Make the G8 History Blog

In their own words: how campaigners responded to the G8 communique

Although our hearts and minds are elsewhere, Red Pepper has been working hard to maintain our live coverage of the G8 summit and its aftermath. Below you will find a large number of links to statements and press releases issued by NGOs, social movements and other campaigning organisations to Friday 8 July’s controversial G8 communique. This page will be constantly updated over the next weeks - we are particular interested in responses from Southern civil society groups and the UK's African diaspora. SH

G8, Africa and climate change: a good time to bury bad news

Friday 8 July. Stuart Hodkinson in Edinburgh. When the news of the bombs hitting London broke on our campsite in Craigmillar, we all immediately reached for our mobile phones in the hope that friends were ok. In that moment, the G8, Africa, the protests and the police all became irrelevant. As  good news filtered through, political minds inevitably began to drift back to the wider political implications. "This will definitely mean ID cards,” one sighed. "Iran will be next for the neo-cons," said another. "And Muslims are going to be hammered." Debates and disagreements broke out but on one thing everyone was agreed: this was “a good time to bury bad news”. And yesterday's announcement of the G8 deal on Africa and climate change contained a lot of bad news, whatever those idiots Geldof and Bono say.

G8 number crunching: the deal doesn't add up

John Hilary, Campaigns & Policy Director, War on Want. Heading up to Gleneagles tomorrow for the demo, but we've spent much of today number crunching so as to work out exactly what the G8 are preparing to serve up as their answer to global poverty - and also to work out how on earth the government has managed to get the good press it has when it is offering such derisory crumbs from the rich man's table. So, specially for Red Pepper readers, this is what we know.

The Abominable Live 8

Gabriele Zamparini, The Cat's Dream I felt dizzy when I read about Bono and World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz talking about poverty in Africa. But the worst had still to happen. I wanted to laugh – but I couldn’t – when I heard George W. Bush talking about the great generosity of US Government to help the developing countries. But the worst had still to happen. I felt sick when I saw Tony Blair and Sir Bob Geldof flirting and preaching on TV about Make Poverty History. But the worst had still to happen.

Not hand outs, just butt out

Jim Jepps. The debate around the G8 should not just consist of rich Westerners talking to powerful Westerners about how to help the poor. So we spoke to Amancay Colque, an indigenous Bolivian activist, on her views about the G8.

Jubilee South: ‘debt’ cancellation as neoliberal bribery

Jubilee South (Africa), a network of debt campaigns from across the continent, has issued a statement condemning the use of debt by G7 finance ministers as a weapon to secure free market reforms. It points out that "in order to qualify for debt cancellation eligible countries would have had to have gone through what is known as the Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative’s completion point, which involves the implementation of stringent free market reforms such as budget cuts, financial and trade liberalisation, privatisation and other reforms." Read the full statement here

Focus calls for 'rainbow of resistance' T-shirt bloc on 2 July

by Nicola Bullard, Focus on the Global South. We hope that hundreds of thousands of people fill the streets of Edinburgh on 2 July for the "Make Poverty History" rally. We know that most of you will be wearing white. But we hope that 100,000 of you will wear red – one for every man, woman and child killed in the bloody occupation of Iraq – and to denounce those responsible for the war, George W. Bush and Tony Blair, and their willing accomplices Silvio Berlusconi and Jurichiro Koizumi.

Girl in a Cafe my arse. This was Imperialism in a Hotel

Stuart Hodkinson. For those unfortunate enough to have just sat through Richard Curtis's (a.k.a. 'Bob with a brain') ridiculous BBC TV film, The Girl in the Cafe, about a pretend G8 summit in a Reykjavik hotel, I'm afraid I have some bad news. Yes, you really did just watch a jingoistic political broadcast on behalf of New Labour. Yes, she really did interrupt the PM's speech at the G8 dinner by clicking her fingers every 3 seconds to mark a child dying of extreme poverty in Africa. And no, you really didn't learn a single thing about the causes of that poverty, the culpability of the present UK government and the destructive role of the G8 in the world.