6 months, 13 articles regarding WEF in Irish media- from Peter Sutherlands Nemesis

international | anti-capitalism | news report Tuesday July 15, 2003 19:50 by Peter Sutherlands Nemesis - all 13 articles regarding World Economic Forum and anti-WEF in Irish mainstream media

Peter Sutherlands Nemesis: WEF reports in the meeja

Peter Sutherland: Irish man who created WTO and is Chariman of BP/Amoco
Nemesis: Greek Mythology: a goddess usually portrayed as the agent of divine punishment for wrongdoing
nemesis: noun. the inescapable or implacable agent of someone’s or something’s downfall, especially when deserved

Peter Sutherlands Nemesis here boys and girls with the first of many regular anti-copyright references to the World Economic Forum October 2003 activities and counter-activities from the mainstream Irish meeja.

This first instalment includes:
Irish Times. Friday July 4th 2003. Carl O’Brien. Alternative WEF ‘summit’ is planned for Dublin forum.
Sunday Times. Sunday July 13th 2003. Richard Oakley. Gardai train for economic summit riots.
Daily Mirror. Monday July 14th 2003. Tom Chute. Ready for a riot.
Evening Herald. Monday July 14th 2003. Galen English. Anarchists plan to destroy Dublin.

Laid out as follows.....
The Irish Daily Mirror (one July '03, one January '03)
The Sunday Times - Ireland (one July '03, one June '03)
The Irish Times (two July '03, three June '03, two March '03, six January '03.)
Evening Herald (one July '03.)


**************************************************

IRISH DAILY MIRROR
*******************

Copyright 2003 MGN Ltd.
The Mirror
July 14, 2003, Monday
Pg. 6
535 words
READY FOR A RIOT;
GARDAI GET LESSONS ON HOW TO COPE WITH VIOLENT STREET DEMO

TOM TUITE

MOB RULE: Gardai are to be trained in crowd control;
WHAT THEY'VE LEARNED SO FAR..;
TOUGH: Gardai show how they deal with anti-war protesters - including Socialist TD Joe Higgins, left - outside the Dail in April

GARDAI are being trained by anti-riot experts in readiness for violent protests at a major economic summit later this year.

More than 400 delegates are expected to take part in a leg of the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Dublin Castle this

October.

Economists, Government ministers, corporate executives and academics attending the summit will discuss strategies to develop economic growth in Europe. Protest groups and activists opposed to the WEF's policies and globalisation are also planning events and demonstrations to coincide with the summit.

The Garda is one of the few police forces across Europe which is not equipped with water cannon - recognised as vital equipment in controlling rioting crowds - so officers are being coached by foreign experts.

A Department of Justice spokeswoman said yesterday: "Garda officers are preparing for all possibilities."

Officers have been equipped with new 28-inch telescopic batons and stab-proof protective vests in case trouble breaks out at the summit.

There is also a plan to seal off an area around the venue from protesters in case they plan to put the Castle under siege.

Intelligence gathering operations with European police forces have also started to identify potential trouble- makers from anarchist groups planning to travel to Ireland.

Around 14,000 police officers were called in to control protesters at a similar event in the Czech Republic last November.

In Geneva earlier this year, anti-globalisation campaigners were involved in running street battles with police.

Similar violence was seen at previous economic conferences in Seattle and Gothenburg.

And at a G8 summit in Genoa in 2001, one man died after he was shot by Italian police while attacking their vehicle during three days of battles with protesters.

Dublin, too, has witnessed ugly scenes between gardai and protesters.

Earlier this year, there was a clash at an anti-war meeting outside Leinster House and batons were infamously used on protesters during last year's May Day Reclaim the Streets rally.

Gardai are now determined that this year's WEF Dublin summit will not become a repeat of the "Battle of Seattle", when in 1999 tens of thousands of protesters managed to halt a World Trade Organisation meeting.

The methods employed to deal with protesters at the summit will also serve as a practice round for Ireland's hosting of the EU presidency next year.

However, Barry Finnegan of activist group the Irish Social Forum has dismissed the fears of rioting in Dubling as a "gross exaggeration."

He said: "The reason the authorities are whipping up a hysteria over rioting is to turn attention away from the debate that the WEF is undermining democracy, deepening poverty and destroying the environment.

"One group is planning to come to Dublin and will sit down on the streets to stop the delegates getting into the Castle.

"There is nothing sinister in it. Our meetings of the Irish Social Forum are open to all and anyone can come to discuss alternative policies.

"Too much emphasis is put on a few people throwing stones to distract from the destructive policies of the World Economic Forum."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Copyright 2003 MGN Ltd.
The Mirror
January 15, 2003, Wednesday
NEWS; Pg. 22
379 words

BATTLE STATIONS;
DUBLIN BRACED TO HOST RIOT-HIT WORLD SUMMIT

JOANNE MCELGUNN

GENOA; BLOODY: A demonstrator lies fatally wounded on the street following the G8 Summit riots in 2001; SALZBURG;

CLASHES: A protester hits a police officer during a demonstration in the Austrian city

DUBLIN is bracing itself for an invasion by thousands of anti-capitalist protesters for an economic summit.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has accepted an invitation from the Irish Government to move its annual summit from the

Austrian city of Salzburg to the Irish capital.

But each year the forum - an independent group which aims to improve the economic state of the world - attracts increasingly

violent riots. Last year it took nearly 5,000 Austrian police - who were given permission to shoot protesters - to finally bring rioters under control with water canons and tear gas.

Now Garda top brass must draw up a plan to deal with the threat of similar large scale mayhem when the summit comes to Dublin in the first week of September.

A garda source said: "The riots accompanying this summit could make last year's May Day protest in Dublin look like a tea party.

"The city centre will have to be converted into a fortress to keep these anarchists under control."

It's feared that riots could mirror those of the G8 Summit in Genoa in Italy in 2001 when thousands of demonstrators wrecked parts of the city and left the streets running with blood. A Garda spokesman said: "The Government have offered the services of our country. We will be prepared for all eventualities. If necessary all gardai leave will be cancelled.

"We will have a policing plan in place. It will be a hugely logistical operation, but we will be able to deal with thousands of rioters."

Last year Salzburg - which has hosted the summit for the last eight years - was forced to make a fortress of its city.

Up to 5,000 police moved into army barracks and school gyms and prison cells were emptied in preparation for the riots.

Dublin will now have to prepare itself for similar clashes.

A source said: "Such protests have become very organised and extremely violent. You must be prepared for the worst."

Yesterday the WEF's Klaus Schwab confirmed that this year's meeting would be held in Dublin.

The move has angered the Austrians - despite the violent scenes the summit now attracts.

Despite trouble from rioters, Salzburg's Mayor Heins Schaden said: "The loss is a heavy one.

"The event brought the city international recognition."


*********************************************************************************************


SUNDAY TIMES (UK):
*********************

Copyright 2003 Times Newspapers Limited
The Sunday Times - Ireland
July 13, 2003
Gardai train for economic summit riots
Richard Oakley

GARDAI have started special riot-control training with the help of foreign police forces amid concern that a world economics summit due to take place in Dublin could spark violent street protests.

Foreign police, experienced in subduing anti-globalisation rioters, are understood to have advised the Irish force on crowd-control tactics.

Radical groups opposed to globalisation are already drafting plans for mass demonstrations at the World Economic Forum (WEF) event, scheduled to take place at Dublin Castle in October. That has raised concern that violent clashes, similar to those witnessed at similar events in Genoa and Seattle, could break out in the capital’s centre.

Gardai have already begun an intelligence-gathering operation, liaising with European counterparts to identify key individuals from anarchist groups who may be planning to travel. Officers will be equipped with new 28-inch batons and stab-proof vests for the event, while the venue is expected to be sealed off with a ring of steel.

Some 400 delegates — mostly ministers, economists and multinational executives — are expected to descend on the Irish capital to discuss ways of boosting sluggish growth and competitiveness in Europe. The summit is an offshoot of one held every year at the ski resort of Davos in Switzerland.

Anti-globalisation protesters dismiss such meetings of international minds as useless talking shops concerned only with the protection of Western wealth and the parading of egos. Similar events elsewhere in Europe have been marred by bloody riots, forcing host countries to put in place elaborate security measures to prevent violent repeats in recent years. Some 14,000 black-clad police and American warplanes were deployed in the Czech capital for a meeting last November.

The gardai’s plans are modest by comparison, and Irish anti-capitalist groups claim they are planning only peaceful demonstrations. The protesters, who are members of different groups brought together under the Irish Social Forum, said they were unaware of a threat to the summit from radical groups.

However, a Garda spokesman confirmed that police had been given riot training, but said it was normal for European forces to cooperate. A representative of the minister for justice said gardai were preparing for all possibilities.

The European Competitiveness Summit of the World Economic Forum is to be held at Dublin Castle off Dame Street on October 20 and 21. The meeting will bring together the heads of some of the world’s largest multinational companies, academics and world leaders to discuss ways of opening utilities markets and the privatisation of state companies, among other things.

But opponents of the forum believe it wields too much power for an undemocratic organisation. Richard Boyd-Barret, a member of the Irish Anti-War Movement, said protesters would be registering their opposition to neo-liberalism, to third world debt and to plans to allow private companies to run public services.

Joe Carolan, of Globalise Resistance, said the WEF was not an elected body and that it was a “disgrace” that Irish taxpayers were paying for it to meet. The summit is expected to cost ¤3m.

Previous summits of the WEF and similar meetings involving the G8 nations have been marred by clashes between protesters and police, and it is now rare for such gatherings to be held without confrontations.

Earlier this year in Geneva, Switzerland, anti-globalisation activists fought running battles with police over several nights. In

Ireland there were clashes between gardai and protesters at an anti-war meeting held outside the Dail earlier this year, while in

May last year gardai controversially broke up Reclaim The Streets using batons.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Copyright 2003 Times Newspapers Limited
Sunday Times (London)
June 8, 2003, Sunday
Business; Business; 3
406 words
Davos founder quietly puts sale sign over elite summit
Dominic Rushe

FOR SALE:headquarters of international capitalist cabal. Swiss mountain views, beautiful skiing. Exclusive. Private. One careful

owner.

Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF), has been quietly shopping around for a buyer for the top people's conference.

He has approached several large charitable foundations in the hope of finding one to take over funding the WEF. The plans are at a very early stage.

Founded in 1971, the WEF attracts business leaders from around the world to its annual summit, usually held at Davos, in Switzerland. Guests have included most of the world's business leaders, politicians and a smattering of celebrities. Bill Gates, Bill Clinton and Bono have all done Davos.

In recent years the summit has also become a focus for the anti-globalisation movement. Riots and protests have accompanied its meetings.

The WEF is funded by its members - many of the world's leading companies, including American Express, Astra Zeneca, Interpublic, Goldman Sachs and Microsoft. But like its members, the WEF has been affected by the global economic downturn.

One executive at a WEF sponsor said: "We have cut back our support. It's not a decision based on any antipathy to the WEF, it's a decision based on our financial priorities. I think that is true for a number of companies."

Schwab is said to be keen to ensure his legacy by shoring up the finances of the organisation.

Andre Schneider, the managing director, said he had not heard of any plans to look for new funding for the foundation.

"We hear quite regularly the rumour that Professor Schwab is going to sell the foundation. He could not do that. This would be a decision of the foundation board. This is not a sell-able item."

He added that the WEF was undergoing a transformation and hoped in future to be seen as a more inclusive organisation.

"We are evolving all the time. We are an organisation at the border of business and society, and this is an area where lots of changes have happened in the past year," he said.

"Anti-groups have taken us as a target and that has not done us any good. We are seen by many organisations as the inventor and fueller of liberal globalisation. That is a misunderstanding.

"As early as 1996, Schwab wrote in the International Herald Tribune that if globalisation does not take a stab at improved social and human environments it will kill itself."


*********************************************************************************************


THE IRISH TIMES:
***************

Copyright 2003 The Irish Times
The Irish Times
July 7, 2003
CITY EDITION; HOME NEWS; Pg. 5
245 words
Government approach to world trade talks 'disgraceful' - Higgins
By CHRIS DOOLEY

Government preparations for the World Trade Organisation talks in Cancun, Mexico, in September were criticised yesterday as
"disgraceful" by Labour's foreign affairs spokesman, Mr Michael D. Higgins.

The Dail, he said, had little opportunity to discuss the different approaches of various Government Departments and the issues which would be at the heart of the Cancun talks. Mr Higgins said the Government was supporting proposals to give more powers to the World Trade Organisation, although it had no mandate to do so.

"Why should the Government, representing Ireland and through the European Union, sign up to a demand that, for example, Brazilians must agree to sell their land to foreign companies?"

Mr Higgins said current unfair trade structures cost the developing world $ 134 billion a year, more than twice what they received in aid. "In fact, world aid in 2000 was 30 per cent less than it was in 1990."

Government representatives, he claimed, would "sail off to Cancun" with "deluded economics in one hand and a tequila in the
other". He hoped, however, that a fair trade regime would emerge from the talks.

Meanwhile, a group planning to hold a "counter summit" to the World Economic Forum planned for Dublin in October, held a seminar yesterday in preparation for the event.

The Irish Social Forum says it will stage peaceful events, including a street carnival, to promote an alternative to the "corporate
agenda" of the forum.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Copyright 2003 The Irish Times
The Irish Times
July 4, 2003
CITY EDITION; HOME NEWS; Pg. 7
302 words
Alternative WEF 'summit' is planned for Dublin forum
By CARL O'BRIEN

Anti-globalisation protesters are to host an alternative summit to coincide with Dublin's hosting of the World Economic Forum in
October.

While violence has often dominated protests at meetings of world and business leaders, a peaceful counter-summit and street carnival will be held to promote an alternative to the "corporate agenda" of the forum. The organisers also expressed hope that
any protests will be peaceful and that gardai will act with understanding and restraint.

A spokesman for the Irish Social Forum, as the alternative summit is called, said the meeting was aimed at ensuring the "voice of ordinary people" was heard.

It will include contributions from community and voluntary organisations, such as Amnesty International and the Irish Anti-War Movement, along with trade unionists and globalisation activists.

It says the forum will examine the problems of globalisation and how to pursue social and economic policies which benefit citizens rather than corporations.

"Civil society has evolved to a point where it can articulate itself. It's moved on from where there were elements of civil society bickering among each other. The social forum reflects this growing maturity among the global justice movement," said Mr Brian Finnegan, a spokesman for the organisation.

The main event, the Geneva-based World Economic Forum, will involve wide-ranging talks on improving European economic performance and competitiveness. It will be hosted by the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, and takes place just two months before Ireland's presidency of the European Union.

A range of business, political and media leaders have been invited to Dublin to participate in the forum. The summit will look at

specific ways of strengthening European economies and encouraging entrepreneurship.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Copyright 2003 The Irish Times
The Irish Times
June 24, 2003
CITY EDITION; WORLD NEWS; Pg. 9
390 words
Leaders urge progress on Middle East peace deal
By MICHAEL JANSEN


World leaders ended a special Middle East session of the World Economic Forum yesterday with calls to Palestinians and Israelis to work for peace and to Iraqis to rebuild their country.

In his closing address to the gathering of 1,100 politicians, businessmen and journalists at a Dead Sea resort, the UN Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, urged the international community to "keep the Palestinians and Israelis to their commitments" to the road map plan for a Palestinian state and for Iraq to become self-governing in 2003.

The host, Jordan's King Abdullah, said the "reconciliation summit" could provide a "new beginning for Palestinians, a new life for Israelis and a new future for Iraqi children" but warned that change would come only "if we confront old, accepted continuities"

producing political authoritarianism, economic stagnation and violence. The US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, continued to stress the importance of adhering to the road map and called for an end to the cycle of violence between Palestinians and Israelis. "There are those . . . who do not want to see progress towards peace," Mr Powell stated. "They will try to frustrate
those efforts and blow up the road map. We cannot let a few individuals, and these really are just a few individuals, keep us from moving forward."

He also pushed for the adoption of the Bush administration's proposal for a regional free trade zone within a decade but was told by Arab figures that they could join only once there is peace with Israel.

The reconstruction of Iraq was also a central topic. Mr Paul Bremer, the US administrator, spoke of his plans for management of the oil sector and the privatisation of public firms but his comments were overshadowed by demands for more Iraqi involvement in reconstruction. The sole Iraqi politician attending was Dr Adnan Pachachi, a former foreign minister and head of a
liberal democratic movement. He said the occupation should continue until a stable government is in place but stressed that Iraqis
were impatient for this to happen.

Economists and businessmen expressed concern over the region's poor economic performance, declining exports and falling foreign investment in spite of the large amount of capital provided by oil revenues. This was the first World Economic Forum
held in the region.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Copyright 2003 The Irish Times
The Irish Times
June 2, 2003
CITY EDITION; FRONT PAGE; Pg. 1
808 words
Bush and Chirac move to heal bitter rift on Iraq
War on terror to come under spotlight before leaders examine issues of hunger, debt and development
By LARA MARLOWE

President Bush was greeted by President Jacques Chirac with a handshake and a smile when he descended from his helicopter in the garden of the Hotel Royal here yesterday.

This was the sign the financial markets had waited for - that the transatlantic rift sparked by the Iraq war was healing.

Mr Bush's favourite topic - the "war against terrorism" - will be the subject of discussion at lunch today. By leaving immediately thereafter for the Middle East, Mr Bush will avoid the afternoon session dedicated to sustainable development, African debt, the fight against hunger and the environment. Topics such as sustainable development, African debt, the fight against hunger and the environment have been embraced enthusiastically by Mr Chirac, partly in response to demonstrations by anti-globalisation
protesters who yesterday staged a 70,000-strong march across the Franco-Swiss border.

At least 100 Irish activists were among the protesters. Some 49 of them left Dublin by coach on Friday, arriving in Geneva 30 hours later. They are staying at a campsite in Geneva and will return home today.

Mr Garrett Mullan and Mr Matthew Waine, both of Globalise Resistance Ireland, said their priority after yesterday's march would be to organise a comparable demonstration against the World Economic Forum in Dublin on October 20th, and to
encourage Irish citizens to demand justice on social issues from their own government.

Mr Chirac and Mr Bush yesterday went through all the motions. Mr Bush brought a gift of three leather-bound volumes on the culture, art and civilisation of American Indians. Strange as it seemed, a lot of thought went into it for Mr Chirac's passion outside politics is what he calls early - never "primitive" - art.

Officially, the National Security adviser, Ms Condoleezza Rice, in an interview published yesterday by Le Monde, and Mr Chirac's spokeswoman, Ms Catherine Colonna, in a briefing with journalists here, said their bosses were eager to move forward in their battered relations.

Asked whether they would discuss Iraq today, Ms Colonna said there were "a lot of other subjects" to cover. "There's no use returning to the past."

Yet in his press conference at the end of the first day of the G-8 Summit, attended by the leaders of the world's richest and most powerful countries, Mr Chirac gave a clipped answer to a question about his brief meeting with Mr Bush.

"Don't believe everything you're told. I met with President Bush in a very positive manner. These discussions will continue tomorrow and are in no way a source of worry or concern."

Three sentences; compared to a rambling, five-minute answer about the Brazilian president's proposal to use a tax collected on weapons sales to finance a fund against hunger.

Mr Chirac was unrepentant on the fundamental issue which separates him from the unilateralist US President. "I have no doubt whatsoever that my multi-polar vision of the world is supported by the vast majority of countries in the world."

Nor is Mr Bush likely to appreciate the French leader suggesting that, for the sake of continuity, the US presidency of the G-8
should follow his example in inviting the leaders of developing countries to the summit next year.

For despite all their efforts to present Evian as the Summit of Reconciliation, the US and French administrations appear stuck in a childish deadlock.

Washington insists that Paris should apologise, while the French insist they've done nothing wrong. Americans were "disappointed" and "troubled" that the French "considered US power as more dangerous than Saddam Hussein, to put it bluntly,"

Ms Rice told Le Monde. "It's something we simply don't understand." Washington was still steaming over the way Mr Chirac scolded east European candidate countries for signing a letter supporting Mr Bush.

"We also thought that we were in agreement that there was no conflict between the European identity and the transatlantic identity," she said. "So we don't understand why the east Europeans were asked to behave better, nor why they were told in a certain way that their transatlantic commitment could weaken their position in Europe."

In several recent interviews, Mr Bush has said that Paris needs to explain its position to the US people. "Our position is well known," Ms Colonna said. Mr Chirac "has already, on many occasions, explained not only the position but the reasons behind it. We were defending the rule of law and the primacy of the Security Council."

The EU has promised to commit $ 1 billion a year to a global fund against AIDS, the South African President, Mr Thabo Mbeki, said yesterday after talks at the summit. "They have made a decision to move immediately" in response to a US pledge
to contribute $ 15 billion over five years to the fight against HIV and AIDS.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Copyright 2003 The Irish Times
The Irish Times
June 2, 2003
CITY EDITION; WORLD NEWS; Pg. 9
1038 words
Region besieged by twin menace shuts down
Protesters aside, Geneva is currently a ghost town, reports Lara Marlowe, on the Franco-Swiss border Camouflage-green fighter jets, anti-aircraft artillery and armoured vehicles are parked on the Tarmac at Geneva Airport. Attack
helicopters circle overhead and German riot police block major intersections. They were invited by their Swiss neighbours, in the
knowledge that the most violent anti-globalisation protesters are young Germans wearing ski-masks who call themselves the
Black Block.

Down the highway in Lausanne, a wall of freight containers has been built around the marina, topped by two rows of concertina barbed wire. In Evian itself, the inner sanctum of four controlled zones, hemmed in between the lake and sheer granite mountains, the swimming pool at the Hotel Royal is adapted to decontaminate presidents and prime ministers in the event of a
radiation or chemical attack. The world's eight most powerful men are meeting in the French spa town of Evian, and on the day of the main protest march against the G8 Summit, the entire region felt besieged by the twin menace of bin Laden's al-Qaeda and the anti-globalisation movement.

"I don't see why Geneva should have to put up with all this," said my Swiss taxi-driver, a naturalised Tunisian. No other driver at the airport was brave enough to take me to the anti-globalisation march. "Over there at Evian," he continued, "the French have no problem - they're protected. This was a rotten thing for Chirac to do to us."

On Saturday night, the boys from the Black Block attacked dozens of shop and car windows in the Swiss capital. Yesterday they looted and vandalised two BP petrol stations in villages on the border, during a 70,000- strong protest march.

A young man was severely injured when he fell while abseiling from a bridge in Lausanne. Demonstrators claimed security forces cut his rope, but this could not be confirmed.

Downtown Geneva was a ghost town, its famous banks and fashionable shops boarded up until Tuesday. Switzerland's unwelcome guests decorated the plywood in a riot of colours and slogans: "Change the World; dEVIANt Summit; Stop Mad Cowboys; George, Tony: Where are Iraq's Chemical Weapons? No to the Petroltariat." It was a glorious summer day, but the good burghers of Geneva were quaking behind closed shutters.

I arranged to meet Garrett Mullan of Globalise Resistance Ireland in front of a green van covered by a "McDollar'$ " sign, along the main demonstration route. The march that had so frightened Geneva was more like a good-natured street party, with thousands of cheerful French, German, Italian, Spanish and British people walking by, many of them waving rainbow-coloured
peace flags. A band played samba music in the shade of a bridge.

Mr Mullan pointed out a handful of Black Block activists and we approached them. The most sinister-looking wore a khaki ski mask and carried a sack full of stones. He just scowled when I spoke to him. I was surprised to see two or three young women among them. The least fierce-looking of the group had orange-dyed punk hair. "Black Block isn't really a group," he said in a heavy German accent. Why were they trying to disrupt the G8? "They're eight people who kill. There's Berlusconi the fascist, Bush the murderer..." Fire engines barrelled down the road towards the BP station that was under attack by their comrades. The Black Block activists cheered and ran after the red trucks.

"There aren't very many of them," Mr Mullan said. I heard that argument several times yesterday from anti-globalisation protesters seeking to distance themselves from the violence.

"We would not defend or advocate what Black Block do," said Matthew Waine, the youth organiser for the Irish socialist party. He was at Genoa when Carlo Giuliani (21) was shot dead by Italian riot police.

"In Genoa, I saw Black Block members talking and smoking cigarettes with security forces," Mr Waine said. "There are a lot of agents provocateurs, to discredit the movement and give them a reason for rushing in with the tear gas."

Mr Mullan (27) works with the Simon Community in Ireland. He and Mr Waine (22) are living proof that the left did not die out with the end of the Soviet Union or the more recent loss of elections across Europe. They are part of a growing protest
movement that increasingly proposes alternatives to world leaders - hence the newly coined French term "alter-globalisation" in lieu of "anti-globalisation".

By turning out in force at G8 and other major summits, the anti-globalisation movement has transformed the agenda of such fora, forcing them to address Third World poverty and disease. Partly to placate them, the current (stalled) round of trade negotiations was named the Development Round.

President Jacques Chirac has astutely tapped into the widespread dissatisfaction with the way the free movement of goods and capital are affecting the lives of Europeans and the developing world. The US delegation at the summit snidely speculated that he is promoting aid to Africa as a pay-back for African support during the Iraq crisis, but Africa was one of Mr Chirac's priorities long before President Bush began talking of invading Iraq.

Anti-globalisation activists now stress that the influence they've had on world leaders, forcing them to donate money to combat AIDS, for example, must be extended to social policy in their home countries.

Mr Mullan and Mr Waine attended an anti-war counter-summit at the University of Geneva this weekend, where the keynote speaker was the British MP George Galloway.

But their biggest concern is bringing the spirit of protest back to Ireland.

On October 20th, the World Economic Forum, the meeting of the top 1,000 multinational companies (which usually meets in Davos) will convene in Dublin. "We're calling for an international demonstration with this kind of character - like Prague, Genoa, Geneva," Mr Mullan said.

Mr Waine had even broader ambitions for the Irish left. "There's a wider question which we have to ask ourselves," he said. "Where is this going? We can consign our anger to a couple of days a year, but the key is relating it to local issues - for example, to the trade unions, to the looming crisis between communities and the government over rubbish collection."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Copyright 2003 The Irish Times
The Irish Times
March 26, 2003
CITY EDITION; HOME NEWS; DaIL BRIEFS; Pg. 6
128 words
Security at world forum questioned

The main direct cost for the State of hosting the World Economic Forum in October will be a gala dinner, estimated at E50,000.

The other main cost is likely to be for security outside the summit venue, the Tanaiste said. Mr Jim O'Keeffe (FG, Cork South

West) expressed concern that a security situation might arise from a group of "international anarchists which travels from one country to another, whose sole objective is to create mayhem". Ms Harney said, however: "Occasionally anarchists get elected, so I am not sure we can keep them away from everywhere we would want to". She told the Dail that security would be

"proportioned to the needs on the occasion but I hope it will not dominate the event instead of the agenda that will be discussed".

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Copyright 2003 The Irish Times
The Irish Times
March 19, 2003
CITY EDITION; BUSINESS AND FINANCE; Pg. 21
402 words
Sutherland set to lead EU employment taskforce
By DENIS STAUNTON

European Union leaders are expected on Friday to name Mr Peter Sutherland as the head of a European Employment Taskforce aimed at boosting employment in the EU. Senior diplomatic sources suggested yesterday that the choice of Mr Sutherland, a former Attorney General and EU Commissioner, is the undisputed choice of all member-states.

The taskforce would identify "practical reform measures" to help member-states increase the number of people in work, improve productivity and reconcile the requirements of social cohesion and a flexible labour market. Mr Sutherland was not available for comment last night but sources in Brussels suggested that he would accept the post as long as he was satisfied that the taskforce would have sufficient influence on member-states' policies. The Social Affairs Commissioner, Ms Anna Diamantopolou, is
understood to have been initially unhappy about the creation of the new post but has been reassured by a proposal that the taskforce chief should report to the Commission as well as to the member-states.

For his part, Mr Sutherland is believed to be seeking an assurance that he should report to EU leaders rather than to enterprise and employment ministers represented in the Competitiveness Council.

Employment policy is a key element in the EU's strategy to make Europe the most dynamic, competitive, knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010. Progress on the Lisbon Strategy, as the economic strategy is known, has been slow so far but the Government is determined that it should be a key priority during Ireland's EU Presidency during the first half of 2004.

The EU wants labour policy to address such issues as: "active and preventive measures for the unemployed and inactive; making work pay; increasing labour supply and participation; change and adaptability; the development of human capital; gender equality; integration and discrimination in the labour market; and regional employment disparities".

Mr Sutherland was the EU Competition Commissioner from 1989 to 1993 and director general of the World Trade Organisation from 1993 until 1995. He has been non-executive chairman of BP since 1997 and chairman and managing director of Goldman Sachs since 1995. He is a member of a number of international organisations, including the Trilateral Commission and the World Economic Forum and is on the board of the European Policy Centre.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Copyright 2003 The Irish Times
The Irish Times
January 28, 2003
CITY EDITION; WORLD NEWS; Pg. 9
402 words
Chavez reveals new tax at social forum in Brazil
By MICHAEL MCCAUGHAN

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez arrived uninvited to the World Social Forum in Brazil where he stole the show by announcing plans to implement a tax on speculative finance, a key demand of forum participants.

Mr Chavez made the decision to apply a version of the Tobin Tax, (named after the US economist who proposed the measure) after $ 3 billion in capital flight left the country in the past two months, depleting currency reserves.

Revenues from the proposed 1 per cent levy on financial transactions, if implemented worldwide, could provide adequate sanitation for the world's poor. One of the forum's founders, Mr Oded Grajew, said organisers were not embarrassed by Mr Chavez's decision to come, but warned the Venezuelan leader not to use the event for self-promotion.

Meanwhile, global pranksters Bakers without Frontiers left their mark when a woman skilfully deposited a pie in the face of Mr Jose Genoino, the president of Brazil's Workers' Party.

"That's for suggesting our movement can be represented by any government," shouted the woman, criticising President Lula's decision to attend the rival World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The sweet pie was a bitter reminder that sharp divisions exist between activists engaged with power structures and more militant individuals, who reject all contact with parliamentary politics.

The Zapatista movement in south-east Mexico declined to send an official delegation, concerned that the goals of the social summit were being compromised by partisan politics.

President Chavez outlined his blueprint for a fair global trade system, proposing a Latin American monetary fund and a regional oil cartel, to ensure that control over revenues and spending remained in the hands of national governments.

"You here at the forum and we in Venezuela are trying to come up with an alternative to the neo-liberalism that is destroying the world," said Mr Chavez.

"If we don't put an end to neo-liberalism, neo-liberalism will put an end to us." The summit offered a welcome breather for the embattled Venezuelan leader, as a 57-day national strike at home has forced the oil-rich nation to import food and medicines.

Regional governments, particularly Colombia and Peru, opted for the Davos forum, hoping to impress international financiers with offers of corporate tax breaks and mechanisms to repay the external debt.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Copyright 2003 The Irish Times
The Irish Times
January 27, 2003
BUSINESS AND FINANCE; WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM; Pg. 14
459 words
Lula calls for poverty fund

Brazil's President, Mr Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, has called on the international community to set up an international fund to combat "misery, hunger and poverty" in the Third World. Mr Lula told the World Economic Forum in Davos that the G7 group of leading industrialised countries should set up the fund and it should be financed by international investors.

Mr Lula came to Davos directly from the World Social Forum in Porto Allegre in Brazil, a forum for critics of the present system of globalised capitalism. He said it was time for the two forums to engage directly with one another. "Now is the time to make a declaration that we truly want to create a new world. It is time for the World Economic Forum to talk to the people at the World Social Forum," he said. A former trade union official, Mr Lula said that once both sides started to talk they were likely to find that like trade unionists and employers they agreed on many things.

Since his election last October, he has reassured the international financial community that Brazil will honour its debts, despite the enormous burden they place on the economy. He has sought to build bridges with the business community in Brazil too, establishing a social partnership between major forces in society.

He told the forum that he was president of all Brazilians but he said his first duty was to the country's 45 million citizens who live below the poverty line. "We decided to make as our major priority a war on hunger. We are determined to ensure that all

Brazilians have their breakfast, their lunch and their dinner every day," he said. Mr Lula reminded his audience in Davos, which included some of the richest people in the world, that he came from a background in which surviving past the age of one was regarded as a success.

"I first ate bread when I was seven years old. Nothing in my life has been easy," he said.

He said that he would display all the toughness of his background in negotiations with rich countries over free trade.

He claimed that, while developed countries preached free trade they continued to use protectionism to exclude poorer countries from their markets.

"We don't accept that free trade is only good for developed countries. We want to be treated equally. Respect is a good thing.

We give respect and we like to receive it too," he said.

Mr Lula also called on the international community to introduce more discipline to capital flows, so that economic crises can no longer be precipitated by "gossip and rumours" on the financial markets.

He said it was in the interest of the developed world to take action to relieve poverty, not least because misery and hopelessness were often triggers for fanaticism and intolerance.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Copyright 2003 The Irish Times
The Irish Times
January 25, 2003
CITY EDITION; WORLD NEWS; Pg. 8
285 words
World peace reigns for instant at forum
By MICHAEL MCCAUGHAN

Israeli pacifists marched alongside Palestinian militants while Iraqi delegates embraced North American visitors as world peace reigned for an instant at the opening rally of the World Social Forum (WSF) yesterday in Porto Alegre, southern Brazil.

The summit's participants backed an initiative to send a delegation to Iraq, "not to protect Saddam Hussein but to oppose war and embargo", as the imminent war occupied the attention of activists around the globe. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva delivered a keynote address before taking off for the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

"Davos must listen to Porto Alegre," he said. "We plan a new social contract in Brazil but so also do we need a global pact to lessen the gap between rich and poor."

The legendary local market drummers sounded the official launch of the six-day event, which has already gathered 100,000 people from 156 nations under the banner "another world is possible".

Since the Seattle protests in November 1999, activists have grown accustomed to traditional greetings of pepper spray and strip searches, arrests and imprisonment. Porto Alegre comes as a shock to the system, as the city's police and mayor applauded the guests, dreadlocks and all, conferring the freedom of the city for the duration of the summit.

This sprawling encounter is as much about chaos as cohesion, as participants choose between hundreds of workshops while organisers do their best to dampen down simmering ideological tiffs between implacable political foes.

"Lula's election means the end of cynicism," said Mr Mario Soares, a former president of Portugal.

"We can now believe in great causes again."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Copyright 2003 The Irish Times
The Irish Times
January 25, 2003
SECTION: CITY EDITION; BUSINESS AND FINANCE; Pg. 15
747 words
Inflation too high, admits Harney
By DENIS STAUNTON

The Tanaiste has acknowledged that Ireland's persistently high inflation is damaging the economy's competitiveness. But she defended increases in indirect taxes introduced in the Budget, saying they fell far short of what some Cabinet colleagues wanted.

"The Government's efforts contributed less than 1 per cent to inflation. We made policy decisions on tobacco and alcohol that were driven by public health considerations but some of the other increases were designed to increase revenue," she said. Ms Harney was speaking in Davos, where she is attending the World Economic Forum, an annual gathering of politicians, business leaders and opinion formers.

The Forum will hold a European Competitiveness Summit in Dublin in October, looking at ways of making the European economy more competitive.

Ms Harney acknowledged that, although Ireland's educated workforce and low tax rates were valuable competitive tools, the Government had much to do to tackle infrastructural weakness.

Describing Ireland's 5 per cent inflation rate as "definitely too high", she warned it could drive business away. "Inflation has the capacity to undermine our competitiveness. The appreciation of the euro could also cause problems for some companies," she said.

October's summit in Dublin comes just three months before Ireland assumes the EU Presidency and the Tanaiste said competitiveness would be a strong theme of the Government's six months at the EU's helm. She said Europe must become more
competitive because, unless the EU was successful at creating jobs, European citizens would turn against the project. She expressed disappointment at the lack of progress towards achieving the goal the EU set itself in Lisbon - to become the most dynamic, knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010.

"We've signed up to the rhetoric but not for the policies," she said.

Ms Harney said Ireland's low corporate tax rates were good for Europe as a whole because they attracted the EU firms that might otherwise move to Asia or South America.

"The rest of Europe should follow the Irish example. Ireland competes with the world, not just Europe," she said.

Former EU Commissioner Mr Peter Sutherland told a session on competitiveness that Europe was failing to fulfil its Lisbon agenda because vested interests were impeding competition throughout a range of sectors. He added that tax competition

between member-states was good for EU competitiveness and dismissed the argument that divergent corporate tax rates distorted the internal market.

"The fact is there is tax competition between the states of the US. It is in no way inconsistent with the proper running of the internal market," he said.

Ms Harney said that, instead of talking about harmonising taxes, the EU should complete the internal market and leave the tools that were not necessary for that in the hands of the member-states.

She welcomed the debate underway at the Convention on the Future of Europe but said she favoured "a period of reflection" between the end of the convention and the start of an Inter-Governmental Conference to determine the final shape of Europe's constitutional treaty.

Despite her notorious remark about Ireland being spiritually closer to Boston than Berlin, Ms Harney insisted she was not "more American than European".

She said it was possible to be pro-European without agreeing with all the proposals of the bigger member-states, many of which she believes to be out of touch with the wishes of Europe's citizens.

The overhaul of US accounting regulations should go a long way towards rebuilding investor confidence and time now is needed to see how well they work, the US chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers said at Davos yesterday.

Mr Dennis Nally welcomed the limits placed on auditors by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week in its crackdown on cosy accounting relationships that led to Enron and similar scandals but he urged patience to see how well the new measures work before legislators rush to adopt further rules. Britain's financial regulator said he would call for stricter controls on equity research, spelling out rules for analysts when it releases long-awaited proposals for reforming UK bank oversight in the next few weeks. Mr Howard Davies, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, said the rules would detail how banks should pay analysts, rank stock picks and reveal potential conflicts of interest. --(Reuters)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Copyright 2003 The Irish Times
The Irish Times
January 23, 2003
CITY EDITION; WORLD NEWS; Pg. 14
80 words
Dublin to host forum on competitiveness

Dublin - The Government has agreed that the Geneva-based World Economic Forum, organisers of the annual Davos summit which starts today, can hold a European Competitiveness Forum in Dublin in October.

The Tanaiste, Ms Harney, said yesterday the forum would be a "unique opportunity" for Ireland to host a gathering of EU and US political, business and academic leaders, focused on competitiveness, as well as issues of "social inclusion and corporate social responsibility".

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Copyright 2003 The Irish Times
The Irish Times
January 15, 2003
CITY EDITION; WORLD NEWS; Pg. 9
437 words
Plans for economic summit in Dublin
By DEREK SCALLY

The World Economic Forum (WEF), which stages the annual Davos economic meeting in Switzerland, is planning to hold a major conference of European leaders in Dublin next year, The Irish Times has learned.

A Government spokesman confirmed yesterday that it was in discussions to hold the conference which is likely to attract a large number of anti-globalisation protesters who have clashed with police at previous forum gatherings.

"We approached the Irish Government about holding the conference in the second half of next year," said Mr Andre Schneider, knowledge director at the WEF, a think-tank of political, business and academic leaders of world renown. He said the conference would discuss "European competitiveness" and would be held in a different European city each year.

The WEF and the Government stressed that plans were at an early stage, however The Irish Times understands that a formal decision will be made by the end of the month.

Last week the WEF announced it would no longer hold its annual conference in the Austrian city of Salzburg. During the 2001 conference, police scuffled with stone-throwing protesters and one officer was injured.

Last year's demonstration was peaceful, however, as over 5,000 protesters marched through Salzburg carrying banners reading

"Smash the Power of Banks and Business". Attac, the anti-globalisation organisation behind the demonstrations, calls the WEF a non-democratic organisation only interested in globalisation for financial gain.

The WEF gave no reason for ending the Salzburg summit but said it was not related to plans for a Dublin conference, an explanation rejected by Attac-Austria yesterday. "We believe they are ending the Salzburg conference because of bad publicity," said Mr Bernhard Obermayr of Attac-Austria in Salzburg.

He said he was confident that the WEF will be confronted with the same issues in Dublin as in Salzburg. "We wish our friends in Ireland lots of fun in the organisation of a protest. Naturally we offer our know-how," said Mr Obermayr.

The end of the WEF annual conference in Salzburg came as a shock to the city, according to the city's mayor. "Certainly I am not happy about the situation, neither are most of the local business people," said Mr Heinz Schaden, the city mayor. "The conference brought thousands of people with spending power to Salzburg. Hotels and restaurants were full."

He said the event had an overwhelmingly positive effect on the city and only turned violent in 2001. A Government spokesman said no decisions had been made on the costs of the proposed Dublin conference.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


************************************************************************************************


EVENING HERALD
****************

Copyright 2003 Independent News and Media
Evening Herald
July 14, 2003, Monday
Pg. 9
366 words
Anarchists plan to destroy Dublin
By Galen English

VIOLENCE: The summit could attract chaos on our streets.

Anarchists plan to bring chaos and violence to the streets of Dublin for a major banking summit.

Groups targeting the World Economic Forum here have already laid careful plans which will block off city streets and engage the gardai in running battles.

Internet sites used by protestors who have brought chaos to cities across Europe and North America, describe central Dublin and particularly Temple Bar as “ideal” for violence and rioting.

The web sites list travel information and places to stay for the hundreds of anti globalisation protesters expected to descend on Dublin Castle for the summit in three months.

The conference is to be attended by some of the most senior European finance ministers and bank chiefs from across the globe.

Rioters

An investigation by the Evening Herald has found that several anti-globalisation groups based here are assisting hardened rioters in getting to Dublin. Their websites describe how they plan large scale violent demonstrations on the streets.

One protest site describes how the Central Bank will be the focus for activities and describes Temple Bar as “ideal for rampaging protestors to storm through… It is almost too good to be true”.

The central location of Dublin Castle is seen as ideal for any street demonstration as protestors plan to blockade the surrounding streets, they say.

For the last eight years the Salzburg based summits have been blighted by violent protests from thousands of demonstrators and anarchists.

In recent clashes highly organised gangs of protestors attacked Austrian police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons.

The street protestors have already organised four separate groups to work in opposition to the summit - a carnival working group, a counter summit working group, a protest working group and a blockade working group.

Gardai are gearing up for the October summit and have been undergoing training in new extended batons.

Unlike their European Counterparts however, they have no armoured vehicles or water cannons and are not trained to use riot gas in situations.

The hosting of the event by the Department of Trade and Enterprise is seen as a security precursor to the high powered summits that will take place during Ireland’s Presidency of the EU next year.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>