[asia-apec 1365] Fwd: Condemning the State of Siege in Seattle

[bayan]

Please circulate to your networks.

STATEMENT OF THE SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY 
CONDEMNING THE STATE OF SIEGE IN SEATTLE 

December 3, 1999

The Seattle International People's Assembly -- Say NO to WTO! -- vehemently
condemns the use of state, police and military violence unleashed on
peaceful protesters and residents of Seattle who are in opposition to the
World Trade
Organization (WTO), on media people, and even on innocent bystanders
during the past few days!

The international monopoly bourgeoisie and its representatives, led by US
President Bill Clinton, would like the world to believe that they are
open to listening to the widespread people's protests, but nothing is
further from the truth!  The use of repressive violence and imposition of
martial law in downtown Seattle truly exposes the fascist lengths that
they will go in ensuring that the WTO forges ahead in furthering
imperialist globalization with greater harm to the working class and the
world's peoples.

Even before the violence, the suppression of democratic rights was
evident when the Mayor of Seattle explicitly denied the People's Assembly
its right to hold its march and rally in downtown Seattle.  But permit or
none, and notwithstanding menacing police lines and teargas, this did not
stop international delegations and several hundred militant Filipino and
other youth-student and women activists of color from marching on our
planned route and joining over 50,000 protesters coming from many cities
throughout the US, Canada and worldwide to condemn the WTO!

The WTO is implementing policies and trade laws of imperialist
globalization, which are devastating for the world's peoples, and
sentence them to increased poverty and more intensified exploitation. 
The significance of the WTO's 1999 Seattle Ministerial Meeting is its
agenda to open up a so-called Millennium Round of "trade talks" to
further expand laws not covered in its previous General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 agreements, and to expand its Agreement on
Agriculture (AOA) at the expense of the world's peasantry.

It comes as no surprise that the Seattle police and US National Guard storm
troopers have been violently dispersing and arresting several hundreds of
the protesters in an indiscriminate fashion in the last two days.  The
message is unmistakable: dissent of any form will not be tolerated, much
less heard.  This is the true modus operandi of those who do
imperialism's bidding!  We have witnessed this sort of state police and
military repression during anti-APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation)
protests in Manila (1996), Vancouver (1997), Kuala Lumpur (1998), and New
Zealand (September 1999).  

It confirms what has been happening all along, that on a wider scale,
with "globalization" comes US aggression.  The longstanding US economic
blockade of Cuba, the US-led NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and the US
genocide in Iraq immediately come to mind.

Free All Incarcerated Anti-WTO Protesters Now!

Broaden the Resistance and Unite All Peace-Loving and Democratic Forces
in Condemning US State Fascism!

Step Up the Peoples' Protests to Junk the WTO!

NO to Imperialist Globalization!

Down with US Imperialism--the Main Enemy of the World's Peoples!

Long Live International Solidarity!