OneWorld.net (U.S.)

NEW DELHI, Nov 29 (OneWorld South Asia) - Dozens of Indian civil society organizations have formed a People’s Caravan to lobby with the Indian government against the proposed World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements. The People’s Caravan, which is holding a mass awareness campaign all over the country, has already reached millions of Indians through rallies, public meetings and street plays.

In a press conference on Friday, activists from a number of grassroots civil society organizations warned the people that accepting WTO agreements would lead Indians to another era of colonization by multinational companies (MNCs) and the worst affected would be the marginalized communities and the poor people.

The People’s Caravan is part of a global effort under which international and regional civil society organizations have joined together to educate people in different countries.

Providing an insight to the demands by the caravan, Indu Prakash Singh of ActionAid India raised objections to the high subsidies, upto $300 million, provided by the European Union and the US to their farmers. These subsidies, he pointed out, are much high in comparison to those provided by the developing countries.

He also opposed the existing norms of non-tariff barriers imposed by developed countries on the import from the developing countries. Present conditionalities in the WTO draft will further increase the trade imbalance between the rich and the poor countries. His advice for the Indian government was: “To negotiate hard and to keep the welfare of the Indian farmers in mind.”

Director of Nirman Mazdoor Sangathan, which works with unorganized workers in the construction sector, Subhash Bhatnagar said that 93 per cent Indian workers are in the unorganized sector and are also outside the purview of social security schemes. He added: “Globalization and the WTO will further deprive unorganized workers as existing employment opportunities will shrink for them.”

The People’s Caravan was launched in India on 24 October and seeks to educate people about the impact of WTO on people who live in peripheral and rural areas of India. The caravan is highlighting the impact of globalization, privatization and urbanization on Dalits, tribals, women, forest dwellers and workers in the unorganized sector.

© Radio Netherlands WereldomroepThe sites for launching the People’s Caravan in various parts of India have a historical significance. Most of the places have been signposts in India’s struggle for independence and include sites like the Jallianwala Bagh in Punjab and Champaran in Bihar. Though the underlying tone for creating awareness is the WTO, people in different regions in India are taking up local and regional issues that are close to them.

President of Bal Vikas Dhara, which works with marginalized and slum children, Devinder Kumar said that shopping malls, urbanization and beautification of Indian cities is causing large scale urban unemployment. Giving an example he said: “Services like water, electricity and solid waste management are being handed over to the private sector. Unorganized workers are losing their jobs and their families are getting dislocated.”

Ram Kishan of Aashray Adhikar Abhiyan (AAA), an NGO that works on providing shelter to the homeless said: “The government has not been elected to sell off the resources of the country to the MNCs. It has to provide water, power and other necessities to the people at affordable prices.”

Speaking at the press conference, Anil Chaudhary from the Indian Social Action Forum presented a completely radical perspective of WTO. He said: “WTO is fundamentally wrong. Its predecessor – GATT (General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs) – was to regulate only factory-made produce and not agriculture. Agricultural production cannot be regulated as it depends upon climate and natural factors therefore farm produce should not be regulated under WTO.”

Chaudhary added that tinkering with WTO rules and agreements will not help the cause of the developing world. He suggested a more radical solution: “We want the WTO to be completely scrapped. International trade is not a new thing. It has been carried out for centuries and in better ways.”

The regional caravans that pass through almost all of India will culminate in a final protest march in Delhi on December 10. The People’s Caravan has sought permission to present a memorandum to the President regarding their demands and expectations from the government. Selected members from the caravan will join the global protests at the WTO ministerial at Hong Kong.