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Editorial on G-8 Summit
Editorial
Le Monde
Farenheit 9/11, which won the
Palm D’Or at the Cannes Festival, undeniably condemned the Bush
administration with regards to the war in Iraq. The movie was also a dramatic
wake up call for Hollywood and American media that have been intoxicated
by patriotic propaganda since the September 11 attacks.
The constant hammering of security
discourse has not only anesthetized the news and the critical analysis
of intellectuals, but it has also paralyzed a significant part of American
civil society. Those that have been affected include anti-globalization
NGOs that have been silenced by the fear of accusations of being anti-American
and upsetting their financial sponsors.
In this field, there has been
a significant reversing of roles has taken place for the first time by
InterAction, an important American NGO, through its Declaration to the
Heads of States of the G8 members. The Declaration will be given to the
G8 participants during the June 8-10 summit at Sea Island, Georgia. With
the exception of Russia, that has yet to sufficiently structure its rare
anti-globalist movements, the seven other countries that comprise the
G8 (Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan, and the
UK) will have in their hands a document from a series of national NGO
platforms speaking in the name of the represented countries. These NGOs
include: Associazione ONG Italiane, Bond-UK, the Canadian Council for
International Cooperation, InterAction, Japan NGO Center for International
Cooperation, Association of German Development NGOs, Coordination Sud
(France) and Concord pour la Confederation europeenne.
The document, dated May 25,
has eight signatures, allegedly representative of 1500 associations. It
states the following, “supported by millions of citizens of your
respective countries, we call on the priorities of the moment. While you
debate on questions of geo-strategy and the reinforcement of the world’s
stability, we ask you to remember your pledges in favor of development.
To this effect, in conformity
with the Millennium Development Goals, the signatories of the Declaration
requested that the eradication of extreme poverty be placed at the top
of all of the G8 members’ agenda. This would imply a renewed engagement
of each government to specify its concrete strategies and plans to reach
the MDG’s goal of 2015. Furthermore, the signatories encouraged
the establishment of the necessary tools to achieve the MDGs, which include,
development aid, trade policies, debt relief, and the transfer of technology
and private investment.
The signatories do not have
too high expectations, in light of the upcoming elections. They are fully
aware of Bush’s goal of placing the war against terrorism at the
heart of the agenda, given its substantial importance in America’s
public opinion. The signatories believe that MDGs would be given more
attention during the G8 meeting of 2005, in London, where Tony Blair’s
team might advance the propositions of development aid and debt reduction.
That is, if Blair does not pay in the mean time the price of too close
ties to his American counterpart.
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