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Tango and football accompany EU-Latin America summit in Vienna
By Jean-Michel Stoullig
AFP
VIENNA
Petroleumworld.com 05 10 06
Concerts, a people's court to try multinational companies and a football match between prime ministers: these are just some of the events going on alongside an EU-Latin America summit in Vienna this week.
An alternative summit, entitled "Enlazando Alternativas" (Embracing alternatives) plans, from Wednesday and Saturday, to try multinational companies, like BP, Telefonica or Benetton, in front of a "People's court."
According to the organisers, the point is to debate "the effects of neo-liberal globalisation, cooperation in EU-Latin America development, militarisation and human rights and alternative strategies for regional integration".
Two media-conscious leftist presidents, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Bolivia's Evo Morales, will talk with trade unionists and militants on Saturday.
Other figures such as Nobel Peace Prize-laureate Rigoberta Menchu, Aleida Guevara (Che's daughter), Danielle Mitterrand and Oskar Lafontaine are also expected to attend.
Ahead of the official summit with their Latino colleagues, a number of European heads of state will literally kick start with an indoor football match Thursday afternoon, at the invitation of Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, himself a good player.
Ivo Sanader of Croatia, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz of Poland and EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso will play to raise money for street kids in Romania and Moldova, along with their colleagues from Bulgaria, Romania and Slovenia.
Each country was also asked to bring along a former national player to participate.
Although Austria's ties with Latin America are limited, the small Alpine country, which for six months holds the presidency of the European Union, has made efforts to introduce the distant continent to its people.
Video spots on each of the continent's 33 countries have been shown on screens in Vienna's metro in recent days, as part of a larger information campaign.
The Onda Latina cultural festival will seek to raise interest in Latin America through the arts and groups like The Havana Lounge and Buena Vista Social Club will give concerts.
Round-table discussions with experts and scholars have also been organised in recent days. And in a city known for its traditional balls, the organisers have planned a "Latino Ball" Saturday to end the long summit.
Some 1,500 police officers have been mobilised to protect the 60 heads of state and government officials who will attend the meeting.
AFP 05 09 06 1959 GMT
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