The Colourful June of Rostock and Heiligendamm

Global Social Rights. At the G8 summit the anti-globalisation movements attracted a great deal of public attention

Among the participants of the official G8 summit von Rostock it was Angela Merkel who at first seemed the only one to cut a good figure and for a while was even given the obsequious title "Climate Chancellor". A few weeks later she underscored her ecological competence by taking a close look at Greenland's melting glaciers: from a helicopter.

A few months later little of this remained. Just like the previous summits of the eight biggest economic powers the Rostock summit proved to be completely insignificant as far as solving pressing global problems was concerned. In contrast, the week of Rostock and Heiligendamm was of lasting importance to the anti-globalisation movements wh8ch, for the first time succeeded in effectively disrupting the time schedule of a summit. In order to meet, the ladies and gentlemen had to all but lock themselves in. At the same time the protest in its multiple forms had become the issue of thousands of young people. For many of them the trip to the Baltic Sea was their first major political action and they could be sure of the benevolent attention of the media.

Debates on Alternatives

Medico was involved in the two-year mobilisation from the very beginning. That it was such a success was partly due to the Saturday demonstration as well as the two-day blockades, the parallel "Anti-Summit " and of course the camps in Rostock, Reddelich and Wichmannsdorf. During the entire week these camps offered over 20,000, mostly young, protesters accommodation and a venue for communication and celebrating. This was all made possible by an alliance which brought together a wide range of NGOs, Trade Unions, social interest groupings and social initiatives. The NGOs, including Medico, made their mark with four conferences in the run-up to the Summit and with the "Anti-Summit " in Rostock. Over one thousand people took part in the large number of workshops and seminars and in the discussions in plenum with top-class international speakers. The debates focussed on the very same questions which the governments attending the G8 summit were debating: the dramatically increasing impoverishment and deprivation of the rights of millions of people following three decades of neoliberal globalisation, war and the everyday violence in a growing number of countries, particularly in the global South and, of course, the climate catastrophe. Solutions however – and this is the fundamental difference – were not sought in the framework of neoliberalism, but in overcoming it.

Exchange with Trade Unions

One highlight of the two-year mobilisation was the conference on "Global Social Rights", in the Gewerkschaftshaus in Frankfurt in February 2007 which was attended by 130 participants. The call for this meeting was sent out by Attac, the IG Metall (the German trade union for metal workers) , the initiative ”kein mensch ist illegal” (the pro-refugee initiative "no one is illegal” , FIAN (Food First Information and Action Network) and Medico. The aim of this (apparently) uncommon alliance was – according to the subtitle of the conference to find "Perspectives for a different globalisation". Initially the common ground for the organisers was the aim to find such perspectives on a global level in the struggle for social rights. While Medico is fighting for the right of access to health worldwide, FIAN strives for the right of every individual to have enough food and not just enough for naked survival. Whereas Attac is calling for a universal right to a socially guaranteed income beyond wage labour, trade unionists are now also starting to see their commitment to the rights of employees as a worldwide struggle. The success of the extremely lively debate, which lasted from 11am to 11pm, was however mainly due to the methodical caution of the organisers who had agreed at the outset to first assess to what extent their respective concerns could be brought together. After all, a universal right of access to health or food is as less top priority on the agenda of the trade union as are the concerns of works councils on the agenda of Attac, FIAN and Medico. The differences and inconsistencies became even more apparent on the issue of migrants and the question whether their right to equal rights everywhere was actually recognised by all participants and would thus find practical support.

Differences and Similarities

The Frankfurt debate was continued during an evening session and later in workshops in the Nikolai Church in Rostock. The organisers included Greenpeace, which added the demand of global ecological justice to those already being discussed. Whereas this accentuated the differences among the participants, at least at the beginning, the insight that Global Social Rights can only be achieved by pulling together was reinforced there. Moreover, through analysing the differences it became evident that the various and, initially contradictory, claims to Global Social Rights are in fact calling for the "other globalisation" and thus the "other world", the possibility of which could be witnessed in Rostock and Heiligendamm quite spectacularly. Ultimately, the jointly affirmed intention was to consolidate and put into practice the newly-started exchange and– not only at the next G8 summit!

Thomas Seibert

Published: 02. May 2008

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