Jubilee 2000 plans to encircle the Treasury and demand that Britain matches Clinton's 100% debt cancellation pledge

Jubilee 2000 is calling on its supporters to take urgent action and encircle the UK Treasury to call on Tony Blair to match, and go beyond, President Clinton's pledge to cancel 100% of the debts owed to the United States by the poorest countries. 50 days before the millennium, thousands of Jubilee 2000 supporters are expected to 'blast the Treasury' with trumpets, to call on the Prime Minister and his Chancellor to cancel 100% of the debt owed to Britain by the poorest countries, and ask them not to take a penny more in debt service payments after the 31st December 1999.

The action has been organised in response to Britain's failure to match Clinton's pledge to cancel 100% of the debt owed by the poorest countries to the US. Gordon Brown and Clare Short have hinted that Britain is matching President Clinton's commitment to cancel 100% of the debts owed by 36 of the poorest countries to the United States.

Jubilee 2000 questioned whether Britain had truly matched Clinton's proposal soon after the announcement. Further evidence obtained by Jubilee 2000 has revealed that the British proposal falls substantially short of Clinton's. President Clinton has pledged to write off, unilaterally, all of the $5.7 billion owed by 36 of the most indebted nations to the United States. The British Government by comparison promised at the Labour Party Conference that Britain would write off only $700 million of the total $2.6 billion debt owed to the UK – “by the end of this Parliament”. This falls far short of 100%. The British government, unlike the US government, has not agreed to write off all the debt owed to Britain, but only that defined as “pre cut-off date” debt. This is debt incurred before the country first went to the Paris Club of bilateral creditors for re-scheduling.

In an urgent action letter to supporters, Ann Pettifor, Director of the Jubilee 2000 coalition called on everyone to make 'an extraordinary effort' to challenge Blair to seize the gauntlet laid down by Clinton. Supporters have been asked to write to and email Tony Blair and join a human chain around the Treasury on 11^th November - the eve of 50 days to the Millennium. Thousands are expected to turn up with trumpets and build up the pressure on Tony Blair to act independently and cancel the debts owed to the UK before millennium eve.

Ann Pettifor, director of the Coalition said:

"The walls of Jericho and Berlin both came down after public protest and pressure. We are going to blow as many trumpets around the Treasury as possible, in the hope that Prime Minister Blair will hear our plea to match and go further than Clinton and cancel 100% of debts owed to Britain."

"Thousands of people in Britain do not want the government to collect £75 million a year, and yet we continue to squeeze these payments out of the poorest countries on the planet. It's time to write off all these debts and give 52 of the world's poorest countries a fresh start in the new Millennium".

The event on 11^th November will launch 50 days of activities counting down to millennium eve. These will centre on the launch of a special 'Jubilee 2000 Write-Down Book' in a key central London location, where the public will be invited to write messages of support for the people of the poorest countries, call for debt cancellation, and express their sentiments and hopes for the coming millennium. It reflects the growing public unease at grand, but empty, millennium gestures whilst millions of people are impoverished under the burden of unpayable debt. It is hoped that the action in London will be backed up by similar "Jubilee 2000 Write-Down Books" in town halls, libraries, churches and supermarkets around the country.

• For more information about Clinton's unilateral pledge and Britain's position, click here
• Download a Jubilee 2000 flyer to advertise the November 11th event!