G8 Gee Whiz

Violence in Seattle. Protests in Washington, D.C. Are the world's leaders in for more of the same in Okinawa?

From July 21-23 President Clinton and leaders of the planet's richest nations will gather in Okinawa, Japan, for the annual Group of Eight (G8) Summit.

The Japanese are hoping to host discussions on global concerns like information technology, but some people may join the G8 there to protest a variety of issues.

Seattle, Washington D.C., Okinawa

Last December protesters clashed with Seattle police at a World Trade Organization meeting, and in April thousands of people traveled to Washington for demonstrations at an International Monetary Fund and World Bank conference.

Now groups are eager to voice their opinions in front of the world's most powerful leaders.

Broken Promises?

One group called Jubilee 2000 says the politicians have broken a promise.

At last year's summit in Cologne, Germany, the rich countries-- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the USA-- agreed to forgive $100 billion of debt that the world's poorest countries owed them.

Jubilee 2000 says that won't happen by the end of this year.

"Despite all their promises, [British Prime Minister Tony] Blair, Clinton and the other world leaders have failed to cancel the debts of the poorest countries," Jubilee 2000's Jamie Drummond says.

In Okinawa the group hopes to stage large demonstrations for their cause, but they know this will be harder than it was in Seattle and Washington, DC: Okinawa is in the Pacific Ocean on one of Japan's small islands.

Jubilee 2000 chief Ann Pettifor accuses the leaders of "running away from the problem to a small inaccessible island in shark-infested waters."

So what do the politicians have to say about these claims?

Some debt has been forgiven as promised, and much more is expected to be forgiven by 2005.

But creditor nations also want the poor nations to first make some adjustments recommended by the IMF so that money goes to where it's needed and similar debt problems don't come up in the future.

Still, leaders from the G8 and several poor African nations may get together just before the summit starts to discuss the debt relief situation.

More Protests

Jubilee 2000 will have to share the protest spotlight with other groups.

Prime Minister Mori is not very popular in Japan these days, and in addition to the Jubilee 2000 group, President Clinton and the American delegation may face another major wave of demonstrations at Okinawa: anti-military base protesters.

Ever since World War II the U.S. military has had a presence in Japan, and America still stations troops at bases in Okinawa.

On the day before the Okinawa summit, anti-base groups and peace activists plan to form a human chain surround Kadena U.S. Air Base.

The demonstrators are especially opposed to construction of a new heliport.

It's Time for IT

Protests and demonstrations can steal the show at major conferences, but as you might expect, the G8 countries have an agenda of their own for the Okinawa summit.

The rich countries have been meeting together every year since 1975 to discuss global economic and political issues, and this year the host wants to focus on how information and communication technology (IT) can boost economic growth.

Japan's Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori wants to make sure both rich and poor countries can take advantage of IT developments like the Internet and mobile phones.

He hopes the G8 will address this digital divide and help developing countries catch up to developed countries in information technologies.

"I believe that the use of IT will contribute to further development not only in developed countries, but also in developing countries, especially in such areas as education and health care," Mori said at a recent pre-summit meeting.

Mori has already proposed new programs to aid countries in his part of the world with IT issues.

Japan will help members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) improve their IT expertise and infrastructure.

At the summit, the G8 countries are hoping to sign an "IT charter," but the trick will be in balancing policies that expand digital opportunities with those that narrow the digital divide.

The U.S. thinks deregulation and keeping Internet transactions tax-free will help economies grow. But it also acknowledges that if rich countries continue to boom, then poor countries may be left even further behind.

One U.S. official notes that half of the world's population still has not used a telephone.

And Then There Were Eight

While G8 summits have always dealt with international economics and developing nations, the G8 hasn't actually always been the G8.

For over twenty years it was just the G7, the world's seven leading economies: Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the USA.

At the 1997 summit in Denver, Russia joined in almost all of the summit discussions, and the next year in Birmingham, England, Russia participated fully to create the G8.

Last year's summit in Cologne focused a lot on Russia.

The leaders discussed IMF loans, Russia's nuclear arsenal, and Russia's roll in the global economy. The nations also worked out some differences over the recent bombing of Yugoslavia which were led mainly by the U.S. and Britain despite Russian concerns.

Overall, Cologne was a positive summit: leaders adopted an education charter that stressed the importance of learning to economic growth, and plans were drawn for humanitarian aid to eastern Europe.

G8 2000

But will Okinawa be as positive as Cologne?

Are the protests going to interfere with the G8's plans?

Education, the environment, and genetically-modified foods are also on the agenda. What will Okinawa be remembered for?

What do you think?

--contributed by Matt Muspratt

Japan

Tony Blair
The United Kingdom

Bill Clinton
The United States