@
Korean News
@
International News
@ [2/1] Davos Forum (World Economy Forum) reports
@ The 2nd Meeting
of the Korea-Japan Investment Treaty To Held
@ No to WTO, No to New Round
@ Protesters At WTO Plan Washington DC
Follow-Up
@ World Bank Project Will Subvert Brazilian
Constitutional Land Reform
Korean News
The 2nd Meeting of the
Korea-Japan Investment Treaty To Held
Seoul and Tokyo will have the 2nd Ministry Meeting to encourage
the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) in pursue of protecting investors
and guaranteeing free of investment through 27-28, January, in Seoul,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) announced in 26, Jan..
Both governments had the 1st Ministry Meeting in Tokyo, in September
of last year, after having agreeing that the BIT should be
entered into by top officer as soon as possible in March, when the
Prime Ministry of Japan, Obuchi Geizo, had visited at Blue House.
MOFAT explains this meeting is very important to conclude comprehensive
agreements, such as the Most Favored Nations and National Treatment,
to promote the free transition of bilateral investment and protect
the investors. [2000/01/26][KoPA]
No to WTO, No to New Round
-The Korean government's position
and people's response-
The
launching of the WTO new muti-lateral free trade negotiation is
coming, under the title of Millenium Round. In spite of strong and
world-wide resistances against the WTO new round by the international
civil society, TNCs and imperialist countries are pushing its launch.
Without exception, Korean government is also advertizing the benefits
of 'free trade and investment' under the slogan of 'national interest',
and very busy to make propaganda that Korea is one of the countries
to be most benefited by the WTO regime. However, [....] [Full] [1999/12/13] [PICIS]
International
News
Protesters
At WTO Plan Washington DC Follow-Up
Activist
groups that paralyzed downtown Seattle during the World Trade Organization
conference late last year plan to converge on Washington in April
to protest a joint meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary
Fund--with some groups pledging to "shut down" the gathering
with civil disobedience.
More than 60 organizers met last week in Washington to map out a
week of political events aimed at keeping alive what they call "the
spirit of Seattle." They variously plan to lobby in Congress,
hold educational forums, stage peaceful demonstrations and physically
block the meeting, organizers said.
The groups view the IMF and World Bank, both based in Washington,
as key institutions for an unjust global economic order that enriches
some people and impoverishes others. The meetings have traditionally
drawn protesters, but in smaller numbers than predicted for the
one on April 16. [Full]
[2000/01/26] [By John
Burgess, Staff Writer, Washington Post]
World Bank Project
Will Subvert Brazilian Constitutional Land Reform
Five
million families of landless workers in Brazil are entitled to land
under the existing land reform measures of the Brazilian constitution.
Through a popular movement known as the MST (Movimento de Trabalhadores
Rurais Sem Terra -- Movement of Rural Landless Workers) over 200,000
families have organized and occupied idle land, receiving legal
ownership and subsidized government loans. The Brazilian government
and the wealthy land owners are not happy about this!
The World Bank plans to provide $1 billion to create a "land
bank" (Banco da Terra) that, while claiming to support land reform, actually
subverts it. The terms of the WB-sponsored plan are far worse for
those receiving the land and offer a windfall for large estate owners.
In an attempt to dismantle successful resistance, the World Bank
and Brazilian government are offering up this alternative mechanism.
They are offering $1 billion to follow on the heels of a pilot project
called Cédula da Terra.[Full] [2000/01/18] [www.mstbrazil.org]
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