by Walden Bello  

A longer version of this piece comes out in the April 2007 issue of Global Asia. It is reprinted with permission.

If the Doha Round of negotiations of the World Trade Organization is stalemated, a great part of the reason is the resistance of small farmers, among them Asia's farmers.   One of the terrible truths of the 20th century is that it was a blight on small farmers or peasants everywhere. Before looking at the question of whether small farmers need protection from free trade, it is necessary to consider this historical background. This article will focus on Asia's peasantry but the history it recounts is one that is shared as well by farmers in other parts of the South and in the North.

Mainstream print media's coverage of recent events in Mindanao is manufacturing consent for war

by Herbert Docena, April 2007

As Mindanao reels yet again on the brink of another all-out war, sections of mainstream print media may be helping push it closer to the edge.

A quick round-up of their coverage tells us what in their view has been happening: A rogue commander not supported by the rest of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and who is coddling "al-Qaeda linked" Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah members started it all by attacking the military. The military had no choice but to retaliate. Now things are spiraling out of control and it's all the terrorist-coddling rogue commander's fault.

How the trade deal with Japan would bring more pain than gain for the Philippines

Joseph Purugganan

“The Philippines is ripe for more trade and investments” was Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo’s sales pitch at the World Economic Forum (WEF) held in Davos, Switzerland recently.

But with all of these bilateral deals and deal making happening left and right alongside the on-going efforts to jumpstart the stalled Doha negotiations in the World Trade Organization (WTO), the more relevant issue may not be our readiness for more trade and investment but whether opening the doors for these would actually benefit the Philippines.

Are these deals good for us or are we in fact getting a raw deal in all of these bilateral and multilateral trade and investment agreements?

How the WTO negotiations threaten Philippine agriculture, fisheries and industries

Joseph Purugganan, April 2007

When World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General Pascal Lamy visited Manila last February, he discussed with the Philippine government and the business sector the necessity for compromise in the on-going Doha Round negotiations for a new multilateral trade deal. He said countries like the Philippines that would stand to benefit from "more market access, a fairer playing field, new disciplines and better enforcement of existing rules" should "make a contribution" to move the talks forward.