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NGOs hold ‘people summit’ ahead of IMF-World Bank meeting
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Ubud, pictured above, is a popular tourist attraction in Bali, which is readying itself to welcome delegates to the IMF-World Bank meeting in October. (Shutterstock/Iryna Rasko)
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ifteen NGOs plan to hold a conference on Oct. 8 to 10 ahead of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Meeting, to be held from Oct. 12 to 14 in Bali.
“The people summit on alternative development is aimed at consolidating the voices of civil society in Indonesia and other countries that have been critical of policies and programs initiated by the World Bank and the IMF,” said Hamong Santono, chairman of the summit’s organizing committee, in a press release on Monday.
He said the organizers had prepared thematic workshops centered on the historical debt of the World Bank and IMF; anticorruption efforts, transparency and development funding; public service, inclusion and gender fairness; tax fairness and disparity; legally binding treaties in business and human rights for international financial institutions; human rights, public infrastructure and the tourist industry; digital economy and decent jobs; and climate change and natural resources.
Meanwhile, Arimbi Heropoetri of debtWATCH Indonesia said the country had yet to carry out a comprehensive evaluation of the World Bank and IMF. “We still remember in 1998 when the IMF gave Indonesia advice on financial balance. But, although we have paid the debt, we still feel the impact [of the crisis] now,” he added.
Andi Muttaqien of ELSAM said the summit had been organized before the IMF and World Bank Meeting because civil society wanted to present the negative impacts of projects funded by the institutions. (bbn)
