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Action report 25/01: Stop ETI now!! (The Hague)
Actiegroep Stop ETI Nederland - 31.01.2008 10:16
Friday the 25th of January a representative of the World Bank an a
director of Telecom Italia were at Dutch ministry of economical affairs
in The Hague to meet a representative of the Dutch government. They came
together to talk about their joined interest in the Bolivian telecom
sector and about the role the Dutch government could play in further
exploitation of Bolivia, the poorest country of Latin America.
Bolivian demonstrators in The Hague
Ministry of Economic Affairs - The Hague
The Netherlands is helping a multinational to rob Bolivia!!
STOP ETI!!
World Bank representative arrives at Ministry of Economic Affairs
Cosy together: Telecom Italia, World Bank and the Dutch Goverment
WE are friends of the Bolivian people!!
Hmmm, it isn't working like this, so they open some presents
so they try to to bribe the Bolivians with old phones
to bad, they didn' t succeed...
So the Bolivians are going to offer the petition at the Ministry of Econom. Affa
Stop ETI NOW!!
The Netherlands is helping a multinational to rob Bolivia!!
The Dutch government offers Telecom Italia the possibility to use the
favourable conditions of the Dutch investment treaty with Bolivia,
through a so-called letter box company. Telecom Italia highly
appreciates this possibility and as well the World Bank finds it
important to declare its support to this type of contructions.
In the nineties (since Latin America was turned over to neoliberale
cut-price selling under the pressure of the World Bank and the IMF) the
Italian multinational took over the Bolivian state telephony company
ENTEL. This company has since then been turned into a heap of rubble and
many of the appointments with the Bolivian state have not been met. For
two years now Bolivia has had a progressive government in power. The
domestic farmer activist Evo Morales won the elections, enforced by a
strong people's movement. Morales is trying to reverse some of the
privatizations initiated by his predecessors. Telecom Italia of course
wants to prevent this from happening and has, in order to be able to use
the favourable Dutch investment treaty, established a letter box company
in Bolivia (Euro Telecom international (ETI)).
Through this letter box company the Italian multinational has accused
Bolivia before the ICSID, an obscure type of court of the World Bank,
following an indication that Bolivia in the future wants to use part of
textthe profit for the financing of social services for its own population.
An interesting detail is that president Morales in May 2007 decided to
annul the treaty between Bolivia and the ICSID, particularly because of
the detrimental role played by that institution in former economic
conflicts in the country.
When the three parties arrived at the ministry of economic affairs last
Friday, they were met by a demonstration by several Dutch organizations
and members of the Bolivian community, demanding that the Dutch
government must put pressure on the ICSID and the World Bank to dismiss
the charge against the Bolivian state. The demonstrators also demand
that the Netherlands puts an end to the possibility of multinationals
abusing such investment treaties.
The director of Telecom Italia has tried to bring the bolivians to a
change of mind by offering them old telephones for free. The bolivians
however did not fall for this trap, in spite of the binding attitude
both by Telecom Italia and the World Bank.
Instead they wanted to offer a petition to State Secretary Heemskerk of
economic affairs. However, they had to be content with a press
spokesperson of the ministry as State Secretary Heemskerk and his team
all were in Saudi Arabia at the time. According to the press
spokesperson, the State Secretary is informed of the matter.
Nevertheless, the demonstrators were later that day contacted by an
employee at the ministry with a request for further information. Whether
or not the ICSID will proceed with the charge against the Bolivian state
will be announced on January 31.
More Information:
 http://stopeti.wordpress.com
Dutch version:
http://www.indymedia.nl/nl/2008/01/49859.shtml
 E-Mail: info@xminy.nl
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