BANGKOK, Thailand (AP)--Inspired by the collapse of world trade talks in Seattle, lawmakers and activists struggled Tuesday to wrest some of the decision-making powers away from governments, technocrats and corporations.
Legislators from 55 nations and activists from more than 100 non-governmental organizations are holding separate meetings in Bangkok this week to give input to the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development here Feb. 12-19.
The four-yearly UNCTAD gathering is being billed as the first big meeting on trade since the bid by the World Trade Organization to launch Millennium Round negotiations failed in violent protest and acrimony between nations in Seattle last November.
Organizers say a major lesson was that the voices of poor nations and ordinary people have gone unheard in decisions affecting their lives as the world economy makes its fastest changes since the Industrial Revolution.
The WTO's future leader, Supachai Panitchpakdi, currently Thailand's commerce minister, told NGOs on Tuesday that globalization was entering a "crucial" stage and their concerns would start being heeded.
Supachai warmly welcomed activists who have savored helping derail the WTO summit, a meeting they viewed as a forum where elites from rich countries took decisions behind closed doors affecting the whole world.
"The process of liberalization and globalization is moving very fast, so fast that many countries in the world may not be able to keep up or join the bandwagon at all," Supachai said.
Supachai said he was unsure how gaps between have and have-not nations could be narrowed, but dialogue should be broadened to enable all countries to share opportunities for growth.
The NGOs issued a protest to the Thai government complaining that demonstrations they want to hold are being confined to a park two kilometers (1.2 miles) from the conference center.
Keeping some protests off the streets was one reason UNCTAD gave the NGOs a semi-official advisory role.
UNCTAD promotes trade as a tool for development in poor nations and does not negotiate or enforce trade pacts like the WTO. But the meeting will address issues that dogged Seattle and officials hope some problems can be smoothed over.
The NGOs fell behind schedule Tuesday in finalizing their proposals, but veteran activist Walden Bello summarized key points for Rubens Ricupero, UNCTAD's secretary-general.
"Indiscriminate globalization and liberalization has failed," Bello said. "There's a need for another model which is more democratic and respective of diversity."
The NGOs urged help for Third World agriculture, debt relief for the poorest countries, and reduced power for the International Monetary Fund, seen by many in Asia as worsening the recent economic crisis.
Anders B. Johnsson, secretary-general of the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union, which promotes dialogue between parliaments, said in Bangkok his group was meeting in conjunction with UNCTAD for the first time.
"The IPU believes categorically that there is an absolute, crying-out need for parliaments to become more present in international negotiations," Johnsson said.
Most of the 55 parliamentary delegations attending UNCTAD will be coming from developing countries. Only one comes from the Group of Seven industrialized countries - Germany.
Fearful of Seattle-type rioting, Thai authorities have stepped security and detained thousands of foreigners, mostly from neighboring Myanmar. Myanmar rebels were involved in two hostage-takings in Thailand since October.
In Geneva, WTO members agreed Monday to start global talks on trade in services and agriculture, as required by a 1994 treaty. But the talks are likely to take years, and nations have not yet agreed on the format, time-frame or scope of discussions.
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