Where next after Seattle? From Ecuador to Mexico, Columbia to Thailand, the question is answered with continued and connected resistance.
Ecuador:
In January 2000 a peoples' uprising against the freemarket-obsessed government came close to beginning a positive newbeginning for the country, until it was frustrated by US and othermajor investors along with the military. The grassroots indigenousgroup CONAIE was a convenor of PGA until the Bangalore conference. Indigenous peoples' representative Antonio Vargas said the government is committing an error by arresting leaders instead ofopening a dialogue with the indigenous movement. "They're nevergoing to shut the people up," said Vargas, "because the peopleare rising up and seeking changes."
Davos, Switzerlands:
On the 29th of January people demonstrated outside the World EconomicForum (WEF) meeting in Davos, the meeting of the 2000 self proclaimedworld leaders in business and politics. This year, the WEF hada special significance, since it was the one after Seattle andwe know that TNCs and industrialised governments are still keen onopening more markets. The mobilisation was surprising. Many peoplecrossed half Europe to make it to the Swiss Alps. We ended up being1300 people, from France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy.
The mood was good, kind of euphoric. The demo was fluid, not divided too much intoblocks, with a nice diversity of people. People's banners andshouts were very diverse also including anti-fascist, free Mumia,against corporate rule, solidarity with the people in Ecuador,TNCs won't rule the world, anti-capitalists. The anti-WTO co-ordination had a clear 'no dialogue with the WEF' position. A beautiful moment was when a few people tore down one of these hugeMcDonald's ads saying 'Think global - eat local'. It was justsuch a provocation that it was enthusiastically torn apart by the crowd and the tissue set on fire. The big smoke cloud resulting fromthis fire went straight into the windows of the hotel where the WEFwas meeting, and people joked that "the ghost of Davos was exorcised".
UNAM support demo Mexico's biggest in 12 years.
More than 100,000 people demonstrated in Mexico City on February 9th to demand the liberation of students arrested when police regainedcontrol of the country's main campus closed by a nine-monthstrike.
The demonstration, which included students, parents of the detainees, trade unions and leftist groups,was the largest in 12 years in Mexico, and came at the height ofcampaigning for July 2 presidential elections. Chanting"freedom, freedom," the demonstrators demanded the releaseof the 85 students still held since police took control of UNAM'smain campus on Sunday. They held up banners pledging tocontinue their strike even though they lost control of the NationalAutonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Latin America's largestuniversity, which they had blockaded for more than nine months. Thedemonstrators also chanted slogans calling for an end of theInstitutional Ruling Party (PRI)'s 70-year hold on power. Chants of"not a vote for the PRI" echoed across the historic citycentre as more than 100,000 people - some estimates put the number of150,000 people - converged on the central Zocalo square.
Zapatista leader sub-commandante Marcos denounced what he described as the jailing of "hundreds of youngstudents in clear violation of the law, common sense andreason." "No one can talk of democracy in thiscountry as long as students fill the jails," he said.
We are everywhere! Solidaridad con los estudiantes de la UNAM! Hasta la victoria!
Colombia: U'WA:
Feb. 3, 2000 marked an international day of action in support of the U'wa of Colombia, who are protesting the plans of US-basedOccidental Petroleum Corp. (Oxy) to drill for oil on theirtraditional lands. A group of indigenous Colombians from the U'watook part in a protest march and encampment that encircled theEnvironment Ministry building in Bogota. Environmental and humanrights groups demonstrated on Feb. 3 outside Fidelity Investmentsoffices in Boston and 19 other cities (including London andAmsterdam) to protest the mutual fund company's stake in Oxy. The dayof action was organized by groups including the Rainforest ActionNetwork, Amazon Watch and Project Underground. In Prague, Geneva, andTel Aviv, protest groups demonstrated in front of Colombian embassiesin support of the U'wa.
The Colombian military began evicting the U'wa from their traditional lands for Occidental's Samore project in northeastern Colombia on January 25 in order to begin a major oildrilling operation. The U'wa consider the area, which includes intactAndean cloud forest and overlaps with the reserve, to be sacredancestral territory. "The region under contention has greatsignificance as a U'wa sacred site." said Berito KuwarU'wa,spokesperson for the U'wa people, "The protection of this areaadjacent to our reserve is fundamentally important to our way oflife." In 1995 the U'wa leaders grabbed international attentionwhen they threatened to commit collective suicide if the project was not stopped.
In recent weeks the U'wa have repeatedly stated that they are willing to die to stop the project. "With oil operations comes destruction," said KuwarU'wa. "Each area of the forest thathas been developed for oil has paved the way for civil war battles,causing great violence against people and our Mother Earth."
There are plansfor a European tour by a member of the U'wa at the end of March2000; contact oilwatch@aseed.antenna.nl
The campaign against Fidelity and Occidental continues.
PO Box 92066, Amsterdam, 1090 AB, Tel: +31 (0)20 668 2236
Thais resist 'the new Imperialism'
A thousand activists marched on a major UN trade conference on Feb12th calling for radical changes to the global financial system which keeps much of the world locked in poverty. Demonstrators were notdeterred by a massive Thai security curtain around the United NationsConference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). As world leaders anddelegates met inside a conference centre, singing and yellingprotestors carrying banners lambasting the World Bank, World TradeOrganisation and IMF found their route to the venue blocked by riotpolice. 'WTO/IMF/ADB/WB - Go to Hell' and 'Struggle Against theNew Imperialism' read banners hung between balloon-decked truckscarrying the protesters.
Flanked by cordons of police,several hundred Thai and foreign protestors were later allowed to approach the conference centre hosting UNCTAD andstand across the road from the venue. Once in front of the venue, protestors slammedglobalisation and presented their demands to UNCTAD officials, whocame out to police barriers to meet demonstrators. 'We hope organisations realise globalisation is leading the world to chaos,inequality and madness', said protest or Demoussa Dembele. Ealierin the day, some of the 300 trade unionists camped on the boundary ofthe exclusion zone managed to break through the police line.
The pies the limit!
Question - what do the following people have in common? Archfree-marketeer Milton Freeman, Monsanto CEO Bob Shapiro, ex-WTO DG Renato Ruggiero, outgoing IMF boss Michel Camdessus, and Bill 'microsoft' Gates, (+ many others whose names we'veforgotten).
Answer - They have all been recipients of the ancient andmysterious art of the pie-thrower or 'entarteur' inrecognition of their crimes against humanity and their generalpomposity. No dodgy public figure, shadowy corporate boss or shadyscientist is safe from the scourge of a carefully flug flan. There isno easier way to injure the dignity, poll ratings or PR image ofthose who want to screw the world and it's people. So as the BioticBakers Brigade would have it: try it yourself as we are allzapatisseristas.