Flashpoints Radio interview w Global Exchange's Kevin Danaher in Genoa

Friday, July 20, 2001 - Start Audio
-00:00 Celia Alario: violent demonstrations in Genoa at the G-8 summit, one protestor dead, shot in the head by police.. w Kevin Danaher co-founder of Global Exchange: the last few days here in Genoa.. an emotional rollercoaster.. 40,000-50,000 people in the street.. incredible outpouring of positive energy, well organized.. international events, teach-in\'s.. 700-800 organizations in attendance.. an amazing bit of organizing.. and then today, we saw just incredible violence in the streets.. at times we had to run like hell.. police coming out from a red zone and attacking protestors.. some protestors are gonna fight back.. set cars on fire.. people got really pissed off, one guy got killed.. don\'t focus on protestors and police.. key thing to focus on is the G-8 leaders.. they represent only 13% of the world\'s people.. they don\'t even represent the majority of people in their own countries.. and here they are making policy for the entire planet.. a child starves to death every few seconds.. while they have palatial dinners and protestors are being shot outside.. what motivates ten of thousands of people to go out in the streets and protest like this?..
-05:30 Celia Alario: w Kevin Danaher: issues like immigrant rights.. the plight of the world\'s immigrants.. discrimination, imprisonment, just for trying to feed their families.. European activists saying the US activists should make a big issue about the fence between US and Mexico, like with the Berlin wall.. the third world debt killing people too.. countries spending many times more on debt payments than on education, health care.. G-8 countries set IMF -World Bank policies, but the same countries are immune to the stringent economic rules that the IMF enforces for the poorer countries.. the antithesis of democracy.. the AIDS crisis.. the G-8 has been notorious for neglecting the AIDS crisis.. we\'re seeing bigger and bigger protests at these global events.. will continue to grow... the police here did some really stupid things.. really provacative stupid stuff, but they are not the issue.. the real issue is the \'leaders\' who are hiding behing the police.. people who don\'t have money are starving to death.. 20% of the world\'s people (includes us) consume 86% of the world\'s resources.. we have to conserve.. we can\'t benefit from imperialism and come out honestly against globalization.. if trashing and graffiti made a revolution, we would have won by now.. we have to find a way to replace the existing system.. start putting human values before money values again.. Bush or Gore, it doesn\'t matter who the leader is, we need to change our values.. there was a call for direct action today.. because of police action against the most peaceful protestors.. a lot of debate, a big tent movement.. we want to create a broad, open-minded movement.. how do you build a mass movement?.. extreme property damage and physical violence make our work harder..
-16:00 Celia Alario: w Kevin Danaher: as the G-8 leaders continue to refuse to deal with important issues.. a radicalization going on in the movement.. people are becoming more and more anti-capitalist.. some of us have a deep feeling about people dying in Africa and so on, and we\'re not going away.. every major biological system in danger of collapse.. the moral spiritual crisis keeps getting worse.. a growing percentage of people just can\'t take it anymore... they are willing to put their butts on the line, and get out in the streets, but that doesn\'t excuse the violence and some of the attacks on property.. some of the stuff i saw today really turned my stomach.. on both sides.. (like the trashing of a working class neighborhood today in Genoa).. a lot of Italians here called it vandalism.. how do we build a mass movement, that\'s the key question.. we have to take responsibility for our movement.. Kevin wishes the best to KPFA listeners
-19:50 music break \'Oppression\', Cat Stevens
-20:30 Noelle Hanrahan: Jan 20, 2000.. Port of Charleston, South Carolina.. five union workers from Charleston locals 1422 and 1771 face felony charges.. w Kenneth Riley, president of International Longshoreman\'s Association (IWA) local 1422 .. .. a Danish ship brought in its own non-union longshoremen.. our 4th protest.. on Jan 20, 2000 the police moved in.. very ugly.. beating of my men by the police.. i was clubbed up side the head, received 12 stitches.. why did the police attack? it was a puzzle to us.. truck drivers were stopping at our picket site, asking if they should join the strike, traffic began to back up.. port authority called the state attorney general.. for the union to accept ships bringing in their own non-union longshoremen would have meant a complete roll-back, set us back 30 years
-25:45 Noelle w Jack Heyman of the International Longshoremen and Warehousemen\'s Union (ILWU), specifically San Francisco\'s ILWU Local 10: history of sympathy with the anti-apartheid movement.. background: the US longshoremens union is split: ILA on east coast, ILWU on the west coast.. SF local voted to send two people to support the Charleston locals.. incredible.. they encountered.. helicopters, armored personnel carriers, 600 riot police.. Kenneth Riley: and an attitude of racial discrimination.. South Carolina a anti-union state.. they fly the confederate flag at the capitol.. the role of race in this equation.. (some) whites in SC who make less than the black longshorement are resentful.. in local 1422, 798 of 800 union longshoremen are black.. (there are also two smaller \'white\' locals in Charleston).. the three locals although segregated do work closely together on union issues.. the \'Charleston Five\' are under house arrest, curfew.. 27 union men are being sued civilly by this shipping company as well.. please contribute financially or speak out, write letters to officials who can help.. ILWU has gone on record that on the first day of the trial the ILWU (10k workers) will not be working on the west coast.. a call for other workers, unions will join this (general) strike too.. video of the police attacking.. Kenneth Riley will speak in SF tomorrow at 2PM ILWU local 10 at 400 North Point, SF 415-775-0533 ext 117
-37:00 music break
-37:20 Celia Alario: w spokesperson from the South Korea labor movement, one of the strongest in the world.. a massive general strike in 1997.. because of no unemployment insurance, no safety net in Korea.. the policy of the world bank.. demanded that Korea get rid of company, worker protections.. now GM can buy up the best of Korean companies.. but the companies have to get rid of unions and worker rights.. KTCU.. the SK goverment attacking the workers, arresting the leaders.. even though the government has no support from the workers.. Korean auto company wanted to be taken over by GM.. the Korean owners borrowed a lot of money, disappeared.. authorities tried to layoff 1700 workers.. peaceful protest attacked by police.. 30 people still in hospital.. how can US workers help Korean workers.. protest to GM, strike GM.. SF labor council.. Steve Seltzer of Labor Video Project.. the radio show \'Work Week\'..
-54:00 End today\'s show.. today\'s review by john lionheart

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