World
Social Forum Call
ACT TOGETHER FOR
ANOTHER WORLD !
Call
for Day of Action and Mobilisation: 26-27 January 2008 and the week
23rd to 30th January 2008
From the
Zapatista uprising in 1994 and
the Seattle demonstrations in 1999, the worldwide alliance of
movements against neo-liberal globalisation, war, patriarchy, racism,
colonialism and environmental disasters have grown from strength to
strength.
In India, the
movements against the
neo-liberal policies have gained momentum and resistance intensified
against the neo-liberal policies; and together we all have celebrated
the defeat of fascist forces in last general elections. Everywhere in
the country mobilisations have happened within farmers, workers,
women, dalits, indigenous peoples, students, and other communities
against the poverty, attack on livelihood and natural resources,
environmental degradation, violence against women, state terrorism,
religious fundamentalism; and for a right, just, and equitable
society. We are in struggle against the onslaught of MNCs on natural
resources, sources of livelihood and successfully derailed their
sinister designs of land capture and natural resources across the
country through Special Economic Zones (SEZs). There is a growing
resistance to the attempts to make India a strategic partner of the
US. If the governments are getting in hand and glove with the
corporations then we, the people’s movements, unions of working
people, workers, have also fought hard for our rights, sovereignty
and dignity. Our movements in the last few years have grown
enormously, and though rooted in national struggles and local
realities have had global dimensions. We have struggled together
against the sinister designs of the imperialist forces in West Asia
and expressed solidarity in the struggles for democracy, peace and
autonomy in Burma, Palestine and Iraq. We have told and shown to the
world that’s its possible to ACT LOCALLY TO CHANGE GLOBALLY !
The World
Social forum is an important
part of this movement. Peoples’ movements everywhere have received
a fillip from the World Social Forum process since 2001 in Porto
Alegre, through London, Florence, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Karachi,
Caracas, Delhi, Nairobi and many other places all over the globe. The
WSF 2004 which was held in Mumbai, India became a rallying point for
Indian movements and has been a landmark in the history of the World
Social Forum.
WSF 2004 in
India brought forth the
participation of grassroots activists drawn from the peoples directly
affected by imperialist globalisation. In India, the WSF process led
to building solidarity between movements at a national and
international level. The Indian process and has led, amongst many
organisations, to a very vibrant and dynamic process of mutual
learning, understanding and coalition building. The slogan “ANOTHER
WORLD IS POSSIBLE!” inspired movements across the country. The
mobilisations happened from a cross section of society - youth,
workers, women, adivasis and dalits. Issues of Imperialist
globalisation, Militarism and peace, Communalism, religious
fanaticism and sectarian violence, Racism, casteism, work and
descent-based exclusions and discrimination and Patriarchy were
debated, strategies worked out, networks created.
WSF 2008
is going to be an
international Global Day of Action and Mobilisation on 26 January
2008, when the global corporations and business elite, meet in Davos,
Switzerland. This would consist of small decentralised and
simultaneous activities conducted regionally and/or locally all
across the world. A website will have a map on which organisations
across the world will announce their various actions, for the
information of everyone else.
In Australia,
South East Asia, Russia,
Europe, Africa, the Latin American countries, USA, Pakistan, actions
are being planned on the global Day of action. A world press
conference at exactly 12 noon will be organised in every part of the
world, a few days before the global day of action. The first
conference will therefore be in New Zealand, and Australia, followed
by the South Eastern countries, rest of Asia, and so on as the earth
rotates. .
All over the
world people across
nations and boundaries will rise up on January 26th in a
coordinated global day of action against the war, militarization,
violence, corporate onslaught of the capitalist forces to convey
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH . The Global Assembly of Social Movements has
supported the call. So have many other networks in different
continents. We in India have to be part of this huge global action.
In the India the call is for 26th as well as 27th
, since 26th is India’s Republic Day.
Today also we
face a harsh attack on
all fronts – be it labour flexibility, job-loss, displacement of
poor people, decline in real wages, starvation deaths and workers
suicides affecting all categories of working people – be they in
agriculture, forest based work, construction, mining, fishing,
manufacture, public service, self-employment, and all other diverse
forms of employment and livelihood. But our resolve to resist and
these capitalist forces has not diminished and gained strength from
our collective struggles. These offensives have only strengthened our
resolve against the global march of capital and say it aloud that
ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE ! The resistance to the capitalist
offensive is also growing. The last few years have witnessed the
emergence of progressive governments in Latin America and heroic
resistance to imperialism in West Asia.
What Can
We Do?
The Global
Days of Action on 26-27th
is neither the beginning nor the end of our struggles. It’s a
landmark effort at establishing solidarity all across the world on
one day, one time and to tell the capitalist - imperialist forces
that their days are numbered. No action is small, everything counts
in this struggle for creation of another world of hope and of our
collective dreams based on Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity for
humanity :
There is no
end to our imaginations and
we can think of our own ways to express and be a part of this global
action on January 26/27th. Whatever we do, let everybody - comrades
and fellow beings elsewhere in the country or worldwide – know. Let
us reach out our messages through our various communication means -
posters, leaflets, local mobilisations, songs, dance, theatre, kala
jathas, films, press conferences, radio, television, internet and
anything else.
And
please send us the information or
directly write to globalaction@wsf2008.net.
For more information on the Global Day of Action in all parts of the
world please see the website : www.wsfprocess.net.
WSF
India Mobilising Committee
WSF India
office:
WSF India
Office 14/187 Lower Ground
Floor, Malviya Nagar, Shivalik Road, Adjacent to Sunil Hospital New
Delhi-110017 INDIA Telephone: +0091 11 26674123 wsfindia@vsnl.net
