[WSF-Discuss] Sweden plays host to anti-globalization activists

[CACIM]

*Sweden plays host to anti-globalization activists*

Published: 16 Sep 08 09:59 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/14360/20080916/

More than 20,000
anti-globalization<http://www.thelocal.se/tag/globalization>activists
are due in Malmö this week to take part in the European Social
Forum, hoping to breathe new life into a movement many say is rapidly losing
speed.

The anti-globalization movement entered the political scene in 1999 with
loud protests on the sidelines of the World Trade Organisation meeting in
Seattle -- promoting democracy, economic justice and environmental
protection -- but activists admit its influence has waned in recent years
and the movement is now struggling to regain its former dynamism and
strength.

Known today as the alter-globalization movement, it aims to promote concrete
alternatives to what many feel is the capitalist nature of globalization,
pushing instead for global cooperation on social issues.

The European Social Forum in the southern town of Malmö, Sweden's
third-largest city, is the fifth such meeting to be held since 2002. The
last one took place in Athens in 2006.

The meeting, which opens on Wednesday and closes on Sunday, will feature
some 250
seminars and 400 cultural activities, all under the theme "Making another
Europe possible."

Around 800 associations, non-governmental organizations, unions and other
networks will take part.

The activists will discuss a slew of subjects, ranging from social issues in
Europe to women's and oppressed people's rights, as well as the
international financial crisis, AIDS and climate change.

Contrary to previous forums, this year's ESF is expected to yield "proposals
to bring about real solutions," Susan George, the head of the Transnational
Institute (TNI) which provides critical analyses of global problems, told
AFP.

In the past, delegates spent "too much time on explanations, on
descriptions, and on analyzing various crises," she said.

"This time, we're really going to talk about Europe among Europeans and see
how we can together create a more democratic, more social, more
environmental Europe."

George also said that the geographic location of the meeting -- Scandinavia
-- was a good omen for the forum.

"These are countries that are very, very advanced, with small populations
and solid traditions of democracy, so it's very good that the meeting is
taking place there," she said.

Meanwhile, Christophe Aguiton, a researcher and member of the French Attac
movement, said that climate change issues would be in the spotlight, with
just 15 months to go before a UN climate summit in Copenhagen.

"There are many of us who believe that the demands of environmentalists and
ecologists have to be combined with social issues," he said.

He attributed the alter-globalisation movement's inertia in recent years to
the rise of nationalism in China and Russia among others, and the emergence
of other movements providing a counterweight to the United States.

"There was a very brief moment in 2000 to 2003 when world issues seemed so
global or totally centered around one actor -- the United States, which was
launching a war on Iraq -- that a response from a global movement looked
like the only possible alternative," Aguiton explained.

"It was a period when the Social Forum had a lot of influence on the agenda
because it was the only counter-power," he added.

Today, "we have ... a kind of fragmentation due to the rise of nationalism
which is in fact a delayed response to the US offensive (in Iraq) in 2003,"
he said.

One of the highlights of the forum will be a peaceful demonstration on
Saturday with the slogan "Power to the People -- Against Capitalism and
Environmental Destruction. Another World is Possible!"

Calls for independent activists to demonstrate on Friday evening have also
been circulating on the internet.

Similar protests in the past have turned violent.

Swedish police would not disclose the security measures being taken.

"Of course there will be special measures but we never speak about the
details ... There is a risk that at a time like this there will be elements
or persons who want to create violence," Malmö police spokesman Lars
Förstell told AFP.

*AFP/Delphine Touitou*
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mail.openspaceforum.net/pipermail/worldsocialforum-discuss_openspaceforum.net/attachments/20080917/9310c733/attachment.html