Greetings,
I just came from downtown Seattle which is currently considered a
"restricted access" zone. that means that no protests are allowed within
certain streets, but also regular citizens are being stopped, asked for
ID, searched and in many cases denied access to their city. The National
Guard is marching down the streets and police in riot gear are arresting
peaceful protesters by the busload. Many people have been teargassed and
shot with rubber bullets--this morning I photographed a young man whose
entire body was covered in bruises from rubber bullets. There is no
denying that a small number of people went nuts last night and engaged in
mindless stupid violence, looting and rioting (most do not appear to be
part of any organized protest whatsoever and some were apparently local
teenagers looking for an adrenaline high). As these images go out into
the global media, however, I hope that people will remember that this is
not all that is happening in our city. Wednesday, thousands of people
gathered for an interfaith service, organized by Jubilee 2000, calling for
debt relief and later formed a peaceful human chain around the opening WTO
reception, then symbolically breaking the chain of debt. Likewise,
yesterday something in the neighbourhood of 20,000
activists--environmental, human rights, labor--marched in peace and
dignity and focused on issues rather than media attention.
If anyone is interested in more information from "the front" e-mail me in
private, Ylva
On Wed, 1 Dec 1999, Tony Cisse wrote:
> Jaajef wa G-L
>
> Some account of what is happening at the World Trade
> Organisation in Seattle. I wonder what the Gambia
> Government position is regarding these trade negotiations?
> Could anyone enlighten us?
>
>
> Yeenduleen ak jaama
>
> Tony
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Salam folks, here's a taste of what's up in Seattle ...I will
> post more information,and eye wittness reports by the
> demonstrators themselves later tonight.
>
> power to the people!
>
> shut down world corporatization!
>
> Altaf
>
>
> ------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
>
> Date sent: Tue,30 Nov 1999 17:42:25
>
> <
>
>
> The people rise... the bosses PANIC!
>
>
> This just in... (Nov.30) THE NATIONAL GUARD TO BE
> DEPLOYED IN SEATTLE!
>
>
> SEATTLE (Reuters) - Washington state Gov. Gary Locke
> agreed
> on Tuesday to send in the National Guard to remove
> anti-trade
> protesters as darkness fell on a day of violent
> demonstrations in
> the city, local television reported. The governor was
> responding to a
> request by Seattle Mayor Paul
>
> Schell, who said earlier that he was declaring a 7 p.m.
> curfew after
>
> protesters threw the first day of a World Trade Organization
> meeting into
>
> confusion, KIRO Channel 7 television said.
>
>
> -------------------
>
> Earlier...
>
>
> (Nov.30) The Independent Media Center is reporting that the
> Mayor
> of
>
> Seattle has declared downtown Seattle to be a CIVIL
> EMERGENCY. Seattle
>
> police have attacked demonstrators with tear gas and have
> fired
> rubber
>
> bullets into the crowds. Armored Personnel Carriers are on
> the
> streets. A
>
> curfew has been declared!
>
>
> Meanwhile, 75,000 thousand march in France to show their
> opposition to the
>
> WTO's meeting in Seattle, and several thousand protestors
> attempt
> to shut
>
> down London with their own anti-capitalist protests.
>
>
> The corporate media is under-reporting and distorting events
> as they
>
> continue to build in intensity. Don't listen to the lap dog
> press...
>
> bookmark the Media Center's Web site for full, accurate,
> details on
> what's
>
> happening on the streets of Seattle;
>
>
> http://www.indymedia.org/
>
>
> -------------------
>
> Tuesday November 30
>
> Protests Force WTO to Relocate, Delay Opening
>
>
> SEATTLE (Reuters) - Protests forced the World Trade
> Organization
> (WTO) on
>
> Tuesday to delay its opening ceremony for several hours and
>
> relocate to a
>
> more secure building.
>
>
> Thousands of protesters took up position in key places
> around
> downtown
>
> Seattle early on Tuesday, preventing delegates from leaving
> their
> hotels
>
> and from entering the Paramount Theater, where the opening
> ceremony was to
>
> have started at 10 a.m.
>
>
> Police firing canisters of tear gas, spraying pepper spray and
> firing
>
> small rubber pellets skirmished with protesters as they tried
> to
> clear the
>
> streets to allow the meeting to get underway. WTO Director-
> General Mike
>
> Moore told a half-empty theater that the decision to postpone
> the
> ceremony
>
> was taken by the U.S. government as host of the meeting.
> U.S.
> Trade
>
> Representative Charlene Barshefsky was among those kept
> in her
> room by the
>
> protests, U.S. and WTO officials said. [MY NOTE: clinton is
> expected to
>
> arrive in Seattle on Wednesday! The ONLY World "leader" to
> come
> to the WTO
>
> meeting!}-------------------
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> <nofill>
> Islam and Social Justice Page:
> http://www.wco.com/~altaf/altaf.html
>
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