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<P>Dear all,</P>
<P>I started writing a letter to the paper and it's turned into a bit of a rant,
so I thought I'd try it out on you first - I'd appreciate your comments. </P>
<P>Apologies for cross-posting, and congratulations if you're on all these
lists..!</P>
<P>Jenny</P>
<P><STRONG>The G8 in Sheffield – why does it matter?</STRONG></P>
<P>Many Sheffield people will now be aware that the G8 Interior and Justice
Ministers are meeting in Sheffield on 15-17 June 2005 – but what is it all
about?</P><B>
<P>It’s not a democratic forum</P></B>
<P>The G8 is not the United Nations – it is an exclusive meeting of the seven
biggest economies in the world, plus Russia. It’s rather like the big boys
ganging up in a corner of the school playground.</P><B>
<P>Their agenda</P></B>
<P>The G8’s agenda has never been to solve the problems of hunger and health
experienced by three-quarters of the world’s population. They meet to make the
world safe for globalisation – a process that puts capitalists in control of
everything, right across the world.</P><B>
<P>How they work</P></B>
<P>Their states support globalisation through privatisation (e.g. of water
supplies in Africa, as well as your bus services) and war (e.g. in Iraq, and the
threats to Iran and Cuba). This adds to insecurity in the global South, and to
migration, as the people just try to survive and prosper.</P><B>
<P>What will the Interior Ministers be talking about?</P></B>
<P>They see terrorism as the worst threat, and they have used this as an excuse
to:</P>
<UL>
<LI>lock up suspects without a trial</LI>
<LI>increase the state’s control by keeping information about everyone</LI>
<LI>play on people’s fear of outsiders, and people with different beliefs,
appearance or cultures</LI></UL>
<P>They will be sharing ideas about combating terrorism and controlling the
movements of the population.</P><B>
<P>What it means to Sheffield</P></B>
<P>Sheffield will see some of their ideas in action:</P>
<UL>
<LI>residents will have to carry a passport to enter and leave their
homes</LI>
<LI>armed police will patrol the streets</LI>
<LI>helicopters will hang overhead for days on end</LI>
<LI>your email and phone calls may be intercepted</LI>
<LI>you will be excluded from your city centre while the G8 wine and dine
there</LI>
<LI>pubs, theatres, clubs and restaurants will have to close, and buses and
trams will stop running</LI></UL>
<P>Your local MP and city council are, in fact, so proud of your city that they
are prepared to exclude all citizens from it in order to show it off. </P>
<P>If you would like to add your voice to the protest against this way of
running the world, come to the city centre at 5.30 on Weds 15<SUP>th</SUP> June,
and see </FONT><A href="http://www.dissent.sheffield.org.uk/"><FONT
face="Trebuchet MS">www.dissent.sheffield.org.uk</FONT></A><FONT
face="Trebuchet MS"> for more information.</P></FONT></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>