Protest IMF April 16 - 17, D.C.

MOBILIZATION FOR GLOBAL JUSTICE

Thousands will March in Washington April 16-17!
Organizational Endorsements and Support Needed Now

We need your support for the continuing struggle for economic justice.
Endorse the Mobilization for Global Justice and join us in our protest
against IMF and World Bank policies.

Building on the Energy from Seattle

The movement for global economic justice in the U.S., which has been
building for years, had its coming-out party in Seattle at the World
Trade
Organization (WTO) ministerial meetings.  Our next big opportunity to
demand
a peaceful, people-centered, and environmentally-sound global economic
system will be in April 2000 in Washington, DC.
The nation's capital is the home of the International Monetary Fund
(IMF)
and World Bank Group, whose backing by the wealthy governments of the
North
has made them the rule-makers for the global economy. The IMF and World
Bank, more than any other institutions, are the coercive powers which
have
forced the global economy into its present shape.  They were also
instrumental in giving birth to the WTO. Their semi-annual meetings will
be
the occasion for a demonstration of our rejection of their rules and
their
system for imposing them.
We are working with coalitions across the continent that are organizing
to
come to Washington, including groups in New York, San Francisco,
Seattle,
Winnipeg, Bloomington (Indiana), Chicago, and many other communities.
In
the United Kingdom and South Africa, whose Finance Ministers will chair
the
main IMF and World Bank committee meetings on April 16th and 17th
respectively, our partners are organizing to give them a send-off.  We
have
also heard from activists in Haiti, Thailand, Mali, Brazil, South Korea,

Canada, France, India, Pakistan, Kenya, and the Philippines who want to
come
or stage events of their own.
On Sunday, April 16, the highest-level architects of the global economy,

including World Bank Group President James Wolfensohn, the new head of
the
IMF, and about 25 Finance Ministers and heads of Central Banks, will
come
together for a meeting of the governing body of the IMF. Also likely to
be
in attendance is Mike Moore, head of the WTO; he and his predecessor
have
regularly attended this group's meetings, along with the heads of other
powerful international institutions.  April's sessions are among the
routine
high-level meetings dedicated to making the world safer and more
profitable
for corporations -- and more dangerous for  people and the planet. The
formal joint meetings of the World Bank Group and IMF continue through
April
17.

A Week-Long Mobilization for Global Justice

Experienced activists from dozens of organizations are now meeting
regularly
in Washington and have formed the Mobilization for Global Justice
coalition.
These groups have planned a week of activities, starting with a Jubilee
2000/USA mobilization for debt cancellation on April 9.  Teach-ins,
trainings, non-violent demonstrations, and lobbying opportunities will
span
the week between that event and those of April 16-17.
Included in this burgeoning coalition are international solidarity
activists, faith-based organizations, artists, women's organizations,
labor
groups, peace groups, environmental organizations, health rights
activists,
and many more. A dozen working groups (communications, logistics,
outreach,
etc.) are now meeting regularly and making concrete plans.
The organizations working on the April mobilization locally, nationally,
and
internationally include Direct Action Network, the Freedom from Debt
Coalition (Philippines), PAPDA (Haiti), the Kenya Human Rights
Commission,
the Metropolitan Washington Council of the AFL-CIO, Alliance for Global
Justice, Global Exchange, Rainforest Action Network, and the 50 Years Is

Enough Network. Many of them played leading roles in organizing the
Seattle
demonstrations.  We are also receiving financial support from the United

Methodist Church Women's Division.
We will be demonstrating that activists in the U.S. know about the
impact of
World Bank and IMF programs and stand in solidarity with the global
South.
We will be demanding an end to the devastation they cause in Africa,
Asia,
the Caribbean, and Latin America.  We will also be exposing the links
between the IMF, the World Bank Group, the WTO, and multinational
corporations and how they work to maximize private profits and limit the

power of people in both the North and South to protect the environment,
determine their economic destiny, and safeguard their human rights.

Your Support Needed!

Like the events at the WTO meeting in Seattle, the support, both moral
and
material, for the April actions in Washington must come from around the
country and around the world.  We want to demonstrate the broad base of
support for the call for global economic justice, so let us know that
you
are on board!
- Tell us that you endorse a week of educational events and non-violent
protests on and at the IMF and World Bank.
- Tell us what human and material resources you can and will devote to
making this week of actions a success.
- Tell us how many people you are bringing to Washington for the week of

activities.
Of course, we also need your financial contributions to make it all
possible.  Please donate what you can for success in April and for
building
the this tremendous movement for people's empowerment.  Please fill out
the
attached form indicating your endorsement and what kinds of commitments
you
can make to the success of the movement for a just global economy, one
that
serves people rather than profits.

Sincerely-

Signers: Representatives of the groups mentioned

P.S.  To stay informed about plans for the April mobilizations, check
out
the website - www.a16.org - and join the e-mail listserv by sending a
blank
e-mail message to a16-international-planning-subscribe@egroups.com
<mailto:a16-international-planning-subscribe@egroups.com>.

[FORM]

ORGANIZATION:

CONTACT PERSON/PEOPLE:

ADDRESS:

PHONE:

FAX:

E-MAIL:

WEBSITE:


***ENDORSEMENT***
On the occasion of the first meetings of the governing bodies of the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in the 21st century, we
call
for the immediate suspension of the policies and practices that have
caused
widespread poverty and suffering among the world's peoples and damage to
the
world's environment. We assert the responsibility of these institutions,

together with the World Trade Organization, for an unjust world economic

system.

We issue this call in the name of global justice, in solidarity with the

peoples of the Global South struggling for survival and dignity in the
face
of unjust, imperialistic economic policies.  Only when the coercive
powers
of the international financial institutions are rescinded shall
governments
be accountable first and foremost to the will of their peoples for
equitable
economic development.  Only when international institutions are no
longer
controlled by the wealthiest governments for the purpose of dictating
policy
to the poorer ones shall all peoples and nations be able to forge bonds
-
economic and otherwise - based on mutual respect and the common needs of
the
planet and its inhabitants.  Only when the well-being of all, including
the
most vulnerable people and ecosystems, is given priority over corporate
profits shall we achieve genuine sustainable development and create a
world
of justice, equality, and peace.

___ Our organization endorses this statement and a call for its
expression
at the time of the April 2000 meetings of the World Bank and
International
Monetary Fund (IMF).

___Our organization also endorses the Mobilization for Global Justice, a

week of educational events and non-violent protests which aim to realize

these principles. This is not an endorsement of any specific tactics or
actions but rather of the peoples' mass mobilization to bring the World
Bank
and IMF to account.

*************




_____ We will be committing staff time to do the following (spread the
word
locally, organize a caravan to Washington, produce materials, conduct
popular education on the global economy, etc.):



____ We will be bringing approximately _____ people to Washington.  They

will be there for (check one) ____ the entire week of events; ____ part
of
the week: _____; ____April 16-17

____ We will contribute the following materials toward props for the
demonstration or other support for the activities and people involved:



____ We will be bringing/hosting international partners and colleagues
during the week of events.
     __ Yes, they are available to speak to the public and/or media;
__ No, they are not available to speak to the public and/or media.

____ We can pay for the following services (e.g. printing,
communications
equipment, etc.).  Please specify approximate amount and service:



____ We can make a financial contribution to the Mobilization for Global

Justice coalition. Please make a tax-deductible contribution to our
fiscal
sponsor Alliance for Global Justice.

___ We are contributing $1000 or more or dedicating over 25% of total
staff
or member time to organizing for the April mobilizations, and would like
our
name to appear on promotional material, the website (www.a16.org), etc.
as a
SPONSOR.










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