G8 at Gleneagles

An article by Noreena Hertz in New Statesman this week perfectly captures why demonstrations at the G8 Gleneagles summit on Wednesday are still so very vital:

" "No need to protest - instead celebrate," goes the party line, "The G8 finance ministers at the London summit on 11 June have dealt with pretty much all your concerns." If only that were true. This cack-handed attempt to transform protesters into cheerleaders presents us with a cautionary tale - of politicians so determined to claim victory that they want to neuter any dissent..."

Further on in the article she righfully shreds to pieces this supposed "deal" that was made between the G8 finance ministers. The one that's supposed to answer all of our demands in terms of debt relief:

"Take debt: "100 per cent debt cancellation" was the headline, but only 18 countries will get their debts cancelled in the near term, out of 62 that need it."

"Any other countries included in the deal will be selected not by the extent to which they need funds to provide healthcare, education or shelter, but instead for the most part by the extent to which they adhere to World Bank and IMF rules. Relief is conditional upon countries privatising their electricity, water, roads and railways and slashing public expenditure - all requirements that do most harm to the most vulnerable in society. The deal is hardly bountiful - it will cost the world's richest countries together no more than £833m a year, a fifth of what we in Britain spend annually on chocolate."

Do we really need another reason to be there on Wednesday?