MARTIN WOLK, Seattle | Wednesday 3.50pm
US President Bill Clinton arrived in Seattle to scenes of devastation early on Wednesday after huge protests in which anti-trade demonstrators battled with police and threw global trade talks into chaos.
The streets of this port city were littered with glass and other debris after activists smashed storefront windows, sprayed graffiti and set trash containers alight to vent their anger at a meeting of the 135-member World Trade Organization (WTO).
12NOOON:
THOUSANDS of protesters fought running battles with police in Seattle on Tuesday, throwing the start of global trade talks into disarray and prompting worried officials to declare a civil emergency and call in the national guard.
As delegates to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) meeting tried to hold negotiations on the agenda of a new round of global trade talks in Seattle, anti-trade activists clashed with police who tried to clear the city center.
Police in full riot gear used tear gas and shot rubber pellets which they call ”stingers” to clear protesters who clogged the streets and blocked access to the convention center where the WTO meeting was being held.
Masked protesters broke windows of shops, set fire to trash cans and hurled tear gas canisters back at police.
Undeterred, trade ministers representing the 135 WTO members went ahead and delivered dry speeches about their vision for the global trading system. Seattle Mayor Paul Schell declared a civil emergency and said that he will impose a 7pm-to-dawn curfew for the city’s downtown area and police immediately began clearing the city center.
Police had running battles with anti-trade activists throughout the day as about about 16000 labour union members and other workers staged a peaceful march to voice their demand that worker rights be a part of future trade deals.
Activists chanted ”Whose world? Our world. Whose streets? Our streets” as banners accused the the WTO of enriching big business at the expense of the environment, jobs and communities. — Reuters
Meanwhile a broad based coalition is holding protests across South Africa on Wednesday to mark the start of the WTO talks.
Green Party of South Africa spokesperson Glenn Ashton said that the protest hope to draw attention to the WTO where international trade in genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) is being discussed. ”The threat of the WTO taking up the issue as a barrier to trade is of grave concern to third world countries who are already having genetically engineered food dumped on them due to the rejection of genetic manufacturing by Europe, Japan and other nations.”