PSPD in English Int. Solidarity 2010-09-04   1547

Statement of Joint NGOs Regarding the G20 Meeting of Finance Vice-Ministers and Central Bank Vice-Governors


Statement of Joint NGOs of Labor, People, and Civil Societies
Regarding the G20 Meeting of Finance Vice-Ministers and Central Bank Vice-Governors


Before the Seoul G20 Summit in November, a G20 meeting of Finance vice-ministers and central bank vice-governors is held during 4th ~ 5th of September. It is a meeting of a high offical working group to discuss main agenda for the G20 Summit in Seoul. The agenda in this meeting are known to be financial regulation, global safety on finance, development issues, etc.


Financial regulations have only been discussed at the G20 Summit without being implemented in practice. Even at the Toronto Summit in last June, participants agreed not to discuss issues of bank tax, bank transaction tax, and other methods of financial regulations, which could have been ways to at least hold investors accountable. We urge to regulate investment capitals which brought economic crisis and hardship to people and implement investment taxation to promote public welfare.


The global financial safety net called ‘Korea initiative’ by the Lee administration, is a support system for the countries in need of capitals by introducing Preventive Credit Line, Flexible Credit Line, etc. before the crisis emerges. Further, relaxation of requirements of the IMF loan is being considered. However, the key problem of the global finance instability is the speculative financial capital. Without accountability and regulations, the global financial safety net cannot help but fundamentally have limitation. The true global financial safety net can be established when financial regulations are implemented and investors are held accountable for the crisis.
 
G20 Summit recovered the IMF without any basic evaluation and reform. However, the IMF is not adequate to be responsible for global financial safety and supervise nations’ policies because it previously coerced restructuring programs and brought hardship to the people around the world. Even after the crisis, the IMF still forced “labor flexibility” including diminution of social welfare, cut of National Pension and wages of officials, privatization of medical service and other public services, deregulation of conditions on mass dismissal, etc., as one can see from cases in Latvia, Hungary, and Rumania.


The Lee administration intends to discuss the agenda of ‘Poverty and Development’ as the chair country of the G20 summit, in order to bridge the gap between developing and developed countries. However, the underlying concept behind the agenda drawn up by the Korean government is problematic since it puts an emphasis on economic development without taking into account democracy, human rights, environment, gender equality of the developing countries. For the sake of poverty and human rights of developing countries, free support and cancellation of foreign debt should be done immediately for the starved people in the third world countries. The G20 Summit should also act on the promise of the UN MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) to reduce the world’s poverty index by half by 2015.


The G20 Summit has never presented realistic resolutions to solve the socioeconomic crisis of financial regulation, poverty, climate change, unemployment, welfare and others, which have been requested by world’s progressive camps. In fact, the G20 consented to a curtailment policy at the Toronto Summit, which could exacerbate social welfare and employment resulting in hardship of labor forces and the people, and the international economy will deteriorate further. During the G20 meeting of Finance vice-ministers held at Incheon in February, the IMF stated that the finance revenue should be controlled to stabilize the deficit ratio, and “compulsory expending areas such as pension and medical services with greater spending pressure due to the increase in aging population should be reformed and therefore recommending reduction of public expenses.
 
On the other hand, we strongly criticize the Lee administration, the representative of chair country of Seoul Summit, of suppressing democracy and fundamental human and labor rights under the name of the G20. It enacted ‘”the Special Law for Safety and Guard”, violating the freedom of assembly and demonstrations, and cracking down immigrant labors, stall keepers, and homeless out. We make it clear that any national event cannot supress democracy and human rights.  

The G20 Summit has failed to solve world’s socioeconomic problems. It rather concerns itself with addressing the crisis and uses this as an excuse to hinder human rights and survival of people. There is the Lee administration leading the movement as the representative of the chair country of Seoul summit. Only fundamental prescription, not a temporary one, can solve the crisis.


NGOs of labor, people, and civil societies, in continuation of today’s press conference, will hold a “joint demonstrations of NGOs of labor, people, and civil societies” on  September 4th. for stopping labor oppression, controlling financial capital, and denunciating G20, and will criticize the G20 Summit and the meeting of Finance vice-ministers and central bank vice-governors for their inaction. And also, we will announce ‘weeks of joint demonstrations’ during the meeting of Finance vice-ministers and central bank vice-governors in October and the G20 summit in November, and we will organize an alternative voice and strife.

– We denunciate the G20 Summit overtaking risk expenses to people
– We oppose the austerity policy which transfers hardship to the labor force and people
– Stop suppressing democracy and human and labor rights under the name of G20
– Regulate finance capitals causing the world’s economic crisis



September, 3, 2010

Preparation Committee of Joint Confrontation against G20 (tentative name)

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