(Fwd) Letter from Prgue

[J. Halász Judit]

------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
From:                   "GAIA" <gaia at ecn.cz>
To:                     "J. Halász Judit" <jhalasz at levego.hu>
Date sent:              Wed, 4 Oct 2000 11:33:48 +100
Subject:                Letter from Prgue
Priority:               normal

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   Diverse Women for Diversity

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LETTER FROM PRAGUE

September 28, 2000

To: Secretary General of the United Nations Mr. Kofi Anan; Director
General of FAO Mr. Diouf; Director Gneral of ILO Mr. Juan Somavia;
Managing Director International Monetary Fund Mr. Köhler; President
World Bank Mr. Wolfensohn, Director General World Trade Organisation
Mr. Moore, President of the Czech Republic Mr. Havel, all other
international organizations and all concerned citizens of the world

We, diverse women from diverse societies, gathered in Prague to share
experiences of the impact of the globalisation policies of the Bretton
Woods institutions GATT/WTO, IMF and WB - the "Ünholy Trinity". The
theme of our meeting was "LIFE IS NOT FOR SALE: Women, Children and
Nature's Alternatives to the WTO, WB and IMF Policies".

Large police barricades surrounded the National House and attempted to
prevent our scheduled annual meeting from taking place. Riot police
blockaded the entrance and turned our invited members away.  This
blockade is another symbol of how economic globalisation is
increasingly becoming warfare against citizens. The Bretton Woods
institutions are using the police forces of different countries in
order to repress people's democratic rights to free expression and
peaceful gathering.

Diverse Women for Diversity have always perceived the UN as the
democratic alternative to the Unholy Trinity. We are troubled to see
the corporate hijacking of this global institution meant to belong to
"We, the people".

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) stated mission is to
protect the interests of the small farmers in the Third World.
Instead, the FAO Chief publicly supported the biotechnology industry
to influence the decisions of the G-8 Summit at Okinawa, where
genetically engineered food was an issue. In addition, a leaked
internal document of Monsanto, the largest biotech corporation,
reveals how it has systematically influenced FAO and WHO confirming
the corporate hijacking of the UN.

Furthermore, the FAO World Food Program (WFP) set up to feed the
hungry is being used to dump GE foods rejected by Northern consumers,
on women and children in the Third World. The financial resources
meant for providing the poor with safe, adequate and culturally
appropriate food are being transformed into a subsidy for the biotech
industry.   We call on the FAO to commit itself by World Food Day,
October 16, 2000, to stop using WFP money to buy and distribute
unlabeled, unsegregated and untested GE foods.

Committed to the protection of biological and cultural diversity,
economic and political pluralism, peace and democracy, we Diverse
Women for Diversity, call on the UN to stop this corporate hijack and
to take the lead in restructuring the IMF, WB and WTO to ensure that
they serve the purpose of equitable and peaceful cohabitation of all
people on this planet - the future planet of friendship.

DIVERSE WOMEN FOR DIVERSITY
Agentura GAIA (is an independent civic association
which seeks new forms of interpersonal communication
in the area of environmental protection, schooling
and education)

Lublanska 18
120 00  Praha 2
Czech republic
tel. 00420 2 2251 9734
mobil: 0604 946516
fax. 00420 2 2251 8319
e-mail: gaia at ecn.cz
http://www.ecn.cz/gaia