Za deset dana počevši od danas, 4. jula, Evropski parlament će se izjasniti o ACTA-i. Ovo je bos sa kraja nivoa; ovde ACTA umire ili nastavlja da živi. Izvojevali smo pobedu u svih 5 odbora – vreme je za najveći i poslednji juriš.

Svaki član (MEP) i asistent pri Evropskom parlamentu sa kojima sam razgovarao rekli su mi istu stvar – pozivi i elektronska pošta običnih, zabrinutih građana su doneli prevagu. Spolja gledano to nije toliko očigledno, ali kako sam se prošle nedelje kretao kroz Evropski parlament taj utisak je bio još jači nego što sam pretpostavljao da će biti.

Dok se bliži završno glasanje, zakazano za 4. jul, lako može doći do opuštanja. A to je vreme kada neki pribegavaju podvalama. Borba protiv ACTA-e nije gotova: završiće se za 10 dana i ne pre toga.

Možda je teško sročiti poruku članovima Evropskog parlamenta koja bi doprela do njih. Verovali ili ne, i oni su ljudi poput mene ili vas, i prema tome njihove reakcije na elektronsku poštu su iste kao što bi naše bile. Ne morate biti politički analitičari da biste izrazili svoju zabrinutost: upravo suprotno, često je najbolji način da prenesete svoja osećanja i poruku da ih direktno napišete.

Naravno, “upravo ono što osećate” ponekada može biti mač sa dve oštrice. Moramo imati na umu da se mešamo u tuđ posao, bez obzira što je taj posao u službi zastupanja nas samih. Bilo šta što je agresivno ili služi kao ventil bi direktno bilo kontraproduktivno, a pretnje ni u kom slučaju ne dolaze u obzir. Baš suprotno, ovi ljudi žele da dobro rade svoj posao. Iskoristimo priliku i pomozimo im da budu najbolji mogući MEP.

Vreme je da se pošalje mejl celokupnom Parlamentu. Napravio sam mejl alias koji obuhvata sve članove parlamenta: [email protected]. Kao i pre, ako biste im radije slali poštu jednom po jednom, link sa adresama je ovde. Zapamtite, taj mejl će dobiti preko 750 zakonodavaca. Pismo sa ličnim pečatom koje opisuje kako se osećate i šta mislite o ACTA-i je najefektivnije, i moj je savet da uradite upravo to umesto da jednostavno pošaljete primere pisama koje ovde dajem. Kada stiže veliki broj identičnih pisama neki članovi parlamenta čak misle da je u pitanju DDoS napad, umesto da to shvate kao povik građana o stvarima koje ih zabrinjavaju (otuda i P.S. u primerima ovih pisama).

Pošaljite pismo odmah.

Možete – i morate – poslati pismo članovima parlamenta čak i ako živite izvan Evropske unije. Ovo je pitanje koje se tiče celog sveta.

Ako živite u Evropi, predlažem da članovima parlamenta pošaljete nešto poput ovoga:

TITLE: Please reject the ACTA treaty in plenary

Dear Member of the European Parliament,

As a citizen of Europe, I urge you to reject the ACTA treaty in the plenary session on July 2-5.

It is a treaty designed to curtail Europe’s civil liberties and our European sovereignty to benefit American corporations and foreign special interests. It is designed to lock out any and all necessary reforms of the copyright and patent structures to benefit European culture and innovation. It is designed in bad faith, in secret, to prevent the next generation of entrepreneurs from displacing the current kings of the hill with better products and services.

Europe should strive for being competitive, not for safeguarding old structures that are already obsolete, and we should be proud of our Enlightenment heritage of respecting civil liberties – no matter if they are exercised on- or offline.

Let the scheduled date of the vote, July 4, be a date when we celebrate Europe’s political independence from American special interests. We need to feel and establish that independence – and that dignity.

Sincerely,
[vaše ime]
[naziv vaše zemlje]

P.S.: I have understood that some MEPs have voiced concerns that mails like this one would be part of an automated process, and even regarded it as a form of attack, in that sense. I want to underscore that this mail is not part of an automated process. I may be using a sample letter to voice my concerns, but the concerns are no less real just because I paste somebody else’s words for my concerns into my own e-mail program.

I am not an attack – I am a European voter, pleading for my representatives to represent me against US businesses. (For the technically inclined, the mail headers will show that the identical copies you may have received of this sample letter were all sent manually, one by one, by different people.)

Ako živite u SAD, prikladna bi bila malo izmenjena poruka, skrojena na osnovu činjenice da ovaj sporazum guraju posebne interesne grupe iz Amerike i da nameštaju ishod u svetu baš kao što ga nameštaju u SAD.

Ponavljam, zapamtite, ovo je samo primer. Izmenite sadržinu po sopstvenom nahođenju.

TITLE: Please reject the ACTA treaty

Honored Member of the European Parliament,

I am a citizen of the United States of America. Trade representatives of my country have been pushing a treaty for so-called free trade and anti-counterfeiting across the world, including onto Europe. This ACTA treaty is not about free trade, nor about counterfeiting. It is about ensuring that hardworking entrepreneurs in other countries don’t get to compete with American corporations, by creating lopsided deals and terms.

I believe in the American Dream. I believe that if you compete with better products and services, the hard work will reward you, but also that you don’t get any special favors because of birth, gender, or the color of your skin. I believe that anybody can and should be able to create a good life for themselves through hard work and being proud of what you accomplish.

Sadly, lately it has become obvious that this game is rigged. A very small group of special interests in the United States has rigged the game in their favor. It is rigged within the United States, and in the world as a whole as well. ACTA is part of this scheme. This is not what I stand for. These U.S. trade representatives who try to get to the top of the ladder before you in Europe, only to then kick away the ladder, are not people I have elected, nor given my consent to represent me.

This rigged game is not America, and I will not let this small group of special interests soil the name of my country and my dreams. ACTA is not in Europe’s interest, nor in anybody’s, except for these few special corporate interests that are trying to legislate their place at the top of the food chain. Nobody has that right. It is up to you, as a legislator, to put the foot down and assert that nobody indeed has this right.

ACTA lives or dies globally with the vote in the European Parliament. I understand the ACTA vote in plenary is scheduled for July 4. I urge you, as a citizen of the United States of America and of the world, to reject it. Europe and America should be the best of friends on equal terms – and not on terms of trickery and exploitation. That is not what I stand for.

On July 4, we celebrate our Day of Independence from European special interests, in memory of a decision made a little over two centuries ago. I would be honored and proud if you would consider reciprocating. Please reject ACTA.

Sincerely,
[vaše ime]
United States of America

Na kraju, ako ne živite ni u Evropskoj uniji niti u SAD, predlažem nešto poput ovoga:

TITLE: Please reject the ACTA treaty

Honored Member of the European Parliament,

I am a citizen of [naziv vaše zemlje], and I am following the ACTA process in the European Union closely. You may have heard from negotiators claiming to represent me by name of my country. I wish to make clear that they do not represent me: the drafting of ACTA has not been handled by people I have elected, nor given my consent to. Rather, this has been driven by old and obsolete industries who want ACTA to legislate their place in their market, legislate it against the citizens and entrepreneurs of the world.

In this, I stand with the citizens of Europe who have rallied against the treaty. This is a global and important matter.

I urge you to reject ACTA, not just for the citizens of Europe, but for those of the world, including me. It locks in an old regime of industries and prevents necessary rejuvenation: it is the industries of the 1970s and 1980s that are fighting against the entrepreneurs who would take their place in a market economy. Rather than competing with better products and services, they go this route in desperation. Also, in this fight, the world’s civil liberties are happily sacrificed by the old monopolistic industries, clamoring for more monopolies and harsher enforcement. The payment comes from us all in forms of our fundamental freedoms – not just as citizens, but as builders of the global economy.

ACTA lives or dies globally with the consent of the European Parliament. The world is watching – the next generation of citizens and entrepreneurs is watching. I ask you to vote for the future, rather than the past. Reject ACTA. Vote for the European Parliament to withhold its consent.

Sincerely,
[vaše ime]
[naziv vaše zemlje]

To je to. Ovo je konačno sučeljavanje. Kroz 10 dana dolazi trenutak istine na glasanju prilikom zasedanja Evropskog parlamenta u Strazburu. Ako tamo uspešno pobedimo ACTA-u, dolazimo do velike prekretnice u sveopštoj borbi za slobodan internet.

Neka 4. jul bude dan kojim ćemo obeležavati borbu Evrope za nezavisnost protiv specijalnih interesa koji dolaze iz Amerike i nadahnimo svet da uradi isto!