The Larzac is soon to welcome another
of the gigantic gatherings that have been a regular feature of
its recent history. Thirty years after the first (in 1973, in
support of the farmers' struggle against the extension of the
local military camp), three years after the last (in 2000, in
support of the 10 people facing trial for the dismantling of a
nearby McDonald's), tens of thousands of people will again gather
on the plateau in response to the call of the farmers' union,
the Confédération Paysanne, to fight the WTO.
Thirty years ago, Larzac farmers were already
crying in the face of the government of the time, "We are
not for sale !" Three years ago, the people of
the plateau shouted in the face of the World Trade Organisation
(WTO), "The world is not a commodity!" The gathering
this summer has been conceived to focus the attention of social
movements on the next WTO summit, which will take place in September
in Cancun, Mexico. The stakes are high. The WTO is currently paving
the way for the privatisation of the planet, with the disastrous
and irreversible consequences that this will entail for the whole
of humanity.
The WTO's aim? The effective transformation of all human activities,
living things and natural resources into commodities, for the
sole benefit of multinational companies. The means? The eradication,
pure and simple, of any national legislation that acts as an obstacle
to the voracious and insatiable appetite of the champions of neo-liberalism,
who conceal their activities behind the banner of "free trade".
The danger is such that if the WTO succeeds,
democracy itself is finished. A democracy that is undoubtedly
ailing the world over (and in whose name the Anglo-American alliance
recently brought destruction to the people of Iraq), but which
constitutes nonetheless the foundation of the well-being of humanity.
Such is the extent of the challenge before us. More than ever,
our future, and that of the generations to come, is in our hands.
If we do not react today, if we do not do everything we can to
stop this infernal machine, tomorrow it will
be too late. It is for this reason that we have decided
to organise a gathering this coming summer of all those opposed
to the commodification of the world. From the Larzac the warning
bells must ring to alert public opinion to the danger posed by
the WTO. Mobilisation against the WTO's project of democracide
is vital.
Cancun must be a second Seattle.
