Eastwood quotes leftist guerillas on trade

LONDONDERRY MLA Colum Eastwood invoked the spirit of the leftist Zapatista guerilla movement during a speech in support of Fairtrade at the Stormont Assembly on Tuesday.

Mr Eastwood quoted a member of the Mexican guerillas as saying the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) were in favour of globalisation so long as it was fair.

He was speaking in support of a motion that the Assembly acknowledges Fairtrade Fortnight; notes the adoption of Fairtrade procurement policies by many branches of local and central government; and calls on the Executive to review Fairtrade procurement policy.

He commented: “People say that there are movements around the world that are against globalisation. However, I remember reading an interview with a member of the Zapatista movement in Mexico, a peasant movement that were protesting against the North American Free Trade Agreement.

“He was asked, ‘Are you anti-globalisation?.’ He said, ‘No, we are very much in favour of globalisation. We just want a fair go at it as well.’ That is the point.

“In these difficult economic times, it is important to remember that there are places in the world that are much worse off than we are. In this part of the world, we do great work as Governments giving out aid to help such people.

“However, what people really want is a hand up and not a handout. Everything that the Fairtrade movement does will go a long way, as will everything that we can do as individuals and Governments to support it. In this difficult economic period, we need to remember that other people suffer a lot more. I commend those who tabled the motion.”

The comments caught the attention of DUP MLA Jim Wells who said: “I was very interested in his comment about the Mexican farmers who say that they favour globalisation, provided that they get a fair crack of the whip in international trade.”