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An Open Letter to the SLORC (r)
- Subject: An Open Letter to the SLORC (r)
- From: nin@xxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 14 Oct 1997 06:47:00
Dear SLORC,
In my notion there is no you and I, only WE. It would be so great
that WE all march together for PEACE and RECONSTRUCTION of Burma.
Please let me not mourn for U WIN TIN, Dr. AUNG KHIN SINT and
U CHO AUNG THAN,as an addition to my existing grief and sorrow for
the loss of many thousands who died for the cause. Those consist of
OUR beloved students, poor, needies and powerless, the ordinary
peoples of Burma. Please do not overlook this message. Read
carefully and think with compassion. I enclose herewith a piece of
news for you.
with metta,
NiNi
=======================================================================
"We, the Peoples of the United Nations for an Economy with Justice"
=================================================================
October 12, 1997
March for Peace from Perugia to Assisi
APPEAL
------
The world's economy is becoming increasingly unjust and unsustainable.
It kills more people than bombs do. It sows the seeds of discord and
strife. It exacerbates poverty, unemployment and social exclusion.
The gulf between a wealthy minority and the vast impoverished majority
of humanity is growing wider and wider by the day.
We, the peoples of the United Nations, are deeply concerned about the
widespread and shameful indifference to this reality and about the
lack of adequate national and international policy to address the
rootcauses of so much suffering and misery. That is why we
have decided to initiate the Perugia-Assisi March for an Economy with
Justice October 12, 1997.
* In the last fifty years, the world has witnessed unprecedented
development. Per capita income has tripled. In theory, therefore, we
should all be better off. And yet...every three seconds, a
child whom we have failed to protect, dies. Inequality is increasing.
In 102 countries, people are poorer today than they were 15 years ago.
In the same period, the number of wealthy people
has doubled, yet the poor have more than tripled. Over 60% of the
world's population survives on just two dollars or less a day. Three
fourths of global production is concentrated in
industrialized countries, and only one fourth in the so-called
"developing" countries, where 80% of the world's population Iives.
And even in the more developed countries, the gap between
rich and poor continues to widen.
* This unjust economy is the reason behind most of today's conflicts,
which fuel instability and a climate of violence across the globe.
Many states simply cannot develop their economies,
which aggravates social conflict and rifts, accelerates environmental
damage, famine and the spread of disease, abets the growth of
organized crime, precipitates conflict for the control of such
vital resources as land, water and energy and leads to civil and
ethnic warfare, with their toll of destruction and displaced
populations.
* This injustice is rooted in a new free marketeerism which is unable
to meet the true needs of people and disregards the rights of human
beings. Injustice flourishes in an economy designed
for the benefit of the privileged few rather than for the well-being
of the many, an economy that puts the market over people, unrestrained
competition over co-operation; profit over equity;
growth of the economy over better quality and distribution of goods
and services; and exploitation of the environment over nature
conservation.
* The peoples of the world should all benefit from increasing
inter-dependence and scientific and technological progress. And
yet...the globalization of markets and the economy -without any
democratic regulation- and the ensuing surge in international trade
and foreign investment by multinational corporations, benefits the
most powerful countries and the social and economic
élites, while millions of people, and the poorest countries of the
world, are left trailing behind.
* The global economy now emerging is based on a market ideology and
unbridled competition. The risk is that it will drag everyone and
everything, under, by squeezing salaries and social
protection, trampling on human rights, generating new poverty and
wiping out jobs, destroying resources and the environment, fuelling
the spread of a "shadow" economy and precipitating
a crisis of political democracy.
In the face of this serious reality, we need to set ourselves a new
course. This is what needs to be done:
1. Put people first. Priorities need to be reversed. People should not
have to adapt to an alI-powerful market. The economy should work to
meet people's needs. Economic growth is not
an end to itself but only a means. The end is human development, in an
economy that respects all forms of social diversity, culture and
identity, as set out in the U.N. Declaration on the
Right to Development in 1986. Support for economic growth should go
hand in hand with political commitment to full employment, to the
fight against poverty and social exclusion, to
the promotion of equal opportunities for all -particularly women-, and
to the protection of the environment and natural resources.
Paradoxically, the process of economic integration has led
to an opening of borders to finance, investment and goods, but not
always to people. Putting people first means resisting the spread of a
marketbased ideology to all areas of human life, as
if the world were nothing more than one big economy
2. Combat poverty and social inequality through the adoption of
consistent local, national and supranational policies and agreements,
involving also representatives of local
communities, industry and labour. Ours is the first generation to have
the resources and potential to eradicate poverty, along with itsn
consequences and terrible human and social cost. Yet,
1.3 billion people, mostly women, the elderly and children still live
in abject poverty. Forty-seven people across the globe are made poor
every minute, which is about 70,000 people every
day. What can be done? Is the right to development a universal and
inviolable right to which all human beings are entitled, or is it the
privilege of the happy few? Poverty is not only
morally repugnant, it is also economically destructive and politically
dangerous. The eradication of poverty should be given top-priority on
both the national and international scale. An
important step in this direction is debt relief for impoverished
countries, where debt has spiralled to the record figure of 2,000
billion dollars. Current lending policies which generate
unsustainable levels of indebtedness, also need to be reviewed.
3. Create new employment and restore full dignity to work and workers
worldwide. 35 million jobless in industrialized countries. Over 20
million in Europe. More than
700 million working-poor, who are unable to provide a decent standard
of living for themselves and their families. These figures illustrate
this most severe social crisis of our times. This
social crisis is bound to worsen in the near future as production wiIl
require less and less human labour. New national and local policies
are needed to re-allocate wealth, and create new
employment, also by reducing working time. It is essential to promote
equal access for women to jobs, trade, and credit, and to support the
development of a diversified and fair economy by
enhancing the role of the non-profit sector and by stimulating even
small-scale initiatives that may offer concrete alternatives to
unemployment. At the same time, we must strive on a
global scale for the introduction and enforcement of international
standards that ban the exploitation of child labor and guarantee the
basic economic and social rights of workers contained in
the Conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and in
many other international documents.
4. Cooperate at all levels. Never before has there been such a need
for intensive and effective international cooperation. But many
governments believe that they can do without
cooperation, preferring short-sighted defence of their so-called
"national interests". The laws of the market and of global
competition, and measures on a domestic scale, cannot provide
solutions to the world's probIems and ensure good governance in the
world. The U.N. has promoted a series of important international
conferences, including the Rio Summit on the
Environment and Development, the Copenhagen Summit for Social
Development, the Beijing Summit on Women and the Rome Food Summit.
Governments have made numerous
commitments on those occasions which are far from being honored and
implemented. Development cooperation is a glaring example: resources
made available worldwide for aid to the
poorest countries have plummeted to a 25-year low. All countries have
the duty to reverse this trend and increase their contributions. They
should target initiatives for the promotion of
human development, accept more international coordination and promote
direct cooperation between local communities.
5. Democratize the economy. The lack of democratic regulations, which
should apply to large multinational corporations and international
economic and financial institutions,
deprives governments of the power to control their country's economy
and citizens of the right to choose their future. In particular, a
lack of means for monitoring the enforcement of the
ILO Conventions and international trade regulations regarding large
multinational organizations leads to serious abuse and the
exploitation of labor, causing a degradation of Iiving and
working conditions, and the environment. On a global scale, it is
essential to reinforce and render more democratic the United Nations
system, which has the duty of overseeing international
relations. The United Nations must have the right to intervene in
economic options that are at the root of the global problems that this
organization is called on to address. Reform is needed
to ensure that the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the
World Trade Organization operate in accordance with the principles and
commitments to sustainable development laid
down by the United Nations, guaranteeing transparency, participation
and democratic control by all countries and civil society. For a
democratic economy to develop, the rules of
international trade that hinder access to markets for products from
developing countries need to be modified. Democratization of the
economy also requires consistent action inside individual
countries, businesses and workplaces, where it is imperative that all
discrimination against women be abolished. Governments and Parliament,
workers and civil society, should have more
control over the problems and choices to be made. For democracy wilI
only advance if it develops at all Ievels, from individual cities to
the United Nations, in accordance with the principle
of subsidiarity.
6. Adopt a new model of sustainable development. To expand the current
development model would increase injustice and rob future generations
of their rights. We must
reconsider production patterns, and individual and community
Iifestyles, so as to stop waste and excess, modify and reduce
consumption, support fair and equitable trade initiatives, and
promote more ethical management of resources, based on sensible use.
We must halt the degradation of the environment because our welI-being
depends on it. The major environmental
emergencies (global warming, loss of bio-diversity, deforestation,
desertification,...) should be the priority concern of the
international institutions, national and local governments.
We, the peoples of the United Nations, are asking business, the
international economic institutions, political representatives,
national governments and the United Nations, to implement
the provisions of Art. 55 of the Charter of the United Nations and
honor the pledges underwritten in the international conferences and
conventions. There is no lack of resources. For decades,
enormous amounts of money have been spent on defence. The time has
come to use those same resources for the real security of individuals,
peoples and the planet.
Our generation has a special responsibility to change the situation.
For this, we need to shift from a culture based on domination and
unchecked competition to one based on cooperation and
solidarity: from the culture of warfare to the culture of affirmative
peace.
Much depends on the decisions of those in positions of power in global
politics and the economy. But we can all do something, each and
everyone of us, women and men, workers,
consumers and savers.
Starting from our own lives, our families, in schools and in the
workplace, in our neighbourhoods and cities..
We have the right to ask but also the duty to act. Together, we shall
contribute to building the global civil society, which is being shaped
by a vast network of associations and citizens'
organizations engaged in the promotion of peace and human rights. This
is why we have called the Second Assembly of the Peoples of the United
Nations, to be held on October 5-12,1997,
with the participation of men and women representing civil society
from all over the world. Together, we wish to call for an end to a
"market ideology" and to unbridled competition. Let us
work together to build an economy with justice. The fruit of justice
will be peace.
Perugia
Italy
For further information:
Tavola della Pace - Peace Round Table
via della Viola, 1 (06122) Perugia - Tel: ++39-75-5722479 - 5736890,
Fax: ++39-75-5721234
E mail. mpace@xxxxxxxxx
http://www.krenet.it/a/mpace