"The present system continuously impoverishes the people. It’s driving force is the maximisation of private profit rather than the fulfillment of social need. It generates enormous wealth at one pole and extreme poverty at the other. Eradication of poverty must be taken up as the matter of highest priority. For this, it is necessary to invest in the people’s well-being and in their future, and in the productive base of the society.

Nearly a decade of economic reforms have resulted in, among other things, factory closures, retrenchment of the work force, across-the-board cuts in social expenditure and sharp increases in the prices of basic services and commodities. The livelihood and standard of living of the working people are under attack on a daily basis. The rulers claim that there is no money to fulfill the people’s needs, but are at the same time increasing expenditure on unproductive sectors such as militarisation. The integration of India into the World Bank-IMF-WTO-dominated world economic order further threatens the people’s livelihood and control over our resources."

The second session was an agenda for political renewal where the background note stated that the existing system of representative democracy is incompatible with the empowerment of the people.

"The democracy that exists is designed to exclude the majority from the exercise of power. What is the role of the various institutions, such as the system of representation, the Indian Union, the bureaucracy and judicial system, the armed forces, the political parties, etc., in this? It is clear that, after fifty years, the people are increasingly unsatisfied with just the fiction of power. But what is the vision that can guide the movement for the political empowerment of the people and what kind of political reforms can open the path towards people’s power? "

"Various sections of our people - the poor, the tribal people, dalits, various nationalities, women, the minorities, and all those who demand their just rights - face attacks on a daily basis across the country. Violence of all kinds, including state repression and communal violence, is on the increase. United opposition to each and every such attack on a consistent basis is the need of the hour."

The third session was on the theme of international peace and a just order with special focus on South Asia. " Peace in the South Asian region - a must for people’s prosperity: War and Militarisation as a means to settle disputes between India and the neighbouring countries, including Pakistan, is against the interests of the people. It also creates favourable conditions for foreign powers to increase their interference in this region. The U.S. drive for a unipolar world - a grave danger to people’s sovereignty. The drive to recast international relations so as to facilitate big power violation of the sovereignty of other countries and peoples, under the pretext of "humanitarian intervention", "war against terrorism" or other grounds, must be actively opposed.

The proceedings of the meeting will be posted on the web at http://www.geocities.com/lokrajsangathan

In Frankfurt, early morning activists blocked the Frankfurt airport by hanging large bunches of air balloons, wrapped in aluminium foil, all around the airport. With these 150-meter high ‘agitators’ hanging in the entry and exit ports of the runways, they protested against the everyday reality of deportations at the Frankfurt airport.

In Poland, an action against the headquarters of the Polish border police for the Western region took place in Krasna Ojanskya near Zielona Gora. Demonstrators shouted anti-repression slogans and put up posters throughout the town. A small group made a small attack on the border police headquarters with tear gas grenades.

In Berlin a few dozen activists held a rally in front of the departure gate of the airport Berlin Schoenefeld. Simultaneously a 15 meter long banner was fixed on the roof for more than one hour. In Koblenz (Germany) around two hundred activists demonstrated in front of the headquarters of the German border police (BGS).

In Paris 120 people invaded the international zone of the airport Paris Roissy. Other actions were planned all over France. In Switzerland rallies were held in seven different cities. In Italy there were actions at least in Milano, Firenze and Caserta. Other actions happened all across Europe, more information on the protest is available at http://www.contrast.org/borders

A seminar and round-table discussion on these questions, co-sponsored by the Independent Press Association and the J.M. Kaplan Center for NYC Affairs, Milano Graduate School, New School University was held on October 28 with Josh Friedman, UN Bureau Chief, Newsday as the Moderator. The purpose of the event was to showcase media activities in the new and old ethnic communities in New York City, communities which have uncertain access to the mainstream media. The panelists were Milton Allimadi, Editor and Publisher of Black Star (an African American publication), Gerson Borrero, Columnist and Acting Editor of El Diario (a Latino publication), Peter Noel, Senior Editor of Village Voice, an alternative weekly based in New York, Niall O’Dowd, Founder and Publisher of Irish Voice, Prakash Parekh, Executive Editor of the News India Group and S.Shankar, member of the SAMAR Collective, a South Asian alternative media project.

The discussion was wide-ranging and touched on the ways in which minority communities-many of them with many immigrants in them—might make sure that their issues are aired in an appropriate manner. Most panelists agreed that there were real problems with the way in which such issues were handled by the mainstream media. The discussion also touched on the emergence of new technologies in publishing (for example, the web).

Panelists noted that the commercial value of such developments was yet to be proven.

One lively and interesting strand of discussion concerned the relevance of advocacy journalism, the use of media to draw attention to social issues.

Most panelists applauded such efforts, but also noted the difficulty of doing this in practice. In the discussion following the panel, members in the audience noted the need for some coordinated effort amongst the city’s alternative media projects.

For more information contact: call or write to Andrew White at (212) 229-5400 or whitea@newschooledu.

The SAMAR collective is a South Asian Left media resource for promoting critical debates within the progressive community. They produce SAMAR, an English-language magazine, a monthly radio program with Asia Pacific Forum (on WBAI 99.5 FM, New York City), and a free Bengali-language magazine. Information and subscriptions: SAMAR, P.O. Box 1349, Ansonia Station, NY, NY 10023; [email protected]; www.drik.org/samar; 212-888-7108.