Given the difficulties in voicing discontent with the possible launch of new global trade talks directly at the Ministerial Conference in Doha (Qatar), a broad coalition of NGOs is planning a series of street demonstrations and other events in several cities all around the world.
No demos in Doha
Although the Qatari government has not explicitly forbidden individuals to show their disapproval with WTO policies, other factors have contributed to make any significant demonstrations in Qatar ‘physically’ impossible, in particular the limited number of places available for foreigners attending the conference, be it official delegations, press, officially accredited NGOs or street-demonstrators (see BRIDGES Weekly, 11 September, 2001).
At the time the Qatari capital was chosen as the site of the upcoming Ministerial, the protagonists of the Seattle-protests joined the chorus of critics accusing the WTO of avoiding the confrontation with protesters. “Our message is, you can try to run but you can’t hide,” Lori Wallach, Director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch said. “We’ll bug you at home [...] the protests will be all over the place.”
Dissenters plan protests at home
Instead of focusing their efforts on the Ministerial venue, NGOs are organising a global day of action in some 30-40 countries around the world on 9 November, the opening day of the conference. [Public Citizen has collected a comprehensive list of planned actions available at: http://www.citizen.org/hot_issues/issue.cfm?ID=149.] Protests will take place in major cities such as Washington, Paris, Honk Kong, Tokyo, New York and Geneva. Demonstrations will also be held in India, Thailand, Russia, Philippines and some other developing countries.
The list of participating NGOs encompasses a broad and multi-polar network of activists who are catalysing energies under different flags. One of these networks is the Peoples Global Action (PGA) which, in its “global call” (available at: http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/free/qatar/pgacall.htm), asks its membership to engage in awareness-raising campaigns against WTO through “community based consultations, counter-meetings, public debates and publications”. PGA also proposes a “maximum disruption of the work of the trade ministers attending the conference: demands for the publication of national positions, blocking of communications or of departures of delegations” during the days of the Ministerial Conference.
Canadian NGOs are coming together under the Common Front against the WTO (CFWTO at: http://www.wtoaction.org/cfwto/) to organise protests in 26 spots all over Canada. The CFWTO is also currently running two cross-country caravans that have been holding public events in over 60 cities and will converge in Ottawa on 9 November for the global day of action.
In addition, several hundred delegates from Labour Unions, Women’s Groups, Environmentalists, Youth Activists, and civil society organisations are meeting in Beirut from 5-8 November for the World Forum on the WTO. The Forum, hosted by NGO Network for Development and The Lebanese Platform on the WTO, will include three days of meetings, workshops, teach-ins, and cultural events (see: http://www.worldforumbeirut2001.org)
The Greenpeace flagship, SV Rainbow Warrior, is expected to harbour in front of Doha during the Ministerial Conference with about 35 activists on board. “We are taking our ship to Doha to bear witness and provide a platform for NGOs — including local people and indigenous communities from five continents — to speak to how trade affects them, their health, their livelihoods”, said Andrea Durbin, National Campaigns Director for Greenpeace.
“NGOs Plan Massive Anti-WTO Protests In About Two Dozen Countries, But Not Qatar” WTO REPORTER, 1 November 2001; “No Retreat In Doha: Anti-Corporate Movement Has Been Strengthened By September 11″, GUARDIAN, 5 November 2001; “Canadians join global call for an end to WTO negotiations” Council of Canadians Press Release, 5 November 2001; ICTSD Internal Files