Tens of Thousands Demonstrate in Seville to Protest against EU

Workers' Daily Internet Edition : Article Index :

Tens of Thousands Demonstrate in Seville to Protest against EU
Conclusions of the European Council (21-22 June - Seville)
TUC Statement prior to the Seville Council
Mary Robinson Calls on EU to Portray Migrants Fairly
Former Colombian Peace Broker Criticises EU

Day Four of UNISON's National Delegate Conference

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through of Seville on Saturday at the end of the European Union summit whose focus was "illegal immigration". Around 100 separate protest demonstrations with a march through the city by more than 150,000 people, according to the organisers. Red flags, placards and slogans against the "Europe of capital" abounded in the march.

Spanish police had tightened already stringent security arrangements after the Basque independence organisation ETA launched a two-day bombing campaign to coincide with the summit.

Banging drums and blowing whistles, the protesters, grouped under the umbrella of the Social Forum which had met parallel to the European Council meeting as a "counter-summit", marched through central Seville from the railway station to the Expo 92 exhibition site, where a concert was planned. Some demonstrators waved communist, Cuban and Palestinian flags or trade union banners. Carried at the head of the march were two banners, reading "Against a Europe of Capital and War" and "No Person is Illegal". "Anti-globalise yourself!" was one slogan written on the wall of block of flats on the route of the march.

"We're demonstrating against the summit of the heads of state. They should get out of here, we don't want them in Andalucia," Carlos Alberto, a 22-year-old student, said.

Local residents, watching from their balconies, applauded the demonstrators and poured cold water over them in the 40-degree heat.

When the call for the march was issued 10 days ago, the government refused to authorise the route scheduled by the organisers, and instead ordered the protesters to follow the Guadalquivir river that borders the city. But the Social Forum argued that the route assigned by the government ran through a dangerous area, and that only the fish in the river would see the demonstrators. The activists turned to the Supreme Court of Andalusia, the autonomous community in which Seville is located, with no luck. After the organisers decided to hold the march anyway, the government delegates said they would negotiate, and a route was finally agreed.

Although a majority of the participants in the Social Forum were from Andalusia and the rest of Spain, some activists also came from other European countries. Around 10,000 people camped out in the Parque del Alamillo, while an undetermined number stayed in private homes "to avoid provocations, by small organisations or the police," one of the organisers said.

Armed police had set up roadblocks on the main road into Seville from the southern coastal town of Malaga, searching cars and luggage and checking the identity of their drivers. Earlier, Spanish police barred buses carrying around 500 Portuguese protesters from entering the country to join the demonstration, turning them back near the border. Spain temporarily re-established its border controls with neighbouring France and Portugal on Friday as part of tight security measures for the EU summit. The blocking of Portuguese protesters sparked concern in Portugal, where a spokesman for President Jorge Sampaio said he had contacted the Spanish embassy.

The Social Forum discussed a range of economic, social and cultural problems inextricably linked to the agenda of neo-liberal globalisation. The manifesto of the Social Forum called for total cancellation of the external debt of poor countries, an economy at the service of citizens, "genuine" social policies, and a Europe more committed to the environment.

Consulta Europea, one of the participating groups, described EU policy as "a religion of the market". The European bloc does not seem to be aware that in its territory "there are three million homeless citizens, or even that there are poor," including "25 percent of the adult population of Portugal, nearly 20 percent of that of Britain, and over 15 percent of that of Spain," the group added.

Some 450 mainly African immigrant farm workers staged a sit-in, demanding work and residency permits. They took part in a 48-hour hunger strike on Friday and Saturday at the EU summit, saying Europe's plans to crack down on illegal immigration would encourage racism and suffering. They called on EU leaders to take note of the human rights abuses that many immigrant workers suffer in the EU. "We want to send a message to the summit. They should come here and talk to the people and see how we are suffering in the real world," Said, a 30-year-old Algerian, said. "We're illegal immigrants, but we too have human rights," he said. The migrant workers occupied the buildings at the Pablo Olavide University of Seville more than a week before the summit to press their demands for the right to live legally in Spain. They planned to continue the sit-in even after the hunger strike ended at midnight on Saturday. Most of the hunger strikers had arrived from the nearby coast of North Africa, from Algeria or Morocco, to seek summer jobs in the strawberry fields of southern Spain. This year, they complained that farmers had turned to labour from countries in eastern Europe which are looking to enter the EU when it expands in 2004. "The government is giving visas to people from Poland and Romania, and they get contracts for their work and better conditions," Said pointed out.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's government has warned it will not give special treatment to the hunger strikers' appeals for work visas. The government said the protest was the worst way of trying to win Spanish public opinion. The university has asked police not to intervene, however.

One of the seminars organised by the Social Forum was held at the Pablo Olavide university. Members of Greenpeace and the Seville-based Fundación Primero de Mayo took part in a debate on sustainable development. One of the conclusions of the debate was that the ecological debt owed by industrialised countries to Third World nations far surpasses the financial debt of developing countries.

Immigration: The European Council looked at the question of "illegal immigration" within the context of its common policy on asylum and immigration. It looked in particular at common management of the EU's external borders and the integration of the migration policy into the EU's external relations.

It decided the EU may take measures against third countries that do not co-operate in fighting illegal immigration but will not jeopardise development aid.

The wording of the conclusion is not that that Tony Blair and the Spanish Prime Minister had had been lobbying for. They have been pushing for sanctions against countries which did not co-operate, but on the first day of the summit France, Sweden and other member states opposed such a move.

Several other countries joined France and Sweden in criticising the notion of sanctions – notably Portugal, Belgium and Luxembourg.

The leaders were able to agree:

– To review by year-end the list of countries whose citizens need visas to enter the European Union.

– To launch a "common identification system for visa data" based on a feasibility study to be presented in March next year.

– To speed up the conclusion of agreements with third countries on the speedy repatriation of illegal immigrants.

– Adoption by the end of this year of a programme to send Afghan refugees back home, now that peace has returned to their nation.

– Formal adoption at the next EU home affairs ministers' meeting of legislation that would tighten up penalties for persons involved in smuggling foreigners into Europe.

Enlargement: The Council reviewed the progress of the accession negotiations over the six months of the Spanish Presidency, with a view to reaching common EU positions in accordance with the "road map" proposed by the European Commission and approved by the Council.

Ten countries are on track to conclude EU membership talks this year and enter the EU in 2004. These are Cyprus, Malta, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic and Slovenia.

The EU leaders considered that Romania and Bulgaria are too far behind in their preparations to join as early as the others, but said that they have "achieved considerable progress over the last few months".

The future of the EU: The Council examined a report from the Presidency on the reform of the European Council and the Council, and heard an initial assessment by Valéry Giscard d’Estaing of the work of the Convention on the future of Europe.

It agreed a series of measures that would "streamline" the Council agenda to shorten Council meetings and ensure that issues that are decided in other Councils are only exceptionally put before the full Council. There is to be a limit on delegations. The General Affairs Council will become a General Affairs and External Council that will split into two separate parts, with separate meetings on separate dates and with separate agendas with, if members desire it, different Ministers. The Council will be charged with drawing up the strategic forward agenda for the European Union.

Economic issues: The European Council discussed the Broad Economic policy Guidelines (BEPGs) and looked at the mandates set at the Barcelona European Council.

External relations: The Council reviewed the EU's external activities during the first half of 2002, as well as the international situation, and prepared positions for various international gatherings, in particular the Conference on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.

Speaking after a TUC executive discussion of the Seville summit, TUC General Secretary John Monks said on Friday:

'The TUC is concerned that the Seville Council will give undue emphasis to asylum and immigration issues. While we do not deny there are real issues to be resolved, giving these issues such prominence runs the risk of contributing to a climate that will benefit the far-right.

'The truth is that UN figures show that the number of asylum applications to the EU is falling. The talk of 'Fortress Europe' is unhelpful and unnecessary, and undermines the humanitarian role Europe should play in the modern world.

'The far-right will always blame immigration for social problems. Responsible leaders will target the causes of the problems. This is why the European TUC is calling for a broad agenda at the Summit, which deals with a range of issues.

'The ETUC recognises that a common EU immigration and asylum policy may be necessary but believes that it should not be reduced to a matter of security, but include a social integration strategy 'founded on equal treatment and rights, along with tolerance and the respect of cultural diversity'. Those who feel marginalised by current changes need to be given hope, the ETUC argues, and this requires 'the fight against unemployment and for social justice to be stepped up'.

'The TUC argued, in its recent response to the Government White Paper 'Secure Borders, Safe Haven', that a common EU policy should 'reflect best practice in all respects - from the asylum application procedure and the determination of claims to reception standards and the integration of refugees - rather than minimum standards'.

'We reject the proposal that EU assistance to developing countries could become conditional on them accepting people deported by the EU. It is precisely those countries that generate the most economic migration that are in need of aid and assistance.

'The risk that those fleeing persecution may be denied a route of escape, or forced to return will be increased by the approaches under consideration at Seville. This will not reduce the role of criminals, but drive many desperate people into their hands.

'We are also concerned at the proposals to set up ‘accommodation centres’. In the TUC’s response to the White Paper 'Secure Borders, Safe Havens', we argued against adopting policies whose main aim seemed to be the deterring of asylum seekers. As was pointed out at that time, 'The proposal to provide segregated education for refugees’ children in the proposed Accommodation Centres raises questions about provision, standards and inspection. This will not contribute to successful integration and we therefore oppose it. It is also important to ensure that there is adequate funding to schools and LEAs for the provision of education to refugees and their children in mainstream schools.'

'The whole policy on centres needs to be re-thought, particularly since the events at Yarl’s Wood detention centre have not yet been fully examined. To establish further facilities before there has been a full enquiry into the fire and conditions at Yarl’s Wood would be mistaken.

'The TUC, following its Executive Committee meeting on 19 June, is seeking an urgent meeting with the Home Secretary to put this case to him.'

Mary Robinson, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, called on Friday on the EU leaders meeting in Spain to guarantee that asylum seekers and other migrants were portrayed fairly and without stereotypes.

In a message to the meeting of the European Council, Mary Robinson said that countries should ensure that accurate information regarding migrants and migration issues was made available, including on the positive contribution that migrants make to the host society.

She also invited European Union countries to ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and their Families, according to a spokesman for the Office of the High Commissioner. One more ratification is needed for the Convention to enter into force.

Mary Robinson also said that at last year’s World Conference against Racism, countries agreed that stereotyping in all its forms, in particular the promotion of false images of migrants by states and the media should be avoided.

The High Commissioner went on to recall that countries had committed themselves to ensuring that police, border police, immigration authorities and other public officials treated migrants, including those detained, in a dignified and non-discriminatory manner and to organise special anti-racist and gender-sensitive human rights training courses to that end.

The inclusion of the Colombian guerrilla organisation FARC in the EU list of "terrorist" groups deals a fatal blow to the possibilities of striking humanitarian deals between rebels and government, according to former peace broker Carlos Lozano.

ANNCOL, the News Agency New Colombia, reported on Friday that Carlos Lozano Guillen, a former peace broker and member of the high-profile "VIP Commission" that facilitated peace talks between the Bogotá government and the Colombian insurgents told them that he was disappointed with the EU's latest move. "It is a shame that Europe has decided to support the warmongers," Lozano said from Geneva, Switzerland.

Carlos Lozano who is now editor of the weekly Voz, carried on to say that the decision by the European Union to include the FARC-EP in the EU list of "terrorist" organisations will deal a fatal blow to any possibility of a humanitarian agreement to secure the release of a large number of officers and prominent politicians that are being held by the rebels. Amongst those detained by the guerrillas are army and police officers and non-commissioned officers, members of parliament, former ministers, the governor of Antioquia department, and former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt.

Efforts to negotiate an exchange of prisoners held by the FARC with guerrillas held captive by the Bogota government are being made in different parts of the world. Recently, when the FARC offices were closed, the contacts moved to Europe, but now this option has been closed.

The last day, Friday, of UNISON's conference week, which ran from June 18-21, opened with a debate on motion 48 Age Discrimination and Citizenship. The motion confined itself to highlighting discrimination in legislation relating to the:

1) National Minimum Wage,

2) Eligibility to vote,

3) Job Seekers Allowance,

4) Housing and Council Tax benefits assessment.

The motion called on UNISON to fight to lower the voting age to 16 and "produce a response to the government consultation on the new EU Employment Directive which outlaws discrimination on the grounds of age by 2006" and for UNISON to undertake a campaign around this issue, working with branches and regions the TUC and other organisations. The motion was also amended to disregard the under-21 rate of the minimum wage and pay all low paid workers the adult rate. An amendment from the retired members added that the union should "call for the use of non age specific terms in employment practices and a concentration on the requirements of the post and the suitability of the individual". Speakers on the motion pointed out how the under-25-year-olds are paid substantially less Job Seekers Allowance and how their housing benefit is paid only on the basis of a single room or bedsit. One speaker pointed out that given that those under 25 pay exactly the same for food, electricity, and so on, this does not make sense unless this a deliberate policy to force them into further poverty. The motions and amendments were passed by conference.

Conference then passed the following motions. Motion 65 Combating Racism in Local Communities, 66 Stop the Nazis as amended by 66.1, 25 Campaign Against Privatisation, Composite J Globalisation and International Trade and Motion 42 United Campaign for the Repeal of the Anti-Trade Union Laws. There then followed a guest speaker, Janice Carandang, a Filipino nurse member, who addressed conference on the situation facing Filipino nurses. This concluded the morning session.

On the final afternoon session, the President greeted the children from the crèche who gave a performance for the delegates which was warmly greeted and they received a standing ovation at the end. Conference then went on to debate ten substantive motions along with a number of amendments. After passing motions, Composite F Asylum Seekers, 39 Ill Health Retirement Qualification, 38 Discrimination Pension Schemes, and 34 Housing Privatisation, conference had a slightly longer and important debate on Composite K Stop the War. This was one of the most important motions at conference, giving some coherence to UNISON's policy on the September terrorist attacks and the subsequent "war on terrorism" launched by the US, supported by the Blair government. It will enable UNISON, its leaders, activists and members to rise to the occasion in facing the huge dangers this situation presents to the working class and people. The motion was amended by K1 and supported on that basis by the NEC with the qualification that they had certain conditions before affiliating to the Stop the War Coalition. The motion started by saying: "Conference opposes the British and US Governments unleashing and unending world-wide war against terrorism. We call upon Britain and the USA and its allies, to cease all military actions and to withdraw from Afghanistan. Furthermore, we will vigorously oppose any continuation of this war to Iraq, Somalia, or elsewhere."

The motion points out that Conference resolves to:

1) Circulate materials to members explaining our position on the war;

2) Affiliate to the Stop the War Coalition and support and publicise its activities;

3) Encourage members to attend CND and Stop the War demonstrations;

4) Organise and/or support local meetings to build opposition to the war;

5) Call upon the National Executive Council to oppose the war by adopting the above policy;

6) Support members who are experiencing increased racism as a result of the war.

Following this debate, conference passed motion 60 Anti-Terrorism Legislation, 90 Positively Public - International Perspective, 127 Counselling Service for Lay Members, Composite H Directly Elected Mayors and Local Councils and finally 123 Accountability of Regional National Executive Council Members.

The President then announced that the remaining motions would be referred to NEC. Following her closing remarks and thanks to the organisers and participants of conference and delegates a motion of thanks was moved for Veronica Dunn who has finished her term of Presidency. Finally the President adjourned conference till next year in Brighton.