12/31/08

/please distribute widely


Rally for
GAZA
Stop the massacre!
End the siege now!
No to Israel's war crimes!


Rally Sunday Jan 4
2pm
State Library of Victoria
cnr Swanston St and La Trobe St, Melbourne

Over 385 people have been killed and more than 1700 wounded since Saturday 27 December, when Israel launched air strikes against the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip.

The air strikes come on top of the Israeli imposed blockade which has stopped adequate fuel, food, and medical supplies from reaching the 1.5 million Palestinians living in Gaza.
Rally in solidarity with the people of Gaza, who are standing steadfast in the face of these atrocities.

Please bring placards and banners

For more info call 0439 454 375 or 0418 819 548



--
There will be a day for the oppressor when he will be crushed like garlic - Palestinian proverb.



Some came and took our land, forced us to leave, forced us to live in camps. I think this is terrorism. Using means to resist this terrorism and stop its effects - this is called struggle." — Leila Khaled



Remember the solidarity shown to Palestine here and everywhere... and remember also that there is a cause to which many people have committed themselves, difficulties and terrible obstacles notwithstanding. Why? Because it is a just cause, a noble ideal, a moral quest for equality and human rights - Edward Said

Nowhere to run for those trapped in Gaza



Palestinian families are wondering whether they will become the next target after four days of Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip.

As Sherine Tadros reports, there are few places to hide, and civilian casualties continue to rise

AlJazeeraEnglish

12/30/08

Free Palestine







Gaza massacres must spur us to action
Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 27 December 2008

Palestinians carry the body of a victim of an Israeli air strike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, 27 December 2008. (Hatem Omar/MaanImages)

"I will play music and celebrate what the Israeli air force is doing." Those were the words, spoken on Al Jazeera today by Ofer Shmerling, an Israeli civil defense official in the Sderot area adjacent to Gaza, as images of Israel's latest massacres were broadcast around the world.

A short time earlier, US-supplied Israeli F-16 warplanes and Apache helicopters dropped over 100 bombs on dozens of locations in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip killing at least 195 persons and injuring hundreds more. Many of these locations were police stations located, like police stations the world over, in the middle of civilian areas. The US government was one of the first to offer its support for Israel's attacks, and others will follow.

Reports said that many of the dead were Palestinian police officers. Among those Israel labels "terrorists" were more than a dozen traffic police officers undergoing training. An as yet unknown number of civilians were killed and injured; Al Jazeera showed images of several dead children, and the Israeli attacks came at the time thousands of Palestinian children were in the streets on their way home from school.

Shmerling's joy has been echoed by Israelis and their supporters around the world; their violence is righteous violence. It is "self-defense" against "terrorists" and therefore justified. Israeli bombing -- like American and NATO bombing in Iraq and Afghanistan -- is bombing for freedom, peace and democracy.

The rationalization for Israel's massacres, already being faithfully transmitted by the English-language media, is that Israel is acting in "retaliation" for Palestinian rockets fired with increasing intensity ever since the six-month truce expired on 19 December (until today, no Israeli had been killed or injured by these recent rocket attacks).

But today's horrific attacks mark only a change in Israel's method of killing Palestinians recently. In recent months they died mostly silent deaths, the elderly and sick especially, deprived of food and necessary medicine by the two year-old Israeli blockade calculated and intended to cause suffering and deprivation to 1.5 million Palestinians, the vast majority refugees and children, caged into the Gaza Strip. In Gaza, Palestinians died silently, for want of basic medications: insulin, cancer treatment, products for dialysis prohibited from reaching them by Israel.

What the media never question is Israel's idea of a truce. It is very simple. Under an Israeli-style truce, Palestinians have the right to remain silent while Israel starves them, kills them and continues to violently colonize their land. Israel has not only banned food and medicine to sustain Palestinian bodies in Gaza but it is also intent on starving minds: due to the blockade, there is not even ink, paper and glue to print textbooks for schoolchildren.

As John Ging, the head of operations of the United Nations agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), told The Electronic Intifada in November: "there was five months of a ceasefire in the last couple of months, where the people of Gaza did not benefit; they did not have any restoration of a dignified existence. We in fact at the UN, our supplies were also restricted during the period of the ceasefire, to the point where we were left in a very vulnerable and precarious position and with a few days of closure we ran out of food."

That is an Israeli truce. Any response to Israeli attacks -- whether peaceful protests against the apartheid wall in Bilin and Nilin in the West Bank is met with bullets and bombs. There are no rockets launched at Israel from the West Bank, and yet Israel's attacks, killings, land theft, settler pogroms and kidnappings never ceased for one single day during the truce. The Palestinian Authority in Ramallah has acceded to all of Israel's demands, even assembling "security forces" to fight the resistance on Israel's behalf. None of that has spared a single Palestinian or her property or livelihood from Israel's relentless violent colonization. It did not save, for instance, the al-Kurd family from seeing their home of 50 years in occupied East Jerusalem demolished on 9 November, so the land it sits on could be taken by settlers.

Once again we are watching massacres in Gaza, as we did last March when 110 Palestinians, including dozens of children, were killed by Israel in just a few days. Once again people everywhere feel rage, anger and despair that this outlaw state carries out such crimes with impunity.

But all over the Arab media and internet today the rage being expressed is not directed solely at Israel. Notably, it is directed more sharply than ever at Arab states. The images that stick are of Israel's foreign minister Tzipi Livni in Cairo on Christmas day. There she sat smiling with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Then there are the pictures of Livni and Egypt's foreign minister smiling and slapping their palms together.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported today that last wednesday the Israeli "cabinet authorized the prime minister, the defense minister, and the foreign minister to determine the timing and the method" of Israel's attacks on Gaza. Everywhere people ask, what did Livni tell the Egyptians and more importantly what did they tell her? Did Israel get a green light to turn Gaza's streets red once again? Few are ready to give Egypt the benefit of the doubt after it has helped Israel besiege Gaza by keeping the Rafah border crossing closed for more than a year.

On top of the intense anger and sadness so many people feel at Israel's renewed mass killings in Gaza is a sense of frustration that there seem to be so few ways to channel it into a political response that can change the course of events, end the suffering, and bring justice.

But there are ways, and this is a moment to focus on them. Already I have received notices of demonstrations and solidarity actions being planned in cities all over the world. That is important. But what will happen after the demonstrations disperse and the anger dies down? Will we continue to let Palestinians in Gaza die in silence?

Palestinians everywhere are asking for solidarity, real solidarity, in the form of sustained, determined political action. The Gaza-based One Democratic State Group reaffirmed this today as it "called upon all civil society organizations and freedom loving people to act immediately in any possible way to put pressure on their governments to end diplomatic ties with Apartheid Israel and institute sanctions against it."

The global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement for Palestine (http://www.bdsmovement.net/) provides the framework for this. Now is the time to channel our raw emotions into a long-term commitment to make sure we do not wake up to "another Gaza" ever again.

Co-founder of The Electronic Intifada, Ali Abunimah is author of One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse (Metropolitan Books, 2006).


Related Links

12/23/08

NT communities to protest opening of Parliament 2009

MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT
22/12/08 for immediate release

NT Aboriginal communities set to Converge on Canberra

Resistance to the Intervention is strengthening across the Northern Territory.

People from NT Aboriginal communities are preparing to take their
protest directly to the federal government on the first day of
parliament, February 3 2009.

On November 7 2008 the Prescribed Area People's alliance, whose
meetings have involved over 150 people living under the Intervention,
issued a statement:

"The NTER must be immediately repealed... We call for everyone who
supports Aboriginal rights to converge on Canberra for the opening of
Parliament in 2009".

The convergence has been endorsed by the full council of Central Land
Council, the key representative body for the 24,000 Aboriginal people
living across the region.

Planning is taking place with Aboriginal rights organisations and
activists around the country for two days of workshops and discussion
at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra on February 1 and 2 before
a major rally on Tuesday February 3.

The NT delegation is also planning to meet with politicians to lobby
for repeal of the Intervention laws and substantially increased
funding for community controlled services.

Valerie Martine, from Yuendumu said, "We need support, more and more,
whoever feels that this Intervention is wrong. We want to see many
people come out to support us and hear their voices. It's really bad
how they're treating us, taking away our rights. With the quarantining
we are struggling to get the money to survive. My daughter has been
sick in the hospital in Adelaide - but because our money's are
quarantined I've had to battle hard, even for basic things like doing
our washing. How are people supposed to survive?"

Elaine Peckham from the Iwupataka Land Trust and the Intervention
Rollback Action Group said, "We've already been through many
struggles, for land rights, for native title. Now we have the
Intervention which has taken control of our communities in the Centre.
It's very discriminatory and very hurtful. It's like a big cloud over
us. Its time for us to say enough is enough, we need to start getting
together and talk up - not on our own but as a voice with everyone
else strong and loud. We can not sit back and let others take control
of our lives. Its going to keep continuing if we don't speak up and
let our voices be heard out there".


For more information, or to arrange Interviews, please contact:

Barbara Shaw 0401 291 166 or Marlene Hodder 08 8952 5032
Email: rollbacktheintervention(*)gmail.com

see rollbacktheintervention.wordpress.com for updates on the Canberra
Convergence



--
http://rollbacktheintervention.wordpress.com

Boxing Day Benefit Gig for Lex Wotton


Upcoming benefit gig for Lex in Melbourne:
(organised by Weemptyrooms and A whole bunch of other angry people)

Lex Wotton is doing jail time for standing up for his community and demanding to know the truth about the death of his friend and fellow resident, Mulrunji Doomadgee. This fundraiser aims to raise money to support him and his family through his time in prison.

At the Old Bar, 74-76 Johnston St, Fitzroy

Friday December 26th, Boxing Day

Doors 5pm. $10 Entry. BBQ at 8pm.

Featuring:
Matt Stabs
Blackie (Hard Ons)
Pikelet
Elise & Jem
Foreign Magicians
Wicked City
Barbarion

and check out to the right of this post a deadly web badge made by our brother The Angry Indian

12/21/08

Howard Broad Poaka Fraud



Video evidence collected at demonstrations in Wellington as recently as last week expose Police Commissioner Howard Broad as a bold-faced liar notes Michael Medved, spokesperson for the Justice NOW! Collective

Howard Broads precise words were that they "Were not interested in the to-ings and fro-ings of protest groups who might be wanting to stand outside a building and put placards up or do all the sorts of things you associate with lawful protest in a free and democratic society."

Watch this video and see for yourself that Howard Broad is simply not telling the truth. said Dr Medved.

A solidarity demonstration outside of the Greek Embassy in Wellington on Friday 12 December (immediately before the revelations about informant Rob Gilchrist) was heavily surveilled, videoed and photographed by police staff simply for standing outside the embassy with banners. Everyone at the picket was a target of the police photographer, uniformed police and the diplomatic protection squad. A similar demonstration outside the annual weapons conference in Wellington in October was surveilled by both police and intelligence contract agents from security firm Thompson and Clark who are working closely with police to target and exploit activists. This is the normal behaviour of police, not some exceptional circumstance.

The sole purpose of this police surveillance is to gather intelligence on political action and activity. Frankly, it smacks of a police state. The Police Commissioner should resign and the SIG should be disbanded immediately for this grotesque intrusion into legitimate political activity concluded Dr Michael Medved of Justice NOW!

12/19/08

SHAC goes to the supreme court - 210 William St in the city

So on Thursday the occupiers of 272-278 Faraday St got served with notice that the University has gone to the supreme court to 'recover the land' at 272-278 Faraday St under order 53 . The hearing will take place on monday morning.

Please come to a protest out the front of the court from 9.30 am and then if you want come into the court for the hearing which will start at 10.30am.

Bring banners, placards and colour. Also if the feeling takes you please dress up in drag.


210 William St in the city

SHAC will be seeking an adjournment of this hearing so there is a chance
it will be delayed. The protest will go ahead regardless.

12/18/08

Cops Kill Everywhere II



International Day of Action Against Murder by the State

Saturday 20/12/08, 1pm

Victorian State Gubbament

Remembering all state murders, particularly indigenous deaths in custody and in solidarity with the struggle in Greece. Bring photos of those killed, dress in old clothes if you wish to be part of the die-in

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>

International Day of Action Against Murder by the State
Saturday, December 20, 2008 : 11 am
Greek Consulate
223 Castlereagh St, Sydney


WE DON’T FORGET, WE DON’T FORGIVE: End State Murder



Solidarity With Uprising in Greece
Remember Those Killed by the State
No More Deaths in Custody
Free Lex Wotton



River of Tears: Drones cover Kev Carmody


12/15/08

Politricks



A powerful film about deaths in police custody in the UK, featuring the poet Benjamin Zepheniah

12/11/08

Solidarity with Greece in Aotearoa

A beautiful slogan is echoing across the city: “ο λαός θα πεί την τελευταία λέξη/ αυτές οι νύχτες είναι του αλέξη” - “the people will have the last word/ these are Alexis’ nights”.

solidemo greece.jpg
Click on image for a larger version

assasini.jpg


This is an urgent call to solidarity with those who are struggling in Greece.

"Students are injured inside the university of Thessaloniki, shot at with rubber bullets. In Athens, riot police beat senseless another 15-year old boy in front of shocked passers-by begging them to stop. And yet, the police have already lost control. Trapped between trying to avoid a second (surely catastrophic) death yet equipped with the single technique they possess in handling the demonstrators – sheer violence. The government, a sorry get-together of more talking heads on the TV, locked up in meeting rooms, one emergency cabinet meeting after the other. A dead government standing. The question is not if – the question is just about how it will fall." from www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/

Repression intensifies to extreme levels as some 45,000 police are mobilised to crush protesters across Greece. In Patras and other cities eye witness reports claim fascist are actively engaged with riot police using tear gas, beating and arresting protesters. Plain clothed officers are reportedly in abundance and that police infiltrators of protest groups are smashing and looting local businesses in a divide and conquer tactic.

Those who struggle for freedom in Greece need us now more than ever, to show our support and stand in solidarity with them.

Wellington, midday, Friday 12th of December: to the Greek Embassy in protest of the disgusting human rights abuses and terrorism the police and government are using against the people. Freedom for the detained!

Come along, bring you're friends, be prepared to express yourself, wear a mask if you wish to avoid being identified.

12/10/08

Media Release Solidarity with Greece: Rally for Alexandros Grigoropoulos




On Saturday 6th of December at around 10pm, two Greek policemen were in patrol in a central street by Exarchia square, in the center of Athens. They had a verbal argument with some young people who were there. During the argument, one of the cops pulled his gun and shot a 16-year-old minor twice. The victim was moved to Evangelismos Hospital to be pronounced dead. According to eye-witnesses, the cop had been swearing against the young boy, and showing his genitals, before shooting him.

In a spontaneous response, thousands of people gathered in the centers of most Greek cities over the past three days in riots. In Athens, people gathered outside Evangelismos Hospital, in order to prevent the cops from entering the building. A little later the riot police attacked in a street in Exarchia resulting in one person being arrested. The evening in Athens evolved with a spontaneous assembly in the Polytechnic University, many rioted in the center of Athens, including attacks against police departments and banks, until the early hours of the next morning. Meanwhile, a spontaneous demonstration took place, but it was confronted by the riot police with tear gas. Rallies, demonstrations, direct actions and riots took place all around the country.

Solidarity actions have already been held around Greece, in London, Edinburgh, Berlin, and Vienna.

There is a planned rally/vigil for Alexandros Grigoropoulos in Melbourne – the city with the biggest Greek population outside of Greece:

Saturday, 13th December, 2008
1:00PM outside the Greek Consulate
37-29 Albert Road, South Melbourne (take St Kilda Rd trams)

12/9/08

THE STATE MURDERS - communique by the Polytechnic School Occupation in Athens


ALEXANDROS GRIGOROPOULOS (R.I.P.)

source


THE STATE MURDERS!

On Saturday December 6, 2008, Alexandros Grigoropoulos, a 15-year old comrade, was murdered in cold blood, with a bullet in the chest by a cop in the area of Exarchia.


Contrary to the statements of politicians and journalists who are accomplices to the murder, this was not an “isolated incident”, but an explosion of the state repression which systematically and in an organised manner targets those who resist, those who revolt, the anarchists and anti-authoritarians.


It is the peak of state terrorism which is expressed with the upgrading of the role of repressive mechanisms, their continuous armament, the increasing levels of violence they use, with the doctrine of “zero tolerance”, with the slandering media propaganda that criminalises those who are fighting against authority.


It is these conditions that prepare the ground for the intensification of repression, attempting to extract social consent beforehand, and arming the weapons of state murderers in uniform!


Lethal violence against the people in the social and class struggle is aiming at everybody’s submission, serving as exemplary punishment, meant to spread fear.


It is part of the wider attack of the state and the bosses against the entire society, in order to impose more rigid conditions of exploitation and oppression, to consolidate control and repression.


From school and universities to the dungeons of waged slavery with the hundreds of dead workers in the so-called “working accidents” and the poverty embracing large numbers of the population… From the minefields in the borders, the pogroms and the murders of immigrants and refugees to the numerous “suicides” in prisons and police stations… from the “accindental shootings” in police blockades to violent repression of local resistances, Democracy is showing its teeth!


From the first moment after the murder of Alexandros, spontaneous demonstrations and riots burst in the center of Athens, the Polytechnic, the Economic and the Law Schools are being occupied and attacks against state and capitalist targets take place in many different neighborhoods and in the city centre.


Demonstrations, attacks and clashes erupt in Thessaloniki, Patras, Volos, Chania and Heraklion in Crete, in Giannena, Komotini and many more cities. In Athens, in Patission street –outside the Polytechnic and the Economic School- clashes last all night. Outside the Polytechnic the riot police make use of plastic bullets.



On Sunday the 7th December, thousands of people demonstrate towards the police headquarters in Athens, attacking the riot police. Clashes of unprecedented tension spread in the streets of the city centre, lasting until late at night.


Many demonstrators are injured and a number of them are arrested.

We continue the occupation of the Polytechnic School which started on Saturday night, creating a space for all people who fighting to gather, and one more permanent focus of resistance in the city.


In the barricades, the university occupations, the demonstrations and the assemblies we keep alive the memory of Alexandros, but also the memory of Michalis Kaltezas and of all the comrades who were murdered by the state, strengthening the struggle for a world without masters and slaves, without police, armies, prisons and borders.


The bullets of the murderers in uniform, the arrests and beatings of demonstrators, the chemical gas war launched by the police forces, not only cannot manage to impose fear and silence, but they become for the people the reason to raise against state terrorism the cries of the struggle for freedom, to abandon fear and to meet –more and more every day- in the streets of revolt. To let the rage overflow and drown them!

STATE TERRORISM SHALL NOT PASS!

IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF ALL THE ARRESTED IN THE EVENTS OF SATURDAY AND SUNDAY (7-8 DECEMBER).

We are sending our solidarity to everyone occupying universities, demonstrating and clashing with the state murderers all over the country.


The Occupation of the Polytechnic University in Athens


see also: Athens Indymedia Centre

12/3/08

An Uncertain Future


An uncertain future from Pacific Black Box Inc on Vimeo.

A documentary made by young people in Bougainville earlier this year (2008), at a forum organised by Pacific Black Box Inc in conjunction with local NGOs. Some of the youth involved were from the Cartaret Islands, whose land is sinking under the ocean and who are being relocated on mainland Bougainville. The project aimed to give a voice to these young people about their situation and climate change.For more information please visit PBB's website at :
pacificblackbox.com.au

Rally at ABCC headquarters - Melbourne - 2 December



Thousands of unionists and supporters rallied at the St Kilda Road headquarters of the Australian Building and Construction Commission, demanding its abolition and celebrating the dropping of charges against union official Noel Washington, who had been facing a jail term for refusing to attend a hearing of the commission.

The rally heard from a succession of speakers and ended with thunderous chants, captured here by a still camera - hence the low resolution.


There is a also a report with photos on the website of the Victorian Trades Hall Council:
http://www.vthc.org.au/resources/cover-story-archives/campaign-against-abcc-continues/index.cfm

and http://melbourneprotests.wordpress.com/


thanks to PC

West Papua Independence Day 2008



West Papua Independence Day 2008 A protest at the gates of Indonesian Consulate in Melbourne

Prescribed Area People’s Alliance

video clips from the “Prescribed Area People’s Alliance” meeting, held in Mparntwe - Alice Springs on Monday September 29, 2008





12/2/08

Indigenous peoples lash out at WTO inequities

Protests in the streets of Seattle outside the recent World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting were so severe and feelings ran so high that proceedings were almost aborted. The Indigenous Peoples' Seattle Declaration which follows makes it abundantly clear why so many concerned people were compelled to make a stand


on the occasion of the

Third Ministerial Meeting of the
World Trade Organisation
November 30 - December 3, 1999

We, the Indigenous peoples from various regions of the world, have come to Seattle to express our great concern over how the World Trade Organisation is destroying Mother Earth and the cultural and biological diversity of which we are a part.

Trade liberalisation and export-oriented development, which are the overriding principles and policies pushed by the WTO, are creating the most adverse impacts on the lives of Indigenous peoples. Our inherent right to self-determination, our sovereignty as nations, and treaties and other constructive agreements which Indigenous nations and peoples have negotiated with other nation-states, are undermined by most of the WTO agreements. The disproportionate impact of these agreements on our communities, whether through environmental degradation or the militarisation and violence that often accompanies development projects, is serious and therefore should be addressed immediately.

The WTO Agreement on Agriculture (AOA), which promotes export competition and import liberalisation, has allowed the entry of cheap agricultural products into our communities. It is causing the destruction of ecologically rational and sustainable agricultural practices of Indigenous peoples.

Food security and the production of traditional food crops have been seriously compromised. Incidents of diabetes, cancers, and hypertension have significantly increased among Indigenous peoples because of the scarcity of traditional foods and the dumping of junk food into our communities.

Small-scale farm production is giving way to commercial cash-crop plantations, further concentrating ancestral lands into the hands of a few agri-corporations and landlords. This has led to the dislocation of scores of people from our communities who then migrate to nearby cities and become the urban homeless and jobless.

The WTO Forests Products Agreement promotes free trade in forest products. By eliminating developed country tariffs on wood products by the year 2000, and developing country tariffs by 2003, the Agreement will result in the deforestation of many of the world's ecosystems in which Indigenous peoples live.

Mining laws in many countries are being changed to allow free entry of foreign mining corporations, to enable them to buy and own mineral lands, and to freely displace Indigenous peoples from their ancestral territories. These large-scale commercial mining and oil extraction activities continue to degrade our lands and fragile ecosystems, and pollute the soil, water, and air in our communities.

The appropriation of our lands and resources and the aggressive promotion of consumerist and individualistic Western culture continue to destroy traditional lifestyles and cultures. The result is not only environmental degradation but also ill health, alienation, and high levels of stress manifested in high rates of alcoholism and suicides.

The theft and patenting of our biogenetic resources is facilitated by the TRIPs (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) of the WTO. Some plants which Indigenous peoples have discovered, cultivated, and used for food, medicine, and for sacred rituals are already patented in the United States, Japan, and Europe. A few examples of these are ayahuasca, quinoa, and sangre de drago in forests of South America; kava in the Pacific; and turmeric and bitter melon in Asia. Our access and control over our biological diversity and control over our traditional knowledge and intellectual heritage are threatened by the TRIPs Agreement.

Article 27.3b of the TRIPs Agreement allows the patenting of life-forms and makes an artificial distinction between plants, animals, and micro-organisms. The distinction between "essentially biological" and "non-biological" and "microbiological" processes is also erroneous. As far as we are concerned, all these are life-forms and life-creating processes which are sacred and which should not become the subject of private property ownership.

Finally, the liberalisation of investments and the service sectors, which is pushed by the General Agreement of Services (GATS), reinforces the domination and monopoly control of foreign corporations over strategic parts of the economy. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund impose conditionalities of liberalisation, deregulation and privatisation on countries caught in the debt trap. These conditionalities are reinforced further by the WTO.

In light of the adverse impacts and consequences of the WTO agreements identified above, we Indigenous peoples present the following demands:

We urgently call for a social and environmental justice analysis which will look into the agreements' cumulative effects on Indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples should be equal participants in establishing the criteria and indicators for these analyses so that they take into consideration spiritual as well as cultural aspects.

A review of the agreements should be carried out to address all of the inequities and imbalances which adversely affect Indigenous peoples. The proposals to address some of these are as follows:

  1. For the Agreement on Agriculture
    1. It should not include in its coverage small-scale farmers who are mainly engaged in production for domestic use and sale in the local markets.
    2. It should ensure the recognition and protection of rights of Indigenous peoples to their territories and their resources, as well as their rights to continue practising their Indigenous sustainable agriculture and resource management practices and traditional livelihoods.
    3. It should ensure the food security and the capacity of Indigenous peoples to produce, consume and trade their traditional foods.

  2. With regard to the liberalisation of services and investments we recommend the following:
    1. It must stop unsustainable mining, commercial planting of monocrops, dam construction, oil exploration, land conversion to golf courses, logging, and other activities which destroy Indigenous peoples' lands and violate the rights of Indigenous peoples to their territories and resources.
    2. The right of Indigenous peoples to their traditional lifestyles, cultural norms and values should likewise be recognised and protected.
    3. The liberalisation of services, especially in the areas of health, should not be allowed if it will prevent Indigenous peoples from having access to free, culturally appropriate and quality health services.
    4. The liberalisation of finance services which makes the world a global casino should be regulated.

  3. On the TRIPs Agreement, the proposals are as follows:
    1. Article 27.3b should be amended to categorically disallow the patenting of life-forms. It should clearly prohibit the patenting of micro-organisms, plants, animals, including all their parts, whether they are genes, gene sequences, cells, cell lines, proteins, or seeds.
    2. It should also prohibit the patenting of natural processes, whether these are biological or microbiological, involving the use of plants, animals and micro-organisms and their parts in producing variations of plants, animals and micro-organisms.
    3. It should ensure the exploration and development of alternative forms of protection outside of the dominant Western intellectual property rights regime. Such alternatives must protect the knowledge and innovations and practices in agriculture, health care, and conservation of biodiversity, and should build upon Indigenous methods and customary laws protecting knowledge, heritage and biological resources.
    4. It should ensure that the protection offered to Indigenous and traditional knowledge, innovation and practices is consistent with the Convention on Biological Diversity (ie Articles 8j, 10c, 17.2, and 18.4) and the International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources.
    5. It should allow for the right of Indigenous peoples and farmers to continue their traditional practices of saving, sharing and exchanging seeds, and cultivating, harvesting and using medicinal plants.
    6. It should prohibit scientific researchers and corporations from appropriating and patenting Indigenous seeds, medicinal plants, and related knowledge about these life-forms. The principles of prior informed consent and right of veto by Indigenous peoples should be respected.

  4. If the earlier proposals cannot be ensured, we call for the removal of the Agreement on Agriculture, the Forest Products Agreements and the TRIPs Agreement from the WTO.

  5. We call on the member-states of the WTO not to allow for another round whilst the review and rectification of the implementation of existing agreements has not been done. We reject the proposals for an investment treaty, competition, accelerated industrial tariffs, government procurement, and the creation of a working group on biotechnology.

  6. We urge the WTO to reform itself to become democratic, transparent and accountable. If it fails to do this, we call for the abolishment of the WTO.

  7. We urge the member nation-states of the WTO to endorse the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the current text of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the ratification of ILO Convention l69.

  8. We call on the peoples' organisations and NGOs [non-government organisations] to support this "Indigenous Peoples' Seattle Declaration" and to promote it among their members.

  9. We believe that the whole philosophy underpinning the WTO agreements and the principles and policies it promotes contradict our core values, spirituality and world views, as well as our concepts and practices of development, trade and environmental protection. Therefore, we challenge the WTO to redefine its principles and practices towards a "sustainable communities" paradigm, and to recognise and allow for the continuation of other world views and models of development.

Indigenous peoples, undoubtedly, are the ones most adversely affected by globalisation and by the WTO agreements. However, we believe that it is also us who can offer viable alternatives to the dominant economic growth, export-oriented development model. Our sustainable lifestyles and cultures, traditional knowledge, cosmologies, spirituality, values of collectivity, reciprocity, respect and reverence for Mother Earth, are crucial in the search for a transformed society where justice, equity, and sustainability will prevail.

Declaration by the
Indigenous Peoples' Caucus

convened and sponsored by
Indigenous Environmental Network
Seventh Generation Fund

in alliance with
TEBTEBBA (Indigenous Peoples' Network
for Policy Research and Education)
International Indian Treaty Council
Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism
Abya Yala Fund