Youth activists urge boycott of 2nd Global Forum on Migration and Development ( GFMD) in Manila

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/pinoy-migration/10/20/08/youth-activists-urge-boycott-2nd-gfmd-manila


abs-cbnNEWS.com | 10/20/2008 8:40 PM

Filipino youth activists picketed different embassies of some developing countries on Monday urging them to boycott the 2nd Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) which will be held October 27-30 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).

Led by Anakbayan and the League of Filipino Students (LFS), the youth activists carried streamers stating their opposition to the GFMD, forced migration, and the failure of the government to create decent jobs in the country. They held protests at the embassies of Argentina, Brazil, Cambodia, Chile, and Malaysia.

"The GFMD really means Gloria, George Bush and Globalization Forcing Migrants to Death. The meeting will uphold more anti-migrant policies and will exploit further the desperation of poor Filipinos and other peoples of the third world in order to benefit the first world nations," said Ken Ramos, national chairperson of Anakbayan.

Ramos claimed that Arroyo does not have the right to showcase its overseas migration policies as dozens of migrants monthly allegedly return home in coffins.

LFS national chairperson Vencer Crisostomo, for his part, described the GFMD as a "cover-up" of the true state of migration and poverty in the third world and a "conspiracy" of first world states to exploit further the desperation of the poor people.

"This talk about migration and development is a cover-up of the fact that people is being forced to migrate because of desperation. Migration is brought about precisely by the lack of development in the third world and the lack of jobs at home. This meeting should not be allowed to cover-up the crime, committed by governments and states adherent to globalization, of breaking up families and forcing massive migration because of failure to address poverty and joblessness," said Crisostomo.

The groups promised to "rock" the GFMD with militant protest actions and rallies.

Anakbayan and LFS will also be part of a meeting of Asian youth leaders to be held in the Philippines ahead of the GFMD.

The general conference of the Asian Students Association on October 25 to 27 is expected to gather young leaders from New Zealand, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Japan, Palestine, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, and many others against the GFMD.

The groups will also support the International Assembly of Migrants and Refugees (IAMR), a gathering of migrants of various nationalities around the world on October 28-30 in Manila.

The IAMR, led by the International Migrants Alliance and Migrante International, with the cooperation and support of Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants, IBON Foundation, Bayan Philippines, Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development, and Caram Asia, is a parallel event to the GFMD.

as of 10/20/2008 8:40 PM