FSPI: Stand by your people, G33 Ministers!

Earlier today, 20 March 2007, the G33 Meeting was kicked-off in Jakarta. Various Indonesian civil society groups worry that the meeting will be intervened by other interests, especially WTO — indicated by the (unnecessary) presence of Pascal Lamy –and some other developed countries’ representatives– at the meeting. FSPI, one of the civil society coalitions organised a rally to ‘welcome’ the meeting today. Mohammed Ikhwan of FSPI reported below.

Freeing up services: Delayed, not canceled

OPINION & EDITORIAL – The Jakarta Post, 24 September 2003

Yanuar Nugroho

Rejoicing and lamentation greeted the collapse of the world trade talks in Cancun last week. Those who lamented represented the developed countries, which have had their pursuit of profit slowed down. Those celebrating included representatives of developing countries, which prematurely thought that it was a victory of the poor world against large corporations.

Health issue: The art of playing God?

OPINION & EDITORIAL – The Jakarta Post, 12 September 2003
Yanuar Nugroho

Having less money means less opportunity to survive — to keep alive. We are in a world in which death and life are no longer “natural,” but “manufactured.

The association of pharmaceutical industries in the United States, PhRMA, quoting last year’s World Health Organization report, describes how diseases quickly and harshly kill people — 4 million people die annually due to respiratory infection, 2.2 million from typhus-cholera-dysentery, 1.7 million from tuberculosis, 1 million from malaria, 900,000 from blood-fever and 3 million from AIDS-related diseases.

A chance at Cancun to make trade democratic

Headlines – The Jakarta Post, 10 September 2003

Yanuar Nugroho

Sumiah, 26, hails from Mojokerto, East Java. A permanent employee in a furniture factory for more than eight years, last year she was made a part-time worker, along with some 200 others. Their employer told them that the company needed to be “flexible” to stay in business.

Trade: A market fundamentalism (Part 2 of 2)

The Jakarta Post – OPINION & EDITORIAL – Friday, July 25, 2003
by Yanuar Nugroho,

There is series of issues called the “Singapore Issues” or “New Issues” to be launched at Cancun, that consist of the issues of investment policy, competition policy, transparency in government procurement and trade facilitation.

Actually, investment policy will be the only new issue at Cancun. How important is this issue?

Trade between nations needs to be regulated (Part 1 of 2)

The Jakarta Post – OPINION & EDITORIAL – Thursday, July 24, 2003

Yanuar Nugroho,

This is a true story, cited from a good book, The Little Earth Book (2002). Tatu Museyni grows coffee in Tanzania. The price she gets for her coffee has halved from 1980 to 2000. It halved again in the last two years. Her income is down to US$30 for the whole year. Her children no longer go to school and the family faces starvation.

Cancun: A battle for life

The Jakarta Post – OPINION & EDITORIAL – Wednesday, July 16, 2003
by Yanuar Nugroho

The next crucial trade talks will take place in Cancun, Mexico, in September. This will be the fifth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the most important conference of the WTO in recent years.

The conference, following the previous meeting in Doha, Qatar, in 2001, becomes crucial as developing countries find themselves under pressure — if not threatened — by the proposal for a new round, particularly in agriculture, industrial tariffs, services (or GATS — General Agreements on Trade in Services) and what is called the Singapore Issues (investment, competition policy, transparency, government procurement). What actually matters?

The inner sanctus of trade, stopping unfair practices

The Jakarta Post, Saturday 17 May 2003, OPINION & EDITORIAL

by Yanuar Nugroho

Business nowadays is no different than what it was before, except that it is now so widespread and is such a powerful force. And what lies at the heart of business? Trade.