Skip to content or view screen version

Report from the Aid, Traid, and Debt, Make Poverty History Plenarie at G8 Altern

un | 04.07.2005 17:50 | G8 2005

Report from the Aid, Traid, and Debt, Make Poverty History Plenarie at G8 Alternative Conference  http://www.g8alternatives.org.uk/

Speakers where Chris Nineham ( http://www.socialistreview.org.uk/article.php?articlenumber=9282%20) who spoke of the hypochrisy of these people who talk about corrupt governments in Africa when the world market is driven by corruption, these people back some of the worst regimes around the world , are the biggest supporters of state terrorism, and brought us the war in Iraq.


He went on to say that the G8 saw the Debt Crisis as an 'opportunity' to make more profit and extract more resources.

He finished by saying that to move forward we must take the power from those who want to keep us all in poverty.

Next to speak was Greg Wilpert ( http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0412-08.htm) who spoke about the positive changes in Venezuala, where they are reshaping their trade program to concentrate on 'southern' countries rather than the 'northern' ones who through 'Free Trade' will always get the best deal. This was part of the Bolivarian Alternative. ( http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/docs.php?dno=1010)

Next up was Mark Curtis ( http://www.markcurtis.info/) who recomended us to read Gordon Browns speaches ( http://search.treasury.gov.uk/search?p=Q&ts=treasury&mainresult=mt_mainresult_yes&w=gordon+brown+protect+resources), and went on to say that aid is used to force privatisation onto 'Southern' countries and to open up there markets.

Next was Walden Bello ( http://www.zmag.org/bios/homepage.cfm?authorID=113) who quoted Tony Blair as saying “my role is to protect British interests and British power”

Last to speak was Susan George ( http://aurora.icaap.org/archive/george.html) who could see a Growing Global Consciousness who where opposed to a system where “if you are not usefull for production, not usefull for cinsumption, you are not usefull to Globalization”

She also said that 'Aid' also included money giving to Israel (which is a lot!) and money to money to Iraq, which mostly goes to Haliburton.

un