"WTO Kills Farmers": India Free Market Reforms Trigger Farmers' Suicides

by Jessica Long
Global Research, August 12, 2007

Many of us remember the crucial failure of the WTO's Fifth Ministerial Conference in Cancun, Mexico in 2003. It was on this day that Lee Kyung Hae, leader of the Korean Federation of Advanced Farmers, discovered that his loudest voice was in death.

Wearing a sandwich board that read, "The WTO kills farmers!"- Lee took a knife and stabbed himself in the chest. His death was ignored by the WTO and the mainstream media. Given the lack of attention, many argue that his violent end was in vain. Sadly, his dishonored death is one of thousands being ignored by corporate mainstream media.

In 2003, 17,107 farmers committed suicide. In the last few years, the number of documented suicides in India's rural areas has skyrocketed. These suicides have become so commonplace that they are mystifying a nation and polarizing the debate over biotechnology.

On the surface, the massive numbers of farmer suicides lack the social unity and revolutionary opposition other revolutions employ. In fact, the local Indian government refuses to address the correlation between agrarian suicides and economic exploitation, making it difficult for the international public to apply real social forces to these farmers’ actions.

However, research shows the massive numbers of farmer suicides are linked not only with economic disparity, but with corporate exploitation by multinational agribusinesses.

Whether addressed as "agrarian martyrs" or merely desperate peasantry, exploited Indian farmers, like Lee Kyung Hae, have found that their loudest voice is in death.

In a religiously and ethnically segmented nation, their actions have founded a cultural unity that confronts the evils of globalization. Thus, the insanely high volume of farmer suicides serves as a shockingly unique medium of proletarian outcry.

The Republic of India is one of the top twelve nations in the world in terms of biodiversity. Featuring nearly 8% of all recorded species on Earth, this subcontinent is home to 47,000 plant species and 81,000 animal species. Simultaneously, India is home to the largest network of indigenous farmers in the world. Yet biotechnology has led to extreme environmental degradation in the region, threatening to replace its diverse ecology with corporate hybrid monoculture. The original Green Revolution was supposed to save 58 million Indian hectares. Today, 120 million of the 142 million cultivable hectares is degraded- over twice the magnitude that the Green Revolution attempted to save! In the Indian state of Punjab, 84 of the 138 developmental blocks are recorded as having 98% ground water exploitation. The critical limit is 80%. The result has had devastating impacts on the agricultural community, leaving exploited farmers with little choice of action. In
the past six years, more than three thousand farmers have committed suicide in Andrha Pradesh, that is six to ten farmers everyday! When did this start? Why is this occurring?

And why have such little media attention been given to this crisis?

There are three potential causes for the onset of these self-inflicted massacres:

1) exploitation by multinational agribusinesses

2) severe economic disparity and

3) a means of resistance by exposing the abuse of the agrarian sphere.

In 1998, around the inception of mass farmer suicides, the World Bank imposed regulations that opened up India’s seed market to corporate multinationals like Monsanto. Non-renewable GM crops now replaced a self-sustainable farming system that had been perfected over thousands of years.

While corporate agribusinesses impose their hybrid monoculture on peasant farmers, they refuse to consider the biodiversity that is desired to maintain traditional practices.

For example, 75% of cultivable Indian land exists in dry zones. Non GM rice utilizes 3,000 liters of water in order to produce one kilo, while non-renewable hybrid rice requires 5,000 liters per kilo! Cotton, largely considered the “pesticide treadmill,” makes India the third largest cotton grower in the world, accounting for 1/3 of its export earnings.

Continuous GM cotton crop failures resulted in the state of Andrha Pradesh, the seed capital of India, prohibiting the sales of Bt cotton varieties by Monsanto. This perpetual poverty is sustained by the bourgeois pursuit of maximizing production at the lowest possible expense!!!!!

Last year the Indian government forced Monsanto to cut the royalties they receive from the patented seeds in India- but Monsanto has appealed to the Indian Supreme Court. The economic disparity of Indian farmers only increases as they try to keep up with the lowest import prices. It is estimated that they are losing $26 billion annually.

In fact, non Indian farmers receive six times the amount of GDP that Indian farmers get, requiring an exorbitant amount of loans to be taken out. While 90% of farm loans come from money lenders, they are charged anywhere from 36-50% interest, placing them in a cyclical mode of poverty. Surely poverty alone cannot be responsible for such massive amounts of bloodshed! After all, poverty has always existed, so what is it about current conditions that have led to all this bloodshed? The fact is that mass suicides have transformed these farmers into agrarian martyrs for peasants everywhere. Their deaths are inspiring significant social forces both by the government and among its citizens. In response to the crisis, the government has implemented compensation laws in which the victim’s family receives free electricity and $3,500. In response to economic disparity, the Indian government imposed a one year suspension for all agriculture loans while waiving
interest.

However, monetary compensation laws only provide more economic incentive for suicide, thus the citizens of India are forced to devise alternative solutions to the problem. Arguably, the mass suicides can be seen as a revolutionary tactic... Dr. R. Raghuarami, an Indian psychologist, argues that many of the farmers are takingtheir lives with direct intent of addressing attention to the agrarian struggle. He argues that “suicide by one farmer is inviting others to do the same." The All Indian

Kisan Sabha (AIKS), or peasants front of the Communist Party in India view this agrarian crisis as a direct result of proletarian exploitation. S. Ramachandran Pillai, AIKS president, “called for a united movement of the peasantry to fight the neo-liberal imperialist offensive looming large all over the country." AIKS has formed allies with other social groups like the Agricultural Workers Union, Adivasi Kshema Samithi, Center for Indian Trade Unions and the Democratic Youth Federation of India to combat neoliberalism and to voice demands for proletariat justice.

The nation is calling upon cultural unification to combat the imperialist offensive and the corrupt bourgeois government. The debate on the true reasons for the uproar of suicides and the effects of GM crops remains heated... but, unfortunately, it is very likely that the rest of the world would not have been aware of this current crisis if it were not for these intense disputes. With each passing day, an estimated seven more farmers die.... the question remains, are you listening?

Source: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=6522

World trade talks end in collapse

EU trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson's reaction

Marathon talks in Geneva aimed at liberalising global trade have collapsed, the head of the World Trade Organisation has said.

Pascal Lamy confirmed the failure, which officials have blamed on China, India and the US failing to agree on import rules.

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said the result was "heartbreaking".

The talks were launched in 2001 in Doha and were seen as providing a cornerstone for future global trade.

The main stumbling block was farm import rules, which allow countries to protect poor farmers by imposing a tariff on certain goods in the event of a drop in prices or a surge in imports.

India, China and the US could not agree on the tariff threshold for such an event.

Washington said that the "safeguard clause" protecting developing nations from unrestricted imports had been set too low.

Possible solution?

The negotiations floundered as trade officials gathered for a ninth day.

"There's no use beating around the bush, this meeting has collapsed," Mr Lamy said.

"Members have simply not been able to bridge their differences."

He added that time was needed to determine "if and how" WTO members could end the stalemate.

This is a better outcome for the world's poorest people than the bad deal on the table World Development Movement

The Doha development round of trade talks initially started in 2001 with the aim of remedying inequality so that the developing world could benefit more from freer trade.

However, the talks have repeatedly collapsed as developed countries failed to agree with developing nations on terms of access to each others' markets.

The US and the European Union want greater access to provide services to fast-growing emerging countries, including China and India.

Meanwhile, developing countries want greater access for their agricultural products in Europe and the US.

Recent complications

Analysts have said that the collapse of the Doha talks could symbolise an end to multilateral trade agreements.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

America's top trade negotiator Susan Schwab on the talks Instead, nations may pursue dual agreements with partner nations, preferring to focus on their own requirements rather than a more common negotiating goal.

The talks in Geneva were complicated by recent increases in the price of food and fuel.

Higher prices have prompted protests in both developed and developing nations, making it harder for negotiators to reach a compromise on opening up their markets to greater competition, analysts said.

Mr Mandelson, the EU trade commissioner, blamed the collapse on a "collective failure" but warned that the "consequences would not be equal", predicting that it would be countries that most needed help that would be hit hardest.

"They [the consequences] will fall disproportionately on those who are most vulnerable in the global economy, those who needed the chances, the opportunities most from a successful trade round." he said.

'Protecting livelihoods'

Trade officials had struck an optimistic tone on Friday, but this evaporated over the weekend amid acrimonious exchanges with the US accusing India and China of blocking progress.

The US says they are being overly protective towards their own farmers and are failing to do enough to open their markets.

India's Commerce Minister Kamal Nath rejected the charge, saying: "The US is looking at enhancing its commercial interests whereas I am looking at protecting the livelihood of farmers."

Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming echoed Mr Nath, saying the US was "asking a price as high as heaven".

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/7531099.stm

Published: 2008/07/29 20:00:47 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

WTO talks risk collapse

As US battles China, India over farm import safeguard

Bradley S Klappler , Associated Press , Geneva | Tue, 07/29/2008 12:09 PM | Business

GENEVA (AP) - The world's largest commercial powers came into crucial talks on a new global trade pact pledging to assume the shared responsibility needed for solving planetary problems from climate change to food and energy prices.

But they are close to letting an arcane dispute over a seldom-used safeguard on farm imports spoil a trade deal worth billions of dollars to the global economy.

With huge question marks remaining on provisions to open up farm and industrial markets, the World Trade Organization's leading members on Monday were sharply divided over an issue worth practically nothing to the global economy.

A number of trade officials described the debate pitting the United States against China and India as one of principle - and not just hard economics.

"This is an issue that really concerns the livelihood of many developing countries," said Sun Zhenyu, China's WTO ambassador.

India, heavily criticized by the UnitedStates and Latin American countries Monday, said the standoff was the result of unreasonable demands from the U.S. and other rich nations.

"If blocking means not accepting whatever the developed countries say, so be it," Trade Minister Kamal Nath told repoters, adding that he has made his position clear on the subject since last week.

He said the idea of a "special safeguard" to deal with a sudden surge of imports or drop in prices had wide support: "It's not only India. We have 100 countries saying the same thing. It's the large economies that are isolted."

Earlier, the United States slammed the two emerging powers, saying they were threatening to scuttle the entire Doha trade round launched in the Qatari capital in 2001.

David Shark, a U.S. trade official, told the WTO's 153 members that the United States has "swallowed hard and accepted" a comromise proposal that includes tighter limits on farm subsidies to American farmers.

But he criticized India for rejecting a package of provisions laid out by WTO chief Pascal Lamy, and China for backing out of terms it committed to last week.

"Their actions have thrown the entire Doha round into the ravest jeopardy of its nearly seven-year life," Shark said.

While farm import safeguards currently exist in rich and poor countries, they are rarely used. The dispute over the current proposals concerns the threshold for when developing nations could spike their tariffs, and how high those taxes could ris

Shark accused China and India of insisting on allowances to raise farm tariffs above even their current levels. That violates the spirit of the trade round, the U.S. and other agricultural exporters argue, because it is supposed to help poorer countries develop their economies by boosting their exports o farm produce.

But China and India were not alone. Faced with rising food prices, a number of developing nations have sought wide loopholes against opening up their farm markets - either by blocking certain strategic products such as rice or grains or through rules that would allow them to raise tariffs sharply if faced with a sudden flood of imports.

Farming in the developing world is "not like manufacturing," said Trade Minister Mari Pangestu of Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country. "It's not a machine you can just turn on or off."

Rich and poor countries have clashed repeatedly in the round that was once billed as a recipe for lifting millions of people out of poverty. The trade body is hoping for agreement this week on lowering farm subsidies and industrial tariffs, setting the stage for an overall trade accord by the end of the year. Signs of a breakthrough last Friday were followed by more entrenchment over the weekend.

Shark also accused China of trying to carve out cotton, sugar, rice and other commodities from any tariff cuts under a WTO deal. He said Beijing and Delhi were working to protect their own interests by controlling a large group of even poorer nations.

"Ironically, these policies would have their most serious detrimental effects on precisely those poorer developing countries that already have such limited agricultural export capabilities," he said.

Previous trade talks have collapsed over resistance in the rich world to cutting farm subsidies, which developing countries blame for distorting global commodities prices and hindering Third World development. The U.S. and the European Union have demanded new market opportunities for their industrial goods and service providers in exchange. Washington also wants better conditions for farm exports.

Before these talks began last week, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson described the challenge at hand.

"If collectively we fail this test in Geneva, it will reduce our ability" to tackle future tests to negotiate a pact limiting greenhouse gas emissions or tackle food scarcity, energy security or other world problems, he said.

"Rising powers are reshaping the postwar world," Mandelson said. "The risk we face is ... the absence of coordinated global action and leadership."

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.

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Source URL: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/07/29/wto-talks-risk-collapse-us-battles-china-india-over-farm-import-safeguard.html

RI needs more liberalization: OECD

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 07/25/2008 1:58 PM | Business

Indonesia must raise ownership ceilings for foreign investment and liberalize state-owned monopolies to resolve infrastructure bottlenecks, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has said.

The OECD on its first assessment report on the country's economy said foreign direct investment rules here are more restrictive than in most OECD countries, making Indonesia's ratio of FDI to GDP among the lowest in Southeast Asia.

"We therefore think it would be a good idea to liberalize foreign ownership restrictions further to encourage foreign investment in sectors where barriers remain," said OECD secretary-general Jose Angel Gurria.

OECD is a multilateral forum of thirty countries committed to the free market economy and the principles of representative democracy.

The report is timely as it is linked to the decision of the OECD to strengthen its cooperation with a number of important nonmember countries -- Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa -- through "enhanced engagement programs" with a chance for membership.

Gurria further said liberalizing state monopolies in key industries would produce a large potential pay-off in the form of more business opportunities for the private sector and help resolve infrastructure bottlenecks.

Despite recent deregulation, he said, the government is currently still the major player in various business sectors, including manufacturing, banking and insurance, transportation and retail distribution.

"Further liberalization will bring more investment and lower prices for consumers," he said.

However, he added, to achieve such goals there had to be an effective regulator framework that combines price liberalization and easy entry with independent regulators that can protect consumer rights.

On the macroeconomic front, the OECD assessment says Indonesia has been able to maintain a degree of stability, essential for sustained growth.

The momentum of the country's economic expansion is expected to be maintained until next year with GDP growth likely exceeding 6 percent annually.

Nevertheless, it says, the current level of growth is insufficient to speed up the pace of reduction in poverty and unemployment.

Higher growth, Gurria said, was needed if the country wants to more quickly lower the poverty rate of 16 percent and an unemployment rate of more than 10 percent.

Gurria praised the government's "bold steps" in reducing liability for rising crude oil prices by cutting fuel subsidies in the state budget.

To further reduce liability, Gurria suggested the government consider the introduction of a formula-based mechanism for setting domestic fuel prices.

"This would have make price changes transparent and less politically charged," he said.

Commenting on the first assessment made by the OECD on the country, Deputy to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy Mahendra Siregar said the government regarded it as invaluable input.

As for the possibility of joining the OECD as a permanent member, he said the government appreciated being placed on par with the other countries in the enhanced engagement programs, "but we have yet to consider joining as an option".(mri)

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.

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Source URL: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/07/25/ri-needs-more-liberalization-oecd.html

Para Peserta Putaran Doha Frustrasi

Kompas, 25 Juli 2008

Geneva, Kamis - Rasa frustrasi semakin merebak di kalangan delegasi yang sedang mengikuti Putaran Doha. Swiss merupakan satu dari negara yang memprotes pertemuan yang ”diatur” negara kuat.

”Sejumlah delegasi mengemukakan rasa prihatin dan frustrasi karena format pertemuan yang hanya dihadiri kelompok kecil,” ujar Keith Rockwell, juru bicara Sekjen Organisasi Perdagangan Dunia (WTO) Pascal Lamy, di Geneva, Kamis (24/7).

Dia mengatakan, delapan delegasi mengeluh sepanjang pertemuan. Sumber diplomatik menyebutkan, Indonesia, Mauritius, Argentina, Kenya, Turki, Mesir, Taiwan, dan Swiss kurang senang dengan perkembangan yang ada.

Pertemuan para menteri perdagangan anggota WTO itu berkembang lambat. Lamy lalu memecah pertemuan dari 35 negara dalam beberapa kelompok kecil.

Para menteri dari kekuatan utama WTO, seperti AS, Uni Eropa, Jepang, India, Brasil, Australia, dan China, membentuk kelompok yang disebut G-6 + 1. Di dalam kelompok ini masih tidak ada kesepakatan hingga pertemuan berakhir Kamis pagi.

Menteri Perekonomian Swiss Doris Leuthard mengkritik. ”Kalian menempatkan banyak sekali menteri di ruang tunggu, yang membuat masalah politik di negara saya karena saya tak dapat sepenuhnya membela kepentingan Swiss dan banyak kepentingan negara G-10 yang berada pada situasi yang sama,” ujarnya.

G-10, termasuk Jepang, adalah sepuluh negara dalam kelompok negara maju pengimpor neto berbagai macam produk pertanian dari negara berkembang.

Paling sulit

Ketua Komisi Perdagangan Uni Eropa Peter Mandelson dalam blog-nya menulis, pertemuan di antara ketujuh pihak utama di WTO itu termasuk yang paling sukar dan paling penuh konfrontasi. Mandelson yang sudah menjadi Ketua Komisi empat tahun terakhir menggambarkan pertemuan selama 12 jam itu panas. ”Kami akhirnya mengemukakan isu sensitif. Semua orang mengetahuinya dan suasana di Green Room memanas,” tulisnya.

Menteri Perdagangan RI Mari Elka Pangestu juga mengatakan tentang sulitnya mengambil kata sepakat. ”Amerika Serikat menganggap special products dan special safeguard mechanism yang diajukan G-33 itu terlalu besar pengecualiannya. G-33 serta Indonesia merasa tudingan itu tidak adil,” kata Mari Pangestu, Koordinator Kelompok G-33.

Tiap anggota G-33 menentukan produk khusus yang diperlakukan berbeda dalam liberalisasi perdagangan. Produk khusus ditentukan dengan kriteria ketahanan pangan, keberlanjutan penghidupan, dan pembangunan pedesaan. Bagi Indonesia, salah satu produk khusus ialah beras.

Kelompok negara seperti AS, Uni Eropa, Jepang, China, Brasil, India, dan Australia bertemu lagi Kamis sore. Agenda pembicaraan merupakan isu hangat, yaitu penurunan tarif sektor manufaktur dan penurunan subsidi pertanian. Masalah serupa itu tidak kunjung selesai dibahas tujuh tahun terakhir, sejak Putaran Doha dimulai tahun 2001. Ini menyebarkan rasa skeptis atas pertemuan ini. (Reuters/AP/AFP/day/joe)

day;joe

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Kejanggalan Pasar Minyak Terungkap

Kompas,25 Juli 2008

Houston, Kamis - Badan Pengawas Bursa Berjangka AS (CFTC) segera mengumumkan temuan mengenai ketidakwajaran dalam perdagangan berjangka minyak. Namun, dalam laporan yang dikeluarkan pada awal pekan ini, CFTC mengatakan spekulan bukanlah faktor utama penyebab melambungnya harga minyak.

”CFTC akan mengadakan jumpa pers memaparkan rinci kasus- kasus yang terkait dengan pasar berjangka minyak serta komoditas lainnya,” demikian pernyataan CFTC di Houston, AS, Kamis (24/7) pagi.

Badan ini kemungkinan akan mengambil langkah luar biasa dalam pengungkapan isu yang telah melewati penyelidikan secara nasional sejak Desember 2007.

CFTC bisanya tidak mengungkapkan proses penyelidikan yang dilakukan, tetapi menunggu hingga hasil akhir. CFTC menyelidiki praktik seputar pembelian, transportasi, penyimpanan, dan perdagangan minyak serta kontrak turunan terkait.

CFTC berada dalam tekanan Kongres AS untuk menyelidiki kecurigaan adanya manipulasi dalam pasar minyak AS.

Permintaan dan pasokan

Dalam laporan pendahuluannya yang keluar pekan lalu, satuan tugas CFTC mengatakan, fundamental permintaan dan penawaran merupakan alasan utama kenaikan harga minyak belakangan ini.

Laporan itu bertepatan dengan perdebatan di Senat AS, membahas rancangan undang-undang yang akan menekan regulator untuk mengendalikan spekulasi berlebihan di pasar energi.

Ekonom dan analis perminyakan sepakat, faktor fundamental seperti menguatnya permintaan Asia, berkurangnya pasokan minyak, dikombinasikan dengan melemahnya kurs dollar AS serta risiko geopolitik adalah faktor-faktor utama kenaikan harga minyak.

Namun, banyak pihak setuju bahwa membanjirnya aliran dana dari investor institusional, spekulasi berlebihan, serta kemungkinan adanya manipulasi pasar juga berperan dalam melonjaknya harga minyak.

Komisaris CFTC Bart Chilton mengatakan temuan tim itu mengecewakan. Memang bukan kejutan bahwa anggota satuan tugas itu sejalan dengan atasannya yang mengatakan spekulan tidak memengaruhi harga minyak.

”Fakta bahwa pasar komoditas AS yang berkapitalisasi hingga 250 miliar dollar AS belum ada pada beberapa tahun lalu. Pasti ada dampak dari kenaikan aktivitas perdagangan dan saya berharap ada analisis mendalam yang tidak bias sehingga masyarakat dapat yakin pasar berjangka telah berjalan dengan fair dan efektif bagi konsumen dan bisnis,” ujar Chilton.

Temuan satuan tugas itu berbeda dengan kritik kubu Demokrat dan beberapa ahli energi, yakni miliaran dollar AS yang diinvestasikan pada pasar energi oleh hedge fund, dana pensiun, dan spekulan lain telah mendorong kenaikan harga minyak.

Pada 11 Juli lalu harga minyak mencatat rekor tertinggi, 147,27 dollar AS per barrel. Hari Kamis harga turun sebesar 23 dollar AS per barrel menjadi sekitar 124 dollar AS per barrel.

Minyak utama New York, light sweet, untuk pengiriman September naik 66 sen menjadi 125,10 dollar AS per barrel. Minyak Brent untuk pengiriman September naik 58 sen menjadi 125,87 dollar AS per barrel.

Gara-gara Hannibal

Pada perdagangan Kamis di pasar Eropa, harga minyak sedikit meningkat. Kenaikan dipicu pernyataan Libya yang mengancam memangkas pasokan minyak ke Swiss karena hubungan diplomatik keduanya terganggu.

Libya mengatakan akan menghentikan pengiriman minyak dengan tanker yang dioperasikan perusahaan Libya ke Swiss. Ancaman ini dilakukan setelah Hannibal, salah satu anak pemimpin Libya Moammar Khadafi, ditahan di Swiss. Hannibal dituduh melukai pelayan hotel di Swiss.

Sementara itu, minyak yang diangkut oleh tanker komersial tak terpengaruh ancaman Libya tersebut. Pernyataan bersama dari perusahaan tanker dan otoritas pelabuhan menyebutkan, tanker dan kapal berbendera Swiss dilarang masuk ke Libya.

Libya juga menegaskan, pihaknya akan mengambil langkah- langkah lebih jauh apabila Bern (ibu kota Swiss) tidak menghentikan kasus Hannibal. Libya menuduh bahwa kasus ini sengaja diciptakan.

Libya adalah salah satu anggota Organisasi Negara Pengekspor Minyak (OPEC) yang memasok sekitar 40 persen persediaan minyak global. ”Setelah harga minyak turun tragis belakangan ini, kemungkinan pergerakan harga minyak ini sudah berhenti,” ujar analis dari Sucden, Michael Davies. (AP/AFP/Reuters/joe)

joe

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1,000 protest G-8 summit in Japan

By Joseph Coleman, Associated Press Writer

SAPPORO, Japan — More than 1,000 people marched in northern Japan on Saturday to protest an upcoming summit of the top industrialized countries, and police arrested four protesters after a brief scuffle. No injuries were reported.

Demonstrators gathered at a park in central Sapporo to demand that Group of Eight nations take urgent measures to stop global warming, grant indigenous people greater rights, combat world poverty and battle discrimination.

The G-8 leaders -- from the United States, Japan, Russia, France, Britain, Canada, Italy and Germany -- begin a three-day summit on Monday. The top issues are expected to be global warming and soaring oil and food prices.

Protesters also criticized globalization, which they blamed for deepening poverty in marginalized regions, fueling the world dependence on fossil fuels and accelerating the damaging rise of world temperatures.

"Who gave the Group of Eight the right to rule the world?" asked Walden Bello of the activist group Focus on the Global South. "The G-8 is a conspiracy of governments that have led the world to its most severe crisis in the last 50 years."

The rally then moved to the streets of Sapporo, where thousands of riot police lined the route, squeezing marchers into one lane. Tempers occasionally flared at bottlenecks, but the march was mostly peaceful.

One clash occurred when a protester driving a pickup truck fitted with speakers blaring rock music stopped at one point along the route. When police urged him to roll down his window, he refused and instead moved the truck backward in the crowd.

Police then smashed a truck window with a baton, pulled the driver out and took control of the vehicle. Hokkaido police said four people were arrested in the brief scuffle, but refused to release names or nationalities of those apprehended.

Authorities refused to give an immediate crowd estimate, but the protest appeared to have between 1,000 and 2,000 participants.

Harga Minyak Semakin Tekan Perekonomian

Kompas, 4 Juli 2008 | 00:40 WIB

Brussels, Kamis - Kontraksi ekonomi yang terjadi di zona Eropa, Juni, lebih cepat daripada yang diperkirakan. Demikian hasil survei yang dikeluarkan pada Kamis (3/7) di Brussels, Belgia.

Indeks Manajemen Pembelian di zona Eropa (PMI) yang dikombinasikan dengan data dan riset Grup Markit turun menjadi 49,3 poin pada Juni dari 51,1 pada Mei lalu. Angka ini lebih buruk daripada perkiraan sebelumnya, yaitu 49,5 poin.

Penurunan indeks hingga di bawah angka 50 mengindikasikan telah terjadi kontraksi pada aktivitas sektor swasta sejak Juli 2003.

Sementara itu, indeks PMI untuk sektor jasa juga turun menuju 49,1 pada Juni dari 50,6 pada Mei lalu. Angka ini juga lebih buruk dari yang diperkirakan sebelumnya, yakni 49,5.

Survei juga memperlihatkan harga-harga meningkat sehingga meningkatkan juga kekhawatiran terjadinya stagflasi. Stagflasi berarti pertumbuhan ekonomi rendah, tetapi dibarengi dengan laju inflasi yang sangat tinggi.

”Data PMI menunjukkan perkembangan lebih buruk dari perkiraan, menunjukkan prospek perekonomian lebih kelam di zona Eropa pada tahun ini. Sektor swasta di Spanyol dan Italia berada dalam resesi dan Prancis juga tengah dalam kontraksi. Pada saat yang sama, tekanan inflasi semakin tinggi,” ujar ekonom RBS Jacques Cailloux.

Konsumen Eropa juga memberikan peringatan kepada para peritel mereka hanya memiliki sedikit uang tersisa di dompet setelah membayar lebih banyak untuk bahan bakar minyak dan pangan.

Dengan laju inflasi di zona euro yang mencapai puncak serta tantangan dari sektor kredit yang semakin ketat, konsumen bersiap mengetatkan ikat pinggang. Harga saham peritel besar Inggris, Mark and Spencer, telah merosot hingga 20 persen setelah memperingatkan para investor laba mereka akan turun kuartal pertama tahun ini. ”Ini bukan semata-mata masalah Marks and Spencer, tetapi juga masalah umum yang dialami para peritel lainnya,” ujar CEO Marks and Spencer Chairman Stuart Rose.

Pesanan pabrikan AS

Pemesanan untuk pabrik-pabrik di AS juga melemah dalam tiga bulan terakhir. Jumlah pemesanan pada sektor pesawat terbang tidak dapat menutupi berkurangnya bisnis pada sektor mobil, mesin berat, dan baja.

Menurut data dari Departemen Perdagangan, order pabrik naik 0,6 persen pada Mei, artinya hanya separuh dari kenaikan April dan Maret. Angka itu merupakan pencapaian terburuk sejak order pabrikan menurun 0,4 persen mulai Februari lalu.

Para analis mengatakan, memburuknya order dalam tiga bulan terakhir disebabkan kenaikan harga minyak mentah dan bahan baku yang terkait seperti kimia.

Harga minyak mencapai rekor baru, 145 dollar AS per barrel. Global Insight, sebuah perusahaan proyeksi ekonomi, memperkirakan harga minyak AS jenis Texas Barat akan mencapai 160 dollar AS per barrel pada Desember mendatang. Padahal, perusahaan itu sebelumnya memperkirakan pada akhir tahun 2008 harga minyak akan mencapai 124 dollar AS per barrel.

Nariman Behravesh, ekonom kepala pada Global Insight, mengatakan, perusahaannya memutuskan untuk memperbaiki perkiraan harga minyak karena kenaikan sudah sangat cepat. Masalah pasokan dan permintaan minyak masih menjadi persoalan dalam jangka menengah.

Kenaikan harga minyak akan membuat pasar perumahan di AS terus melemah serta menekan semua sektor ekonomi, kata Behravesh.

Inflasi Asia

Tidak hanya di Eropa dan AS, kawasan Asia juga menderita karena laju inflasi yang tinggi. Beberapa negara sudah menaikkan tingkat suku bunganya. Bank Indonesia menaikkan tingkat suku bunga sebesar 25 basis poin menjadi 8,75 persen. Selain itu, tingkat inflasi diperkirakan naik dari target awal 6,5-7,5 persen menjadi 11,5 persen-12,5 persen. Di Korea, upaya memperlambat laju inflasi juga dilakukan.

Menteri Keuangan Thailand Surapong Suebwonglee memperingatkan, kenaikan tingkat suku bunga akan menyusahkan kalangan usaha kecil dan menengah. ”Pada saat inflasi naik dengan cepat, kenaikan tingkat suku bunga pinjaman yang juga naik cepat akan menyusahkan usaha kecil dan menengah. Baik pemerintah maupun sektor swasta harus bekerja sama untuk membantu mereka,” ujarnya.

Bank Sentral Thailand akan bertemu pada 16 Juli mendatang dan diperkirakan mereka akan menaikkan tingkat suku bunga untuk mengendalikan inflasi. Suku bunga utama di Thailand tidak berubah sejak Agustus tahun lalu, sebesar 3,25 persen. (REUTERS/AP/AFP/JOE)

joe

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http://entertainment.kompas.com/read/xml/2008/07/04/00405044/harga.minyak.semakin.tekan.perekonomian