<nettime> Counter Summit in Tampere (Finland) Against EU's Immigration Policy

[Antti Rautiainen <antti.rautiainen@kolumbus.fi>]

1) Declaration of Tampere counter-summit in English
2) Current list of Finnish organisers
3) Contact adress for organising collective
4) Requests for foreign contacts
5) Actions of asylum and immigration struggles august-october 1999
6) Information about seminar of October 13th
7) Shortly about plans of "Alternative to EU" for the december.

"EU-presidency of Finland update" is no means a brand used by some
structure. All the organisers are encouraged to use name and running
number when informing non-Finnish audience about happenings around Finnish
presidency to help audience recognising what are the news about and has
the message already been read. All the readers are asked to correct
mistakes from the update. 

1) Declaration of Tampere counter-summit

STRIKE BACK AGAINST THE EMPIRE: COUNTER-SUMMIT AGAINST THE EU'S
IMMIGRATION AND INTERNAL SECURITY POLICIES, 15.-17.10.1999, TAMPERE,
FINLAND

Hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing the poverty and wars caused by
globalisation and are trying to get to Europe, trying to find an even
marginally better life for themselves and their families. While capital
has been given a first class reception everywhere, these people have been
interned, killed, deported and pushed into the arms of the criminal
syndicates which control illegal immigration. 

Finland holds the presidency of the EU from July to December 1999. A
special summit dealing with immigration and internal security issues is to
take place in Tampere on October 15th and 16th. We invite everyone who
demands the freedom of movement for all in Europe and a Europe of the
people to come to Tampere on 15.10.-17.10. for a counter-summit. We demand
that the wealth that we produce be used to enable people to move freely
and to take part in our welfare. 

A well-publicised example of the injustice of the EU's asylum policies is
the case of Abdullah Öcalan. He was neither granted asylum nor a fair
trial in Europe and instead was seized and taken to Turkey where he was
sentenced to death in a show trial. 

More interest in wiretapping than in welfare? 

In practice, "internal security" means increasing the powers given to the
internal control mechanisms in the EU and pressuring the member states to
accept these far-reaching controls. An example of this is the monitoring
of telecommunications, such as e-mails and telephone calls, by the USA and
by several EU states. We believe in a different definition of security. 

Finland and Europe are richer than ever before, but an even distribution
of this welfare is said to be impossible. There is enough employment and
wealth to share with the marginalised inside the Union as well as with the
immigrants who come here. The focus of interest of the politicians,
however, lies somewhere completely different. The EU is only one part of
the globalised empire and seceeding from it is not a sufficient solution. 
The alternative is however in our hands, for while capital has become
global, resistance, too, has crossed all borders. 

Covering up the symptoms does not cure the disease

Instead of tackling the problems caused by the insecurity and temporary
nature of work contracts, the problems caused by the cutting of funds for
education and health care, the problems caused by unemployment and
pollution, the EU is organising a media spectacle in which the politicians
will attempt to gain popularity points by claiming to crack down on crime. 
Fighting crime effectively, however, is impossible without tackling the
structures that make it feasible. The flow of drugs to Europe will last as
long as cultivating them is the only viable alternative for the farmers in
the South. Drug abuse and the ensuing crime will not stop unless those
that have been forced to live on the edges of society have no better way
of "pursuing happiness." 

Refugees and immigrants are criminalised although the real criminals are
those who destroy the social structures and ecosystems of whole continents
and move capital from one country to the next, devastating the national
economies. The criminals are those who kill, intern and deport people. 

We invite everyone to come to Tampere and fight against the Fortress
Europe! 

No to internment camps, no to the deportation of refugees, no to borders! 

Real security instead of increased control! 

For free movement and social solidarity! 

Antifa Finland, Autonome Offensive 99, Democratic Youth of Hervanta,
Self-Employment Organisation of Iranian and Iraqi Kurds, Kurdistan
Committee, Solidaarisuus, Socialist League, Finnish Anarchist Federation

2) Current list of organisers in Finland


Antifa Finland               - nationwide moderate network against racism and 
                               for tolerance. http://www.kaapeli.fi/~antifa
Autonome Offensive 99        - check first issue
Democratic Youth of Hervanta - Local group of Left youth, organisation near
Left union party which has no official ties with 
                               party. Democratic youth as whole has not (yet?)
                               endorsed declaration. Democratic youth:
http://www.vasemmistonuoret.fi 
Self-Employment Organisation - Organisation runned by kurd refugees from
Iran and 
of Iranian and Iraqi Kurds     Iraq dealing with hard task to find
employment for 
                               it's members
Kurdistan Committee          - Organisation of Kurds campaining for peace to
                               Kurdistan and supporting autonomy of Kurdistan.
Solidaarisuus                - Check first issue
Socialist League             - Check first issue
Finnish Anarchist Federation - Check first issue
____________________________________________________________________________
_____
3) Contact adress for organising collective

Tampere countersummit
P.O. Box 318 
FIN-00171 Helsinki
phone: 358-(0)9-135 2110
e-mail: tampere99@hotmail.com
url: http://come.to/tampere
wait for fax to come...
____________________________________________________________

4) Requests for foreign contacts

Here are things you can do to help worldwide struggle against fortress Europe...

-Translate declaration of Tampere counter summit to your language if it
has not yet been translated. If that was not enough, translate this as
well.  When starting work, contact us to ensure someone else is not doing
that already. 

-Distribute this message to your own contacts, and find people interested
to be updated about our plans. 

-Estimate would it be worth of it to agitate people to travel to Tampere
in your own language area. If so, we can use ready flyer and poster frame
for flyers and posters of various languages, but we need translated texts
and language area or local organising committee contact adress of a trip!
We can also print posters and flyers in Finland, but since we are broken
we recommend you to pay for that. We printed our A3 posters with one extra
color with 56 euros/1000, but posting costs as well. Of course, there is
no any barriers to make completely own design. 

-Link Tampere counter summit page to your webpage. Advertise and join to
our e-mail list, openeurope. 

You can join openeurope-list by sending message

subscribe openeurope
to
lists@tao.ca, without subject.

-Collect endorsers for the declaration. Political parties, individuals,
formal and non-formal organisations are all allowed to join endorser list,
which will be used in www-page and mediawork. 

-Organise or participate to local events in Europeanwide action day
against fortress Europe 15th of october

-If you know important organisations or groups which want to be updated
but have not e-mail access, let us know their fax adress. 

_______________________________________________________________________
5) Actions of asylum and immigration struggles august-october 1999

20th of august, France - Sans papier-movement begins a march to Paris
19th of september, Lisbon Portugal - Demonstration for immigrant rights
22th of september, Bruxells Belgium - Demonstration for commemoration of
Semira Adamu in front of the ministry of justice
25th of september, Milano Italy - Demonstration in front of the Via Corelli
internation camp
30th of september, Paris France - Demonstration of Sans-Papier movement 
15th of october, Europeanwide action day, counter actions around themes of
EU topmeeting of Tampere in Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain,
France, Finland... 
15th of october, Koblenz Germany - Demonstration outside headquarters of
german border patrol
16th of october, Tampere Finland - International demonstration against EU
topmeeting
____________________________________________________________________________

6) Information about seminar of October 13th

FROM:
Folkets Bildningsförbund
Alternative to the EU - Finland
Friends of the Earth Finland

TO: Concerned citizens
    Media
    Researchers 

FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT:

INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON EU, "INNER SECURITY" AND HUMAN RIGHTS TAMPERE,
FINLAND 13th OCTOBER 1999

With the coming into effect of the Schengen and Amsterdam Treaties
EU-cooperation in the fields of justice, home affairs and border controls
has been greatly advanced. The treaties set the stage for many further
developments in the form of implementation and refinement. The treaties
and their various annexes, enforcement manuals and protocols form an
unusually complex and convoluted package of legislation. Public scrutiny
of the existing treaties as well as democratic influence on new reforms
has therefore been made extremely difficult. Hence, there is an urgent
need to provide a "citizen's guide" to the significance of recent
EU-developments for basic human rights and liberties.  The international
expert meeting in Tampere, October 13th 1999, is designed to serve as one
such guide. The meeting is organised by three Finnish, non-party NGOs. The
organising parties do not have a common view on EU-politics, but we all
agree about the need for enhanced public debate as a prerequisite for
informed and effective democratic influence and action. 

The meeting in Tampere brings together prominent legal scholars and
sociologists from a least five western European nations to analyse the
effects of ongoing and planned developments of justice, police and
border-control cooperation within the European Union. The confirmed
speakers are (August 13th): 

- Nicholas Busch, lawyer, editor of Fortress Europe, Switzerland/Sweden
- Ole Krarup, prof., MEP, Denmark
- Peter Noorlander, programme director, Justice, England
- Thomas Mathiesen, prof., Norway
- Lode van Outrive, prof., MP, Belgium

All speakers have earned international recognition for their contributions
to research and public debate on EU-cooperation in the fields of justice,
immigration, asylum, policing and data protection and the effects of this
cooperation on fundamental human rights and liberties. 

The working langauge will be English. Participation in the debate in other
languages will be facilitated. Proceedings are scheduled for the whole
day, from 9.30 a.m. to 5.30. p.m. Each speaker will present a paper
followed by debate. Together the papers seek to provide the essential
conceptual tools, interpretative guidance and empirical facts required for
citizens, journalists and public officials wishing to understand, monitor
and influence EU-policies. 

The last two hours will be used for a panel-debate focusing on the agenda
of the EU-summit on "Internal Security" in Tampere, October 15th and 16th. 
Representatives of immigrant and anti-racist organisations, the Commission
and the EU-presidency are expected to take part in the panel. 

More information: 

<thomas.wallgren@helsinki.fi>
______________________________________________________________________________

7) Shortly about plans of Alternative to EU for the december.

Althought busy working with Tampere, we are all the time planning activity
against Helsinki topmeeting 11th-12th of december as well. Energetic
international demonstration and accomodation for the participators is the
least we can guarantee for foreign participators. 

Meanwhile Alternative to EU, movement which has its roots in movement
which opposed Finnish membership in European Union, is organising a round
table discussion between European movements about the future of
EU-resistance. Alternative to EU is able to finance travelling costs of
one participator from each East-European country, thus if you are from
East-European country and interested, write to vanessaklotzer@yahoo.com. 



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