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Issue No. 127 | 08 March 2002 |
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Power Plays
Interview: Still Flying Women: Suffrage or Suffering Industrial: No Coco Pops For Brenda Unions: Back to the Heartland Activists: Getting to the Point International: Push Polling Economics: Debt Defaulters Poetry: Those Were the Days Review: Black Hawk Dud Satire: Fox-Lew Launch Rescue Bid for Beta Video
The Soapbox The Locker Room Week in Review Tool Shed
 How to Beat the BanksCollins Goes Cahill
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Economics Debt Defaulters
*************** Although Africa is mired in debt and many of the leaders present at CHOGM were from the worst affected nations, no strong statement on the issue came out of the meeting. One is left wondering how this can be. The preoccupation with Zimbabwe's worrying human rights abuses? The intimidating display of wealth? The continuing dominance of well-resourced northern players in the dialogue? The benefits the representatives themselves get from the status quo? Regardless, debt campaigners were outside, reminding everyone debt is not just a "perennial" issue but one which cries out for effective and immediate action. The current international response is ineffective - the Heavily Indebted Poor Country initiative (HIPC) - the debt relief programme you have when you don't really have a debt relief programme. It offers too little, too slowly to too few countries. Despite the rain and relative isolation of Coolum, around 150 people gathered for Jubilee's event outside the Hyatt on Saturday afternoon in memory of those 19,000 children who die each day as a result of the debt crisis. Fr Brian Gore presided over the ceremony. Individual children were named and symbolically placed on an altar, and the reasons for their deaths given in a very moving memorial service ... Roida Mwansa, Nantanin Keita,Yaguine Koita, Fode Tourkana. We tried to get beyond the statistics and economics-speak, to what the problem of debt means in the everyday lives of ordinary people. Fr Gore spoke of how "we honour people like Princess Dianna when they die, but each of these innocents is no less important in the eyes of God." Jubilee also presented 13,700 signatures on the post card/petition to Mr Charles Papp, Deputy Director of AusAid, and his assistant Gillian Melsop. The post card challenged our Prime Minister, as host of CHOGM, to show respect for the people of the poor nations represented by forgiving the debts of the four poorest countries owing money to Australia. Ms Sekai Holland spoke, from the Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe. Clearly Zimbabwe has its unique problems, but the situation has not been helped by her debt problems. Before the Government stopped repaying its debts over two years ago, Zimbabwe was spending far more on servicing foreign debt than on health and education combined. Despite following structural adjustement programmes imposed by the IMF and World Bank, its foreign debt increased six-fold from 1980 until 1996. Zimbabwe is an example of the pressure placed on fledgeling democracies in Africa. Since many military dictatorships have been replaced by elected governments, leaders have had a hard time convincing their citizens of the benefits of democracy when, at the same time, debt (and other economic issues) have meant living standards have deteriorated for the vast majority of African people. Apart from the culpability of Mr Mugabe's government, poverty creates anger and instability. Jubilee also lobbied leaders at CHOGM to support an international bankruptcy court, whereby creditors and debtors could be represented equally and the requirement to continue servicing debt would be suspended until the case had been heard. Fr Gore said, "It has long been accepted in civilised countries that it is inhumane to throw debtors into prison or to leave them utterly destitute. We've yet to apply these principles to international relations." Thea Ormerod is the campaigns officer with Jubilee Australia
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