bystanders - people waving from windows, etc, despite the incredible media campaign against the " terrorists " and hooligans ". Afterwards, a handful of people skilfully managed to largely turn around the Czech media concerning the police brutality, and brought Havel and other ex-dissidents to take our side. It is vital now to preserve and develop these contacts. That shouldn't be so difficult since we won this one !

The Global Day of Action worked better than ever before. This time more than 110 cities announced actions and within a week more than 70 had posted reports on the Indymedia or S26 web pages. New places, new faces, new practices. It wasn't just the occasion for established movements to coordinate but seems to have stimulated a wave of new young radical groups, from students to anarcho-punks - a new worldwide movement: five cities in Australia, five in Brazil, Moscow, Warsaw, South Africa, 2 in New Zealand, and 40 in the USA ...etc

The whole of Bolivia was brought to a standstill as the peasants rose up and blockaded the roads in all of the states of Bolivia.

There was also strong repression from the state and with that we remember those who were unjustly arrested and tortured in Prague and indeed right around the globe, we also remember those who were shot in Bolivia and consequently paid the ultimate price for the revolutionary freedom we are all struggling for.

On September 11 2000 over 5,000 people took to the streets of Melbourne to protest against the World Economic Forum (WEF). The WEF is an extremely powerful and unaccountable body who make major decisions about what we read in the media, what food we eat, what we will learn in school, where, when and in what conditions we will work; almost every aspect of our everyday life. It is an exclusive, un-elected, invite-only organisation and a driving force behind the global economy. Its members include: 1000 CEOs from the worlds biggest multi-national corporations. In other words they are the 'bad guys!'.

Food not bombs fed the masses at the demonstrators tent, where the various parties and affinity groups were holding meetings, and paper sellers were runing rampant! Over a thousand people had gathered in front of the stage on Queensbridge St to listen to the lunch-time bands: Red-eyed Frogs, and Urban Guerillas. There were giant puppets, people with drums, whistles, and other instruments as people dressed up in all kinds of costumes, including a group of half a dozen "anti-capitalist clowns." Volunteers distributed free copies of "Melbourne Indy Bulletin", produced daily by the Indymedia people.

The link between the state and the protection of multi-national interests was illustrated when demonstrators were hit with harsh police repression. Without warning or any attempt at negotiation police attacked a peaceful blockade outside Crown Casino. The ferocity and violence of the attack was the worst seen in the WEF protests. Police charged through and over the protests wielding long PR-24 side handled batons, striking protesters over the head and body. Protesters were kicked, punched and dragged behind police lines. Protesters trapped between lines of police horses and the casino fence were beaten and prodded through the fence with batons. One man was beaten by police, while lying prone, and possibly unconsciousness, behind police lines. He was subsequently taken to hospital by ambulance with suspected spinal injuries.
Even opposition MPs were not safe! As Green MPs from New Zealand found out when they were trampled by police horses.

Demonstration met the European Union (EU) meeting in Nice. The focus of the meeting was, the Charter of Fundamental Rights and institutional reforms that prefigure EU enlargement of eastern European countries. The legislation would undermine the rights of EU workers and hand over power to the WTO.
Many feared this would transform Europe into a free-exchange zone - a paradise for liberal capitalism!

A diversity of demonstrators gathered, from a range of causes, from trades union solidarity to anti-globalisation, from anarcho-syndicalism to Basque and Corsican nationalism. Numbers were estimated at over 50,000.

The arrival of the heads of State at the Acropolis caused violent confrontations with security forces. Traffic was blocked in numerous parts of the city. A demonstration of about 3000 formed streets were blockaded around the Avenue de la Republique, demonstrators attempted to break through the police barricades that were set up to defend delegates from the protesters. Several brave pushes against the police led to repeated use of tear gas and pepper spray. The demonstrators eventually joined a 6000 strong demonstration back to the convergence centre for a rally.

The usual targets of globalization were sort out and re-decorated, which resulted in burnt our banks and broken windows. Some these targets were 'smelly balled' - to show people just how much capitalism stinks! These targets had to be evacuated.

Several anti-fascists also confronted the security forces of the neo-nazi party of Le Pen (National Front) who had organised a gathering with the approval of the City Council. As usual the cops disappeared and one anti-fascist was seriously injured.

Many people retreated to the Leyrit hall, centre of the Counter-Summit. Later, the gymnasium was evacuated by 2000 people when police fired tear gas and water cannon into the room.

Italians blocked in Vintimiglia

Police also blocked 1500 Italians of Ya Basta, Tuti Bianchi, and Rifondazione Communista, en-route for Nice at Vintimiglia on the Italy-France border. Despite the protests of the Italian authorities, the French authorities protected by rows of hundreds of riot police (CRS) refused to let the Italians through. Confrontation broke out when some of the Italians attempted to walk to the French consulate. In response to the blocking of the train, thousands of demonstrators occupied the Nice railway station and demanded the opening of the border for the Italian activists. The riot police (CRS) reacted by attacking the demonstrators and throwing them out of the station. An Assembly of NGO's and European associations, named the "Crossroads of Civil Society", adopted a motion which denounced the behaviour of the French authorities as "anti-European".

With this principal slogan 'Kill WTO otherwise it kills whole human civilization' two days long 1st South Asian Regional Conference of PGA (People's Global Action) was held on 15th-16th September, 2000 in Dhaka, Bangladesh jointly organised by Bangladesh Krishok (Peasant) Federation and Bangladesh Kishani Sahba (Bangladesh Women Peasant Association). The conference was completely against Free Trade and WTO.

World Bank, IMF and World Trade Organisation (WTO) has already become a papet in the hands of imperialist power and make an easy way for attaining monopoly profits in trade by Multi-national Companies. In the name of globalization the on-going process is increasing exploitation and discrimination on the one hand, on the other it makes wealth centralized. As a result, several thousand industries are being laid-off. Thousands of wrokers became jobless. Indusries, agriculture, education including health are being transferred into a commodity in the name of Free Trade. Globalization makes big harm for the mankind by handing over mass wealth to the Multi-national Companies. People can never uphold such kind of aggressive harmful initiative. So, the mass protest against globalization should be universal. In view of this, two days long 1st South Asian Regional Conference of PGA started at the Doctor Martyr Milon Hall, Sahbagh, Dhaka.

Participants give above mentioned speeches against Free Trade and WTO in the Regional Conference. Saiful Hoq, General Secretary of Bangladesh Khetmajur Union (Bangladesh Agricultural Labourers' Union) was in the chair while Badrul Alam, General Secretary of Bangladesh Krishok (Peasant) Federation gave introductory speeches. Morshed Ali, Central member of Bangladesh krishok Samity (Peasant Association) gave speech on the particular agenda in the Conference. The session is also addressed by, among others, Subhrangsu Chakrabartee, convenor of Samajtantrik Khetmajur (Socialist Agri-Labourers') and Krishok (Peasant) Front, Jainul Abedeen, President, Bangladesh Krishi Farm Federation, Lear Hossain Khan, Organising Secretary, Bangladesh Krishok (Peasant) Federation, Laskar Khalilur Rahman, Central member, Bangladesh Krishok (Peasant) Federation, Madusudan Khatiwada, Central leader of GEFONT of Nepal, Tomas Marandy, Acting President of Bangladesh Adivasi Samity (Indigenous People's Association), Abdus Salam, President of Bhasaman Sramik Union (Floating Labourers' Union), Jahanara Begum, General Secretary of Bangladesh Bhasaman Nari Sramik Union, (Floating Women Labourers' Union) Runa Laila, Sabina Begum, Pyara Begum of Bangladesh Kishani Sabha, Mahbub Majumder, Organising Secretary of Bangladesh Grameen Buddhijibi Front (Bangladesh Rural Intellectual's Front), Nehar Parvin Runu, President of Bangladesh Bhasaman Nari Sramik Union, Advocate Hasnat Quiyum, Research and Education Secretary of Bangladesh Khetmajur Union, Advocate A.K.M. Safiqul Islam Sawpan, General Secretary of Bangladesh Grameen Buddhijibi Fornt, Dr. Shamsun Nahar Khan Doli, President of Bangladesh Kishani Sabha, Zayed Iqbal Khan, General Secretary of Bangladesh Bhasaman Sramik Union, Motahar Hossain, Central President of Ganoachhaya Sanskritic Kendra (Mass Cultural Centre) and Kazi Borhanul Islam and Faruq Alam Hawlader, President & Central Member of Bangladesh Grameen Buddhijibi Front.

Morshed Ali, Central Member of Bangladesh Krishok Samity (Peasant Association) presided over the second session on the agenda with regard to agriculture, bio-diversity, hybrid, genetic engineering and future of mankind while Hasnath Quiyum, Research and Education Secretary, Bangladesh Khetmajur Union presented the keynote paper.

2nd Day of 1st South Asian Regional Conference of PGA

1st South Asian Regional Conference organised jointly by Bangladesh Krishok Federation and Bangladesh Kishani Sabha against Free Trade, WTO, has been over adopting Dhaka declaration.

The arch victim of the globalization by the imperialist is women in the World, especially the women of underdeveloped and backward countries. The existing system of globalization, on the one hand, makes the women wealthless and powerless, on the other hand, it drives the women towards commodity. The long standing women rights on seeds and wealth have been offered for the vital interest of profit of Multi-national companies.

The women workers are being exploted seriously in the name of export promotion. But the women played an important role in the world economic development. Women can win over the women emancipation movement by taking part in the movement against imperialist globalization with a view to establishing gender equalty in family, social, state life as well as in every walk of life. This struggle should be intensified at national and international arena.

The 1st South Asian Regional Confeence of People's Global Action (PGA) held at the Dr. Martyr Milon Auditorium in Sahbagh, Bangladeshu Sheik Mojib Medical University on 16th September 2000, Dr, Shamsunnahar Khan Doly, President of Bangladesh Kishani Sabha was in the chair and Mr. Badrul Alam, General Secretary of Bangladesh Krishok Federation gave an introductory speech on the particular topic 'Gender Equalty and Human Rights'. The conference was addressed by, among others, guests from SAARC countries, Shaiful Hoq, General Secretary of Bangladesh Khetmajur Union. Khurshida Aktar, General Secretary of Bangladesh Kishani Sahba, Solaiman Master, Runa Laila, leaders of Bangladesh Krishok (Peasant) Federation and Bangladesh Kishani Sahba. Shamsur Rahman Dolon Chanpa, leaders of Bangladesh Grameen Buddhijibi Front (Rural Intellectuals' Front). Hasnath Quiyum, Research and Education Secretary of Bangladesh Khetmajur Union, Nurur Rahman, Joint Convenor of Bangladesh Krishok Samity, Laskar Mohammed Khalilur Rahman, leader of Bangladesh Krishok Federation, Mr. Faruque Alam, Member of Bangladesh Grameen Buddhijibi Front and Advocate Sohel, General Secretary of Khetmajur Samity, Second Session was presided over by Ziad-AL-Malum, Executive President of Bangladesh Khetmajur Samity. A 'Dhaka Declaration' has been atopted in the second Session of the 1st South Asian Regional Conference of People's Global Action (PGA).

This round-up was put together by the London Reclaim the Streets, a group that came together in the early 1990's and takes creative direct action in the struggle towards positive, ecological and socially just alternatives to capitalism. London RTS were Western European PGA convenors before Ya Basta!, and, in February 2000, put together the English print version of the last 'official' PGA bulletin. (Since then a group in Manchester, England put out a Prague-related PGA bulletin for distribution in the UK and in Prague.)

1.) (Some of the many) actions by the UK direct action movement (of which London RTS is a part):

MayDay London: Guerillagardening

The events with the highest profile in this period took place on May 1st May Day. There were actions and events in Manchester, London, Sheffield, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Bristol, the largest being in London. The capital saw a highly successful weekend conference titled 'A Festival of Anti-Capitalist Ideas and Action, followed by a London RTS-organised guerilla gardening action in Parliament Square (mass reclamation of land and cultivation as a community garden) which partially merged with the more traditional workers day. RTS also distributed 20,000 copies of a newspaper called Maybe, whose front and back pages spoofed a London free tabloid paper called Metro.

In legal terms, fallout from recent global days of action (J18, N30 & Mayday) reverberated all the way through autumn as cases came up, (ridiculously) harsh sentences were handed down and people were pulled in often with the use of photo galleries printed in right-wing newspapers and on police websites.

In September, the Prague mobilisation to shut down the IMF/World Bank included several events in the UK including actions against deportation centres and for the free movement of people, and a London-based free newspaper called The Financial Crimes. Many UK activists were in Prague on and around September 26th, contributing in particular to the samba pink and silver grouping, which also included representatives from movements involved in the PGA network. Many UK people were involved in international and local prisoner support activities that put pressure on the Czech authorities after the week's actions.

It s been a period of reflection and reappraisal in the UK this year. In the light of the growth of the 'anti-capitalist' movement, many people and groups looking closely at the direction they are heading in and how best to use limited resources to achieve real change. We have also had to digest new legislation attempting to redefine direct action as terrorism and bringing in even more effective ways to monitor electronic communications. There have also been many actions on diverse issues, too many to list here, but including:

• The pieing of 2 politicians who are making political capital by stirring up hatred against asylum seekers;
• Street parties in Glasgow, Dublin and Leicester;
• Continued covert and open actions to destroy genetically modified test crops;
• A weekend occupation of the planned site of women s prison, leading later to the halting of the British Airways-planned deportation of a Zairean asylum seeker who had been allowed no legal representation, who is now free and living in England.

Lastly, a large group travelled from the UK to Den Haag in Holland to participate in many creative, radical and confrontational actions against the COP6 climate change conference, including a mass occupation of a closed meeting, banner drops, the pieing of the head of the US delegation (all inside the conference centre) and numerous samba-based street actions. Several actions also took place in the UK to mark the start of COP6, and there are plans to build a diverse grassroots movement for climate justice here, designed to resist all market-based solutions to this growing crisis.

2.) Here are a few examples of other actions which are of equal interest:

• A mass blockade of Faslane Nuclear Submarine Base, resulting in 189 arrests;
• 600 mainly women working at Dudley Hospital in the West Midlands have been involved in 6 walk-outs since August in protest at the transfer of their jobs to a private company. This is part of the wider national Private Finance Initiative designed to dismantle and privatise the National Health Service, resulting in severe job losses;
• A Civil Rights Caravan put together by an alliance of anti-racist groups made its way across the UK in October, culminating in a Rally in London;
• Nationwide protests against the high price of fuel, led by farmers and truckers struggling to maintain jobs and livelihoods in the face of huge government taxes on fuel, as well as the profits of oil companies (and the structures that support them). Some mainstream green NGO s actively opposed these protests, while many grassroots activists began to make links with the protesters.

Close to 200 labor student and social movement activists were injured as violent clashes took place with riot police during the march after the National Worker's Rally at a park located in the northern part of Seoul. Recent political and economic conditions in Korea have made the retaliation of the workers and socially oppressed inevitable. Workers, furious at the recent moves by the government, including the undemocratic/incompetent way they dealt with the Daewoo Motors situation(which has recently resulted in its bankruptcy and will result in thousands losing their jobs), and the closure of many major construction corporations without the measures necessary to protect the livelihood of the workers who will lose their jobs, came to the rally armed and ready for police intervention. As the policeblocked the peaceful march at a major intersection the workers retaliated, battling the police at several barricades. Many activists were injured as police beat down on the protestors with clubs. Several bystanders were also hurt in the process, as police indiscriminately attacked people on the side walks. The clashes continued late into the night, until the protestors dispersed at about 8 p.m. The KCTU(Korean Confederation of Trade Unions), which organized this rally, vowed that the struggle would not stop, hinting at a possible general strike in the near future.

The anger of the workers at the rally were the result of three years of ruthless uni-lateral re-structuring which has resulted in the increasing dependency on foreign economies and international trends, increasing economic instability, lay-offs, unstable jobs, rise in unemployment, the polarization of wealth, and the dismantling of social unity, among many others: an overall and dramatic decrease in the standards of living for the people of Korea.

Sketch of the O20 Struggles in Seoul

The actions started bright and early on the 20th of October, with the leadership of KoPA (Korean People's Action against Investment Treaties and the WTO) and the People's Rally Committee attempting to deliver a letter protesting the free trade/neo-liberal agenda of the Asia Europe Meeting. However, police stopped the attempt immediately after they got off the bus in front of the conference site. A placard reading "No to Neoliberal Globalization" and "No to Structural Adjustment Programs," was torn away from the hands of the religious, labor, human rights, and social movement leaders' hands. Police violently pushed away the protestors using shields and clubs. The leadership conducted an immediate sit-in protest at the site, explaining to reporters the situation and declaring that since peaceful means are being blocked, 'other means to deliver the people's voice' would have to be used.

Students took to the streets an hour later, in close to a dozen places in the Seoul area, in an effort to draw the police away. Students teamed up in groups of 20 or so, 'popped out' of subway stations near main intersections and blocked off roads, and then dispersed when police showed up. A little later in the morning, a rally jointly organized by the Korean People's Action Against Investment Treaties and the WTO and the People's Rally Committee was held in downtown Seoul about 4 miles away from the ASEM Tower. Over 3000 workers, students, and activists gathered and demanded an end to the neo-liberal free trade order. They demanded an end to plans for privatization of the public sector and reduction of working hours. Ten activists were injured in the process.

In the afternoon, 20,000 gathered in at Olympic Park for the main event of the day: The Seoul Day of Action Against Neo-liberal Globalization rally. Speakers both national and foreign, spoke about the atrocities caused by neo-liberal globalization, in front of a huge sign on the stage which read 'no to Neo-liberalism', 'humans before profits'. Sign held by participants read 'enough destruction of our lives', 'no to BITs (Bi-lateral Investment Treaties).' Afterwards another march toward the conference site followed, and again police blocked the march about a mile away from the ASEM Tower. Tensions mounted as each side deliberated on what actions to take next. Demonstrations continued late into the night, as close to 1000 students held a separate rally in the northern part of the city, continuing the struggle of the day. Students retreated into a university nearby afterwards and this marked the end of the O20 struggle in Seoul.

The struggle against neo-liberal globalization has ended in Seoul. For now, that is. But we here in South Korea know that the struggle continues today for the people all over the world fighting for democratic rights, for diversity, for the environment, for human rights, and for all the values that we hold dear.

The Struggle of the People Continues!!
An Immediate Stop to Neo-Liberal Globalization!!

More information on the actions can be seen at: http://antiwto.jinbo.net

Regular updates on the preparations for the ASEM action can be heard through the internet broadcasts at: http://cast.jinbo.net/news/yundai.html

** These newsletters are originally from the Policy and Information Center for International Solidarity (PICIS: http://picis.jinbo.net) Newsletter Team

In Caracas, Venezuela, is the Commission of Relations Anarchists, CRA, a federal embryo of the Venezuelan anarchists. In year 2,000 we have had some activities the -Fair of Culture Libertaria and Jornadas Anarcopunk. The Attendance average people by event are 150-200, facts of independent and self-managed way. Of the Fair of Libertaria Culture we have made 9 editings, with the participation of diverse groups and cultural groupings. 3 Anarcopunks Days have been made, with the presence of groups of foreign punk rock like Cojoba (Puerto Rico) and Disarmament (Colombia). - Platform 26 of September: The CRA motorized the conformation of \red Platform 26 of September, to make in Caracas actions in the frame of the world-wide day of action against Capitalism. To the P26S diverse groups of students were integrated, social groups of human rights, movements and individualities. The 26 of September, we made a march until the seat of the IMF in Caracas. Later, forums were made in universities on the resistance to globalizacion. - Periodic the Libertario: In November we published I number 20 of our publication the Libertario. 2,000 units of each they circulate in amoungst youth in universities, communities and events, becoming the publication of reference

At the moment the CRA promotes for August of the 2001, Encuentro of Groups Autonomos de Popular and Alternative Cultura, to be made in the city of Rubio. The intention is to harness an antiauthoritarian social network with diverse groups: ecologists, human rights, students, etc.

On September 26 a carnival against capitalism was held in Wellington, Aotearoa (the capital of New Zealand) in solidarity with the protests in Prague. The protest was organised by Wellington anarchist group "Committee for the Establishment of Civilisation" who organised a similar event on May Day this year. The protest started at 12noon outside McDonalds with a barbeque giving away free vegan burgers by "Food not Bombs", and protesters holding banners and handing out leaflets. Solidarity messages that had been sent from Prague were read out. Around 1pm the protest moved around the corner to a branch of the WestpacTrust bank. Westpac is a multinational whose investments include uranium mining in Australia, and they had been chosen as a target for the anti-capitalist message of the protest. The protesters entered the branch and gave out leaflets to the customers. The group was told to leave by police, but as they were leaving one of the protesters was tackled by a pollice officer and a scuffle broke out in which several people were arrested. Others were arrested outside the bank. Nine protesters were arrested on charges such as obstruction, trespass, and resisting arrest .

Also . . . .

In response to growing disillusionment and opposition to neo-liberal trade agreements such as APEC and the MAI the NZ government has taken a new strategy. Free Trade Agreements are now being negotiated nation to nation rather than on a multi-nation level. The Aotearoa Educators are working to halt the negotiations and signing of such agreements the government is aggressively seeking with Chile and Hong Kong after a similar deal was struck with Singapore. New Zealands consultative process is a parody of democracy. Any consultation about the implications of signing further FTAs has been cosmetic with signing decided by a select committee of parliament,and the dishonouring of the constitutional commitments to consult Maori on such decisions. The public submissions sent in were overwhelmingly against the deepening of further commitments to FTAs however the government chose to ignore this opposition. Aotearoa Educators see that this is exposing the real interests of globalisation and that the parliamentary process is limited in what it can achieve if it fails to uphold the people's voice, they warn that public anger and frustration caused by the government and these agreements mean that non-violent action may not be sustained.

Heeding the lessons of this anti-fta campaign and of the past 16 years of neo-liberalism in Aotearoa, the Aotearoa Educators is seeking to bring together local opposition in a coordinated movement to confront and end imperialist globalisation.

Ka whawhai tonu matou ake ake ake!

Over 350 people were forcibly arrested in front of the Supreme Court People appeal to the Chief Justice to hold a public hearing in the Narmada Valley

After a peaceful dharna in front of the Supreme Court, when people were waiting for a response from the Chief Justice to their memorandum, suddenly over 150 police forcefully arrested over 350 people, including 50 women.

Men and women of the Narmada valley, had reached the Supreme Court in the morning. They held a peaceful dharna at the gate of the court, with songs, slogans, exhibits and posters capturing the 15 year long struggle, life and its richness along with the resolve to save the valley from forced destruction. People were determined to point out that present construction of the Sardar Sarovar dam is in violation of the Narmada Tribunal and the Supreme court order itself. Construction is being pushed ahead even though it has no permission from the Narmada Control Authority and no valid environmental clearance.

It is clear that the judgement on Sardar Sarovar Project will lead to forcible eviction and destitution through flooding of houses and lands, without rehabilitation of a few thousand families. The judgement thus has paved the way for violation of right to life and livelihood of innocent toiling masses and integrated natural resource based communities.

Farmers belonging to the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha destroyed Bt Cotton crop sown in Sowlanga near Honnali taluk of Davanagere district on Jan.3. As planned, as part of their struggle against the use of the genetically-modified seeds.

Volunteers of the newly-formed 'Hasiru Sene'(Green Brigade)-the youth wing of the KRRS - rushed to the field and uprooted the Bt cotton crop and destroyed it by setting it on fire.

The police who were clearly outnumbered, watched the destruction of the genetically-modified cotton species against which the KRRS has been waging a battle to stop the application of the biotechnology to agriculture on the plea it is harmful to the environment and does incalculable damage to traditional and indigenous agricultural methods.

The pubilc meeting concluded after the destruction of the Bt cotton crop was over with the KRRS leaders asserting that they would not allow the introduction of genetically-modified seeds as it had been conclusively proved the world over that they were dangerous to the environment as well as to time tested traditional farm practices.

Next April 20-22, 2001, Quebec City has the dubious honor of hosting the Summit of the Americas, which brings together the 34 heads of state of North, South and Central America, as well as the Caribbean (except Cuba). Besides the usual scare-mongering about security and terrorism, and empty rhetoric about democracy and human rights, the Summit aims to give momentum to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement. The Summit of the Americas meeting will be largest police and security operation in Canadian history, all while the 34 leaders and an entourage of big business elites, technocrats and corporate media enjoy their cocktail parties, gala dinners and public relations spectacles.

The FTAA extends the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) to the entire hemisphere, and is to be implemented by no later than 2005. The FTAA is also an extension of the reach of capitalist globalization, aiming to submit health care, education, as well as environmental and labor standards, to the so-called logic of the free-market. Negotiated behind closed doors, and imposed unilaterally, the FTAA process is yet another example of the kind of economic violence that aims to suppress the gains of popular struggles of the past, and reinforce the power of cash and cops over our lives.

Partially in response to the upcoming Summit of the Americas meeting, and partially to reinforce existing networks of resistance, the Anti-Capitalist Convergence (la Convergence des luttes anti-capitalistes, or CLAC) came together last April in Montreal, one full year before the Summit. The CLAC asserts clear opposition to capitalism, imperialism, neo-liberalism and patriarchy while affirming values of mutual aid, solidarity, genuine democracy and autonomy. It is decentralized and non-hierarchical, and rejects bureaucratic, top-down models of organizing. Respecting a diversity of tactics, the CLAC supports the use of a variety of creative initiatives, ranging from popular education to direct action.

In the spirit of the PGA, the CLAC adopts a confrontational attitude, and rejects reformist alternatives like lobbying. In clear opposition to the Summit of the Americas and the FTAA, the CLAC is planning to disturb - to the maximum extent possible — the upcoming Quebec Summit. More broadly, the CLAC aims to support local and global resistance struggles and contribute to the building of existing anti-capitalist, anti-authoritarian networks; all while emphasizing radical alternatives to capitalist fundamentalism.

The CLAC has been actively organizing since this past April 2000. Based in Montreal, the CLAC meets in open, decisional general assemblies, and has mandated several working groups that report back at each assembly. There are also several affinity groups affiliated to the CLAC that organize workshops, teach-ins, street theatre, actions and other projects. Individuals and groups participate in the CLAC by agreeing to its basis of unity; otherwise, they retain their autonomy.

The CLAC network in Montreal comprises between 400-500 persons (ie. People who have actively made contact with the CLAC by providing their contact information at meetings). At present, approximately 50-75 people are actively involved in the various CLAC working groups. Each general assembly attracts approximately 100-150 people, and the CLAC network is growing with each meeting. There is no central committee within the CLAC that directs it activities, and all decisions are mandated by the General Assemblies.

The CLAC network converges local struggles against poverty, police brutality, prisons, racism, sexism, homophobia as well as environmental, human rights, student, women's, immigrants', solidarity and other grassroots movements. At recent assemblies, there have been presentations on Plan Colombia, the UNAM student strike in Mexico, the plight of immigrant domestic workers in Canada as well as anti-poverty struggles in Quebec City and Montreal. The CLAC network also provided support for a local mobilization against the G-20 in October (as part of the "G-20 Welcoming Committee") and a squat action for housing by a local direct action anti-poverty group. Along with the Tampa Bay Action Group, CLAC is currently a temporary convenor for PGA-North America.

This April, the CLAC will participate in a grassroots mobilization against the FTAA, along with the newly formed Summit of the Americas Welcoming Committee (le Comite d'Accueil du Sommet des Ameriques or CASA) that is based in Quebec City and shares CLAC's outlook. The CLAC is organizing a "Carnival Against Capitalism" (including teach-ins, conferences, workshops, concerts, cabarets, community kitchens, street theatre, direct actions, protests and more) that will culminate in a day of action on April 20, 2001 as the Summit of the Americas begins.

The CLAC believes it is possible to radically and creatively oppose imperialism and the capitalist system while at the same time maintaining the spirit of openness that is necessary to develop a diverse and pluralistic resistance movement. The mobilization against the Summit of the Americas is being organized within the framework of a long-term struggle, in the North and South, against capitalist globalization. For its part, the CLAC is committed to participating in the globalization of genuine solidarity between peoples, with the goal of collectively resisting the same root causes of exploitation.
Don't hesitate to get in touch.

The US/Canadian border at Cornwall falls entirely within the Mohawk community of Akwesasne. Every day, in an affront to the sovereignty of the Mohawk Nation, U.S. and Canadian authorities determine who crosses the border and who does not.

OCAP, in partnership with the traditional people of the Mohawk Nation, labour, and community groups is organizing in solidarity with anti-globalization protesters en route to Quebec to open the border at Akwesasne.

It is, for the community of Akwesasne, both an assertion of sovereignty and an opportunity to expose the conditions Mohawk and Indian people generally, live under. First Nations people are over-represented on the street, in the prisons and live crammed on tiny reserves often without running water or heat in the winter. As one Mohawk man said, "The State's not so worried about people crossing the border, but about non-natives coming into the community and seeing how we live."

OCAP is proud to standby side by side with Mohawk people, to open the border and grant safe passage to folks fighting the brutality of the globalization agenda.

Votkinsk is a city of 100 000 inhabitants in the Udmurtian republic, Russian Federation. It is a planned site of Russian-American plant to process old heavy rocket fuel. The first such experiment was banned by the United States department of enviroment - the proposal was to build a processing plant in the Nevada desert, where the nearest human settlement was a community of 300 indians 250 kilometres away. The plant was going to harm protected tortoises in the area. So US congress decided to finance such an experiment in Russia with 55 million US$ - in extent 10 times bigger than the Nevada plant!

The first planned site was the city of Perm near Ural mountains - after strong protests by local inhabitants the Russian government decided to move the project to a place 4 kilometres from the city of Votkinsk. This is because the rocket manufacturing company Topol is the biggest employer of the city. The plan is that after 5 years of American governance, the plant will be governed by local company.

After a tour of offers, the US government decided to subcontract Lockheed Martin, the biggest military-industrial transnational in the world, and the most important contractor of the US army and NASA. Lockheed Martin has also been strongly involved in privatization schemes of Russia. Lockheed Martin has also a record of scandals, both ecological and the breaking of arms export regulation.

The Russian government has made an ecological impact assesment of the project and as usual, will not follow their own laws. The result is that the plant will mean "jobs" - currently it seems to be beginning with 25.

Known as the greenwash "NGO", "Green Cross" has been paid to promote project in local mass media and to marginalize the resistance.

The inhabitants of Votkinsk started resisting immediately when they learned about the plans. Local organising group has dozens of activists, and has organised public protests with 2000-3000 participants. The local movement has organized a municipal referendum , with the majority opposing the project. This without any grants or finances whatsoever for the election campaign, while local government has been putting lots of money and effort into counter-propaganda.

The biggest employer of the city, company Topol forbade their employees to participate the referendum and observed people who went to vote. Administrative court nullified the referendum, which has become routine in Russia where municipal and regional referendums are formally binding. There is also strong movement in the city of Chaykovskiy near Votkins, which has organised mass meetings as well as car caravan to the city of Izhevsk, capital of the Udmurtian republic.

Groups in both Votkinsk and Chaykovskiy have joined the Socio-Ecological Union, an umbrella of about 300 environmental NGO's, and "Khimbez", network against chemical pollutants in Russia. After lengthy court processes, local movement asked help from the "Rainbow Keepers", a radical social ecologist movement known for their direct actions. After two years of resistance, local people decided that new forms of resistance are necessary. Local people wanted to organise a protest camp, which Rainbow Keepers have been organised annually since the beginning of the nineties.

The camp is planned to start in the middle of the July - usually Rainbow Keepers camps last up to 6 weeks. More details about schedule and travel will become - just write down the name Votkinsk and the date 15th of July.

Contact organising group in Moscow from adresses twecoline.ru , rkrzlecoline.ru and repellentmail.ru. or Autonomous Action of Moscow, dikobrazilists.tao.ca