[DEBATE] : [Fwd: Fwd: Re: [Wsfic_fsmci] Letter from WSF Liaison Group members]

Mon Apr 6 06:05:27 BST 2009

Monday, April 6, 2009

Peter, and others, FYI : Rabiya Abdelkrim Chikh is Coordonnatrice /  
Coordinator of ENDA Tiers Monde (ENDA Third World) in Senegal, a  
member of the Africa Social Forum Committee, and a member of the  
WSF’s International Council.

             Jai

On Apr 06 09, at 2:15 AM, peter waterman wrote:

> [Peter Waterman says: I do not know who this person is, but I think  
> the country code is for Senegal. No doubt the name will be familiar  
> either to Cosatu or to other South Africans involved with the World  
> or African Social Forums.]
>
> Now read on:
>
>
> ----- Forwarded message from rabia at enda.sn -----
>
>    Date: Sat, 4 Apr 2009 19:40:40 +0000
>    From: "Rabia ABDELKRIM CHIKH" <rabia at enda.sn>
> Reply-To: wsfic_fsmci at listas.rits.org.br
> Subject: Re: [Wsfic_fsmci] Letter from WSF Liaison Group members
>      To: wsfic_fsmci at listas.rits.org.br
>
>
> French below
> Dear friends and comrades
>
> 1.My position (discussed in our organisation) about the next IC    
> meeting is that if the criteria for going somewhere , are values  
> and   principles of the states policies, there are very few  
> countries which   are acceptable, at least because of their  
> "acceptance", complicity   with the neo liberal rules  and  
> policies, abandonning the peoples to   poverty and misery.
>
> 2.The IC is not invited by the state of Morocco but by social  
> movments  of Morocco and Maghreb.
>
> 3.For us , who have had fight for a long time for peoples '  Maghreb 
> (  with many experiences with trades unions, women movments ...   
> which  all failed)  it is very important to see the strategic  
> steps  achieved  by the social movments of Morocco gathering social  
> movments  from   all the north of our continent, including sahraoui  
> movments.
> The consolidation of these movments could reinforce the  
> independance   of social movments from states policies and help the  
> processes of   peace and independance of Sahraoui people.
>
> we have had contradictions and we still have divergences but  
> debates   and dialogs are the opportunity to learn together how to  
> do new   politics , other politics possible .
>
> All the best, in solidarity
>
> FranÃ§ais
>
> cher(e)s ami(e)s et camarades
>
> 1.Ma position(discutÃ©e dans notre organisation) Ã  propos du  
> prochain   CI , est que si les critÃ¨res pour aller quelque part,  
> sont basÃ©es sur   les valeurs et les principes des politiques  
> des Ã©tats, il y a trÃ¨speu  de pays qui sont acceptables, au  
> moins Ã  cause de leur abdication et  complicitÃ© avec les  
> rÃ¨gles et politiques nÃ©o libÃ©rales, en  abandonnant  les  
> peuples Ã  la pauvretÃ© et Ã  la misÃ¨re.
>
> 2.le CI n'est pas invitÃ© par l'Ã©tat du Maroc mais les  
> mouvements   sociaux marocains et maghÃ©bins.
>
> 3.Pour nous qui avons lutter depuis longtemps pour un Maghreb des    
> peuples(avec beaucoup d'expÃ©riences  des syndicats, des  
> mouvements de   femmes...qui ont toutes Ã©chouÃ©es), il est  
> trÃ¨s important de voir les   Ã©tapes stratÃ©giques  
> rÃ©alisÃ©es par les mouvements sociauxdu Maroc   rassemblant les  
> mouvements sociaux de tout le nord de notre  continent  , avec  
> l'inclusion des mouvements sociaux du Sahara.
> La consolidation de ces mouvements pourraient renforcer l 
> (indÃ©pendance  des mouvements sociaux des politiques desÃ©tats  
> et appuyer les   processus de paix et d'independance du peuple  
> sahraroui.
>
> Nous avons eu des contradictions et nous en avons encore, mais    
> dialogues et dÃ©bats pourraient Ãªtre l'occasion d'apprendre  
> ensemble   comment faire une nouvelle politique, d'autres faÃ§ons  
> possibles de   faire du poltique.
> Salutations solidaires
>
> Rabia Abdelkrim-Chikh
>
> Le 30 mars 09 Ã  19:08, WSFIC_FSMCI a Ã©crit :
>
>> Dear Members of the IC:
>>
>>
>> The Liaison Group which is entrusted with the job of  organizing  
>> the   next IC meeting has been approached by one of the members of  
>> the   International Council, i.e COSATU, the South African trade  
>> union,   objecting to the venue of the venue of the next meeting  
>> ie Rabat,    Morocco.  They addressed a letter to the LG with  
>> their objections.   (see attached).
>>
>>
>> The LG found itself in a peculiar position since it is only an    
>> implementing body and is not empowered to change IC decisions  
>> after   the IC meetings. The structure of the social forum does  
>> not allow   for representative bodies, and there is no methodology  
>> as yet for   changing IC decisions between meetings except to  
>> discuss it on the   list and getting concurrence of all the  
>> members of the IC.
>>
>>
>> The LG contacted the local hosts in Morocco and communicated the    
>> objections raised by COSATU. The Moroccan organizations  
>> responded   from their side (attached). One of the main objections  
>> raised by   COSATU comrades is the fact that Morocco is still  
>> illegally   occupying Western Sahara, and it would like to express  
>> its   solidarity with the Sahrawi people. The Moroccan host  
>> organizations   have clarified that they do not support the  
>> monarchy or the   occupation and a number of Sahrawi organizations  
>> are supporting the   meeting and they have participated in the  
>> Maghreb Social Forum that   was held in Morocco.
>>
>>
>> Unfortunately although COSATU was present in the last IC the    
>> representatives had to leave early and could not express its    
>> objections in the meeting. But they did discuss their objection  
>> with   other members of the IC.
>>
>>
>> The ICâ€™s decision to hold the next IC meeting in Morocco is  
>> a   considered one.  The reasons were as follows: a) it is very    
>> important to expand the social forum process to the Arab  
>> countries;   b) The Maghreb Social Forum is doing important work  
>> of south-south   expansion toward the Mashrek countries on behalf  
>> of Expansion   Commission and they took the  responsibility to  
>> organize, on the   same days of IC, a very important seminar  
>> towards preparing an Arab   Forum including movements from  
>> Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and   Middle East countries: c)  
>> because the Moroccan organizations are   independent, they oppose  
>> government policy, and they have created a   space of dialogue for  
>> just peace with Sahrawi people.
>>
>>
>>
>> If there was more time available the points raised by COSATU  
>> could   have been discussed on the list before the IC meeting  
>> beginning May   6th. But there is not enough time. This does not  
>> mean the discussion   cannot be continued during the IC meeting  
>> and before and after.
>>
>>
>> We hope that all this and the clarifications given by the  
>> Moroccan   comrades will satisfy friends in COSATU, that they will  
>> also   participate in the IC meeting in Rabat (May 6-9th) and  
>> place their   views. Their presence in this meeting is crucial,  
>> not just because   of the issues they have raised, but also  
>> because the meeting is in   African continent and COSATU is an  
>> extremely important part of the   African movements as well as the  
>> International Council.
>>
>>
>> COSATU has asked that guidelines should be drafted as to where    
>> meetings of the IC can or cannot be held.  It would be useful if    
>> they or other organizations should indeed work on such  
>> guidelines.   Discussion on such guidelines could be included in  
>> the agenda of the   next IC and continued thereafter.
>>
>>
>> Please refer to the letters which have been attached here
>>
>>
>> In solidarity
>>
>>
>> Members of the Liaison Group:
>>
>> Chico Whitaker, Gina Vargas, Moema Miranda, Raffaella Bolini,  
>> Hector   de la Cueva, Ana Maria Prestes, Alexandre Bento,  
>> Wilhelmina Trout,   Jose Miguel Mederos, Changgeun Lee, Meena  
>> Menon.<letter from   COSATU.doc><letter from Moroccan  
>> organizations_english.doc><lettre   des organizations  
>> marocaines_franÃ§ais.doc>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Wsfic_fsmci mailing list
>> Wsfic_fsmci at listas.rits.org.br
>> http://listas.rits.org.br/mailman/listinfo/wsfic_fsmci
>
>
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -- 
>
>
>
> * 'Needed: A Global Labour Charter Movement', ESF Malmo Update:  
> http://www.netzwerkit.de/projekte/waterman/gc
>
> * 'Challenging Empires: The World Social Forum. (2nd Edition, 488  
> pp). Ordering: http://www.blackrosebooks.net/wsf.htm
> * 'Back in the (Ex-) USSR': http://zope2.netzwerkit.de/ 
> RusRepLatest.pdf
>
> * 'Recovering Internationalism; Creating New Global Solidarity',  
> http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/6439.html
> * 'Prague 1968: "Workers of the World, Forgive Me!"', http:// 
> www.tni.org/archives/waterman/prague1968.pdf
> * 'A Union Internationalism for the 21stC', http:// 
> www.plutobooks.com/cgi-local/nplutobrows.pl?chkisbn=9780745327563
> * 'International Labour Studies in the UK’, in "Work Organisation  
> Labour and Globalisation", Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 180-200. http:// 
> www.analyticapublications.co.uk/
>
> _______________________________________________
> DEBATE mailing list
> DEBATE at debate.kabissa.org
> http://lists.kabissa.org/mailman/listinfo/debate

______________________________

Jai Sen
jai.sen at cacim.net
CACIM, A-3 Defence Colony, New Delhi 110 024, India
www.cacim.net
Ph : +91-11-4155 1521, +91-98189 11325 - PLEASE NOTE NEW SECOND NUMBER !

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