When the history of the global economy gets written many years from now, November 29-December 3, 1999 in Seattle will rank as a key turning point. The World Trade Organization--the world's most powerful legislative body--will be holding a Ministerial Summit in Seattle from Nov. 29 through Dec. 3, 1999. This meeting will literally shape the rules of the global economy for decades to come. Trade ministers from 134 nations will be welcomed by President Clinton, who is pushing them to initiate a new round of "free trade" negotiations in areas such as investment, agriculture, forest products, and government procurement. They seek nothing less than to subordinate citizens rights and the environment to the 'rights' of large corporations to make profits anywhere without the 'interference' of civil society.
Citizen activists are gearing up now to make sure that in November there will be "No New Round!" We can stop the top-down globalizers--just as we stopped the MAI and 'fast-track'--if we mobilize enough people.
In early 1999, more than 80 community activists in Seattle formed an ad hoc steering committee to organize logistics and secure venues for events protesting the WTO. Hundreds of local families are preparing to welcome you and tens of thousands of others to Seattle. The Fair Trade Campaign has a toll-free number: (877)STOP-WTO.
Meanwhile, in Washington, DC, the Citizens Trade Campaign has formed a WTO Working Group at the request of environmental, labor, consumer, family farm and other groups to coordinate actions in Seattle. Friends of the Earth is circulating a statement that has already been signed by more than 600 civil society groups opposed to any expansion of the WTO's powers. We are all working together!
The International Forum on Globalization (IFG) will sponsor a comprehensive Globalization Teach-In for the weekend prior to the Ministerial. Peoples Global Action (an international alliance seeking the abolition of the WTO) is bringing in delegations from all over the world--including a caravan across North America. International environmental NGO's are planning to get accredited to the Ministerial so they can take our concerns inside the talks. Other events will include street theater, concerts, protest marches, strategy sessions, teach-ins, special church services, and much, much more. If you go, you'll be attending a history-making event that could mark a turning point away from top-down globalization and toward a democratic alternative.