[asia-apec 1287] ANTI-WTO Peoples' Assembly and March-Rally -- Seattle 1999
tpl at cheerful.com
tpl at cheerful.com
Fri Sep 10 06:19:38 JST 1999
Initial Announcement and Invitation
Peoples' Assembly and March-Rally
Say NO to WTO!
November 28 - 30, 1999
Seattle, Washington
Sentenaryo ng Bayan, a Filipino organization, invites you to SAY NO TO
WTO!, a Peoples' Assembly and March-Rally to be held at the Filipino
Community Center, Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Seattle, Washington on
November 28-30 in time for the 3rd Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade
Organization (WTO). They are part of the various activities to be
undertaken in November and December by the Seattle-based coalition, Network
Opposed to WTO.
The 3rd WTO Ministerial Meeting will be held in Seattle on November 27 to
December 3. It will most probably start the Millennium Round of GATT
negotiations. Review of the Agreement on Agriculture (AOA) will be a major
agenda. And it is expected that MAI advocates will try to sneak in
investments liberalization.
The pre-1994 GATT did not include agriculture. After the Uruguay Round of
GATT negotiations, which also gave rise to WTO, fulfillment of commitments
to the AOA was pushed through regional formations like NAFTA, APEC
(Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) and others. AOA has proven disastrous
to the agriculture and fisheries sectors. As a result, peasants, women,
fisherfolk and other anti-WTO and anti-globalization advocates worldwide
have started a campaign to take agriculture out of WTO.
Say No to WTO! -- the Peoples' Assembly and March-Rally continues the
strong resistance to WTO and imperialist globalization initiated in 1996 by
the People's Conference Against Imperialist Globalization (PCAIG) and the
People's Caravan Against APEC. The torch was passed on to the NO to APEC
Coalition which convened the conference, PCAIG - Continuing the
Resistance, in Vancouver, Canada as a counterpoint to the 1997 APEC Leaders
Summit. To be mentioned likewise are the Anti-Imperialist World Peasant
Summit (AIWPS) held in Manila in 1996, and the Asia Pacific Peoples'
Assembly (APPA), with the theme Confronting Globalization, Reasserting
Peoples' Rights, and the 3rd International Women's Conference Against APEC
both held in Kuala Lumpur in 1998.
Representatives of people's organizations, citizen's movements and NGOs
from different parts of the world will join hands in the Peoples' Assembly
and March-Rally to reiterate their opposition to the AOA, WTO and
imperialist globalization.
OBJECTIVES:
To make people aware of the disastrous effects of the WTO and AOA on the
people, especially of the Third World.
To push further the demand to take agriculture out of the GATT-WTO.
To continue exposing liberalization, deregulation and privatization as
imperialist globalization's main instruments to eviscerate the economies
especially of the developing countries.
To strengthen peoples' resistance against AOA, WTO and imperialist
globalization.
To expand linkages, forge stronger unities and establish cooperation in
international campaigns with other anti-AOA/WTO, anti-globalization and
anti-imperialist organizations, groups and individuals worldwide.
PROGRAMME (NOTE: Subject to revision based on reply of invited speakers.)
NOVEMBER 28
09:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon Arrival and registration of delegates
12:00 noon - 1:00 p.m. Lunch
01:00 p.m. Opening of the Peoples' Assembly
Cultural Number
Welcome Address from Sentenaryo ng Bayan
Introduction of Delegations
02:00 p.m. Statement of Solidarity from:
· Network Opposed to WTO, Seattle
· NO to APEC Coalition, Vancouver
· BAYAN and People's Campaign Against
Imperialist Globalization
02:15 Keynote Address:
Say NO to WTO and Imperialist Globalization!
by Rafael Mariano
Chairperson, BAYAN (New Patriotic Alliance)
Chairperson, KMP (Peasant Movement of the Philippines)
02:45 Plenary Speakers (20-30 minute presentation and
15 minutes of open forum for each speaker):
There's No Such Thing as Free Trade Nor Fair Trade
Under Imperialist Globalization
by Dr. Pao Yu Ching, Taiwan and U.S.A.
03:30 Don't Let MAI In:
Oppose Inclusion of Investments Liberalization in WTO
by Maude Barlow, Canada
Council of Canadians and
International Forum on Globalization (IFG)
04:15 Coffee/Tea Break
04:45 American Trade Unionists Spurn WTO
by Philip Konits, Seattle
05:30 Message of Solidarity
From Prof. Jose Maria Sison (videotape)
International Network for Philippine Studies
Consultant, National Democratic Front of the Philippines
From Mumia Abu Jamal
Political Prisoner, U.S.A.
07:00 Dinner
08:00 With Globalization Comes US Aggression
· The Case of Yugoslavia
by Ramsey Clark, U.S.A.
International Action Center, New York
· The Case of Cuba
by Fernando Remirez de Estenoz
or Sergio Martinez
09:30 End of Day 1 Sessions
NOVEMBER 29
09:00 a.m. Update on other NO to WTO activities
by Sally Soriano, Over-all Coordinator
NO to WTO Coalition
09:15 Take Agriculture Out of the WTO!
Panel of Speakers (20-minute presentation each):
· Rafael Alegria, Honduras
International Operational Secretariat
La Via Campesina
· Mika Iba, Japan
Network for Safe and Secure Food and Environment
10:15 Open Forum and Sharing
10:45 Coffee/Tea Break
11:15 Panel of Speakers - Continued
· Speaker from Mexico
· Speaker from Africa
12:00 Open Forum and Sharing
12:30 noon Lunch Break
01:30 p.m. Women Say NO to WTO!
Panel of Speakers (20- minute presentation each):
· Liza Largoza-Maza, Philippines
GABRIELA
· Sarojeni Rengam, Malaysia
Pesticide Action Network - Asia Pacific (PAN-AP)
· Fatima Burnad, India
Society for Rural Education and Development, Madras
Task Force Rural & Indigenous Women, APWLD
· Hemasari, Indonesia
Workers Education Center
03:00 Open Forum and Sharing
04:00 Coffee/Tea Break
04:30 Presentation and Adoption of Conference Statement
to be presided by Dr. Carol Pagaduan-Araullo
BAYAN Vice-Chairperson
Representative, People's Campaign Against
Imperialist Globalization
06:00 Closing Ceremony
· Closing Remarks
· Cultural Number
06:30 Dinner
07:30 SOLIDARITY NIGHT
Songs, dances, poetry reading and more!
NOVEMBER 30
08:30 - 11:00 a.m. Tour of Seattle; leafleting in downtown Seattle;
join other NO to WTO activities (picket,
street theatre, etc.); drop by Convention Center
where the WTO meets
Possible Filipino Migrants' Caucus to be convened
by Migrante Intl.
Possible Bilateral Consultation with Japanese
Farmer Organizations
11:00 - 11:30 Trip back to Peoples' Assembly venue
11:30 - 12:30 Lunch
12:30 p.m. Start of March to downtown Seattle (approximately
4.5 miles) to join other marchers and where
big Rally will be held
Evening Possible Food Tasting and Cultural Evening
with the Japanese Delegation
Please write to the Peoples' Assembly Committee for the registration form
and if you require a personal invitation for visa purposes:
Secretariat, Peoples' Assembly Committee
Attn: ACE SATURAY, Sentenaryo ng Bayan
e-mail: passembly at yahoo.com
NOTE: We regret that because of financial constraints, the organizers
of the Peoples' Assembly will not be able to subsidize
expenses of delegates.
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