19 March 2006, 3 to 7 PM, Sahitya Academy Hall, Thrissur
Peoples Forum Against ADB Invites You to
 
WHAT : Kerala State Consultation on:    Mobilising against the Asian Development Bank’s Annual Governors’ Meet  
 
Thrissur  on 19 March 2006 , VENUE :   Kerala Sahitya Academy Auditorium, Thrissur  at  3pm-7pm.  
  
13 March 2006,  
 
Dear Friend:  
 
The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) 39th Annual Governors’ Meeting  (AGM) is scheduled  for 3-6 May 2006 in Hyderabad, India.  
 
Since 2000, peoples’ movements, communities affected by the ADB  projects, academics,  researchers, activists, labour unions and NGOs have come together at  the venues of these  AGMs to hold parallel events on the impacts of ADB loans and to oppose and protest the  institution and its brand of development policy. From Thailand to  Turkey, the ADB Governors  have faced mass mobilisations by people affected by its policies.  
 
India is a prominent member of the ADB. After China, India is the  largest borrower from the  Bank. Finance Minister, P Chidambaram, is the Chair of the Board of  Governors of the ADB.  
Projects financed by the ADB range from energy and power sector  restructuring to flood  control, irrigation, water policy reform, urban development, highways,  administrative and  fiscal reforms. The projects and programmes have been undertaken  across the country, from Jammu & Kashmir, Uttaranchal, West Bengal and the North East, to  Madhya Pradesh,  Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.  
 
The policy reforms and conditionalities that ADB demands from the  Governments, include,  adopting laws and regulations that favour private sector involvement  in key sectors,  market-friendly restructuring and reforms in sectors for which ADB  support is being sought,  corporatisation and privatisation of public enterprises and utilities, creating a flexible labour  force, commercialization of agricultural production and trade and  investment liberalisation.  
 
The ADB works in tandem with other institutions such as the World Bank and World  Trade Organisation to ensure that markets function effectively with minimal government  intervention and regulations are amended for the entry of corporate  players in sectors such  as water, electricity and other key public sectors.  
 
Kerala is a focal state of the ADB. There are active campaigns against  the ADB loan to  Kerala. It is also an important site of struggle against  neo-liberalism and corporate led  globalisation.  
 
This meeting will aim to bring together activists to jointly  strategise on actions towards  the AGM. We will also explore possibilities of linking ongoing  campaigns in Kerala  towards the activities planned at the Peoples Forum against the ADB in  May 2006.  
 
The May 2006 Hyderabad AGM offers an opportunity for movements, people’s  organisations, community groups, labour unions and activists to come together  and raise a collective and unified voice against neo-liberalism and  its instruments  – the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation.  
 
We look forward to your participation at this meeting.  
 
Thank you.  
 
In solidarity  
 
Anivar Aravind (GAIA),  
Sumesh Mangalassery (Kabani),  
Souparna Lahiri (Peoples Forum against the ADB) and  
Benny Kuruvilla (Focus on the Global South)  
 
Agenda
 
1)      Introduction to the consultation  
2)      Overview of ADB in India  
3       What is the ADB AGM and why is it important to mobilise against it?  
4)       ADB in India -the Kerala experience.  -the Karnataka experience  
5)       Peoples Forum against ADB activities during the AGM and what can groups  in Kerala do to contribute to this process.  
 
 
———————————————————————-  
Anivar Aravind  
GAIA (Global Alternate Information Applications)  
Perngavu.P.O  
Thrissur-680018  
Ph. 9895803545