The IMC NEWS BLAST features a selection of news summaries and
stories found on
the Independent Media Center websites and in other media.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. SUMMARY: 4TH WTO MINISTERIAL, DOHA, QATAR
2. IMC FEATURES ON THE WTO
3. ACTIONS
- Accounts
- Lists of Actions
Worldwide
- Counter summits: Beirut,
New York, etc.
- Electronic Actions
against WTO
4. BACKGROUND
- WTO overviews
- Battle in Seattle, N30,
1999
- WTO Ministerial in Doha
5. ISSUES AND CRITICISM
- Issues, Analysis
- Counter-WTO Statements
6. OUTCOMES OF DOHA
7. LINKS
- Activism
- Extensive alternative
media coverage
- Alternatives
- Official sources
8. IMC RESOURCES AND ADDITIONAL COVERAGE
- Ongoing Coverage
- Radio, Print, TV, Past
Newsblasts
- Subscriber Info and
Feedback
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Two years after the "Battle of Seattle," the World
Trade Organization (WTO)
held their next big meeting in Doha, Qatar, November 9-13, 2001.
During the
last WTO Ministerial In Seattle in November 1999, massive
blockades and
protests on the streets contributed to the closure of the
conference.
Following Seattle, public resistance to economic globalization
grew stronger,
and many subsequent major conferences could only take place
behind high
fences, "protected" from the public--for example, the
FTAA meeting in Quebec,
or the G8 summit in Genoa. Locating a conference in the small
desert state of
Qatar has been the most ambitious attempt yet to shut out public
concerns.
The sequestration in Doha has been taken as a symbolic victory
by the
alternative globalization movement, highlighting both the power
of popular
protest and the illegitimacy of the undemocratic,
corporate-dictated WTO
policies. As in recent major mobilizations (Prague, Quebec,
Genoa), tens of
thousands of demonstrators protested the WT0 in over a hundred
cities worldwide
and online (see section 3).
In addition to external pressures, internal problems threatened
the viability
of the WTO's new round of trade talks. Contentious, prolonged
meetings resulted
in a declaration that delegates could vote only up or down.
Entering the
seventh day of what was meant to be a five-day meeting, the
declaration finally
passed.
Some general agreements were reached in Doha that are largely
favorable for the
continued expansion of trade liberalization. The Doha
declaration has been
criticized as bad the global south, for workers, and for the
environment (see
sections 5 and 6 below for discussion). However, the admission
of China and
Taiwan to the WTO, and reluctant agreement by the ACP (African,
Caribbean, and
Pacific rim) countries and India to a new round of WTO
negotiations, seem to
indicate that the influence of developing countries is
expanding.
It is necessary now more than ever for alternative globalization
networks to
build coalitions with labor and with environmentalists for
action against the
WTO and for development of democratic alternatives.
(Top)
INDYMEDIA WWW FEATURES
For links to reports on many actions during November 9 -- 13,
see IMC center
france.indymedia.org, germany.indymedia.org,
melbourne.indymedia.org,
uk.indymedia.org, and other IMC websites (see left column of any
IMC website
for more locals).
WTO MINISTERIAL, GLOBAL PROTESTS, RAISE QUESTIONS ABOUT
GLOBAL ECONOMY
by www-features@indymedia.org, Fri Nov 9 '01
Extended feature from the IMC www-features working group about
the WTO
Ministerial in Doha.
IMC NEWSWIRE ARTICLES - ON WTO
A collection of links to IMC articles on the Qatar WTO Summit
from several
dozen IMC locals, Nov 2000 through Nov 13, 2001:
NO NEW ROUND RADIO
A joint production of Indymedia and Greenpeace, broadcast live
from the
Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior, docked in Doha.
Doha coverage, dozens of radio files here:
IMC-RADIO NETWORK
the WTO Ministerial and global protests.
(Top)
The "war on terrorism" and associated challenges to
civil liberties have
placed "alternative globalization" activism in a very
new light. Despite this,
protests were held against the WTO and the global economic
system in many
countries and over 100 cities.
Some protests were massive, including India (75,000), Italy
(150,000), Korea
(20,000), and Geneva (10,000) (see stories below). These
protests sustain the
expanded level of global solidarity efforts achieved in the
Genoa anti-G8
protests in July, 2001.
- Accounts
ROME: 150,000 PEOPLE MARCHED TO OPPOSE THE WTO:
Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was embarrassed after a
state-
organized march attracted only 40,000 in comparison to 150,000
people who
marched to oppose the WTO in Rome.
Article with different counts (20,000 versus 100,000):
UPDATES FROM DOHA
by Anuradha Mittal, Co-Director of Food First reports on the
Doha WTO
Ministerial.
November 14: "The Meaning of Doha"
November 11:
November 10:
November 9:
PROTESTS IN DOHA, SATURDAY
by Thatcher Collins, Sat Nov 10 '01
"About 65 members of Non-Governmental Organizations
attending the WTO
Ministerial in Doha, Qatar, blocked the door exiting the Nakhil
hall at the
Doha Sheraton Hotel. Robert B. Zoellick, the United States Trade
Representative, gave a press conference in that room after the
official
accession of China to the WTO. Jose Bove, Vandana Shiva, Maude
Barlow, and
Walden Bellow stood toe-to-toe with the Qatari security, as they
and over 60
others chanted (in French and English) "What's going on
behind closed doors?
Arm twisting! Arm twisting!" They held signs that said
"Arm Twisting." The
protest was organized 20 minutes before it happened.
ANTI-WTO ACTIONS IN INDIA
"The National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) joined
other
opposition political parties under the leadership of former
prime
minister, V.P. Singh, in a public meeting on November 6 near
Pragati
maidan in New Delhi against the WTO meeting in Doha...about
75,000 people
participated."
20,000 MARCH IN SEOL, SOUTH KOREA
by Yasmine Desjardins, Sun Nov 11 '01
Twenty Thousand people marched to continue the fight for labor
rights in the
midst of neoliberal restructuring and to show solidarity with
international
protests against the war in Afghanistan, the WTO conference in
Qatar, and
Imperialist globalization.
bbc account:
10,000 PERSONNES A GENEVE CONTRE L'OMC (Francais/French only)
/
10,000 PERSONS IN GENEVA AGAINST THE WTO
by Kalvin, Sat Nov 10 '01
10,000 personnes ont manifesté aujourd'hui à Genève contre le
sommet de l'OMC
qui a lieu au Quatar. / 10,000 persons protested in Geneva
against the WTO
summit in Qatar.
SOUTH AFRICA SAYS NO TO WTO
From "STATEMENT OF JOHANNESBURG PROTESTERS AGAINST
THE WTO,"
"We say:
No to the WTO!
No to TRIPS and higher medicine prices!
Not to GATS, No to Privatization!
No to the WTO tariff regimen, No to retrenchments and
unemployment!
And we say: NO TO A NEW ROUND OF NEGOTIATIONS!"
GREENPEACE PRESS RELEASE
by GP, Thu Nov 8 '01
Greenpeace challenges the World Trade Organization to play by
its own rules
over climate change: WTO must force the U.S. to join Kyoto
agreement.
Also see: RAINBOW WARRIOR HEADING FOR QATAR
by Greenpeace, Tue Nov 6 '01
PROTESTS IN SF AGAINST WTO RESULT IN NUMEROUS ARRESTS
During a peaceful anti-WTO march of about 1,000 protesters in
the SF Bay Area,
police brutally arrested seven demonstrators.
radio, people around the world stand against the WTO on “No
New Round
SAN FRANCISCO: JAIL SUPPORT IN AFTERMATH OF WTO
"RIOTS"
by sicktodeath, Wed Nov 14 '01
They said it was a riot, not us. Really what happened is a black
bloc in San
Francisco and a police riot in Richmond the next day. The
struggle against the
American Empire continues!!
WTO ATTACKS WEBSITE, REAPS HUNDREDS OF OTHERS
WTO presses legal attack on parody website. As a counter, the
"Yes Men"
to generate hundreds of parody websites.
- Lists of actions worldwide
WORLDWIDE EVENTS AROUND THE FOURTH WTO MINISTERIAL IN QATAR
Extensive listing of actions.
Earlier version with some comments:
HUNDREDS OF WORLDWIDE EVENTS AROUND THE FOURTH WTO MINISTERIAL
IN QATAR
Wed Nov 7 '01
DAYS OF GLOBAL ACTION AGAINST WTO: List of Actions
Over 100 actions sites listed.
N9 - ANTI-WTO 2001
AGAINST WTO - TRADE UNION DEMOS
List of unions protesting WTO in dozens of countries.
Reports from source website:
QATAR WTO PROTESTS AROUND THE WORLD
WTO ACTION (Canada)
- Counter-summits
THE WORLD FORUM ON THE WTO
Beirut, Lebanon, November 5-8, 2001
See Final statement from Beirut (section 5 below).
A report on the Beirut conference:
ANTI-CAPITALISM IN BEIRUT AGAINST THE WTO
by noel, Thu Nov 15 '01
USA STRATEGY SUMMIT
New York City, USA, November 8-10, 2001
Created "the space for activists with a broad range of
knowledge, skills,
ideologies, and experiences to share their visions, so that
together we can
develop more effective strategies to replace the stranglehold of
global
corporate power with true democracy."
Reports on the NY summit above (see comments also). (See a
transcribed talk
from summit on corporate personhood in section 4. below.):
ACTIVIST SUMMIT BEGINS IN NYC WITH PANEL DISCUSSION
by Sean Marquis, Fri Nov 9 '01
ACTIVISTS GATHER IN NYC TO HASH OUT SOLUTIONS TO CORPORATE POWER
by John Tarleton, Sun Nov 11 '01
ANTI-WTO ACTIVITIES IN THE PHILLIPINES
An outline of activities in the Philippines.
Note this major upcoming summit:
WORLD SOCIAL FORUM,
January 31-February 5, 2002
- Electronic Actions against WTO
ELECTROHIPPIES SECOND WTO CONFERENCE ACTION
NETSTRIKE AGAINST THE WTO, NOV 9TH-13TH
(Top)
- WTO overviews
GLOBALIZATION 101
Includes WTO overview
Z MAGAZINE: A Q&A ON THE WTO, IMF, WORLD BANK, AND
ACTIVISM
GLOBAL EXCHANGE: WTO BACKGROUND AND NEWS
INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON GLOBALIZATION ON WTO
PUBLIC CITIZEN
THE WTO HISTORY PROJECT
THE NATURE OF CORPORATIONS AND CORPORATE PERSONHOOD
by Sean Marquis, Sat Nov 10 '01
This is a transcript of a presentation on corporate personhood
given by Davi
Cobb (senior legal advisor, green Party USA), on November 9,
2001, during the
US Strategy Summit on Global Corporate Power and Democracy in
NYC
(nowto.org/summit/). To quote, "the WTO as an organization,
as horrific, anti-
democratic, corporate-capitalist in nature that it is, does not
address the
fundamental nature of corporate power or corporate rule ... It's
not corporate
power that concerns me as much as the fact that corporations
have become
government."
PAST TRADE LIBERALIZATION ROUNDS
THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION AND THE PRISON INDUSTRIAL
COMPLEX
by Prison Activist Resource Center
WTO AND THE FATE OF THE WORLD'S FORESTS
By Victor Menotti, November 1, 2001
- Battle in Seattle: N30 1999
IMC NEWS BLAST | N30 anniversary edition
ANTI-GLOBALIZATION ONE YEAR LATER
Thu 30 Nov 2000
"With the anniversary of the Seattle WTO Ministerial
protests just a scant year
ago, Independent Media Centers have put together a collection of
essays,
photographs, videos, and audio from the most tremendous year of
activism in
decades."
LOVE AND RAGE IN SEATTLE: THE DAY THE WTO STOOD STILL
"THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE" DOCUMENTARY
THE MEANING OF SEATTLE:
An interview with Noam Chomsky
By David Barsamian, Z Magazine
RETROSPECTIVE ON SEATTLE
by Paul Hawken
INFOSHOP
- WTO Ministerial in Doha
DOHA, THE ECONOMIC FRONTLINE
by Naomi Klein, Thursday November 8, 2001
"The developing world's needs are being sacrificed to the
war effort."
Official WTO site:
THE FOURTH MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Documents linked here:
Ministerial Declaration, Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and
public health,
Implementation-related issues and concerns, Daily Meeting
summaries, News and
Background material.
POOR NATIONS NOT READY FOR WTO SUMMIT
by David Leibl, Wed Aug 15 '01
"The world's poorest countries say they are not ready for
the upcoming World
Trade Organization (WTO) summit in Qatar, international media
are reporting.
Trade ministers from the forty-nine Least-Developed Countries (LDCs)
met in
Zanzibar, Tanzania from July 22-24 to develop a common strategy
ahead of the
WTO's November summit."
WTO: *WHY* THEY INTEND TO MEET IN QATAR
by ZeroZero, Mon Oct 1 '01
Some points on how and why the U.S. and Britain want to force
through a new
round of free trade talks (i.e., to head off recession, to
privatize, pollute
more, etc.).
NO RETREAT IN DOHA: FAR FROM BEING FINISHED:
The Anti-Corporate Movement's Cause Has Been Strengthened by
September 11
by Madeleine Bunting, originally November 5, 2001 in the
Guardian of London
QATAR: INAPPROPRIATE VENUE FOR NEXT WTO MEETING: NO RIGHT TO
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
by Human Rights Watch, Thu Jan 25 '01
"The WTO can't avoid public protests by holding a meeting
in a country that
doesn't allow public protest. That would send the signal that
it's okay to
build the global economy on a foundation of repression --
exactly the opposite
of the message the WTO should be pronouncing." Kenneth
Roth, Executive Director
of Human Rights Watch
QATAR: ICFTU CALL FOR GLOBALIZATION OF FREEDOM, JUSTICE,
DEMOCRACY
by Who's Words? Our Words!, Fri Sep 21 '01
Call for Day of Action Nov 9 by International Confederation of
Free Trade
Unions (ICFTU).
CORPORATE WATCH
Especially see:
THE WTO'S HIDDEN AGENDA
by Greg Palast, November 9, 2001
"Three confidential documents from inside the World Trade
Organization
Secretariat and a group of captains of London finance, who call
themselves
the "British Invisibles," reveal the extraordinary
secret entanglement of
industry with government in designing European and American
proposals for
radical pro-business changes in WTO rules."
And see:
PRELUDE TO DOHA: NORTHERN COUNTRIES TRY TO RAM THROUGH
AGENDA:
Developing Countries Being Set Up to Yield to New Round -- Or
Take Blame
for Failure
by Martin Khor, November 9, 2001
WTO DRAFT MINISTERIAL DECLARATION
October 27, 2001 version:
November 13, 2001 version:
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS PRESENT IN DOHA
(Top)
- Issues, Analysis
The Qatar conference was an effort to extend the liberalization
of trade and
other economic processes favorable mostly to corporate elites.
The agenda
includes:
· the AOA agreement on
agriculture, which would extend the grip of a few
corporations on
agriculture
· the GATS agreement, which
leads to the privatization of public services
such as education,
communication, and transport, as well as public goods
such as water, land, and air
· the TRIPS agreement on
intellectual property rights
· an agreement on investment,
which could become a new version of the
Multilateral
Agreement on Investment (MAI), and which may include, for
example, the right of multinational companies to sue governments
if
national regulations compromise the right to trade.
The articles in this section offer criticisms of WTO policies
and practices.
10 REASONS TO DISMANTLE THE WTO
By Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman
TOP TEN REASONS TO OPPOSE THE WTO
by Global Exchange
WTO CONTROVERSY, WHO IS LISTENING?
Charles Abugre, Accraec, November 5, 2001
KEY ISSUES AT DOHA
November 6, 2001
Also, see collection of BBC articles on WTO in right column.
Especially see:
LABOUR: THE MISSING ISSUE AT DOHA
Steve Schifferes, BBC News Online, November 10, 2001
MINISTERIAL DRAFT DECLARATION:
A highly biased and imbalanced text; many key sections should be
rejected
by Third World Network, 13 Nov 2001
THE FOURTH MINISTERIAL MEETING OF THE WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATION:
AN ANALYSIS
By Maude Barlow, Council of Canadians, October 16, 2001
Excellent Resource for conference developments:
THIRD WORLD NETWORK NEWS UPDATES
Especially see these two articles:
DEEPLY DIVIDED WTO FACES MOMENT OF TRUTH
by Chakravarthi Raghavan, in Doha, 12 Nov 2001
This article starts, "The World Trade Organization, on the
fourth day of its
4th Ministerial Conference, finds itself a deeply divided house,
and facing a
situation where attempts to create and announce, and ram through
an artificial,
but non-existent consensus will damage the WTO and the trading
system. It will
also destroy the unity and the uneasy coalition achieved in
world polity, in
the aftermath of the 11 September events."
MAJORITY OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES REJECT TEXT ON NEW ISSUES
by Martin Khor, in Doha, 12 Nov 2001
To quote, "A majority of developing countries that spoke at
a plenary
consultation meeting to discuss the 'new issues' have strongly
indicated their
rejection of the draft text committing WTO members to
negotiations on all four
Singapore [First WTO] issues - investment, competition,
transparency in
government procurement and trade facilitation."
- Counter-WTO Statements, many co-signers
WTO: SHRINK OR SINK!
Statement of principles against the WTO/GATT, and list of over
400
organizations by country that oppose it, with email contacts for
organizational
sign-on.
LATEST DRAFT OF WTO MINISTERIAL SPELLS DISASTER FOR LEAST
DEVELOPED AND
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, SLAPS GLOBAL CITIZENS MOVEMENT
RE-THINKING TRIPS IN THE WTO
Large group of NGOs demand review and reform of TRIPS at Doha
Ministerial
Conference.
WORLD FORUM ON THE WTO
FINAL DECLARATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
NO TO A NEW ROUND IN DOHA
BEIRUT 5-8 NOVEMBER 2001
Quotes from the final declaration, "Seven years since the
creation of the WTO
has given us ample time to examine the promises of prosperity,
development,
opening up of markets to the products of developing nations, and
the numerous
benefits that the latter would have enjoyed from joining the
organization. What
really happened was completely the opposite. Economic stagnation
spread to
include more and more countries. Developing countries faced huge
losses in
their economies and exchange. Protectionist measures in the
countries of the
global north remained an obstacle to the products of the South.
Agriculture and
food security was hit with tremendous losses and damage. The
technological
divide between north and south became unprecedented, while
barriers to the
transfer of technology became stronger, and the workforce was
barred from free
movement. The implementation of WTO agreements and its
mechanisms has shown
that it is completely biased in favor of big multinationals and
global capital.
The WTO does not give any consideration to international
justice, nor to the
interests of developing countries, nor to the people of the
global north
themselves. It goes completely against development, and
peoples’ rights of
development; this explains the emergence of a global movement
opposed to the
existence of the WTO, its role and mechanisms." And,
"Our world is not for sale
and peoples" lives and well being are not a material for
trade" What we demand
is that the WTO changes its mechanisms and content, not the
location of its
meetings. "
(Top)
A new WTO round, called the Doha Round, will start early next
year. It has a
completion goal of 2005.
The Doha Declaration paves the way for the cutting farm
subsidies and
industrial tariffs and removing various other barriers to trade.
These
deregulation steps have been celebrated by the corporate press
as progress.
But, the primary result is to enable transnational corporations
to play
neoliberal capitalism with fewer restrictions and greater
devastation globally.
The Doha declaration calls for action on promises not
implemented but made to
developing countries in the last WTO round, completed in 1994.
There is one good humanitarian outcome from Doha: Developing
nations won a
major victory regarding patenting laws. The new TRIPS Agreement,
grants nations
the right to produce generic medication in case of national
health crises.
Particularly in Africa, where the AIDS epidemic has spread to
over 25% of the
African population, this agreement marks a major victory. It
will reduce the
cost of AIDS medication from $10,000 per year, per person, to a
mere $250 per
year, per person, causing a severe blow to pharmaceutical
corporations.
The Doha declaration mentions but does not improve environmental
issues. The EU
wants to clarify how agreements like the Kyoto accord on
greenhouse gas
emissions relate to WTO policies.
A key omission of the Doha declaration is labor concerns.
The exclusion of worker’s interests and the weakness on
environmental issues
could be major stumbling blocks in the new round of
negotiations.
DOHA SPELLS DISASTER FOR DEVELOPMENT
by Caroline Lucas, Sunday, November 18, 2001
THE MEANING OF DOHA
by Walden Bello and Anuradha Mittal, Thu Nov 15 '01
WTO: SHAM ROUND MOUNTED UNDER SHAM CONDITIONS
by Eric Squire, Wed Nov 14 '01
"Had this meeting been held anywhere reasonably accessible
where the voices of
civil society were capable of meaningful expression, there is
little doubt that
the outcome would have been different."
OUTLINES OF DECLARATION ON NEW TRADE ROUND
REPORT FROM DOHA - on final day
by indymedia/greenpeace, Wed Nov 14 '01
An Indymedia reporter on board the GreenPeace boat, the Rainbow
Warrior,
explains the final efforts to push through a New Round trade
agreement.
WTO MEETING FAILS THE WORLD
November 14, 2001
"The Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior set sail from the
World Trade
Organization (WTO) meeting site in Doha, Qatar. Greenpeace
activists inside the
meeting unfurled banners calling for a fundamental
transformation of trade
rules. The meeting has concluded with a declaration that falls
short of
ambitions declared at the start of negotiations and also
disappoints hopes for
protection of communities and the environment."
(Top)
- Activism
- Extensive alternative media coverage
- Alternatives
AN ALTERNATIVE ECONOMIC VISION
by Michael Albert
BEYOND THE WTO -- ALTERNATIVES TO THE WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATION
by The International Forum on Globalization
10 WAYS TO DEMOCRATIZE THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
by Global Exchange
CREATING COMMUNITY ECONOMICS WITH LOCAL CURRENCY
COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL LEGAL DEFENSE FUND
FOCUS ON THE GLOBAL SOUTH
INSTITUTE FOR AGRICULTURE AND TRADE POLICY
INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR TRADE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
- Official sources
Doha
Canadian Government
EU & World Trade
US State Department
WTO
- WTO Spoof Site
(Top)
- Ongoing Coverage
in the left column of IMC websites to over 60 IMC local websites
and various
media projects, including the following:
IMC Print
For upcoming print summaries of the WTO actions and other issues
in
distributable newsletter-flier format, see:
IMC Radio (ongoing radio coverage)
IMC TV (ongoing video coverage from various IMCs)
Past IMC Newsblasts:
- Subscriber Info and Feedback
If you'd like to receive the IMC Newsblasts, you can subscribe
by going to
Suggestions? Feedback? Thoughts?
Send a message to: imc-nbwg@indymedia.org
SOLIDARITY.
(Top)
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INDEPENDENT MEDIA CENTER
The IMC is a decentralized network of independent media makers,
organizers, and
activists working to increase democracy and social justice by
reporting events
and producing information as acts of autonomy, resistance, and
liberation. A
working group comprising individuals throughout the network
compiled this News
Blast.
The IMC was established to cover the WTO protests in Seattle in
November, 1999.
Hundreds of media activists have since set up more than 60
independent media
centers around the world, including sites in Argentina, Belgium,
Brasil,
Chiapas, Canada, France, Italy, Prague, South Africa, Sydney,
U.S., and many
more.
