20 Jan Terraviva Bamako

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JANUARY, 20, 2006

Le quotidien independant du Forum Social Mondial Polycentrique de Bamako, 19-23 janvier 2006 The independent newspaper of the Polycentric World Social Forum Bamako, Jan 19-23, 2006

Spirit of Bandung/ L’esprit de Bandung ANOTHER LANDMARK CONFERENCE INSPIRES A l’inspiration d’une autre conférence historique

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Cynicism and Hope/ Cynisme et Espoir MIXED FEELINGS AS MALI HOSTS THE WORLD Sentiments mélangés au moment où le Mali accueille le monde

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A Call for Justice

Bamako opens its doors to the World Social Forum (WSF) with a passionate call for justice in all walks of life.

Un Appel à la Justice Bamako a ouvert ses portes au Forum Social Mondial (FSM) avec un appel passionné à la justice à toutes les étapes

An African stamp on WSF opening! By Zarina Geloo

It was in African robes - kentes and boubous with elaborate head dresses – rather than casual western-style t-shirts and caps emblazoned with slogans. And it was tom toms rather than Brazilian samba drums that sent the crowd into a dancing frenzy as the world came together yesterday to mark the start of the sixth World Social Forum (WSF) being held in Bamako, Mali. The dancing crowd was part of a parade that snaked through the streets of Bamako – from the department of culture to the sports stadium about three kilometers away, where the official opening took place. Appropriately, the colourful procession included not only the usual NGO activists but also Malian businesswomen, traditional healers and village elders – putting an unmistakable African stamp on the global event. This is not the first time Mali is hosting a meeting of global magnitude – it has played hosts to several international sports events, and it was here that the World Health Organisation (WHO) launched its 1999 Bamako initiative – an ambitious plan to improve access to primary healthcare. But with just about 10,000 people having turned up already – organisers expect more than 30,000 – some delegates said Bamako has to come up with a heroic response, given its inadequate infrastructure and service industry.

Many hotels and lodges are still undergoing repairs and being spruced up, sometimes right under the noses of their startled guests. Other establishments have simply given delegates the ‘take it or leave it’ treatment – knowing fully well the shortage of accommodation. “Even though I had a reservation at one hotel, I was sent to another because the hotel had overbooked. There is no water and the electricity goes off at about 4 a.m every day,” said Mariam Coulibaly, from Cameroon. In contrast, local authorities at the WSF’s traditional home in Porto Alegre, Brazil, get going well in time – spring cleaning the town and allocating substantial resources – to host the forum. The cash-strapped Malian government, on the other hand, has to rely on the equallybroke African Social Forum, the continental secretariat based in Tunis, to fund the summit. What is unusual, however, is that unlike other cities hosting such meetings, prices have not shot up overnight. Said Louis Marselle, a delegate from Canada: “It’s going much better than I expected. Mali is one of the poorest countries on earth, and a lot of us didn’t expect them to put up even the little resources that they have. “It’s a real positive development that so many eminent people from the world social movement are attending the meeting.”

Le monde entier marche à Bamako Par Michée Boko et Abdoulaye Barry

Environ dix mille délégués alter mondialistes ont battu, jeudi, le bitume de Bamako marchant du grand carrefour du boulevard de l’indépendance au stade

Modibo Kéïta, sur environ quatre kilomètres. Ils étaient Français, Italiens, Brésiliens, Tunisiens, Espagnols, Chinois et Africains de tous horizons venus

témoigner leurs soutiens aux peuples victimes de la mondialisation. Pour eux, et à cause d’eux, certaines rues de Bamako ont été fermées à la circulation, l’évènement en valait la peine. Les uns, les plus nombreux, étaient habillés en Tshirts frappés de slogans divers. Une dame âgée d’une soixantaine d’années, venue d’Italie, arborait un T-shirt bleu frappé à l’avant et à l’arrière de l’inscription ‘’No water privatisation – Non à la privatisation de l’eau’’. Un groupe de jeunes burkinabè marchait et paraphrasait en cœur un refrain emprunté au groupe musical ivoirien Magic Sytem, ‘’Pour un commerce équitable, bougeons ! ’’, chantaient-ils. Les membres du Forum social tunisien ont, pour leur part, déployé à l’horizontale un grand drapeau qu’ils tenaient en main avec à la bouche des slogans hostiles à George Bush, Tony Blair et Ariel Sharon. Plus loin, un groupe de jeunes filles maliennes, montées sur un camion, chantaient et dansaient joyeusement au rythme d’une musique tonitruante diffusée par de grands hauts parleurs, sous les regards amusés des manifestants et de la foule massée tout le long du parcours. Malgré la fatigue due à la marche, les alter mondialistes ont montré aux Bamakois qu’ils défendraient leurs causes jusqu’au bout.

QUESTION AND ANSWER

‘Bamako Roots the Process in Africa’ Dr Aminata Dramane Traoré is a Malian author and social activist. A former Minister of Culture and Tourism, she is one of the main organisers of the Malian Session of the World Social Forum 2006. TV – What are the main aims of hosting a polycentric session of the WSF; what role does Bamako, as the first session, play in this process? AT – The most important aim is to reach people where they are, in order to build a common agenda against neoliberalism. Bamako is the first step in the process to root the World Social Forum in Africa and mobilise more people on this conti-

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nent, which has been the hardest hit by globalisation. TV – You organised the first

African forum in 2002. How different has it been to organise a World Social Forum? AT: The challenge is similar in

terms of bringing people together and sharing new ideas about economic issues, external development, trade etc... The difference is in the size, which is difficult to manage in terms of logistics and the scope of the debates. It is not easy to assess the number of participants at this stage. We have registered more than 600 activities, which means the participation of hundreds of organisations. We are expecting, in any case, thousands of participants from Africa and all over the world. Malians and other Africans seem happy and proud to host such a large and relevant gathering. Some things are bound to change in the way citizens think when they see the level of mobilisation for another world. TV – It’s been a year since the

5th World Social Forum at Porto Alegre (Brazil). Can you give us your view on what progress has been made over the last year and the impact of the WSF in Africa? AT – Each Word Social Forum adds to our engagement since the new order continues to empower the majority of the people around the world. Holding the WSF in Africa will increase African awareness as far as the link between poverty and globalisation is concerned. Also, Africans will feel more connected to the process than if it were being held elsewhere. Before the World Social Forum, a strong movement that was capable of challenging powerful institutions and countries was missing. Now that we are many, we are able to stand up together and resist. There is hope that another world is possible.

WSF Opens With a Call for Justice By Joyce Mulama

The Malian capital of Bamako opened its doors to the World Social Forum (WSF) yesterday with a passionate call for justice in all walks of life. The historic event – this is the first time the forum is being held in Africa – has attracted some 10,000 representatives of civil society organisations and social movements from across the world. They marched over three kilometers to the Modibo Keita stadium, the venue where the official opening of the event took place. “This is the key global forum to address inequalities between rich and poor nations,” Diarra Fanta, representing African peasant farmers, told the huge crowd at the stadium. Her declaration underlined the theme of justice, which has figured prominently in previous WSFs held in Puorto Alegre, Brazil and Mumbai, India. Yesterday too, delegates waving placards and flags, and held up banners demanding justice on all fronts – ranging from the street to the work place and international trade. “We want justice. Respect workers,” several activists shouted out, their call echoing a demand heard right across the developing world, including Africa, where working conditions, especially of those in the informal sector, have continued to be disregarded. “The informal sector has proved to be a very important one in Africa; it accounts for 90 percent of the workers,” said Uzziel Twagilimana, African coordinator of Social Alert, a worldwide umbrella body of organisations fighting for the rights of workers in the informal sector. Despite this fact, workers in the informal sector do not have social protection. They lack job security, health insurance, sick leave and in addition, are paid very poor wages. “These are just some of the injustices, and we hope a way forward will be charted at the forum,” Twagilimana noted. Also highlighted were injustices in trade. Activists condemned the disparity in trade between developed and developing countries, and lobbied for trading systems that favour grassroot producers from poor nations. “We want farm subsidies eliminated and instead a bonus given to farmers and better prices for their goods. This will ensure a level playing field between developing and developed nations,” Fredrick Masinde, of the Cooperation for Fair Trade in Africa, said. Farm subsidies have for a long time been a bone of contention between poor and rich countries. European countries have continued to give subsidies to their farmers, disadvantaging unsubsidized poor farmers in developing countries who cannot match their low prices. “We invest a lot to produce cotton but when we sell we don’t get much because the prices are going down because of dumping by rich countries. “And If you don’t have a fair price, your people get poorer and poorer and poorer,” said Diarra Fanta. Other issues expected to come up at the forum include gender and human rights.

Dix mille personnes pour dire “Non!” au néo-libéralisme Par Almahady Cissé Les militants alter mondialistes présents au Forum de Bamako ont convergé jeudi après midi vers le boulevard de l’indépendance et le stade Modibo Kéïta pour l’ouverture du Forum. L’ambiance était festive et colorée. “Nous pouvons dire que nous avons réussi le pari de l’organisation”, s’exclamait le coordinateur du comité d’organisation, Mamadou Goita. Selon lui, on peut évaluer le nombre des marcheurs à près de 10.000 personnes sur un parcours d’environ 4 km. L’itinéraire de la marche partait du boulevard de l’Indépendance au Stade Omnisports Modibo Kéita. Sur les pancartes, on pouvait lire, entre autres slogans, “Non à la politique néolibérale! Non à la marchandisation de l’Afrique!”. Les slogans étaient, pour la plupart, hostiles à l’unilatéralisme et à l’hégémonie américaine : “Non à l’invasion américaine!”, clamait un groupe de militants tunisiens qui, pour la circonstance, ont déroulé un long drapeau rouge en guise de soutien au peuple iraquien. “Je participe à cette marche pour exprimer mon attachement à la lutte contre l’humiliation, à la lutte pour la liberté, la démocra-

tie”, témoigne Labidi Léila, une jeune militante tunisienne. Elle souligne que c’est également pour elle l’occasion de dénoncer toutes les violences faites aux femmes. Quelques producteurs et paysans ouest africains portaient une banderole sur laquelle on peut lire : “Nous sommes contre les privatisations sauvages et la liquidation de nos sociétés et entreprises”. A la cérémonie d’ouverture, au nom des paysans et producteurs du monde, la malienne Fanta Diarra a souhaité la bienvenue à tous les participants au Forum : “Aujourd’hui, plus que jamais nous devons être unis et engagés pour faire triompher nos idéaux”. Elle a par ailleurs souligné que les subventions occidentales au coton constituent une injustice faite aux producteurs du Sud. Souley Ibrahim, porte parole des jeunes au Forum et responsable du camp international de la jeunesse “Thomas Sankara”, a incité les jeunes à l’action dans son allocution. Il faut libérer la parole chez les jeunes afin de libérer l’Afrique et le monde, a-t-il martelé, avant de conclure qu’il “est important qu’on passe à l’action”.

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A Message From IPS

Anti-globalisation Photos: Cristiano Sant’Anna

By Candido Grzybowski

The World Social Forum (WSF), now in its sixth year, has taken a “polycentric” form this time around – holding meetings in Bamako, Caracas and Karachi. After four successful events in Porto Alegre and one in Mumbai, organisers are focusing jointly on Africa, Latin America and Asia, to increase the participation of civil society and better link global, thematic and regional aspects. These three meetings will show if the WSF still has the ability to gather many thousands of activists from around the world. They will also show whether the forum can reflect the will of change expressed in previous WSFs, giving the forum greater coherence and impact. In past years, there have been many discussions regarding the future of the WSF: whether it should become an annual meeting where the different actors of global civil society can exchange ideas, or also develop proposals enabling the creation of more synergies between these actors. The polycentric forums will also come under scrutiny as to whether the WSF has been able to expand its geographical and multicultural representation. As we have done at previous forums, IPS is making an extraordinary effort in 2006 to cover the WSF. With the support of our friends from Oxfam/Novib and ActionAid, we are producing a TerraViva at every one of the polycentric gatherings. This will ensure a better flow of information in each forum and between the different forums, so that the messages coming from the meetings reinforce each other. In other words, we shall demonstrate that “Another Communication is Possible”. Good reading! Mario Lubetkin IPS Director General

Many, even within the anti-globalisation movement, have claimed that it is running out of steam, particularly its flagship event, the World Social Forum. Yet here we are, brimming with vitality and creativity. Continuously surprising and innovative, the WSF is moving closer and closer to the people who feel most directly the effects of a globalisation designed to increase the earnings of the major financial-economic corporations. And this year we will demonstrate our capacity not only to grow but also to multiply ourselves, since there will be not one but four forums in 2006: in Bamako, Mali; Caracas, Venezuela; Bouznika, Marocco; and Karachi, Pakistan. We are sprouting like mushrooms even where no one expects us. Certainly there are obstacles and problems, and new contradictions, but what we are succeeding in building is a marvel. This will be the sixth forum and as always there will be new challenges. We began in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2001. At that time no one could imagine the extraordinary draw and reverberation of the event. In a Latin America dominated by the most extreme globalisation policies of the socalled ‘’Washington Consensus’’ we managed to arouse hope, to general astonishment. It seemed that it was no more than a dream. However, dreaming is one of the most human of acts, which inspires us to live and to believe in the future. And so it was that the dream began to become reality: the governments that subscribed to the ‘’Washington Consensus’’ began to fall one after the other, whether at the polls or from protests in the streets. Latin America began to change course. And while we may not be changing as fast as many hope or think necessary, the changes are real and are having an effect the world over. Though we are passing through bouts of political turbulence, we are stimulating creativity and the will of a people hungry for rights, for social justice, freedom, and participation. The transformational political-cultural movement that is rooted in the WSF — which many still don’t consider a true movement but a sort of wave racing towards the shore unconscious of what effect it will have — has won over the world. The initiatives inspired by the WSF are multiplying

TerraViva is an independent publication of IPS-Inter Press Service news agency. The opinions expressed in TerraViva do not necessarily reflect the editorial views of IPS or the official position of any of its sponsors. IPS gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Action Aid and Novib/Oxfam for the production of TerraViva. © 2006 IPS-Inter Press Service www.ipsterraviva.net

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in every corner of the planet. Their only common reference is the Charter of Principles, ethical in its basic inspiration and radically political in its potential to transform cultures and practices. It has been appropriated and interpreted by a wide variety of movements, entities, networks, coalitions, alliances, and campaigns across the planet, without the need of an Inquisition or a Politburo to examine what is correct and what is incorrect. The idea of a polycentric WSF, like the current one, grows out of this innovative and human adventure, at the centre of which is the recognition of a common humanity in diversity, solidarity in respect for the human rights of all human beings, and the radical awareness that the greatest common good is nature and its resources, which we must conserve and share. With this in mind we should celebrate the fact that the WSF is now acknowledged as a point of reference for the world political landscape. And the fact that leaders, political representatives, and even the “owners’’ of the world feel obliged to respond to this rebel citizenry, which in its own way comprises a world power, is evidence of the size of the impact that we have had.

Publisher Mario Lubetkin Editors Paula Fray Jacklynne Hobbs Michée Boko Dipankar de Sankar

Reporters Almahady Cissé Abdoulaye Barry Joyce Mulama Zarina Geloo Photographer Sidibe Abdoul

And the fact that the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which is our antithesis, feels the necessity of adopting issues from our agenda, which it has done in recent years; that heads of state and government, as well as representatives from the multilateral organisations, try to stay in tune with the concerns of the WSF; and that each day the media report our activities — are all clear indicators that our strategy is working. Many think that we are taking a risk in trying uncertain paths. Guided by a sense of radicalness, we respond that choosing the path of democracy to achieve social transformation is to accept uncertainty as a rule of human coexistence. It is also the demonstration of our vitality and conviction and our condition as citizens of the world, always ready to fight. This is why the presence of the WSF in Caracas, Bamako, Bouznika, and Karachi and many other parts of the world is causing such concern and unrest to the dominant system. Forward! Candido Grzybowski, a Brazilian sociologist, is director of IBASE and member of the International Council of the World Social Forum.

Illustrations Mico Omar Galindo Pepe Gai Art Cristina Pozzobon Rosana Pozzobon

Administration José Washington Rodríguez Production Alejandro Kirk François Saint-Pierre Assistants Amadou Traoré Claudia Diez de Medina Ana Libisch

“Africa must say no to GMO” By Almahady Cissé

Jeanne Zoundjihekpon, a member of the Jinukun Network - a coalition for the protection of African genetic resources – is in Bamako to talk about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). “Africa must say no to GMOs because today consumers in the Northern hemisphere do not want GMOs. Africa must not be the experimentation laboratory for what consumers do not want,” she said Thursday. According to Zoundjihekpon, who is from Benin, research shows that 75 to 80 percent of European consumers are against GMO products. She is also against rampant bioprospecting, saying Western multinational companies are busy filing patents on African plants that are traditionally used for medicinal purposes. Zoundjihekpon gave the example of the yellow yam, a plant found in Benin and elsewhere in West Africa that is used to treat diabetes. According to the international NGO GRAIN, which campaigns for biodiversity, the patent on the medicinal properties of the yellow yam is held by the American company Shaman Pharmaceuticals and a well-known Nigerian scientist, Maurice Iwu. “Our populations, my fellow countrymen, do not even know that a patent has been deposited,” Zoundjihekpon added. And this is where the Bamako forum comes in. “We do not have large means like the multinational companies, but if populations are informed, if local communities are aware, I believe that everyone will support our fight,” she said.

“L’Afrique doit dire non aux OGM” Par Almahady Cissé

“Je suis venue à Bamako pour parler essentiellement des Organismes génétiquement modifiés (OGM)”, a dit Jeanne Zoundjihekpon, membre du Réseau Jinukun, Coalition pour la protection du patrimoine génétique africain. Ma position, poursuit-elle, est que “l’Afrique doit dire non aux OGM, parce qu’aujourd’hui les consommateurs du Nord ne veulent pas des OGM. Il ne faut pas que l’Afrique soit un laboratoire d’expérimentation de ce dont les Occidentaux ne veulent pas”. Selon elle, des enquêtes ont montré que 75 à 80% des consommateurs européens ne veulent pas des OGM. Aujourd’hui, déplore-t-elle, “les multinationales ont déjà déposé des brevets sur nos plantes africaines”. Elle cite en exemple l’igname jaune, qui est une plante qu’on retrouve au Bénin et partout en Afrique de l’Ouest. Une multinationale occidentale, raconte-t-elle, a appris par les populations locales que ce tubercule soigne le diabète. Ils en ont extrait le principe actif et ont déposé un brevet là-dessus. Cette multinationale prélève aujourd’hui des royalties sur une plante africaine et “nos populations, mes parents paysans, ne savent même pas qu’on a déjà déposé un brevet sur un extrait de leur plante”, déplore-t-elle. Nous n’avons pas de gros moyens comme les multinationales, mais si les populations sont informées, si les communautés locales sont sensibilisées, je crois que tout le monde apportera son soutien à notre combat, conclut-elle.

Rencontre avec une militante anti-OGM, Jeanne Zoundjihekpon

Des idées sur l’intégration régionale africaine Par Abdoulaye Barry

Après la cérémonie d’ouverture du cinquantenaire de la conférence de Bandung, un des ateliers s’est penché sur le thème, “des régionalisations qui renforcent le Sud”. Les débats ont essentiellement porté sur l’Organisation de l’unité africaine (OUA), devenue Unité africaine (UA), et le Nouveau partenariat pour le développement

“Comment faire l’unité avec des centaines d’ethnies dans un seul pays” de l’Afrique (NEPAD). Makoma Lekalakala, de l’ONG sud-africaine, Jubilee South Africa, estime que “le NEPAD est une colonisation économique et l’Union africaine, un instrument à partir duquel les grandes nations peuvent exploiter les pays

d’Afrique’’. Il faut, selon elle, développer l’idéologie panafricaniste qui permettra aux peuples africains de résister au NEPAD et aux gouvernements qui sont à la solde des grandes nations. Cette idéologie semble, par

contre, révolue pour Amady Aly Dieng, enseignant à l’Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, pour qui le panafricanisme est une stratégie de défense. “Or, on ne peut pas mettre, tout le temps, tout un peuple sur la défensive”. Il faut donc mettre l’accent sur l’unité nationale sans laquelle on ne peut avoir une véritable intégration régionale. “Comment faire l’unité avec des centaines d’ethnies dans un seul

pays”, s’interroge Sherif Salif Sy, ancien conseiller du président de la République du Sénégal. Il estime qu’on ne doit pas critiquer le fait que l’Afrique ait besoin de l’extérieur pour se développer car aucun continent au monde ne possède toutes les ressources dont il a besoin pour se développer. Ce qu’il faut, selon lui, c’est que chaque Etat africain s’engage à respecter ses propres dispositions législatives et réglementaires.

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The Spirit of Bandung Alive and Well in Bamako As the sixth World Social Forum (WSF) got underway in the Malian capital of Bamako, Thursday, memories of another landmark meeting were in the air – namely the Bandung Conference, held in the Indonesian city of the same name in 1955. The Bandung talks brought 29 African and Asian countries together over concerns that the United States and the then Soviet Union were intent on controlling Third World nations. Calls are now being made in Bamako for the Bandung initiative to be resuscitated; this echoes events last year when African and Asian states met in Bandung to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1955 gathering, which led to the creation of the Nonaligned Movement in 1961. Civic groups say a revitalised Bandung movement could help address inequalities in developing states that are ascribed in part to policies adopted by the First World. “What we have continued to see is a new form of colonisation, in which developing countries have continued to suffer dictatorship from developed countries,” said Samir Amin, director of the Third World Forum: a network of African and Asian think-tanks that is based in the Senegalese capital, Dakar. He made the remark during a conference held ahead of the Bamako WSF, also to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Bandung initiative. The meeting attracted about 1,000 people, including representatives of civil society organisations and social movements from around the world. “When 75 percent of the of the world’s population is under the domination of only a very small group, it is most unfair. We are facing a colonial system that deprives us (developing nations) of our right to choose our way of life,” noted Amin. “This is the debate that may be advanced by the Bandung spirit; the debate addressing privatisation and liberalisation…which have continued to afflict Third World nations.” States represented at the 1955 Bandung meeting also sought to promote Afro-Asian cooperation, with a view to reducing their dependence on wealthy nations. However, Cold War pressures undermined the effectiveness of the subsequent Nonaligned Movement, as supposedly neutral members of the grouping drifted towards the American and Soviet camps. Paradoxically,

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Together as one: Dr Aminata Traore, former Malian minister for tourism, makes a point during the Bandung conference. Samir Amin is third from right.

the end of the Cold War also affected the movement negatively, depriving it of its “raison d’etre”. Francois Houtart, executive director of the Belgium-based Centre Tricontinental, believes the spirit of unity that prevailed at Bandung can be reclaimed. “We are proposing to build a new world – to come out of this colo-

nial era where we have been submerged by the WTO, IMF and World Bank, which have been dictating their terms: such as forcing us into privatisation and unfair trading policies,” he said at the Bamako meeting. Critics of international trade rules policed by the World Trade Organisation have long pointed out

that these disadvantage developing countries by forcing them to lower trade barriers – even as wealthy states maintain protection over their markets. They also say that privatisations urged by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank have put social services such as those relating to health and education beyond the reach of poor citi-

By Joyce Mulama

zens. “It is important for all the African and Asian people to be wellinformed on these matters and resist them as one. They need to assess the neoliberal reforms that have been implemented so far and the damage they have caused, and oppose them jointly,” Aminata Traore, former Malian tourism minister, told TerraViva. This effort may be given momentum by the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership (NAASP), set up at the 2005 Bandung gathering. “We note with satisfaction that since the 1955 Conference, Asian and African countries have attained significant political advances. We have successfully combated the scourge of colonialism and consistently fought racism. In particular, the abolishment of apartheid represents a milestone in Asian-African cooperation…” says the NAASP declaration. “However, having made these political gains, we are concerned that we have not yet attained commensurate progress in the social and economic spheres. We recognise the need to continuously strengthen the process of nation and state-building, as well as social integration.”

Cinquantenaire de la conférence de Bandung: Des personnalités et des idées fortes Par Abdoulaye Barry

All ears: Participants at the Bandung conference follow the debate.

Ils sont plusieurs centaines de militants du mouvement alter mondialiste, personnalités de rang mondial et autres, venus des quatre coins de la planète, à prendre part, mercredi, à Bamako, à la journée commémorative de l’historique conférence de Bandung. Aminata Traoré, présidente du FORAM (Forum pour l’autre Mali) et ancienne ministre de la Culture du Mali, a estimé, à l’ouverture de la rencontre, qu’il est aujourd’hui nécessaire de ‘’revisiter l’engagement et les causes pour lesquelles les peuples du tiers-monde se sont battus’’. Autrement dit, poser la question de savoir qui sommesnous et que voulons-nous. Pour Taoufik Ben Abdallah, secrétaire du Forum social africain, cet événement ‘’marque l’une des dates les plus importantes de l’his-

toire des pays du sud’’. Elle rappelle le combat que les peuples ont mené pour se sortir du joug de la colonisation et de l’esclavage. Il est aujourd’hui impératif pour ces peuples, dira-t-il, de ‘’repenser la manière de reconstruire notre unité car cette reconstruction est une exigence pour un autre monde possible’’. L’économiste égyptien, Samir Amin, président du Forum mondial des alternatives, a fustigé la mondialisation et certaines organisations internationales dont il préconise la destruction en vue de les remplacer par d’autres plus justes. ‘’La mondialisation, avec l’hégémonie des Etats-Unis, n’est autre qu’un apartheid mondial’’, dit-il. Il pense que ce système ne peut fonctionner démocratiquement que lorsque l’on associe progrès social et démocratie tout en renforçant le respect des économies nationales.

‘’Cette journée est une journée contre l’impérialisme’’ En prélude au Forum social mondial, plusieurs associations, dont le Forum pour un autre Mali, Enda Tiers monde, le Forum du tiers monde, le Forum mondial des alternatives, ont organisé, le mercredi 18 janvier 2006, une journée internationale pour l’appel à la reconstruction d’un front des peuples du Sud et à la réactivation de l’internationalisme des peuples du Sud et du Nord. Remy Herrera, l’un des organisateurs de cette journée explique à Terra Viva les raisons qui ont motivé la tenue d’un tel évènement.

à la solidarité entre peuples du Nord et du Sud. TV – Justement, quelles sont les positions que vous êtes venus défendre à Bamako? RH – La première est l’anti-impérialisme, c’est-à-dire la nécessité de passer de la conscience à l’action anti-impérialiste en manifestant notre opposition totale à la guerre, à la logique de guerre, à la logique des guerres préventives que les Etats-unis tentent d’imposer, au-delà de l’Irak, à d’autres pays. L’Iran est menacée, la Syrie est menacée, Cuba est menacée, le Venezuela est menacé, la Corée du Nord est menacée, etc. TV – Et c’est pourquoi vous appelez à la mobilisation internationale… RH – Nous voulons appeler à la mobilisation des peuples pour résister à cette logique de guerre et de menace de guerre. Evidemment, en liaison à cette opposition à la guerre, nous manifestons aussi pour le démantèlement de toutes les bases militaires étrangères des Etats-Unis et des sub-impérialistes, dont le sub-impérialisme français, dans le monde.

Propos recueillis par Michée Boko

TV – Remy Herrera, pourquoi cette journée de souvenir de la conférence de Bandung? RH – Cette journée est une journée contre l’impérialisme, c’est-àdire qu’elle dénonce l’impérialisme des pays du Nord, mais ce n’est évidemment pas l’impérialisme des peuples du Nord. C’est l’impérialisme des classes dominantes des pays du Nord. Il y a donc à la fois l’appel à la reconstruction d’une solidarité des peuples du Sud dans le souvenir de Bandung, il y a cinquante ans, mais également l’appel

Remy Herrera, Forum mondial des alternatives, Paris, France

TV – Et quelle est la deuxième position que vous défendez? RH – La deuxième position, audelà de la critique anti-néolibérale, c’est aussi la critique, plus fondamentale, du capitalisme, de la forme néo-libérale financiarisée du capitalisme. Il s’agit donc de mobiliser les intellectuels et les peuples pour

dessiner ensemble des alternatives concrètes pour une autre voie qui est en fait une voie de défense de l’humanité. Il s’agit réellement de lutter contre la barbarie économique militarisée des Etats-Unis et de leurs alliés, une barbarie menaçant physiquement l’humanité. Nous pensons que organiser la journée d’aujourd’hui est tout à fait fondamentale pour marquer l’existence d’une diversité d’opinions au sein de la mouvance alter mondialiste. TV – Vous qualifiez donc l’attitude des Etats-Unis de barbarie… RH – On peut qualifier de barbarie ce que font les classes dominantes des Etats-Unis et leurs alliés du Nord, articulés avec leurs alliés au Sud, c’est-à-dire, les bourgeoisies du Sud qui servent les intérêts, non pas de leurs peuples, mais de l’establishment du Nord. Leur projet anti-social est un projet barbare, mais j’irai même jusqu’à dire que c’est un projet qui devient maintenant, avec cette logique de guerre perpétuelle, un projet criminel. TV – En quoi est-ce criminel ? RH – Attaquer un peuple, nier son droit légitime de se défendre, menacer d’autres peuples qui sont, soit dit en passant, parmi ceux qui ont réalisé les plus grandes avancées sociales (Cuba, le Venezuela), est criminel. Lutter aujourd’hui contre l’impérialisme, c’est lutter pour la survie de l’espèce humaine. Privatiser l’eau, c’est assassiner des gens. Privatiser les ressources naturelles, c’est faire courir un risque de mort à des populations entières.

‘Today is a day against imperialism’ As a prelude to the World Social Forum in Bamako, several organisations, including the World Forum for Alternatives, organised an international day on Jan. 16 to call for the reestablishment of a Southern people’s front. The day marked the 50th anniversary of the Bandung conference in Indonesia, which led to the creation of the Non-aligned movement. Remy Herrera, one of the organisers of the Bamako protest, sees a clear link.

Interview by Michée Boko TV – Why did you organise this day and how exactly does it commemorate the Bandung conference? RH – This day is a day against imperialism. We denounce the imperialism of the countries of the North – which, of course, is not the imperialism of the people of the North. We denounce the imperialism of Northern ruling classes. Hence this is both an appeal to recreate the solidarity among the people of the South in remembrance of Bandung, 50 years ago, as well as an appeal for solidarity between the peoples of the North and the South. It is necessary to switch over from anti-imperialist awareness to anti-imperialist action by showing

our total resistance to war, to the logic of war, and to the logic of preventive wars that the United States is trying to impose not only on Iraq but also on other countries such as Iran, Syria, Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea. TV – Is this the main reason for your call for international mobilisation? RH – We want to mobilise people to resist to this logic of war and the threat of war. But together with this resistance to war, we also are also calling for the dismantlement of all foreign military bases of the US and of the sub-imperialists of the world, like the French. Our second position, which goes beyond the anti-neoliberal criticism, is that we also criticise, in a more fundamental way, capi-

talism and neoliberalism. It is important to mobilise the intelligentsia and other people to formulate concrete alternatives to choose another way, which actually is the way to defend humanity. It’s really important to fight against the economic and military barbarism of the US and its allies, a barbarism that threatens humanity in a physical way. This day against imperialism shows that there is a diversity of opinions within the movement for another world. TV – So you would characterise the behaviour of the US as barbaric… RH – Yes, I think it is barbaric what the ruling classes of the US and their allies in the North are doing in partnership with their allies

in the South. The bourgeoisie in the South does not defend the interests of their peoples, but of the Establishment in the North. Their antisocial project is not only barbaric – I would even say that, with this logic of war, it is becoming a criminal project. TV – In what way it is criminal? RH – It is criminal to attack a nation, to deny its legitimate right to defend itself, and to menace other nations that have achieved significant social progress, countries such as Cuba and Venezuela. To fight imperialism today is to fight for the very survival of the human species. To privatise water is to assassinate people. To privatise natural resources is to expose whole populations to the risk of death.

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Cynicism and Hope Ahead of the Bamako Gathering By Almahady Cissé

As Africa’s first-ever World Social Forum (WSF) gets underway in Mali, attitudes towards the meeting appear somewhat mixed in the West African country. “This forum will not lead to anything; we’ll just hear the same speeches,” says Aliou Traoré, a teacher in the capital of Bamako where the gathering is being held. “Before, it was politicians putting us to sleep with their words — now it’s those who question globalisation who are doing so.” However, Barry Aminata Touré, president of the Debt and Development Coalition, disagrees. “It’s as a result of...those who are sceptical about globalisation that the major Western powers have changed their positions on the debt of countries in the South, and on cotton,” she says. This is in reference to the pricedistorting subsidies received by cotton producers in wealthy nations, especially the United States, which have crippled farmers in West Africa. The word “South” refers to developing countries — including those outside the southern hemisphere. Given what has been achieved by globalisation sceptics, adds Touré, meetings such as the one in Bamako serve a purpose. The WSF is an annual event that was started in 2001 as an alternative to the World Economic Forum, held in the Swiss town of Davos. While the economic forum is attended by members of the business and political elite who are widely viewed as supporting globalisation, the WSF mainly attracts civil society groups which vigorously oppose it. A broad range of issues, ranging from environmental degradation to the plight of indigenous peoples, is discussed at the forum. The WSF took place away from the Brazilian town of Porto Alegre for the first time in 2004, when it was hosted by the Indian coastal city of Mumbai. Bamako’s forum (Jan. 19 to 23) is the first to be held in Africa. Two additional WSFs will also take place later this year in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas — and the Pakistani financial centre of Karachi. If Aly Coulibaly, a small-scale cotton farmer, has anything to say on the matter, cotton subsidies will continue to feature prominently during the Bamako WSF. He and several others form part of peasant groups which

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Beyond the forum walls, life in Bamako continues…

have traveled from central Mali to participate in the forum. “We’ve come to defend our cotton and fight against subsidies,” he said. “Cotton is all-important for us, and we’re going to defend it — even if this costs us our lives.” Simply giving speeches on the matter is no longer sufficient, added Coulibaly. “We’ve come to march, to show the world’s leading powers — especially the Americans — that their policies are unfair...that their decisions are endangering the lives of millions of people.” For Aminata Dramane Traoré, a writer and former cabinet minister, the success of Mali’s WSF hinges on whether it can galvanise Africans to take action concerning the negative effects of globalisation. “The Bamako forum must lead to an awareness that Africa is central to the issues under debate. Africa must take ownership of the fight (against unfettered globalisation).” Youth organisations hope the WSF will lead to greater involvement of young people in global events — particularly those that concern the future of the youth. At present says Souley Ibrahim, spokesman for youth at the WSF,

young people from Mali and elsewhere in Africa are greatly underrepresented in decision-making structures — including those created for WSFs. “This is why we’re organising a youth camp alongside the forum,” he told IPS. The camp is named after former Burkinabé leader Thomas Sankara who assumed the presidency via a military coup in 1983, but also introduced a number of progressive policies before being assassinated in 1987. These included efforts to fight corruption, curb the power of tribal leaders, and advance women. According to Ibrahim, youths who attend will not be offered traditional camp activities such as reforestation and environmental clean-ups. “This camp is innovative in that it will allocate considerable time to debates under the auspices of a ‘Forum for World Youth’ — something aimed at giving young people a chance to speak,” he adds. “The ‘Forum for World Youth’ will discuss all matters that concern the youth, and those who are fighting (the global order).” Malian women are also hoping to be active in the Bamako WSF.

“Although we represent more than 52 percent of the population in Mali, we are marginalised, under-represented and excluded...However, all the decisions that men take about family, social and even political matters concern and affect us,” says Traoré Oumou Touré, executive secretary of the coordinating body for women’s non-governmental associations and organisations (NGOs) in Mali. Touré says this body, which groups almost 500 associations and NGOs, understood instantly what would be required to make a mark at the WSF. “We have asked our supporters to register for activities on all issues. The challenge, for us, is to have greater women’s participation in this fight — and above all to show that women have to be actors in world affairs, rather than submit to them.” Speak to Mali’s business people, souvenir sellers and hotel owners, however, and the concern is less about whether the WSF will alter the shape of world politics — and more about whether it will prove a windfall for the country. “I hope that we see a lot of business as a result of this forum,” Hamidou Konaté, an antique dealer

at the Bamako craft market, told IPS. Some already appear to be reaping benefits from the WSF. “I’ve earned 10,000 CFA francs (about 20 dollars) a day since yesterday — as opposed to 1,000 to 2,000 CFA francs (two to four dollars),” said Mariam Doumbia, Tuesday. She sells doughnuts in front of the Modibo Keita sports stadium in Bamako, where the youth camp has been set up. In addition to hundreds of activists, a number of celebrities and well-known politicians are also expected to make an appearance at the Bamako WSF. These include civil rights leader Jesse Jackson and actor Danny Glover, both from the United States, and Danielle Mitterrand: wife of deceased French president François Mitterrand. “As far as organisation (for the meeting) goes, we are ready,” Mamadou Goita told IPS. He is one of three co-ordinators for the WSF’s national organising committee. With the second African WSF already scheduled to take place in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, in 2007, the hope is that events in Bamako will prove Goita right.