Here's some more information on WTO and other organizing issues. ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date sent: Wed, 08 Dec 1999 13:08:35 -0500 From: Randy Stoecker <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: (Fwd) One WTO account To: Lisa Tracy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hi Lisa. Thanks for this one. You can also refer people to the COMM-ORG archives (home page at http://comm-org.utoledo.edu and relevant archives at http://comm-org.utoledo.edu/pipermail/colist/1999-November/date.html and http://comm-org.utoledo.edu/pipermail/colist/1999-December/date.html). They can click on anything that starts with "WTO" for info. Also please welcome anyone to send messages to COMM-ORG ([EMAIL PROTECTED]). If people want to send messages, it is very important to me that they get permission from the original author if they forward messages and say that the message is forwarded with permission. Also, it is much more efficient and preserves "bandwidth" if people do not send web pages but just the URL with a brief summary. Randy At 12:11 PM 12/8/1999 -0400, you wrote: >And from another perspective... > > >------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- >Date sent: Tue, 07 Dec 1999 20:39:42 -0900 >From: Donna <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Send reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Organization: Ecofem 2000 >To: STUDIES IN WOMEN AND ENVIRONMENT <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: One WTO account > >Long post, I apologize. Some might find this info of interest. Many other >accounts are coming in, from teachers, women who were there if anyone is >interested. I'm interested in other's accounts as well. >take care/donna > >Feel free to distribute this widely. > >REPORT FROM SEATTLE: Notes and Comments from the streets > and conference halls at the WTO > > --Larry Fahn, WTO delegate > Executive Director of AS YOU SOW, >Sierra Club Board of Directors > >The extraordinary events which took place in Seattle this past week were of > >truly historic importance. The largest grassroots citizens coalition in >history came together, took to the streets, and succeeded in getting its >message to the world by halting the efforts of the World Trade Organization > >to launch a "Millennium Round" of trade negotiations, which would have >primarily benefited multinational corporations. > >As part of the Sierra Club's activist mobilization efforts, I attended and >took part in the five biggest marches and rallies, observed some of the >violence and confrontations with police, got blasted by tear gas, and >confronted a few of the cowardly masked anarchists who were about to toss a > >newspaper rack through the front window of the FAO Schwartz toy store in >Seattle's downtown shopping district. > >As a credentialed delegate to the WTO Ministerial sessions, representing >the >AS YOU SOW Foundation, with photo id passes to cross into curfew zones, >past >police barricades and into the bowels of the media circus and plenary >sessions of the WTO Conference, I got an inside look at the workings of the > >WTO, met trade representatives, corporate types and press delegates from >all >over the world. > >The proceedings of the WTO Ministerial paled in comparison to what was >happening outside, in the streets, halls and churches all around Seattle >during the week. The incredible feeling of energy and empowerment >generated >by the remarkable coming together of like-minded citizens from organized >labor, the environmental community, human rights, animal rights, and >consumer rights activists, farmers, teachers and regular folks from all >around the globe was truly amazing. > >There were teach-ins on health and the environment, workshops on >biotechnology and trade, a labor and human rights forum, a debate between >Ralph Nader and the Undersecretary of Commerce and a Proctor & Gamble >lobbyist, peoples free concerts, panels on corporate accountability, and >dozens of briefings by various NGO's (non-governmental organizations) who >were taking part in the international civil society coalition actions. > > >Late Friday night I was at dinner with dozens of environmental leaders >hosted by Earth Justice Legal Defense Fund. Everyone was exhilarated by >the >week's remarkable events, but there was a sense of fatigue and frustration >that the negotiators were about to release a new "Seattle Round" agreement, > >which would seriously undermine the efforts of our coalition to protect the > >environment and working people around the world. > >When word came that the negotiations had collapsed, the room erupted in >whoops and cheers and high-fives. We had, collectively, changed the world. > >The message from the people in the streets had gotten through. Dan >Seligman >(the Sierra Club's Special Representative on Trade and the Environment) and > >I grabbed a cab and rushed back up to the WTO Conference Center to take >part >in a last round of press conferences with leaders of Public Citizen, the >AFL-CIO, the Third World Network, Friends of the Earth, the National >Wildlife Federation and other coalition partners. > >The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's front page story called it "an ugly >conclusion to an ugly week." To the contrary, for millions of people >across >the globe, for the world's forests and species, its indigenous peoples, and > >small farmers, it was an unexpected triumph. For those of us who had come >to Seattle to help spread the message about the many threats of increased >corporate globalization, it was a hard fought victory after a truly >exceptional week. Our chant throughout the week "NO NEW ROUND" had been >achieved against vast odds. The political and financial might of the >multinational corporations, whose bidding was being done by faceless >bureaucrats from first world governments, had been brought to its knees. > >The victorious grassroots coalition that came together in Seattle now faces > >a daunting challenge: To stay united and work to create a global trading >system that is democratically accountable, makes environmental protection a > >priority, and meets the diverse needs of the people, not simply the world's > >largest corporations > >What follows is a day-by-day summary of my Seattle experience: > >MONDAY: Joined Sierra Club leaders, and health and animal rights activists >in a terrific forum and series of panels led by Congressman George Miller. >The place was packed with nearly 3,000 people, including about 300 in sea >turtle costumes made by Humane Society volunteers. Highlights included >Todd >Steiner's presentation on the plight of the sea turtles and a rousing >condemnation of the WTO by fiery Congresswoman Maxine Waters. > > Next was the first of the big marches, the main environmental march of the > >week. Due to a security breach at the WTO Conference Center (the morning >sessions had been canceled) the march was detoured to a point adjacent to >the Convention Center expansion site, where a flatbed truck served as the >stage. In a light rain the crowd of about 6,000 listened to some great folk > >music and speeches from Carl Pope of the Sierra Club, Patty Forkan of the >Humane Society, Brent Blackwelder of Friends of the Earth, and a >charismatic >native American elder. >In the afternoon I met up with AS YOU SOW's Corporate Accountability >Associate Director Sheridan Pauker in the Press Room on the 4th floor of >the >convention center. We used the WTO's cybercafe computers to revise our >Press Release and make copies for press distribution. There were hundreds >of computers and high-speed copy machines at the disposal of all delegates >and the press. Outside the press room I was interviewed by a French TV >network and a Boston area radio station. >NGO presentations to the Plenary Session were cut short by three hours, due > >to the morning sweep of the center by bomb-sniffing dogs and police. Only >50-60 out of the 776 registered NGO's were allotted speaking time. By the >luck of the draw, Sheridan was called on and she gave an excellent >statement >on the floor of the Ministerial Conference before hundreds of delegates and > >trade representatives from around the world. It was a real thrill to watch > >Sheridan on four huge video screens around the convention floor, and to >listen to her comments via headsets translated into French, Spanish and >Japanese. Although each speaker was limited to three minutes, Sheridan >managed to touch upon AYS' shareholder action program, the success of our >Home Depot resolution action, our toxics enforcement work, and the WTO's >threat to California's Proposition 65. She also raised our concern about >the need to reform the WTO so as to incorporate transparency and openness >into all WTO proceedings, including its trade dispute resolution process. >On Monday evening Sheridan and I met AYS' new Shareholder Action Associate >Michael Passoff at the NGO center at the Madison Renaissance Hotel, then >went to dinner to plan strategy for the rest of the week. > >TUESDAY: The huge coalition march was to begin with a 10:00 a.m. rally at >Memorial Stadium. In the early morning hours, various groups (students, >enviros, labor, consumer groups, etc.) held separate warm-up rallies around > >town and organized their own marches to the stadium. About 2,000 >environmentalists, organized by Sierra Club Seattle coordinator Kathleen >Casey, gathered at Denny Park. My colleague on the Sierra Club Board >Michael Dorsey started things off with a passionate call to action on >environmental justice. He even quoted from the good book in his eloquent >condemnation of the corporate oligarchy embodied in the WTO. Followed by >protest veteran Tom Hayden, and my friend and hero David Brower, this small > >rally was one of the most meaningful of the week. > When the environmental parade reached the stadium, it was already nearly >packed with more than forty thousand people. Although the vast majority >were union members, there were activists and protesters of every stripe >from >all over the world. There were small farmers from Korea, human rights >advocates from Burma and Columbia, California farmworkers, 300 costumed sea > >turtles, Chinese Falun Gong practitioners, several hundred nurses from >Canada, Oregon fishermen, even a group of bare-breasted "lesbians for >justice." The Sierra Club's giant green banner "MAKE TRADE CLEAN, GREEN >AND >FAIR" was almost lost amidst large union banners, and signs promoting the >Green Party, the New Party, the Labor Party, the Communist Party and Free >Mumia. Earth Island Institute had a huge inflated sea turtle, and >Greenpeace had a 50 foot long green condom, advocating "practice safe >trade." The excitement and energy was palpable. Carl Pope's speech >decrying the corporate tyranny driving the WTO received some of the biggest > >cheers of the day. After about 20 or so more rousing speeches, the crowd, >now about 60,000 strong, began the march toward downtown. It was like the >Bay-to-Breakers, with a cause. >Unfortunately, it was a march that had no end. Battalions of police in >full >riot gear regalia, looking like Darth Vader's storm troupers, blocked off >most exits downtown, and the anarchist types started throwing things >through >store windows. I confronted two punks who were going to toss a newspaper >rack into a toy shop window. While I held onto the newspaper box and tried > >to convince them that violence was not going to help the cause, one guy >looked at me and said only "capitalism sucks, man" as he proceeded to kick >in the window instead. I had the misfortune of being nearby when a few >more >of the masked thugs decided to tip over some dumpsters and start a bonfire >in the intersection of 4th and Pike. Tear gas, shock grenades and a >fusillade of rubber bullets followed. After starting to choke and tear up >from the gas, I ducked into a progressive bookstore near 2nd & Pike, where >a >small group was watching the live coverage on TV, and the live action >outside the window, as terrified demonstrators ran by, sometimes followed >by >riot police. After some time I headed to Pike Place Market, which was >almost empty of people, and bought some fresh garlic-pepper smoked salmon, >my first food of the day. Then I attended a meeting/dinner given by the >Environmental Grantmakers Association, featuring a briefing from Martin >Kohr, the softspoken but brilliant Malaysian author who heads up the Third >World Network. By the end of the week, Martin was among the most >influential of WTO delegates on behalf of the developing world, and it was >a >great honor to meet him. > Later Tuesday night I hooked up with AS YOU SOW Board Chairman Tom Van >Dyck >and Rain Forest Action Network founder Randy Hayes at the big debate on the > >WTO hosted by Public Citizen, the International Forum on Globalization, and > >the Nation Magazine, featuring Ralph Nader and Vananda Shiva, a popular >environmental and feminist spokesperson from India. After the debate a >small group recounted the excitement of the day's events at a bar called >The >Bookstore. Then, after last call, we retired to Randy's hotel room to >watch >the tv news coverage. Some time after midnight I walked fifteen blocks >down >First Avenue back to my hotel. Even though it was part of the curfew zone, > >it was quite eerie. There was not a soul on the street. What an >incredible >day it was. > >WEDNESDAY: In the early morning I went down to Pioneer Square, which was >nearly empty of people. I met a King County employee (an aide to a County >Councilman) who had been caught up in Tuesday's melee and spent 10 hours in > >jail. After attending some boring Plenary Sessions and briefings at the >WTO >Conference Center I headed down to the Labor Temple and joined a >steelworkers march to the waterfront where union leaders symbolically >dumped >a dozen or so large steel girders into Elliot Bay in protest of the WTO >dumping rules (they looked real, but were actually artificial, and were >later fished back out of the water). >In the afternoon I participated in a working session on the global spread >of >biotechnology and GMO's (genetically modified organisms) which is a new >focus of AS YOU SOW's corporate accountability program, and the subject of >a >new Sierra Club task force. Another downtown church was overflowing with >activists concerned about the future of food safety and production, and the > >plight of small farmers around the world. I had the opportunity to speak >at >length with Ralph Nader about the threat to Prop. 65 posed by a recent >decision of the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an important case from Vermont, >which could have major impacts on private citizen enforcement laws. Ralph > >promised to have Public Citizen follow up and work with AS YOU SOW in >submitting a friend-of-the-court brief. >At an early evening reception given by EGA, I spoke with George Frampton, >President Clinton's Council on Environmental Quality Chair, who made the >astonishing claim that the WTO's plan for accelerated tariff liberalization > >would have "less than minimal impact" on the rate of the world's forest >harvesting. This deceptive notion was raised an hour or so later when Carl > >Pope and the CEO's of four other mainstream environmental groups met with >President Clinton in a lively forty minute meeting at the Westin Hotel. >The >President made some important commitments about opening up the WTO process >(the transparency issue), but would not budge on ATL, according to Mark Van > >Putten, Director of the National Wildlife Federation, who was at the >presidential meeting. >Sheridan and I then went up to the Town Hall where we met with a small but >committed group of representatives of like-minded NGO's from around the >world where we began planning for the post-Seattle agenda. This meeting >was >organized by a lawyer from the Geneva office of The Center for >International >Environmental Law (CIEL). The acronyms are enough to drive you batty, and >I'm planning to publish an alphabet soup of the WTO, a guide to >trade/environment/labor group abbreviations. > > >THURSDAY: I had pre-registered for a day-long forum on global trade and the > >environment sponsored by SHO, the Seattle Host Organization, and chaired by > >former EPA Chief Bill Ruckelhaus, now Director of the World Resources >Institute (WRI). This was a classy event, with mostly industry >suit-and-tie >guys in attendance, held at the Bell Harbor World Conference Center on >Seattle's Northern Waterfront. It was also where President Clinton was >coming to sign the ILO (one more acronym--the International Labor >Organization) treaty on child labor, so it was crawling with secret service > >and other security. After observing the Presidential ceremony, basically a > >labor-Clinton administration photo opportunity, I attended two >Trade/Environment panels, which had a noticeable industry oriented balance. > > After being seated next to a lobbyist for the Canadian timber industry at >the lavish buffet lunch, I excused myself and walked about five blocks down > >the waterfront to catch the last few speeches at the Food and Agriculture >Day Rally, featuring Texas populist radio talk show host Jim Hightower and >Mark Ritchie of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), >which >organized this rally and many other Thursday events. There must have been >about 5,000 people there (lots of great signs, Frankenstein carrots and >other food characters). The crowd soon divided into two large groups to >march to the corporate offices of Cargill (North) and Weyerhouser (to the >South). I headed back to the Bell Harbor Center to catch the end of a >speech by the British Minister of the Environment and publicly challenge >George Frampton on his deforestation position. He was scheduled for an >afternoon panel, but was a no-show, since he was "busy with President >Clinton." It was later learned that the President had already left town. >Thursday's EGA briefing featured Mark Van Putten (NWF--National Wildlife >Federation President), as well as President Clinton's personal trade >advisor, Karen Tramantano, and the EPA's Environment & Trade Policy >Coordinator, John Audley. I introduced the Sierra Club's Trade >Representative Dan Seligman to the group and a very lively exchange ensued. > >After dinner Dan and I caught a cab to Capitol Hill where we met up with a >large group of the organizing team from Public Citizen for some late night >beers, in one of Seattle's only non-smoking pubs. > >FRIDAY: This was Corporate Accountability Day in the civil society >organization's agenda. I had planned to spend all day at workshops and >meetings with shareholder activists and corporate reform proponents. There > >was one great panel, with some stellar leaders of the corporate >accountability movement. I had a nice talk with Anita Roddick, progressive > >owner of the Body Shop, and met David Kortem who wrote "When Corporations >Rule the World." Michael Passoff made an excellent statement about AS YOU > >SOW's pioneering shareholder activism work. > The day was cut short however when it was announced that environmentalists > >and labor had planned one last great rally and march. This one had more of >a >spiritual focus as a rabbi lit candles signifying the first day of Chanukah > >and a Baptist minister fired up the crowd with a speech/sermon in the >manner >of Martin Luther King, quoting extensively from King and Ghandi. Then it >was back to the streets, as the 10,000 or so of us began a final solidarity > >march to downtown. As one of the few in the crowd displaying my WTO >delegate ID badge (with a NO WTO decal attached) I was singled out and >interviewed by several news representatives, including Brazilian TV and >Pacifica radio. At the end of this march, some more speeches featured the >Sierra Club's Dan Seligman and Patti Goldman, Northwest Director of Earth >Justice Legal Defense Fund. Then the crowd spelled out DEMOCRACY in the >street, which was an awesome sight when seen on TV from the helicopters >hovering overhead. >The day's proceeding within the WTO were mostly uneventful, at least until >late in the evening. On Thursday a draft trade agreement leaked out, with >many important blanks. The language of the section on Agriculture had >angered the developing countries' trade ministers, who were increasingly >frustrated at having no real role in the closed-door sessions. Rumor had >it >that the entire African/Caribbean block of nations was preparing to walk >out >of Friday morning's Plenary Session, so the WTO simply canceled the entire >day's open meetings. Large numbers of official delegates spent the entire >day sitting around, smoking and waiting to hear of the official trade >negotiation results. The hundreds of reporters and NGO representatives who > >were not covering the rally or marching were sitting around in frustration. > >In the meantime the U.S. Trade Representative team was inside at >loggerheads >with the EU over food tariffs, transparency and other issues. The day's >highlight from the inside took place when Rain Forest Action Network's >Randy >Hayes and Sheila Gallagher were hauled away from the Press Room by the >secret service after unfurling a large banner reading " PROTECT THE >FORESTS: CLEARCUT THE WTO". Later an Earth Island delegate did the same >thing after scaling a wall next to the giant smoking foyer for >international >delegates. His banner hung for about a minute before he was whisked away >shouting "SEA TURTLES ARE NOT TRADE BARRIERS". >When the talks finally collapsed, the press was as interested in talking to > >environmental and labor leaders as the U.S. Trade Representative. Later >that night word came that Mrs. Barshefsky, the USTR who led the United >States' delegation had requested one of the ubiquitous turtle costumes as a > >memento of the week's events. What more could the environmental community >have asked for? > > As a result of these momentous events, the politics of trade in the U.S. >and around the globe will never be the same. Martin Kohr said it best >after >the NO NEW ROUND success was final. "For the past year a global coalition >of thousands of groups demanded 'no new round' in the WTO and instead >called >for massive reform of the WTO rules and system. The failure in Seattle for > >a new round affirms the correctness of the NGO call. The WTO should now >focus its work to review its rules and reform its system of decision >making." > >The environmental community's challenge is to stay focused, work closely >with our new coalition partners, and make sure that food safety, forest >health, species protection, climate change and other environmental issues >remain near the top of the world trade agenda. > > > >FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE SUBSTANCE OF THE IMPORTANT WTO-RELATED >ISSUES RAISED IN THIS REPORT, START WITH A GREAT WEB SITE: >www.wtowatch.org, or go to the Sierra Club's, www.sierraclub.org, and then >click on Trade Issues > > > > > > > Randy Stoecker, editor/moderator COMM-ORG: The On-Line Conference on Community Organizing and Development http://comm-org.utoledo.edu [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lisa Tracy Arts and Sciences Lima Technical College 4240 Campus Drive Lima, Ohio 45804-3597 (419) 995-8856 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
