Condemn the repression in Bali: Let the people speak and act against IMF-WB

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the International League of People’s Struggle (ILPS) – Asia Pacific.

The International League of People’s Struggle (ILPS) – Asia Pacific strongly condemns the ongoing repression of the people’s legitimate right to assemble and protest by the Indonesian government and police against people’s organizations who are now in Bali, Indonesia for the People’s Global Conference against the IMF-WB meeting.

The cancellation of the permit to hold the PGC – for the second time – that is, for sure, due to pressure by the authorities is a blatant repressive action. Moreover, the overkill presence of police and civilian agents in hotels where international activists are staying, text blasts warning people of the PGC, and harassments against activists are clear intimidation moves to stop any show of resistance to the ongoing meeting of the IMF-WB.

The people have a right to protest.

As an instrument of imperialists, chiefly the United States, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have, for decades, imposed policies to many underdeveloped countries that kept their economies poor and tied to imperialist interests. The IMF-WB have been twin international finance institutions that championed neoliberalism to enable imperialists to plunder countries, corner resources, and feed superprofits to multinational and transnational companies.

The current meeting of the IMF-WB in Bali will not depart from such path and instead, will intensify profit-making of imperialists and giant businesses in the name of their brand of development that tramples on rights and even cost people’s lives.

The repressive moves by the Indonesian authorities to stifle protest and exposition of the IMF-WB’s true agenda shows its allegiance to imperialists and neoliberal economics. It is not the interest of the Indonesian people or the poor people of the world that they are upholding.

ILPS – Asia Pacific joins the clamor of hundreds of people’s organizations to let the People’s Global Conference be held, allow for the legitimate protests to be conducted, and let the people speak of the tragedies that IMF-WB policies have heaped upon them.

Defend people’s rights!

Shut down IMF-WB!

Down with imperialism!

Long live international solidarity!