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A personal account of marching in a peaceful protest on September 13, at the WTO here in Cancun, Mexico.
I was walking along the roadside on my way to the 'big march’ of September 13 when I saw the great god Chac get his head stuck in a low hanging power line. Grey as the rain, taller than 3 people, and made to be able to twist in the wind, the god Chac was a puppet built on a rolling wooden base. I asked a paint bespattered ‘activista’ what he was doing here. He explained that the indigenous god Chac is the god of rain, and he is unhappy at the move at the WTO to privatise water, which Chac gave to everyone. It was really quite an ingenious puppet, and a very creative and eye catching tool to focus a message. Mighty Chac rolled back a bit, the activists with him lifted the power line above his head using poles, and then all of us proceeded towards the march route, like a troupe of strange gypsies. I loved the fact that the outflung hands of the god bounced just a little, looking for all the world like he was saying “You want some? Come get some! Come on, I’ll have you!”
As we neared the start of the march we went past a highly guarded and very important institution, which was surrounded by riot police in full uniform. It was a Burger King. I sat there and the thought crossed my mind that we need no greater indication that the WTO protects the interests of the corporations and multinationals than a Burger King being protected by 20 riot police. “Protecting a better burger”. This particular Burger King had been the < href="http://images.indymedia.org/imc/cancun/video/2/aire_video.mov">scene of a bit of a ruckus the day before. I understand that was supposed to be a symbolic action was misinterpreted and that a window was broken. Everyone I talked to about it said that that was a mistake. As they always do, the local media has been painting the protestors here as violent thugs , and incidents like this just confirm those kind of portraits in the minds of the local shop owners. Everyone I talked too regretted deeply that this had happened.
And then the march itself came through,. What a noise! What a display of colour! The soundsfrom the march were overwhelming and varied, ranging from Zapatista songs, to African songs of protest, to traditional South Korean songs from the trade unions. Something very human in me loved to see all the movement and the life, which in no way detracted from the seriousness of the issues that brought all these people together; farmers, trade unions, environmentalists, human rights workers, the black bloc, the green bloc, animal rights lobbyists, aid workers, and indigenous people. I joined in the march and we all proceeded towards point zero. Point zero was the place where the police had erected a barricade on September10,and it has been transformed by the suicide of Lee Kyueng Hae. Arriving there I saw a spot commemorating Lee, set that to show how profoundly his actions have touched the people he protested with.
When I got to point zero I found that the police had drawn back about another kilometre, then had erected a much stronger barricade across the street. As I walked I ran into Starhawk, and Vandana Shiva. A whisper had run up and down the line asking all the women who wanted to to go to the front – it would be the women who were on the frontlines to take the barricades down. I walked forward with a lady who was walking with the RANT (Root activists and network trainers) collective. The plan was that the women would get up and cut through the fence, then the Korean delegation would pull down the barricades. It was only when I got to the fence I realised what that idea really involved.
The fence was probably about 300 meters wide. It was a series of tall boxes made of metal, one next to the other, constructed to be very hard to pull down. Behind the fence were the riot cops. Behind them were the armour plated trucks with the water canons trained on the crowd.
As the main crowd got to the fence I took the time to interview Starhawk. She said that we can’t forget how serious what is happening here is. The significance of Lee’s tragic action must be understood as a reflection of the growing feeling of desperation that many many small farmers are feeling. His death has struck the people here hard. Said that right now is a crucial time not just for the globalisation movement, but for the citizens of the world whose lives will be touched by the decisions reached here at the WTO. These decisions range from issues such as access to water, to the right to say no to genetically modified organisms, to the right to regulate against child labour. One positive note is that the coming together of the civil society, especially now, is strengthening international networks, and collectively developing skills to meet challenges such as the barricades the WTO erects to keep the voices of the people out.
Walking around a little I saw the red cross, and the activist street medics. I also saw some people physically reclaiming the streets, by dipping theirs hands in flour and putting their hand prints right onto the road. I also saw some marvellous improvised tools to get through the barricades – it was a huge wheely bin, a big dumpster on wheels, on top of which a whole log was tied – it was a modern day battering ram. The mood of the crowd was very different As the rest of the march got to the barricades I saw that the women were up the front, then the Korean delegation and then the black bloc. The Koreans had brought huge ropes, at least 30 meters long. The plan was to cut through the wire, then use the ropes to literally pull the barricades down. A huge cheer went up as the first women scaled the fence, sitting ontop with bolt cutters, to start cutting through barricades.
After what could be cut away from the barricades was cut away, the job remained to take the heavier pieces of it down. The Koreans had brought 30 meter ropes, which took some time to properly attach to the barricades. Then it took successive waves of pulling to bring the barricades down, because they had to rip it up in pieces. This rope technique is actually a traditional Korean celebration held on the same day that many people celebrate Thanksgiving day. The black bloc actually formed a circle around the Koreans, holding people back from the ropes. Then when the signal came down to pull, the crowd around starting yelling wildly “Tira Tira!!”
As each wave surged backwards, the broken pieces of the barricades were moved out from the front of the crowd. When the final pull surged backwards, the crowd screamed madly, and the pieces were moved rapidly away. I think that was a dangerous moment, because the police stepped up to fill the breach in the wall. But this is the moment that some people had been training for for the last few weeks. The women and the Koreans turned around away from the police and asked people to sit down.
First the people at the front sat down and then the people in the middle and towards the back. Then the people at the front got on the megaphone and asked the people not immediately at the barricades to site down. “Sit down”, “Sit down” came cries from the those seated. As more and more people sat down, the crowd started calling for the press to sit down, and it was an amazing sight to see the normally distant press sit down.
After everybody sat down a deep and lasting silence descended, in memory of Lee. What could have been a very confrontational situation was turned around, using a tactic first brought to public attention at mass rallies by Ghandi, almost half a century ago. Breaking the silence, a member of the Korean delegation spoke, and someone translated this into English and Spanish. These speeches went on for some time.
After the speeches, the Koreans burned two effigies. Afterwards, the Korean delegation handed out white flowersand the protest body tried to move peacefully towards the WTO. When the police continued to block the way, the protest body moved away, back up the road.to party.
I walked away from the protest frankly starving. The feeling that I was left with was one of inspiration. It was estimated that 10 000 people were at that protest. And it was peaceful. Not only was it a fitting tribute to the memory of Lee Kyung Hae, but it was a of how strong the civil society can be when we work and plan together.
Earlier today, we got a copy of the document that sets out the new trade rules that the WTO is trying to come up with. We really don't like this first glimpse at what the WTO is trying to agree on here in Cancun. In fact Sebastian, a member of our political team, says this is the worst possible scenario.
We don't like it because it will increase environmental degradation by decreasing the power of governments to pass their own environmental regulations. If this draft is adopted, there will be a further relaxation of energy rules, for instance.
We don't like it because it starts negotiations on new issues that it's poorer members have not agreed to bargain on. They did this by tying negotiations on agriculture, which the developing countries want, to expanding negotiations in areas poorer countries don't want to bargain on, like investment. This is the very definition of "forced trade".
We don't like it because it strengthens the ties between the WTO, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, without strengthening the corresponding United Nations organizations. This means that the main tools for pushing for neo-liberal economic policies are growing stronger, and the multilateral UN which can balance that power, grows weaker.
Now that we have an idea of how bad the situation is, we can get working with our allies to influence the final decisions. This includes supporting poorer countries in any way we can, to ensure that they are not steamrolled by the demands of the richer countries. Different members of our team will be meeting throughout the night with our allies, and again tomorrow morning, to come up with plans.
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| Three Argentinian protestors send their message directly to all the WTO delegates: Que Se Vayan Todos! (Kick them all out!) |
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| About a dozen students from Mexico City held a dancing and singing protest that brought this phalanx of riot police out in from of the convention centre. |
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| Members of the Our World is Not For Sale network outside the convention centre today. Read the article |
The ship that we had prevented from unloading 40 000 tons of genetically engineered maize at the Mexican port of Veracruz has returned, and is now unloading it's cargo. Unfortunately, we can't do all the work of the Mexican government, which is why we are taking them to court to make sure they do their job.
I did not want to have to write this weblog entry. A few hours ago we heard a rumour that the ship Ikan Altamira had snuck back into the port of Veracruz to unload it's cargo. We had this story confirmed about an hour ago.
Apparently, the less-than-honest captain had communicated with the port authorities and had received an escort into the port from the Mexican navy. They chose a route that we could not see from the Arctic Sunrise, and kept off the radio so we would not know that they were returning.
I can't say that we are happy with the return of the ship, but we never thought that we could blockade all ships carrying genetically engineered maize into Mexico. That is the job of the Mexican government, and with this action we gave them notice that they had better do their job.
That is why we are launching legal action against a number of Mexican government officials, including the Ministers of Health, Environment, Economy and Agriculture, to make sure that they fulfill their obligations under the Biosafety Protocol.
The legal complaint was announced at a press conference we had in Veracruz a few minutes ago.
Despite the tight security around the meeting is being held, the last 24 hours has seen a number of protests in the shadow of the convention centre.
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| Three Argentinian protestors send their message directly to all the WTO delegates: Que Se Vayan Todos! (Kick them all out!) |
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| About a dozen students from Mexico City held a dancing and singing protest that brought this phalanx of riot police out in from of the convention centre. |
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| Members of the Our World is Not For Sale network outside the convention centre today. |
The three activists from Argentina made quite an impact on the meeting.
Later that same day, a number of students held up traffic on the street outside the meeting, singing and dancing in the face of a huge mob of police in riot gear. They were bringing attention to political prisoners held in Mexican jails, in particular their colleagues who had been arrested in order to break up a long student strike in Mexico City last year. They had a particularly playful chant that mocked the police for not being able to stop them from getting hear the meeting.
Finally, a few minutes ago, some of our allies from the Our World is Not For Sale network held a banner from the bridge that lets delegates into the meeting. They shredded copies of the draft ministerial text that was distributed this afternoon. They were not arrested by police.
Civil society groups of all types are actively protesting the power of the WTO, and slipping through the oppressive security to do it. (I still think our stopping a shipment of GE maize is still the coolest, though)
Maize has been used throughout the WTO meeting as a symbol. What exactly is the maize message?. Find out here
We have used maize to make our point throughout this meeting: we have presented it to the U.S. delegation, stopped a 40 000 ton shipment of genetically engineered maize from entering Mexico and handed out small sacks containing maize kernels to delegates. What is the maize message?
Maize is the main staple of the Mexican diet - almost half the calories consumed by people in the country are from maize. It is a powerful symbol in Mexican culture - as much or more than rice in Asia or wheat in Europe. The WTO and the decisions it makes have a direct impact on the long-term health of the maize crop in Mexico and around the world.
The recent history of maize in Mexico is a strong illustration of all that is wrong with the current system of trade regulation. The Mexican government had been warned that the importation of genetically engineered maize from the United States could lead to the contamination of native species of maize, when genetic material passed from the GE species to local crops. The government established a moratorium on the planting of GE maize, and has never allowed the commercial planting of GE maize.
Nevertheless, in 2001, genetically engineered maize was found in Oaxaca state, Mexico, quite a shock to the citizens of Mexico, who made the mistake of planting the imported maize without realizing it was genetically engineered. The maize quickly established itself, and will be nearly impossible to eradicate. The genetically engineered maize has unknown impacts on the environment, including possible impacts on 'pest' and non-target species, herbicide tolerance and soil fertility.
You can read the whole story on GE contamination of Mexican maize here (PDF, 148K)
The WTO plays a role in this story of unwanted genetic contamination because it can weaken environmental rules that allow countries to determine how much genetically engineered material they want to allow into their country, and if rich countries get there way, will in fact promote this trade in GE species. That is one aspect of the maize message we and our allies are trying to deliver here in Cancun.
For more than I can ever write about genetic engineering, trade and maize check out this page
After we pulled down the barriers today, everybody sat down in the middle of the road.
The march that started this morning was a success, tearing down the barricade set up at the point where the town ends and the hotel zone begins - but remaining peaceful.
When the march got to the barricade that cordons off the downtown of Cancun from the "hotel zone" that houses the WTO meeting, it remained peaceful.
A group of women approaced the fence and began to cut the red wire fences that are about ten feet tall. The police, dressed in riot gear, did not resist, but there were hundreds of police and a large grey truck with a water cannon behind the disintegrating barricade.
Organizers circulated throught the crowd, encouraging calm. After the barricades had been cut, a long line of people attached ropes to the barricades, while some protestors held back the crowd. Then the barricades came down when dozens of people, mainly from the Korean delegation, pulled on the ropes. The police stepped into the gap in the barricades.
Instead of mayhem breaking out, the demonstration stayed peaceful and calm. The protestors were urged to sit down by the organizers, and they did so. The point was made in Spanish, Korean, Japanese and Englisgh that the barricades had been torn down, and if they wanted to, the protestors could tear down the WTO.
There was a silent vigil for the Korean farmer Lee Kyung-hae, who had taken his life at these very barricades two days before. It was quite a sight to see hundreds of protestors and the media sitting in silence in the stifling heat, paying their respects to the fallen farmer.
The protestors stayed seated at the barricades, while the police stood their ground.
It was an impressive display of civil disobedience.
The WTO has released a draft ministerial statement - a 7-page double-sided first draft of the results of negotiations so far. It is a dry, formal document written in bureaucratese, but our political team is reading every paragraph carefully to find out what decisions are being made.
We are lucky to have this document so quickly. There are enormous line-ups for the few functioning photocopiers inside the convention centre, as delegates desperately try to find out what they just agreed to.
For the uninitiated, reading the document is a little like trying to find the plot of a book by reading the index. It constantly refers to paragraphs in previously released documents, changes to said paragraphs, and reaffirmations of aforementioned paragraphs. It is not a final document, with dates often left out. But if carefully read, it gives a good indication of how the final agreement - or lack of agreement - will have been formed.
The members of our political team are going through each paragraph, sentence by sentence, getting ready to respond to the draft document. After some agreement has been reached, our delegates will disperse and talk to anyone who will listen, telling them what we think of the agreements so far.
Although we've returned from the march, one of our folks has remained in the area to observe events as they continue... The latest news is that the barricades have been torn down,
and the riot police are standing in a row futher behind where the barricades were. The barricades have been moved out of the way by the protesters, to avoid anyone being hurt on them. A group of women has arranged themselves in a row immediately in front of the riot police, and behind them, a giant puppet of the rain god is being moved in. The Korean farmers have gathered near the front of the line. Behind the riot police is an armored vehicle with a water cannon on top, aimed at the protesters.
Thus far, everything has remained peaceful and orderly. That's wonderful news. :-)
Today a major march is happening in Cancun, and Greenpeace is at the march (with our banner!)
Ruth eventually smuggled the banner out of the hotel zone and to the march. The march is peaceful at the moment, stopped near the barricades between downtown Cancun and the Convention Centre. It is an overcast day, which makes the heat easier on the thousand or so protestors who are participating.
The authorities are making some bizarre decisions about what can be written here in Cancun. From what you can wear to banners you can carry, the security here has final say.
Today there is a large march planned for downtown Cancun, outside the 'hotel zone', and security is extremely tight. Ruth Ramos, from the Mexico City office, had a banner in her bag that said "Free People from Forced Trade" for the march when she was stopped at a checkpoint.
The policemen felt that this expression was too dangerous to allow to be shown on the streets of Cancun, and confiscated the banner. It appears that the right to free speech is suspended when the WTO is meeting.
Marcelo Furtado, the head of our delegation in Cancun, was subjected to another form of censorship this morning, when he tried to enter the security zone where our office is located.
Our allies at Friends of the Earth have made lanyards for accreditation badges that say "explicit consensus" in several languages. The lanyards were a reference to a principle of the WTO, that all decisions be based on consensus, that one 'no' vote could derail a decision. Of course, poorer countries are bullied into giving their 'consent' to rich country demands over the course of the 'negotiations', so explicit consensus is a nice idea, but never used. FOE wanted to remind countries that they do technically have the right to be heard, and encouraged people at the meeting to wear their lanyards in order to show support for poorer countries.
The security forces here decided that that wouldn't do. When Marcelo tried to enter the convention centre with his 'explicit consensus' lanyard, the police at the front gate asked him to remove it.
While the WTO may try to appear to be open and accountable, it seems that some ideas, like 'explicit consensus' and 'free people from forced trade' are too dangerous to be voiced anywhere near WTO meetings.
Two ideas that are too dangerous for the WTO: "explicit consensus" and "Free People from Forced Trade"More
