Jakarta, 7-10 June, 2001
Asia-Pacific People`s Solidarity Conference – “Fighting Neo-Liberalism in the Asia-Pacific”
Come to Jakarta in June 2001!
Join the struggle to globalise resistance to the neo-liberal offensive!
http://www.geocities.com/increase_jakarta/english_background.htm
The conference will be held between June 7-10, 2001 and will be organised by the Indonesian Centre for Reform and Social Emancipation (INCREASE). The conference will be held in the city of Jakarta. From within Indonesia, the conference will be supported by the affiliates of INCREASE, namely, the National Student League for Democracy (Liga Nasional Mahasiswa untuk Demokrasi, LNMD), the National Peasant Union (Serikat Tani Nasional, STN), the Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggle (Front Nasional Perjuangan Buruh Indonesia, FNPBI), the People`s Cultural Network (Jaringan Kerja Kebudayaan Rakyat, JAKKER), the People`s Youth Movement (Gerakan Pemuda Kerakyatan, GPK) and the People`s Legal Aid Foundation (Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Rakyat, LBHR).
Aims of the Conference
INCREASE sees the conference as having several complimentary aims. First, INCREASE intends the conference to raise awareness within Indonesia about the nature and role of neo-liberal economic policies, as well as the role of the international financial institutions — such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) — in forcing neo-liberal policies upon the peoples of the Third World in general and Indonesia, in particular. In this context INCREASE hopes the conference will provide a forum whereby Indonesian organisations waging campaigns to improve the welfare and empowerment of the people can come to see their campaigns as linked to the generalised fight against neo-liberalism.
Second, INCREASE hopes that the discussion among Indonesian organisations, intellectuals and activists at the conference as well as between the Indonesian participants and overseas participants will help advance the process of the progressive movement in Indonesia being able to develop its own alternatives to the IMF prescribed neo-liberal strategy being enforced at the moment.
Third, INCREASE wishes the conference to also function as a vehicle for deepening the cooperation between progressive forces in the Asia Pacific region. Where feasible we also hope that it can help develop cooperation between the Asia Pacific and other major areas, such as Europe, North America and Latin America. At the moment, we have commitments from partner movements in South Korea, the Philippines, Pakistan, East Timor and Australia that they will attend and speak at the conference. We also have confirmations of attendance from activists in the United States and the Netherlands. We expect further confirmations in the next few months.
INCREASE hopes that concrete measures to deepen and concretise cooperation will develop out of the conference.
Fourth, INCREASE wishes to introduce the international participants to the struggle for reform and social empowerment, for fundamental social change, in Indonesia. In addition to panels and workshops on range themes relevant to the general analysis and struggle against neo-liberalism, there will also be many panels and workshops that will relate these issues to Indonesia. There will be speakers from all sectors of society and from the progressive political parties and currents in Indonesia. We intend that some of the affiliates sectoral organisations of INCREASE will organise 7-10 exposure programmes in their areas of activity immediately after the conference.
Conference themes
Some of the specific themes of the conference will include:
The nature of the current crisis in liberalism
Why is neo-liberalism the capitalists current preferred solution
The nature of the international financial institutions
Relations between (a) Europe and Asia-Pacific and (b) the US and Asia-Pacific
The impact of neo-liberalism in developed as well as developing countries
The role of the military in defending neo-liberal regimes
Strategies for fundamental social change: democratic revolution; popular power; socialism etc
How to achieve international collaboration in struggle
The role of feminist struggle
The social economic crisis and the environmental impact
Trade union organising and worker mobilising
Peasant union organising; land issues; and peasant campaigning
Political strategies and mass mobilising
Culture and struggle
The conference will be an open, public, live-in conference. The agenda will be decided by the INCREASE conference organising committee, in consultation with partner organisations. INCREASE will of course; consider suggestions for additional themes and topics. There will be a strong cultural component in the conference programme. We will consider possibilities for protest mobilisations as part of the conference closer to the date.
Exposure tours
INCREASE will be facilitating 7-10 day exposure tours for interested activists after the conference. There will be exposure tours in the worker/trade union, peasant, student, cultural and women`s movement sectors.
Sponsorship
We will soon begin the international publicity for this conference. We would be very pleased to be able to include your organisation as a sponsor of the conference.
Registration for international participants
Costs for international participants at the conference are US$225 waged/US$125 unwaged. This includes registration fee, conference keynote papers, accommodation, and three meals per day during the conference.
Registration and payment methods:
Australia: Send cheques made out to Peoples Power fighting Fund to: Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET), P.O. Box 458, Broadway 2007.
The Netherlands and Europe: Contact Solidariteit met Timor en Indonesie (SOLITIN) at solitin_otten@hotmail.com for payment and registration details.
For information on other international registration agents contact increase@indo.net.id
