Flemish Organisations launch Jubilee 2000 in heart of Europe

Over 48 Flemish organisations from all sectors of society came together to launch Jubilee 2000 in the European Parliament on 25^th January 1999. The campaign committed itself to collecting 300,000 signatures and mobilising Belgium people to join the Human Chain at the G8 Summit in Cologne.

The launch commenced with a rally at which speakers outlined the issue of debt and the campaign that is being built against it. Rudy de Meyer, from NCOS (a coalition of NGOs in Belgium) likened current debt initiatives to “Echternach” – a religious procession in Luxembourg in which pilgrims advance two steps and then take one step back. Jubilee 2000 was the “shock therapy” that would force the creditors to take action.

Zana Aziz Etambala, an historian from Leuven University, presented the historical context of the debt crisis. The history of the debt crisis has been a history of distortion of the African economy to serve elites and not its people. Debt had been a crucial mechanism in continuing this peverse structure. The debt campaign had the potential to reverse this tendency and restore power to ordinary people in Africa.

The Flemish Coalition called for a launch of an AFRO. This follows the recent launch of the single currency, the EURO, in Europe. The AFRO reflects a belief and investment in Africa at a time when many people fear that Europe may retreat behind his economic and political borders. The coin will be on sale from February 1999 and will be used to promote the Jubilee 2000 campaign as well as raise money for development projects in Africa.

The conference concluded with a public signing of the petition and press conference attended by well-known Flemish personalities. These included church leaders, musicians, representatives of employer federations, journalists and a banker.

Various French organisations including Entraide et Fraternite, CATDM, Mouvement Mondiale des Travailleurs Chretiens and CIAM are promoting the Jubilee 2000 campaign. They are working together on a Day of Action on debt on 13^th March. They will then mobilise together with Flemish organisations for the G8 Summit in Cologne.

Nick Buxton, representing the UK Jubilee 2000 Coalition at the launch said: “It is significant that the Flemish Jubilee 2000 launch at the heart of Europe took place at the same time as the launch of the Jubilee 2000 campaign in the highly indebted country of Honduras. Two more vital links have been made in a chain that will eventually force the creditors to cancel the unpayable debts.”