G8 – The globalists in a state of war

Questions surrounding this summit

Everyone, the French media, in particular, has been wondering whether or not Mr. Bush and Mr. Chirac would embrace each other. Fear not, they only shook hands. For Mr. Chirac, the idea was to make everyone forget his anti-American stance of the last few months. As for Mr. Bush, the only thing he needed to do was show that he was in charge. Nonetheless, I would like to go beyond these theatrics, and the staged photo ops and tell you about the prevailing atmosphere in the region.

Around Evian, and in Switzerland, as well as in Geneva, Lausanne, and all over the shores of Lake Geneva, it has been a state of siege for one week. Army helicopters, fighter jets, and missiles have been deployed on mountain tops, the lake shores, and in the sky. Roadblocks have been placed within a 20 mile radius of the summit location. Nearly 30,000 men have been mobilized to provide security for the summit participants. In Geneva, some 36 miles from the summit, all public works in progress have been put on hold to keep stones, and pavers out of the reach of protesters. Geneva?s residents have practically deserted the city thanks to anxieties raised by the local media. Store fronts have been barricaded behind huge yellow road panels which quickly turned into giant post-it® stickers. (see www.tdg.ch)

G8 members are the world?s wealthiest nations, those who lead the dance, those who determine the world?s future, those who hold the power, and, most importantly, those who are pushing the world toward ultra-liberalism, and “globalization”. (see http://www.geneve.ch/g8/bref/sommet_evian.html)

For poor and indebted countries like Madagascar, G8 members represent the same players who dictate world politics. Even if the new Malagasy president has clearly shown his attachment to the values held by his country, the fact remains that, by virtue of his position, he is still a pawn to the wills of the super-powers.

These few days “at the summit” have left me with a gnawing feeling of general unease: “The wealthy have stolen the world.” In a democracy, we, the people, are supposed to be the supreme rulers. And democracy makes for a perfect alibi when we know very well that many G8 nation leaders are walking on rather thin ice, and run the risk of facing their country?s judicial system, once they leave office. As we all know, Mr. Bush ascended to power under very precarious circumstances; Mr. Chirac was only elected, as the lesser of two evils, to keep Mr. Le Pen out of the way; Mr. Blair is not exactly popular within his own party. I won?t even mention Berlusconi, Putin, and others…

These realizations drove many so called “alterglobal” associations to mount huge protests, in Lausanne, and Geneva, against what they view as an “illegitimate” summit. (see voir http://www.antig8.org) These demonstrations brought together over 100,000 protesters in an atmosphere of calm. They carried slogans which read, “Stop the Iraqi Invasion”, “Abolish the National Debt”, and “Bush, go home”, just to name a few. Meanwhile some one hundred “spoilers” took advantage of the situation to set a few vehicles on fire, break some store front windows, and vandalize service stations. Although the police force was beefed up, and on high alert, it remained powerless against these isolated hit-and-run attacks.

Madagascar was not invited to Evian. The island, however, was represented by a few members of NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa?s Development) to which it belongs. NEPAD and the debt reduction initiative known as HIPC (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries) are popular within G8 right now. Madagascar is currently at the receiving end of these programs. If you believe the organizations fighting against national debts, these programs are just another big joke… We will get back to that, later. (see http://users.skynet.be/cadtm/pages/francais/ppte.htm)

I will conclude with a ray of hope. The Brazilian President, on the strength of his leftist past, and the size of his country, is attempting to make suggestions to the world?s super powers regarding ways of achieving a true reduction in poverty. (see http://www.lemonde.fr/article/0,5987,3220–321813-VT,00.html)

We shall see…