We are very much concerned about the upcoming IMF and the WB’s Annual Meeting being convened in Singapore by simply smothering the freedom of expression of the civil society and its constituencies from all around the world. We out rightly condemn the arbitrary restrictions, detentions, interrogations and deportations being observed by the host government which only spells out blatant violation and silencing of universally accepted principles of basic human rights.

People’s voice cannot be merely stifled by any enforced injustice and repression rather they get stronger with each such act. And, this time again, there is no stopping the people’s power to protest another anti-people move of the WB and the IMF, the so-called advocates of good governance and democracy. We out rightly condemn the barefaced hypocrisy of the Bretton Woods Institutions who were only too well aware of the host country’s dismal human rights record. We strongly urge them to practice what they preach.

We recall and reiterate that the policies and practices of the Bretton Woods institutions as they are currently modelled cannot even lessen, let alone, eradicate abject poverty. The process of development is inherently political and if it is inequitable and non-participatory, such situation can actually create and perpetuate poverty. We believe that the goal of eradicating poverty can only be achieved through effective participation of people living in poverty in the entire process of political decision making, policy formulation, planning and implementation so that they are empowered to take control of their lives and resources. People living in poverty, the majority of whom are women, are best able to identify the structural obstacles that perpetuate and accentuate poverty. In consequence, they are also best placed to set the agenda, to address these obstacles and to define solutions that can eradicate poverty. We out rightly reject the structural adjustment models imposed by the World Bank and the IMF and call for alternative development strategies drawn from people's experiences and knowledge independent of IMF/World Bank models and interventions.

We, on behalf of South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE) and its mass based constituencies including our Northern partners, vehemently condemn the uncalled-for repression by the host government and the sheer complicity of the WB and the IMF. We extend our full, steadfast solidarity to our friends and colleagues around the world in their ongoing struggle against poverty, injustice and the evil forces of neoliberal imperialism.

19 September 2006