The Sixth European Social Forum will take place in Istanbul from 1-4 July 2010. Here are two calls for the mobilisation passed by the Preparatory Assembly of the European Social Forum, held in Istanbul, May 23 2010

As time goes by the crisis of neoliberal capitalism is being transformed to a great offensive against European societies: tremendous cuts in salaries and pensions, unprecedented job cuts, total destruction of public services. This is the worst time for the workers´ income and social rights since the end of World War 2. Those who, during the last twenty years, benefited from the neoliberal policies and created the ongoing global crisis (businessmen, financial speculators and neoliberal governments), are now trying to transfer the bill to those who have no responsibility for it: workers, the unemployed, pensioners, youth, women, immigrants. It is high time to stop them.

Now is the time to make them pay for their crisis.

The European Union, the IMF, financial speculators and neoliberal governments all over Europe are trying to make Greece the laboratory of a new barbaric anti-social model which they want to implement all over Europe. Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary have already suffered from savage austerity plans. Now it is the turn of the European South. And it will not stop there...

We have expressed our solidarity with the resistance of the Greek people, and people from all the countries affected, to the austerity plans. But this is not enough. Now, more than ever, it is urgent to build international, but more specifically European resistances and alternatives to the policies initiated by the G-20, the IMF and the EU with the collaboration of local governments. There cannot be any fragmented national ways out of this international crisis. Furthermore, we must block racist-nationalist forces that are attempting to take advantage of the situation.

Now, more than ever, we need to make the European Social Forum a key event to take initiatives, coordinate actions and develop alternatives. In Istanbul from July 1 to July 4 we are going to make of the 6th European Social Forum an immense laboratory for the international coordination of our resistances and for the promotion of a new social model based on solidarity.

It is high time to mobilize on a European level for the defence of jobs, salaries and pensions, for a decisive halt to financial speculation, for a European moratorium of public debt payments, for public control of the banking system.

We make an appeal for a massive international participation in the 6th European Social Forum.

ANOTHER EUROPE IS NECESSARY!

We also make appeal for massive participation to the following mobilizations in different European countries:

Greece: June 5, demonstration in Athens

Greece: June 15-June 20, general strike (the exact date yet to be decided)

Italy: June 5, national demonstration in Rome

Italy: June 7 to June 15, strikes in education, transport and the public sector

Germany: June 12, demonstrations in Berlin and Stuttgart

Spain: June 8, strike in the public sector

Basque Country: June 12, national demonstration in Bilbao

Portugal: May 29, national demonstration in Lisbon

UK: June 22, anti-Austerity day of action in London

Invitation to the Istanbul ESF, 1st-4th of July 2010

Let us create another world together

The 6th ESF will gather in Istanbul, Turkey; a marvellous city not only because of its' cultural heritage, but also for its social and political struggles; the historic resistance of the Tekel workers, the Kurdish popular resistance, etc.

Amidst the global capitalist crisis, which recently show its' face in Greece with the IMF-EU austerity plan, we are going to gather the European Social Forum in Istanbul.

The economic, financial, political, social and ecological crises cannot be separated from one other. So all the movements struggling against capitalism, imperialism, fascism and the far right, patriarchy, destruction of earth and nature should join hands to develop a common strategy. In Istanbul ESF, we the social movements are going to elaborate such a common strategy of action.

We struggle against austerity plans, 'social cuts', unemployment, and all the means of the capitalists to put the burden of the crises to the labouring, poor people.

We oppose social and ecological destruction; the exploitation of labour and the nature; social exclusion and the climate change... We were part of the Copenhagen protests and the Cochabamba response; we will share our experiences and ideas, discuss possibilities of common action.

We warn against the rise of the far right under the conditions of crises, and stress that the rise of the far right can only be prevented by the development of popular and social alternatives.

Istanbul is in the middle of three regions of conflict; the Caucasus, the Balkans and the Middle East. We will raise our voice against imperialist occupations and war in these regions and support the struggles of the Palestinian, Iraqi, Kurdish, Afghan and all the oppressed peoples.

Istanbul is the gateway to Europe and one of the focus points of EU policies against migrants. We will support the right to free movement of the world peoples, and reject a Fortress Europe.

Just as Istanbul itself is the meeting point of the continents, the ESF in Istanbul will be a bridge between the social and political struggles of Europe and those of the Middle East, Caucasus and North Africa. The Istanbul European Social Forum will be an international social response to the international attacks of the capitalist classes.

Let's meet in Istanbul, where the social movements meet.

The European Preparatory Assembly of the 6th ESF