[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

WTO and Burma: Come to Seattle!



Friends around the US and Canada,

Next week, the World Trade Organization will hold its third ministerial
meeting here in Seattle, Washington.  The meeting has served as a catalyst
for the great majority of North Americans who believe that global trade
agreements must include provisions for human well-being and environmental
responsibility.  This will be a week of action.

Burma under the military junta is a member in good standing of the WTO.
Despite the fact that the junta's participation in the International Labor
Organization was suspended in June because of massive, widespread use of
forced labor, the WTO has had nothing to say on the issue.  Effectively,
this means that workers in other WTO member countries are made, under
WTO rules, to compete with victims of forced labor in Burma.

This absurdity has not gone unnoticed.  WTO critics from across the
spectrum have held up the Burmese junta's membership in the WTO as a clear
illustration of why the WTO, as a rules-based organization, needs to
rewrite its rules.

The week of Nov. 29 to Dec. 3 offers a great opportunity for supporters of
justice and democratization in Burma.  Free Burma supporters in the
Seattle area have made available free housing for at least 25-30 visiting
activists, so all you have to do is come and join us, pass out information
about Burma, forced labor and the WTO, walk (in the rain) in massive
demonstrations, attend rallies and fora, and speak up about the facts of
the situation in Burma, and how Burma's membership under the junta in the
WTO deeply undermines the credibility of the purported free trade system.

There will be a meeting of activists and participants on Sunday, Nov. 28th
at 7 pm at 7409 Greenwood Ave. N., Suite D.  Call 206-784-5742 for
details.

At this meeting we will have a comprehensive, updated list of events, and
set priorities for attending the most important, as well as make sure that
we have adequate numbers of signs. New events are constantly being added.

The biggest event is the Rally and March for Fair Trade on Tuesday,
November 30. This will start with a rally at 10 am at Memorial Stadium (in
the shadow of the Space Needle).  Free Burma folks will meet between 9:30
and 10 am on the SW corner of the intersection of Mercer Street and 5th
Avenue N.  This is on the lawn outside of the KCTS-TV building.  

Traffic hints:  Coming from the North, exit I-5 at the 80th St. exit, go
West to Highway 99 (Aurora Ave), turn left (South) go about 3 miles, exit
to the right before the Space Needle, and good luck with parking!  From
the South, think about exiting I-5 a few miles South of the city, at Hwy.
518. Go West, then turn right (South) on Hwy 509.  Head straight into the
city, and you'll end up on Hwy 99.  You'll pass downtown along the
waterfront, then enter a tunnel.  When you exit the tunnel, you are close
to the Space Needle.  Exit Hwy 99, look for parking.  You can cut back a
few blocks toward downtown to Denny (where you turn right) to get to the
West side of 99.  Parking will be tighter, but you'll be closer to
Memorial Stadium. Again, call 206-784-5742 with questions!

Remember, there are events starting Friday, Nov. 26 with the International
Forum on Globalization Teach-In.  Saturday and Sunday there will be a
People's Tribunal on the WTO and some particularly bad multinationals,
including Unocal of course.  Monday is Environment & Human Health Day.
Tuesday is Human Rights and Labor Rights Day, Wednesday is Women,
Democracy and Development Day, Thursday is Food and Agriculture Day, and
Friday is Corporate Accountability Day.  Lots to do!

A full schedule can be found at www.peopleforfairtrade.org , click on
upcoming events.

Please come.  This is an opportunity not to be missed.  Please bring signs
and warm, waterproof clothing and footwear.

And please contact us directly at 206-784-5742 if we have left something
out of this message, or if we can answer questions.

Best wishes,

Larry Dohrs
Free Burma Coalition