[IMC-News] IMC NEWS BLAST | November 21, 2001
imc-news@lists.indymedia.org
imc-news at lists.indymedia.org
Wed, 21 Nov 2001 18:28:07 -0500 (EST)
THE WTO IN DOHA: GLOBAL ACTIONS, CRITICISMS, OUTCOMES
Compiled by the Indymedia News Blast Team http://www.indymedia.org
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
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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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1. SUMMARY: FOURTH WTO MINISTERIAL -- DOHA, QATAR
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.
2. IMC FEATURES ON THE WTO
INDYMEDIA WWW FEATURES
For links to reports on many actions during November 9 -- 13, see IMC center
column WTO www features: www.indymedia.org, brasil.indymedia.org,
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.
http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=86728
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:
http://www.indymedia.org/feature.php3?category=NEWS&feature_id=wto-indy-articles
NO NEW ROUND RADIO
A joint production of Indymedia and Greenpeace, broadcast live from the
Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior, docked in Doha.
http://tazebao.dyne.org/
Read More: http://www.mediachannel.org/views/oped/qatar.shtml
Doha coverage, dozens of radio files here:
http://live.waag.org/no-wto/
IMC-RADIO NETWORK
IMC-Radio, http://radio.indymedia.org, presented twenty-four hour coverage of
the WTO Ministerial and global protests.
3. ACTIONS AGAINST WTO
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.
http://france.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=7165
Article with different counts (20,000 versus 100,000):
http://www.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=86904
UPDATES FROM DOHA
by Anuradha Mittal, Co-Director of Food First reports on the Doha WTO
Ministerial.
Most recent: http://www.foodfirst.org/progs/global/trade/wto2001/updates.html
November 14: "The Meaning of Doha"
http://www.foodfirst.org/progs/global/trade/wto2001/meaningofdoha.html
November 11:
http://www.foodfirst.org/progs/global/trade/wto2001/dohareport11-11.html
November 10:
http://www.foodfirst.org/progs/global/trade/wto2001/dohareport11-10.html
November 9:
http://www.foodfirst.org/progs/global/trade/wto2001/dohareport11-9.html
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.
http://bolivia.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=767
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."
http://india.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=263
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.
article: http://indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=85089
photo: http://indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=88899
bbc account:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_1653000/1653937.stm
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.
http://www.france.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=7141
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!"
http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=86341
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.
http://www.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=85900
Also see: RAINBOW WARRIOR HEADING FOR QATAR
by Greenpeace, Tue Nov 6 '01
http://uk.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=15605
Another article on this: http://www.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=84445
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.
www feature: http://sf.indymedia.org/
photos: http://sf.indymedia.org/2001/11/108968.php,
http://sf.indymedia.org/2001/11/108999.php
radio, people around the world stand against the WTO on “No New Round
Radio:” http://sf.indymedia.org/webcast/no-wto.m3u
video: http://sf.indymedia.org/2001/11/108934.php
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!!
http://indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=89881
WTO ATTACKS WEBSITE, REAPS HUNDREDS OF OTHERS
WTO presses legal attack on parody website. As a counter, the "Yes Men"
release "parodyware" (http://theyesmen.org/yesiwill/) that can be easily used
to generate hundreds of parody websites.
http://commondreams.org/news2001/1115-01.htm
- Lists of actions worldwide
WORLDWIDE EVENTS AROUND THE FOURTH WTO MINISTERIAL IN QATAR
Extensive listing of actions.
http://www.protest.net/qatar.html
Earlier version with some comments:
HUNDREDS OF WORLDWIDE EVENTS AROUND THE FOURTH WTO MINISTERIAL IN QATAR
Wed Nov 7 '01
http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=85212
DAYS OF GLOBAL ACTION AGAINST WTO: List of Actions
Over 100 actions sites listed.
http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/free/qatar/
N9 - ANTI-WTO 2001
http://www.infoshop.org/inews/pages.php?page=N9+-+Anti-WTO+2001
AGAINST WTO - TRADE UNION DEMOS
List of unions protesting WTO in dozens of countries.
http://uk.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=15830&group=webcast
Reports from source website:
http://www.global-unions.org/calendarwithreports.asp
QATAR WTO PROTESTS AROUND THE WORLD
http://uk.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=15759&group=webcast
WTO ACTION (Canada)
http://www.wtoaction.org/
- Counter-summits
THE WORLD FORUM ON THE WTO
Beirut, Lebanon, November 5-8, 2001
http://www.worldforumbeirut2001.org/
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
http://uk.indymedia.org:8081/front.php3?article_id=16301
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."
http://www.nowto.org/summit/index.html
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
http://nyc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=14048
ACTIVISTS GATHER IN NYC TO HASH OUT SOLUTIONS TO CORPORATE POWER
by John Tarleton, Sun Nov 11 '01
http://nyc.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=14109
ANTI-WTO ACTIVITIES IN THE PHILLIPINES
An outline of activities in the Philippines.
http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/free/qatar/kmpantiwto.htm
Note this major upcoming summit:
WORLD SOCIAL FORUM,
January 31-February 5, 2002
World Social Forum website: http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br/
- Electronic Actions against WTO
ELECTROHIPPIES SECOND WTO CONFERENCE ACTION
http://uk.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=15824&group=webcast
NETSTRIKE AGAINST THE WTO, NOV 9TH-13TH
http://uk.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=15969&group=webcast
http://www.geocities.com/no_wto2001
4. BACKGROUND
- WTO overviews
GLOBALIZATION 101
Includes WTO overview
http://www.corpwatch.org/trac/issues/glob101/
Z MAGAZINE: A Q&A ON THE WTO, IMF, WORLD BANK, AND ACTIVISM
http://www.zmag.org/ZMag/articles/jan2000albert.htm
GLOBAL EXCHANGE: WTO BACKGROUND AND NEWS
http://www.globalexchange.org/wto/
INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON GLOBALIZATION ON WTO
http://www.ifg.org/wto.html
PUBLIC CITIZEN
http://www.citizen.org/trade/wto/
THE WTO HISTORY PROJECT
http://www.wtohistory.org
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."
http://www.nyc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=14103
PAST TRADE LIBERALIZATION ROUNDS
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011114/bs/wto_past_rounds_1.html
THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION AND THE PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
by Prison Activist Resource Center
http://www.globalexchange.org/wto/prisons.html
WTO AND THE FATE OF THE WORLD'S FORESTS
By Victor Menotti, November 1, 2001
http://www.corpwatch.org/issues/wto/featured/2001/vmenotti.html
- Battle in Seattle: N30 1999
IMC NEWS BLAST | N30 anniversary edition
ANTI-GLOBALIZATION ONE YEAR LATER
Thu 30 Nov 2000
http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/public/imc-news/2000-November/000221.html
"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
http://www.cybertraveler.org/wto.html
"THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE" DOCUMENTARY
http://www.thisisdemocracy.org
THE MEANING OF SEATTLE:
An interview with Noam Chomsky
By David Barsamian, Z Magazine
http://www.zmag.org/ZMag/articles/july00barsamian.htm
RETROSPECTIVE ON SEATTLE
by Paul Hawken
http://www.arcweb.org/campaigns/trade/paul_hawken_retrospective.html
INFOSHOP
News: http://www.infoshop.org/octo/wto_news.html
Pictures: http://www.infoshop.org/octo/wto-pix.html
- 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."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,589528,00.html
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.
http://www-svca.wto-ministerial.org
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."
http://calgary.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=583
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.).
http://uk.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=12911
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
http://www.commondreams.org/views01/1105-05.htm
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
http://seattle.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=2178
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).
http://seattle.indymedia.org/display.php3?article_id=7120
CORPORATE WATCH
http://www.corpwatch.org/trac/index.html
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."
http://www.corpwatch.org/trac/issues/wto/featured/2001/gpalast.html
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
http://www.corpwatch.org/trac/issues/wto/featured/2001/mkhor.html
WTO DRAFT MINISTERIAL DECLARATION
October 27, 2001 version:
http://www.wtowatch.org/library/admin/uploadedfiles/Draft_Ministerial_Declaration_Revised.htm
November 13, 2001 version:
http://www.wtowatch.org/library/admin/uploadedfiles/Draft_Ministerial_Declaration_--_Revision__JOB.htm
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS PRESENT IN DOHA
http://www.wtowatch.org/qatarRegistrantsQuick.cfm
5. WTO CRITICISM AND ISSUES
- 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
http://www.zmag.org/CrisesCurEvts/Globalism/10_reasonswto_.htm
TOP TEN REASONS TO OPPOSE THE WTO
by Global Exchange
http://www.globalexchange.org/economy/rulemakers/topTenReasons.html
Also see: http://www.globalexchange.org/wto/CaseStudies.html
WTO CONTROVERSY, WHO IS LISTENING?
Charles Abugre, Accraec, November 5, 2001
http://allafrica.com/stories/200111060031.html
KEY ISSUES AT DOHA
November 6, 2001
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/newsid_1640000/1640587.stm
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
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/newsid_1647000/1647700.stm
MINISTERIAL DRAFT DECLARATION:
A highly biased and imbalanced text; many key sections should be rejected
by Third World Network, 13 Nov 2001
http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/biased.htm
THE FOURTH MINISTERIAL MEETING OF THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION:
AN ANALYSIS
By Maude Barlow, Council of Canadians, October 16, 2001
http://www.citizen.org/trade/wto/Qatar/articles.cfm?ID=6411
Excellent Resource for conference developments:
THIRD WORLD NETWORK NEWS UPDATES
http://www.twnside.org.sg/trade_1.htm
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."
http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/truth.htm
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."
http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/text.htm
- 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.
http://indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=90006
LATEST DRAFT OF WTO MINISTERIAL SPELLS DISASTER FOR LEAST DEVELOPED AND
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, SLAPS GLOBAL CITIZENS MOVEMENT
http://www.citizen.org/trade/wto/Qatar/articles.cfm?ID=6416
RE-THINKING TRIPS IN THE WTO
Large group of NGOs demand review and reform of TRIPS at Doha Ministerial
Conference.
http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/joint5.htm
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. "
http://www.worldforumbeirut2001.org/english/finaldeclaration.htm
6. OUTCOMES OF DOHA
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
http://commondreams.org/views01/1118-04.htm
THE MEANING OF DOHA
by Walden Bello and Anuradha Mittal, Thu Nov 15 '01
http://indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=90263
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."
http://indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=89476
OUTLINES OF DECLARATION ON NEW TRADE ROUND
http://www.wtowatch.org/news/index.cfm?ID=3119
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.
http://indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=89335
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."
http://www.wtowatch.org/news/index.cfm?ID=3116
7. LINKS
- Activism
www.bostonglobalaction.net/wto/
www.attac.org
www.globalizethis.org
www.indymedia.org
www.nadir.org
www.nowto.org
www.protest.net
www.tradewatch.org
www.wtoaction.org
www.wtowatch.org
http://x21.org/wto/
www.warisnottheanswer.org
- Extensive alternative media coverage
CORPORATE WATCH www.corpwatch.org/trac/
PUBLIC CITIZEN www.citizen.org/trade/wto/Qatar/
THIRD WORLD NETWORK www.twnside.org.sg/
WTO WATCH www.wtowatch.org/
Z MAGAZINE www.zmag.org/CrisesCurEvts/Globalism/GlobalEcon.htm
- Alternatives
AN ALTERNATIVE ECONOMIC VISION
by Michael Albert
http://www.zmag.org/Instructionals/EconVision/default.htm
BEYOND THE WTO -- ALTERNATIVES TO THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
by The International Forum on Globalization
http://www.ifg.org/beyondwto.html
10 WAYS TO DEMOCRATIZE THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
by Global Exchange
http://www.globalexchange.org/economy/rulemakers/TenWaysToDemocratize.html
CREATING COMMUNITY ECONOMICS WITH LOCAL CURRENCY
http://www.ithacahours.com
COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL LEGAL DEFENSE FUND
www.celdf.org
FOCUS ON THE GLOBAL SOUTH
http://www.focusweb.org
INSTITUTE FOR AGRICULTURE AND TRADE POLICY
http://www.wtowatch.org/
INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR TRADE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
http://www.ictsd.org/ministerial/index.htm
- Official sources
Doha
http://www.wtodoha.org/
Canadian Government
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/tna-nac/wto-e.asp
EU & World Trade
http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/wto_overview/index_en.htm
US State Department
http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/econ/wto/homepage.htm
WTO
http://www.wto.org/
- WTO Spoof Site
http://www.gatt.org/
8. IMC RESOURCES AND ADDITIONAL COVERAGE
- Ongoing Coverage
See these indymedia websites: IMC global, http://www.indymedia.org, and links
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:
http://print.indymedia.org
IMC Radio (ongoing radio coverage)
http://radio.indymedia.org
IMC TV (ongoing video coverage from various IMCs)
http://www.indymedia.org/video/imc.ram
Past IMC Newsblasts:
http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/public/imc-news/
- Subscriber Info and Feedback
If you'd like to receive the IMC Newsblasts, you can subscribe by going to
www.indymedia.org and clicking on the IMC-News Updates in the left column.
Suggestions? Feedback? Thoughts?
Send a message to: imc-nbwg@indymedia.org
SOLIDARITY.
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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.
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