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Shalmali Guttal, July 31, 2001
It is possible that the G-8 summit in Genoa will be remembered by many, more
for the violence on the streets than for the duplicity of the G-8 leadership,
or for the substantive challenge mounted by the largely peaceful anti-globalisation
movement. Since July 19, the international press has carried numerous commentaries
on the street demonstrations and protests gone amok in Genoa. Most of them have
been quick to denounce the tactics of the alleged "Black Bloc" and
highlight perceived "splits" in the anti-globalisation movement. But
few of these commentaries have directed serious attention to why more than a
100,000 people gathered in Genoa to protest the G-8 Summit, or why there is
such a large and diverse anti-globalisation movement to begin with. And almost
none have questioned the role and tactics of the G-8's security forces in creating
an enemy that they can then justify attacking.
One of the more objectionable commentaries was by Fareed Zakaria in the International
Herald Tribune on July 24, 2001. Mr. Zakaria (who is Editor of Newsweek International)
champions the technological revolution as the only "realistic solution"
for the "desperate condition of poor countries" and argues against
an imagined (by him) "anti-technology bias" among the G-8 protestors
in Genoa. This is nothing new. As a member of the anti-globalisation movement
I have been accused of being "anti-trade," "anti-development,"
and "anti-technology" several times over. What makes Mr. Zakaria's
commentary particularly shocking are remarks by Mr. Mark Malloch Brown, the
UNDP Administrator, from which Mr. Zakaria seems to draw considerable strength
for his own arguments.
Using the UNDP's latest Human Development Report as his information source,
Mr. Zakaria extols the virtues of DDT and genetically modified (GM) foods, and
argues that it is wrong to pressure poor countries to stop using dangerous chemicals
or products that are already prohibited in developed countries because concerns
about their side effects. He then quotes Mr. Mark Malloch Brown: "It's
unfortunate that the protestors have an anti-technology bias," and further,
"Not one person anywhere has died by eating genetically modified food."
Mr. Brown seems to have missed some of the key points in the GM food debate,
but we can set that aside for now. The article gets worse as Mr. Brown then
goes on to point the way for the anti G-8 protestors:
"The Protestors should reflect on the symbolism of Genoa. It's the birthplace
of Christopher Columbus, one of the greatest explorers in history. They could
either follow in the footsteps of Columbus, who showed that embracing innovation
and taking risks could have unimaginable benefits. Or else they could just become
the latest members of the 'flat earth society,' opposed to modern economics,
modern technology, modern science and modern life itself."
By protesting against the G-8 Summit in Genoa, activists were indeed reflecting
on the symbolism of Genoa and the legacy of Christopher Columbus' "innovations"
and "risk taking." Columbus was a merchant clerk from Genoa who persuaded
the Spanish monarchy to finance an expedition to Asia in search of gold and
spices. In return for the booty, the monarchy promised him 10 percent of all
profits, governorship over newfound lands and the title: Admiral of the Ocean
Seas. Columbus never made it to Asia, but his forays led to the colonisation
of the Americas, and the destruction of entire local populations, eco-systems
and social systems. Spain and Europe certainly reaped unimaginable benefits.
But for the native peoples of the Bahamas and Latin America, Columbus brought
syphilis, brutality and centuries of exploitation in the name of progress and
enlightenment. His contempt for those unlike him is evident in his log. When
describing his first meeting with the Arawak Indians, he says:
"They brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears, and many other
things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks' bells. They willingly
traded everything they owned. . . . They were well built, with good bodies and
handsome features. . . . They would make fine servants…With fifty men we could
subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want." And further, "…on
the first island which I found, I took some of the natives by force in order
that they might learn and might give me information of whatever there is in
these parts."
Columbus and his cohorts were certainly successful in subjugating the natives.
Motivated by greed and personal glory, and under the banners of Christianity,
Europe and progress, they wiped out at least 3 million Indians in the lands
that are now Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In the words of Bartolome
de Las Casas, a Spanish priest who became a vehement critic of the Spanish expeditions
and transcribed Columbus' journal: " . . . in a short time this land which
was so great, so powerful and fertile…was depopulated…My eyes have seen these
acts so foreign to human nature, and now I tremble as I write . . . from 1494
to 1508, over three million people had perished from war, slavery and the mines
. . . Who in future generations will believe this? I myself writing as a knowledgeable
eyewitness can hardly believe it. . . ."
Quite a role model. And promoted by the Head of an organisation charged with
championing the cause of the world's poor! Christopher Columbus' footsteps lead
in the direction of unbridled greed, racism, colonialism, religious intolerance,
conquest, slavery and death. It is indeed a matter of pride that that the protestors
in Genoa choose not to follow in these footsteps. On the other hand, Mr. Brown's
choice of an avaricious, self-serving colonialist as a role model is certainly
an outrage.
Mr. Brown would also do well to remember that the origins of flat earth believers
go back to the inquisitors of the Dark Ages who persecuted Galileo Galilei for
daring to challenge the dominant beliefs of his times. In Genoa this July, thousands
of modern day Galileos who dared to challenge the dominant beliefs of our times
were persecuted by the inquisitors of the G-8. And it might surprise Mr. Brown
to learn that a number of peasant organisations in the South, unfortunate inheritors
of Columbus' legacy of innovation and risk taking, have issued a call to burn
the UNDP's Human Development Report 2001.
The Genoa Summit was heralded by the international media and G-8 spokespersons
as the first G-8 Summit of the millenium and marketed as an anti-poverty summit.
What came out of it? A commitment of US $ 1.2 billion for a global health fund
to fight AIDS and other diseases, which fell far short of the US $ 7-10 billion
called for by the UN Secretary General and others in the health field. Yet another
plan to fight poverty in Africa (aptly titled the Africa Marshall Plan), which
pushes further economic liberalisation and privatisation on African countries
with new conditionalities through instruments of "governance." And
the usual assortment of platitudes about democracy, partnership, human rights,
security, debt relief, etc. Even the decision to launch a new Round of Trade
Negotiations was no surprise.
Meanwhile, annual G-8 events have become increasingly extravagant and costly
with sumptuous meals and luxurious living. They have also become high profile
media events with thousands of delegates and journalists. The G-8 Summit in
Okinawa cost over US $ 760 million and investigations over the past year have
reported rampant corruption in planning and procurement expenditures for the
Summit's events. The dollar price of the Genoa Summit is still to be tallied,
but the Italian Government says they spent US $ 110 million, and property damage
from the protests amounts to US $ 20 million. But the United States alone had
at least 600 people in its delegation, while other countries averaged about
350 people per delegation. Who will pay for them? And who will pick up the tab
for the massive security arrangements to protect these eight elected leaders
from their electorates?
As Summit delegates were fudging around with their pre-prepared texts on democracy,
human rights and security, the Italian Police, aided by security agencies of
other G-8 members, launched a sweeping and draconian mop-up operation of activists
who they identified as security threats. The violence on the streets was just
the beginning--that was for television. What the television cameras did not
see was the attacks on schools and other shelters that started on July 21 and
are continuing even today. Any site even vaguely perceived to be connected with
the anti-globalisation movement has been raided across the country. People are
being violently rounded up, arrested and intimidated without due legal process,
and denied medical assistance. Reports from Italy indicate that there have been
at least three fatalities, two people are in coma, hundreds have been tortured
and beaten, dozens are in hospital and at least 200 activists are still missing.
All this is the doing of the G-8 leadership--the very same group of men who
make loud noises about upholding democracy, fighting poverty, disease and hunger,
and promoting social inclusion.
Perhaps another reason I find Mr. Brown's remarks about the protestors in Genoa
so disturbing is because they remind us that the spirit of Columbus lives on
in the G-8. Their institutional armies will go to tremendous lengths to protect
their access to modern-day forms of gold, spices and servants.
In a bid to avoid further challenges to who they are and what they do, the G-8
leaders will scuttle off to Kananaskis in a remote corner of Canada for the
2002 Summit. But Mr. Brown can rest assured, this is one group of footsteps
that the anti-globalisation movement will certainly not give up on.
End Notes
1.Real Street Smarts For G-8 Protestors, by Fareed Zakaria, International Herald
Tribune, July 24, 2001.
2. Ibid.
3. A People's History of the United States, by Howard Zinn, Harper Perennial,
1990.
4. Ibid.
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