LAST MONTH thousands of people joined lively protests in Birmingham outside the G8
summit demanding cancellation of the debt of developing "Third World" countries.
Incensed by the ‘new slavery of the twentieth century’ which condemns
millions of children to die of malnutrition to pander to the whims of the World Bank and
the IMF, they demanded the leaders of the world’s eight richest and most powerful
nations show some compassion. Sadly – if predictably – their voices were
ignored.
On June 13, building on the success of last year’s massive demonstration in
Amsterdam to greet the European Union Summit, activists from all over Europe will converge
on Cardiff to demand an end to unemployment, cuts in welfare spending and deteriorating
conditions at work.
The moves to European integration and monetary union are being pushed through by a
continental attack on the living standards and rights of ordinary people.
The protests have a common aim – fighting the world wide neo-liberal offensive in
which the bosses, bankers and ruling élites are ganging up internationally to entrench
their power and line their own pockets at the expense of the poorest.
The powerful have their own "solidarity", their rich men’s clubs - G8,
NAFTA, EU, NATO and so forth, and impose their will through a series of treaties and
agreements.
Their latest plan, the Multilateral Agreement on Investment seeks to dismantle barriers
to investment all over the world – riding roughshod over democratically elected
institutions, workers rights, the environment, and small farmers.
The poor and the dispossessed have only one weapon - that of solidarity.
In the last 18 months we have seen the first signs of Europe-wide campaigns and strikes
linking up working people against the common enemy.
This kind of solidarity is mighty powerful. Let’s use it!