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Summary:
While Israel was raining bombs and missiles on Lebanon, Focus was instrumental
in organising a 12-member solidarity delegation, to experience first hand, the
inhuman sufferings and unmindful destruction as well as to demand for an immediate
ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon. The reports being sent
daily by members of the delegation tells us horrifying tales of peoples
suffering and the systematic destruction of the civil infrastructure including
roads, private homes, bridges, fuel stations, which shows that Israelis agenda
is not only to target Hezbollah, but to degrade the ability of the Lebanese to
connect with one another. Their reports also indicate that Hezbollah, a
movement evolved in reaction to Israel's invasion of Lebanon in June 1982, is
gaining support and approval among the masses including Lebanese Christians,
thus foiling the political aim of Israeli aggression in Lebanon. The articles
from Walden Bello (Philippine) and Seema Mustafa (India) presen
In the middle of the crisis in West Asia we greeted the news of derailment of
WTO negotiations in Geneva. The collapse of Doha Round negotiations in Geneva
was caused by the deep differences between USA and EU on the issue of
agriculture as well as lack of development agenda for the developing countries.
While Dr. Walden Bello in his article tried to analyze the failure of talks in
terms of benefits to poor and developing countries, the Indian campaign against
WTO, in a statement supported by Mr. VP Singh, Mr. AB Bardhan, Mr. Prakash
Karat calls on the Indian government to review the terms of Doha negotiating
framework and demand that India initiate a move for an inter-developing country
Agreement on Trade and Cooperation in Agriculture based on a paradigm entirely
different from the paradigm of the present Agreement on Agriculture of the WTO.
In the 63rd year of their inception, the Bretton Wood twins, the IMF and the
World Bank, will be holding their annual meeting in Singapore in September
2006. This would be yet another occasion for the Asian movements, after a
successful mobilization in Asia against WTO in Hong Kong, to resist the
neoliberal policies of economic domination of the World Bank and IMF, and to
join the broad coalition of networks, movements, campaigns and NGOs at the
International Peoples Forum vs the IMF and the World Bank on September 15 to
17. It will also be preceded by country campaigns to oppose the intervention by
the World Bank and the IMF. In India a coalition of organizations under the
banner of Peoples Forum Against ADB is holding a strategy meeting on the World
Bank and the IMF on September 1-2, 2006 in New Delhi to bring together struggle
and campaign groups to share experiences and strategies, and come up with
common plans to resist the institutions and their neo-liberal agenda.
Focus on the Global South
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Content:
1. NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
1.a. Invitation for the Western Regional Consultation for India Social Forum,
August 25th 2006, Pune
1.b. Strategy meeting on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on 1-2
September 2006 in New Delhi
1.c. Invitation to Participate in the International Peoples Forum vs the IMF
& World Bank, September 15 to 17, 2006 Batam, Indonesia & Singapore
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2. STATEMENTS/ REPORTS/ CALLS TO ACTION
2.a. International Peace Delegation goes to Lebanon
2.b. Statement from Indian People's Campaign Against WTO (IPCAWTO), 27 July
2006
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3. ARTICLES
3.a. Tracing a Trail of Destruction: Report from Lebanon, By Walden Bello,
3.b. Nasrallah new Arab world hero, By Seema Mustafa, in The Asian Age
3.c. Why Collapse of the Doha Round Negotiations is the Best Outcome for
Developing Countries By Walden Bello
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