Why the World-Wide Protests?

Why the world-wide protests?

Refugees meeting hears proposal to register every human in the world 12/20

CENTRAL AMERICA: STOPPING THE NEOLIBERAL PLAN PUEBLA PANAMA

Nov 29 2001

Forum and protests in Guatemala brings together activists against the neoliberal free trade Plan Puebla Panama

Activists from across the americas converged in Xela, Guatemala to launch a campaign against the Plan Puebla Panama (PPP). The Plan which is being pushed by Mexican President Vincete Fox would create an integrated neoliberal economic zone from the Yucatan to Panama. The plan is a "development" project proposal that calls for "regional integration" mirroring the same language and logic used to implement NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) and now pushing the FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas). The PPP calls for the creation of industrial corridors, highways, high speed rails that will run north-south and east-west from Puebla, Mexico to Panama. Participants contest the PPP will displace enormous populations of indigenous peoples in the region, and accelerate the exploitation of labor and resources in the region.

Over 800 people people from 262 different organizations participated in the forum and protests including hundreds of indigenous representatives, campesino organizers, grassroots activists, journalists and internationals in solidarity marched through the streets of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, marking the closing of the Second Forum, Xelaj Frente a la Globalización, El Pueblo Es Primero (Confronting Globalization, the People First.)

Video reports en espanol: primer día, segundo día.
Audio reports: short interviews in english, mujeres en la marche, Clausura del Foro Xelaju / Rechazo al Plan Puebla Panama, Reflections from the 1st day of the conference, Background on the PPP.
Images from the protest and conference.

For more extensive coverage in english and spanish go to Indymedia Chiapas and the Foro Xelaju.

[ Chiapas Indymedia | Plan Puebla Panama ]

QATAR, WORLDWIDE: WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION

Nov 16 2001

Update and Summary - THE WTO IN DOHA: GLOBAL ACTIONS, CRITICISMS, OUTCOMES 11/22

WTO launches new round despite clear tensions

After contentious and prolonged meetings threatened the viability of the World Trade Organization's new round of trade talks, delegates were presented with a declaration (.pdf) that they could vote only up or down. Entering the 7th day of what was meant to be a 5-day meeting, the declaration finally passed.

The pressure for a successful round following the Seattle, 1999 debacle has forced all sides to agree to terms they may not have otherwise. In the final agreement, the European Union reluctantly agreed to a concession that will "phase out" subsidies to farmers, while many delegates from developing nations argued that the cards are still unfairly stacked against them. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick celebrated, saying "Today the members of the WTO have sent a powerful signal to the world. We have removed the stain of Seattle."

Developing nations did win a major victory regarding patenting laws (mp3). The new TRIPS Agreement (pdf), 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.

However, activists and NGO representatives maintain that the undemocratic process (mp3) and underlying premise of the WTO continues to be a major obstacle in developing truly global and sustainable economic progress.

UPDATE: "The meaning of Doha" by Walden Bello and Anuradha Mittal

Read and contribute to an www.indymedia.org WTO-Qatar Feature Page for information on the issues, the protests, reports from Doha and the Beirut World Forum.

**Webradio distributed coverage - no\/wto horizontal radio project:
[ radio.indymedia.org | tazebao.dyne.org ]

No New Round Radio, a joint project of Indymedia and Greenpeace, brodcasted from Doha each day of the ministerial.

"Diaries" from Doha
Sarah L. Wright: Nov. 8 | Nov. 12
Anuradha Mittal of Food First: Nov. 9 | Nov. 10 | Nov. 11

Counter-Summits: Beirut | Report from Beirut conference | New York

NORWAY:GLOBALIZATION AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

Oct 16 2001

Activists Gather in Norway to Propose Alternatives to Corporate Globalization

From October 11 to 13, activists and social justice theorists gathered in Oslo, Norway, for the "Another World is Possible" conference, the "Norwegian 'sister conference' to the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Visit the newly opened IMC-Norway site for video, audio, print and photo coverage the conference and continue to check out the http://www.indymedia.no site for coverage of events in and concerning Norway.

Making Generosity Redundant 11/27

THE NEW RULERS OF THE WORLD? 9/4

IMF's four steps to damnation by Greg Palast 8/25

The Road From Genoa By Boris Kagarlitsky - a Z-net commentary 8/17

Global leaders just don't get it

Europeans see their dreams being subverted 7/28

Chasing them into the desert By Katherine Ainger 7/23

On the ground accounts of G-8 protest:

Genoa 7/20 By Starhawk

Genoa 7/21 - Starhawk

Fascism in Genoa by Starhawk

Refugees meeting hears proposal to register every human in the world

GENEVA, Dec 13 AAP|Published: Friday December 14, 7:18 AM

Every person in the world would be fingerprinted and registered under a universal identification scheme to fight illegal immigration and people smuggling outlined at a United Nations meeting today.

The plan was put forward by Pascal Smet, the head of Belgium's independent asylum review board, at a roundtable meeting with ministers including Australian Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock this afternoon.

Mr Smet said the European Union was already considering a Europe-wide system, using either fingerprints or eye scanning technology, to identify citizens.