World Trade Organization Protests in Hong Kong: Day 1, page 1

by Puck and Handle

Tue, Dec 13, 2005 10:30AM

On Tuesday, the opening day of the Sixth Ministerial WTO conference, delegates braced for a new round of disagreements, while the protests outside welcomed the arrival of the Korean delegation which included 1,500 farmers. Internationally, farmers and fisherfolk are among those most severely affected by the WTO’s neoliberal agenda.

"We will continue to struggle because we want to survive. The WTO is trying to kill us," a speaker from Via Campesina, an international movement of peasants, announced to the crowd this morning.

After the rally at Victoria Park, the crowd of thousands marched through the shopping district of Causeway Bay towards the Wan Chai district and the site of the WTO conference. The mood was friendly. Crowds of local Hong Kong people lined the route, and demonstrators enthusiastically waved to them and passed out printed, multi-lingual information sheets about the WTO. The Korean delegation made an impression with their tight formation and elaborately choreographed chants and movements. Delegations sang, drummed, and shouted out their demands in Cantonese, Korean, English, Spanish, and Indonesian.

For more information: http://www.targetwto.revolt.org

§La Via Campesina

by Puck and Handle

Tue, Dec 13, 2005 10:30AM