AYF-News> World Forum on the WTO - Beirut 5-8 November 2001

[ayf@xxxxxxx]

Dear Friends,

After several meetings and discussions with Arab partners, members of the 
global coalition "Our World is Not for Sale", and many others around the 
world, and after the serious consideration of the recent events and the 
impact they will have on international relations, politically, 
economically, socially, and culturally, the Lebanese Platform (LP) met on 
October 3rd in Beirut and decided to go ahead with the proposed forum on 
the same dates (5 to 8 November) in Beirut. This will happen no matter what 
the decision of the WTO is concerning the meeting in Doha.

The support given by Arab partners and friends strengthens the Lebanese 
Platform's point of view that the World Forum should take place since the 
struggle against this type of globalization, its mechanisms and tools, is 
continuous process based on the priority of defending the rights of the 
peoples of this planet, especially in developing countries, and should not 
be stopped by one event, no matter how grave it is.

The LP will take into consideration that the recent events and will modify 
the agenda to incorporate issues raised by the recent attacks, their causes 
and impacts, and to include recommendations for more affective models for 
global solidarity against this inhumane globalization that results in 
marginalization, poverty, war, random violence, and new waves of racism, 
all leading to the militarization of the planet.

The decision of the Lebanese Platform on the WTO was based on the following:

1)      The objective of the World Forum on the WTO is to discuss issues 
related 
to Globalization and its mechanisms in general, and global trade and the 
WTO in particular, in addition to means of tackling these challenges. The 
recent attacks in the US exemplify the crisis of the type of globalization 
the world is facing today, and, therefore, the inability of its mechanisms 
to adequately solve the dilemmas faced by the peoples of the world, 
especially in developing countries. The reasons for continuing with the 
forum have become, thus, more compelling.

2)      We believe that the attacks on September 11 to be an extreme expression 
that we have condemned at that time; but, it is apparent that the 
preparations underway for retaliation are another form of extremism that 
will lead the world into a new kind of war and set off new waves of racism. 
We can only resist this bleak outlook through solidarity between the 
peoples of this world and through raising the voices of civil societies to 
call for an objective and rational analysis of the underlying causes of 
this type of extremism and, therefore, to look for brave, objective, and 
comprehensive solutions.
The World Forum on the WTO will be a major chance to discuss and face the 
real reasons behind the crisis facing humanity leading to problems of this 
proportion that the world is unable to face with traditional means and 
without eradicating their causes.

3)      The World Forum on the WTO will be held in Beirut, an Arab capital that 
played a major cultural and intellectual role in the area, and, on the on 
the hand, faced recurring violence in the past. The forum will be a chance 
for solidarity with the Arab region, itself a victim of the violence and 
terrorism of Israeli occupation and the hegemony of policies that aim to 
keep it marginalized and backwards. This area, one of the main targets for 
retaliation against "terrorism" with actions that seem to be more 
terrifying, needs a true expression of global solidarity.

Finally, the Lebanese Platform on the WTO will work on unifying all efforts 
in Lebanon to face globalization and its tools, and to make the meeting in 
Beirut as successful as possible. To this effect, the LP will soon be 
calling for a general meeting for all those interested in working on the 
World Forum.

In renewing our invitation to attend the World Forum on the WTO - Beirut 
5-8 November 2001, we hope that you register as soon as possible though our 
website: www.worldforumbeirut2001.org, including the registration for the 
hotels.

Those of you who might be interested in holding meetings and organizing 
events during the forum should send us the relevant information (type of 
event, speakers, requirements, interpretation, type of location, targeted 
audience) as soon as possible to the email address specified on the page.

Finally, participants from developing countries will need a visa to enter 
Lebanon, this requires 10 to 15 days, so please complete your registration 
before October 12 and make sure that you enter the correct fax number so we 
can send you an official invitation to be used at the Lebanese embassy in 
your country.

Please accept my best regards.

On behalf of the Lebanese Platform on the WTO
Ziad Abdel Samad
Executive Director
Arab NGO Network for Development

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