|
|
NEWS
Friday March 21
As the G8 Summit warms up Japanese Authorities Act Against Freedom of
Movement, Speech & Expression: Antonio Negri Prevented from
Entering Japan
Mr. Antonio Negri was to visit Japan from
March 20
to April 4, 2008, and would have spent time on a residency
engaged in various
cultural and intellectual dialogues including a lecture at I-House,
which runs the I-House Ushiba Fellowship. The program invites to Japan
distinguished contemporary thinkers and intellectuals for the purpose
of bringing humankind closer together and transcending the North-South
/ East-West divides through the enhancement of international
understanding and mutual trust. It was made possible by the endowment
subsequent to the dissolution of the Ushiba Memorial Foundation,
established to promote international cooperation for the realization of
harmonious relations between the developed world and the underdeveloped
world. In addition to this, the I-House Ushiba Fellowship aims at encouraging
cross-cultural dialogue which critically examines various problematics
of the 21st century, in particular those issues that arise from the
problems left unresolved ("negative legacy") from the last century, and
suggesting a creative vision for human development from an alternative
perspective.
However, after consultations with International House the Foreign
Ministry of japan advised that negri should apply for a visa as he may
not be allowed to enter the country without one, even though Italian
nationals do not require visas for short visits. As result of further
consultations with Negri and IH it was decided that Negri should not
travel to Japan due to the obstacles put in his way by the Foreign
Ministry, which would have delayed his tour and set back carefully made
preparations on the part of IH. Negri was planning to give
lectures on labor and other issues at Kyoto
University and the University of Tokyo in addition to IH.
Antonio Negri
Born in Padua, Italy,
1933. Starting
off his academic career as a scholar of political philosophy centering
on Marx, Mr.Negri shaped the theoretical foundation for a new social
movement known as “Autonomia” supported by the socially disadvantaged.
The movement jolted all parts of Italy. When it was in a stage of
further development, however, he was accused of masterminding the
kidnapping and murder of Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro by the
militant organization “the Red Brigades” and plotting to overthrow the
government. Shortly afterward, although no link was established between
Negri and the Red Brigades, he was convicted for his political
activities and critical discourse against the government. During his
imprisonment awaiting trial, he announced his candidacy for and was
elected to the Italian legislature. Owing to parliamentary privilege,
he was permitted to leave prison, but this was abrogated a few months
later. Before being arrested, he sought for political asylum in Paris.
During his exile in Paris, he became acquainted with such French
intellectuals as Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, was engaged in
global intellectual movements and prolific political writings, and
developed a new theory of human emancipation in a rapidly globalized
world. Later, he voluntarily returned to Italy to serve his remaining
sentences and was released from prison in 2003 after serving his full
sentence of 17 years.
As an eminent scholar, he has held teaching positions at the University
of Padua, the Ecole Normale Supérieure, the Universities de
Paris Ⅶ,Ⅷ,
and College International de Philosophy. In the widely acclaimed works
of “Empire” and “Multitude”
under his co-authorship with Michael Hart, Negri grasped the new
political global order, which emerged with the acceleration of
“Globalization,” as “Empire,” and reconfigured it as de-centralized
network system of domination, which differs from a sovereignty of
traditional “nation-states” presupposing physical territory and which
accepts no boundaries or limits. In so doing, Negri conceptualized
“Multitude” as the democratic forces and alternative paradigm to resist
against a new imperial order and the power of “Empire.”
His major publications include Political
Descartes: Reason, Ideology and the Bourgeois Project (New York:
Verso, 2007), Multitude: War and Democracy in the Age of Empire
(co-authored with Michael Hardt, New York: Penguin Press, 2004), Time
for Revolution (New York: Continuum, 2003), Empire
(co-authored with Michael Hardt, Harvard University Press, 2000), The
Savage Anomaly: The Power of Spinoza's Metaphysics and Politics
(University of Minnesota Press, 1991), Marx Beyond Marx: Lessons
on the Grundrisse (New York: Autonomedia, 1991) and The
Politics of Subversion: A Manifesto for the Twenty-First Century
(Cambridge: Polity Press, 1989).
Monday March 17
Deportation
of Martin Kramer to Russia Condemned by NO! G8 Action
On March 14, 2008, the Japanese Immigration
Bureau refused entry and
deported German activist Martin Kramer who came to Japan to
participate in the anti-G8 protests planned for the Lake Toya
Summit to be held in July.Martin came to Japan to talk about his
experiences at the anti-G8 protests at
Heiligendamm and to meet with Japanese movements and deepen
exchanges with people who
share his anger about the G8. Despite being a German citizen, Martin
was deported to Russia, the country from which he had atttempted to
enter Japan from by sea.
No! G8 Action, condemned this unjust response
of the Japanese government, and demanded that the authorities
do the following:
1. State clearly the reason for Martin's exclusion,
and apologize officially.
2. Admit Martin to Japan immediately and unconditionally.
3. Stop all refusals of entry due to grounds of thought and
creed.
Admit all activists who will participate in anti-G8 actions
unconditionally.
No G8 Action, is appealling to all comrades
protesting against
human rights abuses, reinforcement of security/repression, and
surveillance society to express their voices of protest
against the Japanese
government's deportation of Martin Kramer to Russia by contacting the
embassies
of Japan and Germany.
While in Japan, various groups and networks are
going to take
action against this situation as well as legal associations. Steady
preparations are being made to help activists from around the
world to enter Japan, as it is necessary to develop domestic and
international protest actions against the Japanese government and to
express international solidarity with the anti-G8 movement in July.
No! G8 Action calls for convergence for a
fight to win freedom of movement and freedom of solidarity.
NO! G8 Action
http://a.sanpal.co.jp/no-g8/
no-g8@sanpal.co.jp
Sunday March 9
S. Korean activist
refused entry at Narita airport allowed to enter after all.
On Saturday 8 March we headlined the case of Kim Ae Hwa who was
denied entry at Narita Airport on Wednesday 5 March - She was allowed
to enter that same day, Saturday 8 March after protests began to
be heard.
The South Korean
civic group
leader who arrived Wednesday at Narita airport, east of Tokyo, to
participate in a Tokyo meeting of Asian nongovernmental organizations
was refused permission to enter Japan. However, Kim Ae Hwa, a
representative
from the Committee for Asian Women, who was to discuss regional
disparities and the protection of farmers in developing countries at
the meeting ahead of the Group of Eight summit in
July was allowed to enter after returning to Japan on Saturday.She had returned home after
being told
she had been refused entry following an interview at Narita airport on
her arrival Wednesday evening.Kim
was scheduled to
take charge of issues related to woman at the forum. According to sources with
knowledge of the matter, she may have
provided insufficient explanations to immigration officials regarding
the purpose of her visit. As
is to be expected, an official at the
Justice Ministry's Immigration Bureau said, ''We cannot comment about
an individual case".
The case clearly highlights the intention of immigration officilas to
harrass, delay and disrupt the plans of anyone even remotely suspected
of entering Japan in order to protest or contribute to the opposition
to the G8 summit in July. Kim Ae Hwa was part of a respected, peaceful
delegation in Japan to discuss agriculture. It speaks volumes for the
way in which any form of dissent is regarded in Japan and the
difficulties that social, economic and political activists face when
dealing with the authorities here. Lacking a seat on the Un Security
council, being opposed by the world's nations on whaling, under a
perceived threat from China and it's Asian neighbours, the Japanese
ruling class is desperate to put on a show at Toyoko and to feel self
important. While addressing global warming and the environment at the
summit and at the same time not taking any realistic measures to deal
with such problems and ignoring the plight of the poor and the homeless
at home while actually pursuing neo-liberal economic policies and
privatization which add to the woes of people living and working in
Japan, the Bureaucracy,Corporations and those who serve them - the
politicians of the LDP and DPJ only add fuel to the fire. A fancy show
in Hokkaido will not alleviate any of Japan's domestic problems or
lessen the effects of impending global environmental disasters.
Here
are some external links to
articles about what the G8 is, previous summits and protests, as well
as video of last year's demos in Heiligendamm,
Germany and pages about Hokkaido 2008.
The
"Official Version"
(
Have Your Bullshit Detector Tuned to Maximum ).
Germany
2007
G8 Information Centre
( University of Toronto )
G8
US Department of State
WTO:Word
Trade
Organisation
IMF:International
Monetary Fund
World
Bank
IPO: International
Permanent Observatory
Ethical Corporation
The Real
Version
Economy Tutorial by
Robin Hahnel
Dollars
and Sense
The Shock
Doctrine:Naomi Campbell
The Corporation
The Take
Global
Exchange
For
information about the
upcoming G8 Summit In Japan go to the addresses above/the
link below. Big respect to
the IRA for the images and co-ordination!!
http://a.sanpal.co.jp/no-g8/
G8
TV:Information for the
Resistance/Japan info
Germany
2007
Globalise
Resistance ( Watch this site for Japan 2008 )
Dissent!:Network of
resistance
Police
Oppression Rostock ( Video )
|