[asia-apec 1513] The Press (12/08/00) on Moore Protest

[APEC Monitoring Group]

The Press, Christchurch
SATURDAY, 12 AUGUST 2000


      N E W S   S T O R Y
Protest over Moore's visit
12 AUGUST 2000
By KELLY ANDREW

World Trade Organisation director-general Mike Moore's return to his home
town will be met with pickets and protesters.
Anti-free trade group Gatt Watchdog will stage a protest "reception" outside
the Centra Hotel where Mr Moore will address the Canterbury Employers'
Chamber of Commerce on Monday.

Gatt Watchdog spokesman Murray Horton said the group planned a noisy protest
that would disrupt the lunch-time meeting.

"He's not welcome back in his home town," Mr Horton said.

"He and the message he brings represent a bankrupt ideology, both
economically and politically," he said.

Mr Horton said Mr Moore was seen as a kind of "jovial clown, but we want to
show the reality behind that."

Mr Moore was presented with the Order of New Zealand by the Governor-General
Sir Michael Hardie Boys in Wellington yesterday.

On Monday Christchurch protesters will present Mr Moore with an award for
being the "most effective secret weapon" against the WTO.

"He's done more damage from within than we could ever do from outside," Mr
Horton said.

Mr Moore's extreme views on free trade and investment had deepened divisions
within the WTO, he said.

Mass protests derailed the start of world trade talks in Seattle in November
last year, and forced the cancellation of the opening ceremony of the World
Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference.

Sergeant John Baines of Christchurch police said protection for Mr Moore
would be "nothing out of the ordinary" compared to that accorded to a
foreign dignitary.

Uniformed police would be on duty outside the Centra Hotel and the protest
would be monitored.