Cascades
JRank ■
Number 1 1n Canada
B
Eight Myths of Economic Globalization
f/
Curious Jorj interviews Tricky Woo
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• • ••• • •••••••••••••••••••• keeping
University FREE
our ears to the grindstone
College
of
VOLUME
the
Fraser
7 ISSUE 7
since 1993
Valley MONDAY, JANUARY
24, 2000
The World Trade Organization Protests in Seattle - November 30, 1999 The anti-WTO resistance in Seattle on November 30, 1999, and continuing on for several days after, far exceeded anyone s expectations. An estimated 45,000 - 50,000 people participated in mass demonstrations in downtown Seattle on the opening day of the WTO meeting severely disrupting the conference and highlighting the widespread resistance to the policies of the WTO: The response from the civic authorities was to declare a state of civil emergency in the downtown area, imposing martial law and authorizing the deployment of some 200 National Guard soldiers. These troops were added
to the thousands of police and riot police already in the streets who used batons, pepper-spray, tear-gas, rubber bullets, concussion grenades, helicopters, and at least two armored personnel carriers to attack demonstrators, disperse them, and clear them out of the downtown area. A 7:00 pm to 7:30 am curfew was imposed, a no-protest zone was enforced on an approximately 50 block radius around the WTO conference site, and over 500 protesters were arrested. Nevertheless, the daily protests continued; mass civil disobedience and targeted destruction of corporate targets in the downtown area, along
with a strong will not to submit to their repression, characterized the spirit of the demonstration. What was once a littleknown but powerful international body has now been brought to the world s attention, and the resistance in the streets has shown how strong the opposition is. More than a trashing for the WTO, N. 30 was a historical event that will have far-reaching implications for both resistance movements and public society as a whole as we enter a new millennium.