Agence France Presse | November 7, 2001
BEIRUT - A forum of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) called here Wednesday for coordinated action against war and globalisation, ahead of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial meeting in Doha.
"Global capitalism has now a military wing: the military industry," Britain's Lindsey German, editor of the publication Socialist Review, told the Beirut forum. "It is not the job of the West to intervene in the internal affairs of other smaller countries. We have to resist the concept of bombing countries back to civilisation," said German.
She argued the US-led strikes on Afghanistan were not a war on terrorism.
"If it was, it would have been rooting out terrorism in the world, including the state of Israel and its prime minister (Ariel Sharon), who is probably the best case in the world to be tried for war crimes."
Christophe Aguitton of the association ATTAC-France, which lobbies for taxes on trade to help citizens, called for closer coordination between anti-war and anti-globalisation groups.
"It is absolutely important to link the movement against globalisation with the movement against war," he said. "The big role of these movements is to resolve conflicts, social, economic and political conflicts."
The four-day World Forum on Globalisation and Global Trade winds up Thursday, on the eve of the start of the WTO meetings. Dozens of NGOs, trade union and activist groups are taking part in the Beirut forum.Agence France Presse:
