Bombay, 16/01/2004 (Agence Europe) - Rumours, slogans, different colours and claims of every kind met the fourth edition of the World Social Forum as it opened its doors on Friday evening in Bombay, India. The very high turn-out was to exceed all expectations. According to organisers, 100,000 persons had put their names down to take part at this alter-globalisation forum, not to mention the Indian demonstrators, peasants or untouchables, who are not all accredited. In parallel, represenatives of many countries, including around thirty Europeans, prepared to inaugurate their Fourth Parliamentary Forum on Sunday (see below). At the Social Forum, demands are very varied: from one stand to the next, from one poster to a prospectus, one goes from the World Court of Women against war crimes by the United States to an appeal for the rights of the untouchables, from one protest against pipeline projects to a protest by persons with disabilities in India who consider they do not have sufficient access to the Forum. Themes that are found the most often are the rights of indigenous peoples, women's rights, housing, the debt of the poor countries and the war in Iraq. The World Social Forum is to last six days, until 21 January. Debates will be held before the main assemblies, in which guests like Nobel Prizewinner from Iran Shireen Ebadi, former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Mary Robinson, Vietnam's Vice President Nguyen Thi Binh will take part. Discussions will mainly cover globalisation, social rights, militarism and peace, access to water, racism and the caste system. In parallel, there will be over 200 seminars and workshops, in addition to three daily discussion panels, organisers say. The inaugural session combined concerts with speeches. Early, during a first press conference, the Nobel Prizewinner for Peace, Shirren Ebadi launched a vibrant appeal for “human dignity”. Hoping that during the next Forum session there will be a human rights situation that is better than at present, Ms Ebadi stressed that absolute poverty is against human dignity.
MEPs from GUE/NGL, PES and Greens/EFA at Parliamezntary Forum
Between 200 and 400 participants are expected at the World Parliamentary Forum of 18 and 19 January including half from the region, from India,; but also Pakistan, Bengladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The other representatives come from 25 countries of all the other continents. The main theme will be economic globalisation. After Cancun: - the construction of an international economic and social order. The Forum will also discuss the situaiton in the region: war, peace and discrimination in South Asia. “All the Indian political parties are present (...) except those which support globalisation”, Nilotpal Basu said, from the Indian committee which organises the World Parliamentary Forum. Twelve MEPs from the GUE/NGL, ten from PES and five from the Greens/EFA Group are there to which must be added national representatives. Among the European deputies, French national Harlem Désir (PES) affirmed that parliamentarians wish to create a link with the Social Forum and invite the social movement to question politicians more. Marianne Eriksson of Sweden (GUE/NGL sees this as a “fantastic opportunity for politicians to listen”. French Green member Alain Lipietz recognises how difficult it is to reach common demands between North and South, mainly on the matter of business relocation and considers that, if awareness of an international community came from the World Social Forum then things must be taken further, and it is the task of poltiicians to put proposals forward.