BY JORGE JORQUERA
MELBOURNE — The World Economic Forum (WEF) will hold its Asia Pacific Economic Summit here on September 11-13. Hundreds of top corporate executives and political leaders will meet to discuss the global implementation of neo-liberal restructuring.
Their agenda will not include how the neo-liberal policies they promote attack the living standards of the globe's workers, unemployed, women, small farmers and the poor. Like the large protest actions in Seattle in November and Washington in April, "S11" protests being planned for Melbourne will bring the real impact of the global capitalist elite's antics to the world's attention, and highlight alternatives.
Discussions about alternatives to big business's agenda of labour market deregulation, privatisation, environmental tokenism and the profit-oriented attacks on women, young people, rural and indigenous communities is just beginning among those organising the S11 activities.
The S11 Alliance is organising a national "convergence" in Melbourne on September 7. Organisations from around Australian and the world will coordinate a host of actions. Between September 8 and 10, there will be a range of counter summits, forums, workshops, direct actions, and lots of networking and planning. On September 11, a mass mobilisation against the WEF meeting will focus the world's attention on Melbourne.
On July 29, Friends of the Earth and Green Left Weekly are holding a Global Action Conference to discuss a broad range of views on environmentally sustainable and socially just alternatives to the global corporate agenda. For details, phone (03) 9639 8622, or email <melbourne@greenleft.org.au> or <foe@foe.org.au>.
On May 25, the Canberra S11 Alliance was launched, James Vassilopoulos told Green Left Weekly. Its goal is organise as many people as possible to travel to Melbourne for the anti-WEF activities.
The meeting to establish the Canberra S11 Alliance was initiated by Resistance. It was attended by 15 people, including activists from the ACT Greens, Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, Democratic Socialist Party, International Socialist Organisation, Australian National University (ANU) Labor Left Club and the Members First grouping within the Community and Public Sector Union.
The alliance is organising a number of events, including a film showing on June 21 about the Seattle and Washington protests, a public meeting in mid-July and a benefit gig.
An ANU S11 club has also been established. Phone the Canberra S11 Alliance on 6247 2424, 6247 4549 or 62628488, or email <canberras11@hotmail.com> for more information. For assistance with accommodation and transport to the S11 mobilisation in Melbourne, keep an eye on the S11 web site at <http://www.s11.org>.