Open letter to the international Jubilee 2000 movement, about the future, from Ann Pettifor, 12 October 2000. Jubilee 2000 Coalition

Dear friends,

JUBILEE PLUS INTERNATIONAL

We are now approaching the climax of the campaign to cancel the unpayable debts of the poorest countries by the end of the year 2000 - a campaign we launched 1000 days before the start of the new millennium. It is time to start preparing for the future - for "JUBILEE PLUS INTERNATIONAL". We, Ed Mayo, Kwesi Owusu, Liana Cisneros and myself, Ann Pettifor, are writing to you about our vision for the future, and to consult you about your hopes and aspirations.

Jubilee 2000 supporters have achieved more than we ever dreamed of. And in the last months of the campaign, there is still much more that can be achieved. We have persuaded the world's biggest creditors to write off $100bn of debts. We have persuaded the G7 nations to write off 100% of the debts owed to their governments by some of the poorest countries. We have helped ensure, for example, that Mozambique's debts of $6bn will be cut by $4bn. These accomplishments are not enough by any means; we are still far from the goal of cancelling the "unpayable" debts. Nevertheless more has been committed for cancellation in the last 1000 days than before the campaign started.

But we have done much more than that. We have educated people about this issue - millions of people - in Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. We have educated the media, and we have educated government officials and ministers. Educating the media (e.g. in Japan in the run-up to Okinawa) was one of our greatest challenges - but also one of our greatest successes. This awareness and understanding has empowered people, in both creditor and debtor nations, to challenge international financial and political elites. The deep and lasting consequences of this greater empowerment and understanding have, I believe, still to unfold.

Another achievement has been the greater solidarity we have built, between the peoples of the north and south. This is reflected in innumerable ways; but particularly in the growing confidence and assertiveness of the developing world in relation to the rich world. For example at meetings of the G77 in Havana, at the OAU and recently in Okinawa. As I write, leaders at the OPEC meeting in Caracas are demanding that in return for lower oil prices much more debt cancellation should be offered by the west. It is my view that this growing assertiveness has a lot to do with the powerful constituency we have built up in support of debt cancellation, in both the north and south.

So the campaign is now moving towards its climax. The deadline is approaching, and soon the campaign - which is clearly focussed on the date and deadline, on the Jubilee or millennium year - must draw to a close. What is the way forward?

Around the world, the movement, while still in top campaigning gear, is discussing the future. In the south, there is a strong determination to continue, until the burden of unpayable debts is completely lifted. There is also disappointment and considerable anger at the perception, as they see it, that some groups in the north are about to give up on the struggle to cancel the unpayable debts of the poorest countries. In the north, some coalitions formed to support the campaign, are preparing to disband.

In Britain, the Board of Jubilee 2000 UK, made up of grass roots supporters, aid agencies and trade unions, has voted for closure at the end of this year. This means that the UK office will be closed, a fact that we, as staff, have long been prepared for, as our contracts were fixed from the beginning to end on the 31st December, 2000. In Britain we are upholding the discipline and dynamics that lay behind the campaign - that it is a short-life, time-limited campaign. Unlike international creditors, we are doing what we promised to do.

However, that does not mean that we believe, for a moment, that we have achieved the goal; or that we wish to disband the movement that has been built behind this campaign. Merely that we have to re-invent the campaign, and do so in a different form - building on our achievements and strengths; and in particular building on the international Jubilee 2000 movement itself.

I have been working with Kwesi Owusu of the Jubilee 2000 Africa Initiative; Liana Cisneros of the Latin American Jubilee 2000 campaign; and Ed Mayo, chair of the board of Jubilee 2000 UK - to prepare for the future.

What should that future be? We believe that we have to re-focus our vision: that while we must continue to fight for the cancellation of debts, it is now time to focus our concentration to the root causes of debt. Our supporters have always asked: "what can we do to prevent this crises from recurring?" We want to tackle those issues in the future. Above all, we believe, it is vital for the movement to continue the process of democratisation, transparency and accountability of international finance, so that ordinary people, in the north and south, can exercise much greater control over the economic forces that shape, and often devastate, our lives.

That's our vision. It may sound rather grand, but our experience with Jubilee 2000 convinces us that it is possible. Many laughed at us, when we started, determined to explain complicated and sometimes arcane matters about international debt to millions of ordinary people. But we have proved, not only that most people (including financial journalists!) can easily grasp and understand these issues, but that once they understand, they can act on that knowledge.

We want to build on our strengths and our experience. We want to create "JUBILEE PLUS INTERNATIONAL". Ed Mayo, who has for many years chaired both the Debt Crisis Network but also Jubilee 2000, has offered the New Economics Foundation (of which he is director) as the host organisation for this project. The New Economics Foundation (NEF) is a leading independent think tank supporting advocacy and policy change. NEF focuses on policy alternatives and has a strong record of global action.

Many have suggested that the work we have done can now be taken up by others. We have thought about that, but are not convinced. Many organisations that could take up the mantle are stuck in old ways; have identities that limit their appeal; have approaches that exclude, rather than include the widest range of social forces. Jubilee 2000 has been distinctive in its inclusive appeal and approach. Unlike many others, we have not been afraid to tap the spiritual, ethical, political and cultural roots of our societies. Our radical and principled analysis has been distinctive from many who continue to play the same old "scratched record", or who are afraid to challenge the establishment. And we have built up a record of competence, confidence and credibility, in both the north and south - that distinguishes us from all other organisations.

So we want to build on these values and achievements.

For Kwesi, Liana, Ed and myself, the immediate tasks are to:

In the meantime, Adrian Lovett, my deputy, supported by a number of organisations here in London , and working with Sdebitarisi in Italy, is launching a short-term project to ensure a strong presence at the Genoa G7 Summit in Italy in July 2001. We will of course, be working closely with him and others on this project. At the same time we will be preparing to reinvent the campaign based on the new vision.

As we prepare to do so - we want to hear from you.

We have told you of our thoughts and vision for the future, for JUBILEE PLUS INTERNATIONAL. Now we want to ask: if you were in our shoes, what would be the top two or three things you would concentrate on, to make sure we are successful in the future? And secondly, we would like you, or your organisation, whether it be in the north of Scotland, in the remotest part of Nigeria or Tanzania, in deepest Devon, in the heart of the Czech Republic, on an island of Japan, in a village in the jungle of Peru; in the

Midwest of the US - wherever you may be - to tell us what you really want to do in the

future, and how we, and others, could help you to be successful doing that? We have set up a list serve debt-future@egroups.com which could serve as a forum for this discussion.

We would also like your thoughts on the name we are proposing - Jubilee Plus International.

We are actively searching for funding; and once we know our financial position we will be recruiting staff to build on the achievements of Jubilee 2000. But before we go any further, we want to hear from you. You can write to me in a personal capacity at apettifor@jubilee2000uk.org or annpettifor@cs.com ; or, by ordinary mail, at the Jubilee 2000 offices in London. Or you can add your comments to the list serve - join it at http://www.egroups.com/group/debt-future

Kwesi, Liana, Ed and I look forward to hearing from you - about your hopes, ideas and concrete proposals for building on our joint achievements in the Jubilee 2000 campaign. In the meantime, let us keep our shoulders to the wheel. The inspiration of Vaclav Havel's "velvet revolution" reminds us that anything could happen between now and the end of this year.

Yours in solidarity, determination and hope,

Ann Pettifor, Liana Cisneros, Ed Mayo, Kwesi Owusu


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