History of Oceania as a whole|
Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 08:14:23 -0800
Sender: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy <LABOR-L@YORKU.CA>
From: Alex Chis f Claudette Begin <achis@IGC.APC.ORG>
Subject: Asia Pacific Soilidarity Conference (fwd)
Date: Wed, 17 Sep 1997 14:37:53 +1000
ASIA PACIFIC SOLIDARITY CONFERENCE:
SYDNEY AUSTRALIA APRIL 1998
Asia Pacific Solidarity Conference
Sydney Australia, Glebe High School, Glebe
Organised by the Asia Pacific Institute for Democratisation and Development.
Dr Helen Jarvis, C/-School of Information, Library and Archive Studies
(SILAS) University of NewSouth Wales, Sydney NSW 2052 Australia.
Or Email to: firstname.lastname@example.org
Or fax to: 02-96901381
The conference aims to be a unique gathering of activists, researchers and
academics. Your support, attendance and participation is what will make
this conference a success.
Register early (save up to 20%) and send your suggestions for specific
themes for discussion under the general framework of supporting
democratisation, self-determination and social justice and opposing the
neoliberal austerity offensive.
Submissions for papers
The Institute also welcomes applications to present papers at the
conference. All are welcome to submit such papers. The conference aims and
the names of special guest speakers are further elaborated below. A contact
address is noted above.
A Region Of Struggle and New Thinking
Governments, corporations, banks and international financial institutions,
all talk of the Asia Pacific region as the region of miracle growth, of
accelerated development, of economic boom. For millions of other people,
the picture is different. It is a picture of political and social struggle
for basic human rights, for a sustainable economic and social order. The
massive worker and student struggles in South Korea against new labour
laws, the sharpening struggle against the dictatorship and cronyism in
Suharto's Indonesia; the continuing uprising of the East Timorese people
for self-determination; the labour struggles and renewal in the Philippines
in the face of Philippines 2000 neoliberal offensive; the ongoing war on
the island ofBougainville; the conflict in Sri Lanka over national rights
of the Tamil people and authoritarian government are just some examples of
struggles in the region.
ATTACKS ON DEMOCRACY
The strengthening of authoritarian practices as a means of defending the
austerity and economic restructuring policies have become major concerns
throughout the region. Laws to ban trade union organisers from worksites in
Australia; outright bans on independent trade unions in Indonesia;
restrictions and harassment of non-government organisations in Malaysia are
examples of this tendency.
These restrictions are part of a pattern of general resistance to
democratisation by governments throughout the region.
But at the same time there are innumerable initiatives to fight this trend.
New political movements have emerged in Indonesia; old movements are
transforming themselves in the Philippines; an unofficial trade union
movementcan force the South Korean government to retreat; Malaysian
democrats rally to the cause of the East Timorese; the Burmese democrats
still refuse to surrender;anti-neoliberal activists are elected to the New
These are just a few of the many examples of democratisation initiatives in
1998 ASIA PACIFIC INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCARCY AND DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE
The Asia Pacific Institute has called the 1998 Asia Pacific Solidarity
conference as away to bring as many people as possible together to discuss
these issues andstruggles and to assess what fighting for democratisation
and for socially justdevelopment can do. The conference aims to bring
together political activists,NGO workers, intellectuals and academics from
different ideological traditions.
ASIA PACIFIC INSTITUTE for Democratisation and Development
The Asia Pacific Institute for Democratisation and Development is a new
initiative in the Asia Pacific region. During February to May 1997 a range
of individuals involved in political movements, community organisations and
universities consulted over the need for greater regional co-ordination
and dialogue regardingthe current struggles against authoritarianism,
violations io the right to self-determination and the social and economic
impacts of the world-wide neoliberal offensive. An interim council was
formed to establish the Institute. The provisional aims of the institute
were agreed as follows:
1. To promote research and disseminate ideas on the issue of how to ensure
asocially just and environmentally sustainable development as well as
2. To facilitate dialogue and cooperation between the academic community,
theNGO community and the peoples' movements (parties, trade unions,
campaign committees, etc)
The interim council comprises academics, political leaders and
communityactivists from Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Sri Lanka,
Australia and NewZealand. It is proposed to expand this initial list to
include East Timor, India, Japan andSouth Korea. For further information on
Dr Helen Jarvis
School of Information, Library and Archive Studies (SILAS) University of
New South Wales
Sydney NSW 2052 Australia
P.S. For A$150 per year, you can become an affiliate of the Asia Pacific
Institute. This will entitle you to copies of major articles by Institute
Fellows (see Names of Council members below), a bi-annual newsletter and
access to email news services on developments in the Asian region.
Among the participants who have confirmed interest in attending the
- Dr Syed Husin Ali, scholar, writer and president Malaysian People's Party
(PRM);API interim council member.
- Renato Constantino Jr., founding convener Asia Pacific Coalition on East
Timor(APCET); president, SANLAKAS, Filipino Federation of Democratic
MassOrganisations in the Philippines; API interim council member.
- Dr Francisco Nemenzo, founding president BISIG, (Union for Socialist Ideas
andAction); professor of political science, University of the Philippines;
API interim council member.
- Anna Maria Nemenzo, convener Women's Health Movement, the Philippines; API
interim council member.
- Jose Ramos-Horta, special representative of Xanana Gusmao; 1996 Nobel
- Jose Luis Guiterres, President FRETILIN External Delegation or other
central leader of FRETLIN External Delegation..
- Nico Warouw, International Representative, Peoples Democratic Party
ofIndonesia; API interim council member.
- Edwin Gozal, Indonesia Centre for Labor Struggle (PPBI), Indonesia.
- Dr Sunil Ratnapriya, director, Sri Lanka Institute for Occupational Health
and Safety; national executive member of the New Socialist Party of Sri
Lanka; AP Iinterim council member.
- Matt Robson, MP, Foreign Affairs Spokesperson for the New Zealand Alliance;
API interim council member.
- Powes Parkop, cenrtral leader of Melanesian Solidarity (MELSOL) and the
Individual Community Rights Advocacy Forum Inc., Papua New Guinea, lawyer
and legal researcher.
- Max Lane, national coordinator of Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and
EastTimor; lecturer, Department of Southeast Asian Studies, School of Asian
Studies,University of Sydney; API interim council member.
- Dr Helen Jarvis, Head, School of Information, Library and Archive
Studies,University of New South Wales; researcher on Cambodia killing
fields project; APIinterim council member.
- Moses Havini, representative of the Bougainville Interim government.
- John Ondawame, representative of the Free West Papua Movement.
It is also confirmed that participants are attending from India, Hong Kong,
and Pakistan as well as a number of other researchres and trade unionists
from the Philippines.
ISSUES and TOPICS
The struggle for democracy and the end of the Suharto dictatorship
Self-determination: East Timor, Sri Lanka, West Papua, Bougainville
Indigenous people's struggles and land rights in Australia and New Zealand
Labour and the struggle against neoliberalism
Neoliberalism and its social impact
APEC and counter-APEC
Asian Tigers and NICs -- who's benefiting, who's battling
Women's liberation, development and democratisation
NGOs, political movements and the universities
Democratisation, development and social class
Global capital's economic police -- the World Bank, the International
Monetary Fund and the World Trade
Australia - Bougainville - Burma - China - East Timor - India - Japan -
Indonesia - Malaysia - New Zealand - Pakistan - Papua New Guinea -
Philippines - South Korea - Sri Lanka - Thailand - West Papua
ASIA PACIFIC SOLIDARITY CONFERENCE APRIL 10 - 13, 1998 GLEBE HIGH SCHOOL,
GLEBE, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
Registration costs: To register by January 31, 1998 $60/$30 concession
I would like to participate in the 1998 Asia Pacific Solidarity Conference
I am attending the conference as a representative of: (name of organisation)
I am interested in presenting a paper on: ______________________
Print off this registration form, and please return form to:
Dr Helen Jarvis,
Or Email to: email@example.com
C/-School of Information,
Library and Archive Studies
University of New South Wales,
Sydney NSW 2052 Australia.
Or fax to: 02-96901381