Dear IC members:
Greetings.
As you know, the Spanish Government recently forcibly prevented the
holding of the Madrid Forum for a Just Peace. This followed several
heavy-handed attempts by the government to force through a program
suited to its political agenda. When the organizers resisted this
violation of the autonomy of civil society, the government resorted to
authoritarian measures.
We must strongly protest this violation of the freedom of speech and
freedom of assembly. We have a special responsibility to do so since
many of the organizations in the Madrid Forum have been active in the
World Social Forum. Unless we register our protest loudly and strongly,
the banning of the Madrid Forum will serve as a bad precedent that other
governments will be tempted to follow.
Many of you have probably already registered your protest with the
Spanish government. You might, however, still want to sign the attached
letter (also pasted below) which some of us have drafted so we can
collectively gain visibility as supporters of the WSF. We are asking
people to sign the letters as individuals, with their organizational
affiliation noted only for identification purposes. For those who are
able to obtain the consent of their organization, it will be indicated
that they are signing for their whole group.
Please get back to us by January 25, 2008, so we can post the statement
in the internet and send out press releases as soon as possible.
Herbert Docena will be collecting all the signatures, so please write
directly to Herbert at herbert focusweb.org
In solidarity,
Walden Bello
Minister D. Miguel Ángel Moratinos Cuyaubé
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Plaza de la Provincia 1
E-28071 Madrid
Spain
Dear Minister,
We, the undersigned members of the International Council of the World
Social Forum, are writing to express our deep concern and condemnation
of the actions of your Ministry over recent months, which culminated in
the forcible closure of the Madrid Forum for a Just Peace, which was
scheduled for 14-16 December 2007.
We have been fully briefed by our fellow International Council members
on the events and it seems that, having failed to impose your political
agenda on the conference, you have resorted to force to shut down an
important space for democratic and free discussion between civil society
representatives.
We understand that for several months before the scheduled Forum, your
Ministry brought intense pressure to bear on the organizing committees
of the conference to include Zionist delegates and representatives who
refused to accept the values of peace, justice and democracy on which
the conference was founded. These values are expressed in the
Declaration of Principles for the conference, which in turn is based on
the World Social Forum Charter of Principles, the foundation document of
the World Social Forum and expresses the values and aspirations to
which we all subscribe.
We see this not simply as an attack on the Madrid forum, but on the
whole of global civil society and the values of democracy and freedom
for which we stand. We completely reject any attempt by the Spanish
government or indeed any government to subvert and suffocate these
principles. We deplore the use of covert means to undermine the
discourse of democracy and the use of force to silence the voices of
justice and peace.
We urge you to make a full public statement, apologizing to the
organizing committees and affirming your government’s commitment to a
free and independent civil society, which is essential for democracy.
Yours sincerely,
Walden Bello, Focus on the Global South
Nicola Bullard, Focus on the Global South
Meena Menon, Focus on the Global South
(We will list all names alphabetically)
Herbert Docena will be collecting all the signatures, so please write
directly to Herbert at herbert focusweb.org.