"The problem isnt beef,cultural diversity or patenting of life forms.Its the WTO," said development analyst Susan George, a week before the 135-member trade bodys Millennium Round.The 30,000 globo-protesters at Seattle,home to Boeing and Microsoft,the essence of American free trade,agreed. They were a motley group of protesters ranging from Luddites,Zapatistas and Free-Tibeters to butterfly defenders,top-less women and Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.They opposed,often violently,everything from bovine hormones and genetically modified (g.m.) foods to Nike and Gap. But the anti-global markets stance helped the top trader (exports:$682 billion).The US tried to get environment and human rights in through the backdoor,but developing nations opposed it.As talks failed,the enviro-protesters and the protectionist organised US labour,many of whom earn their bread from exports,won the day.
Protesting Organisation What they wanted Anarchists (various) Oppose technology, corporate hierarchy, MNCs and consumerism Confederation Paysanne French farmers opposing US hormone- fed beef Medecins Sans Frontieres Cheaper prescription drugs for AIDS patients (demand heeded, Clinton changed US policy) Ralph Naders Public Citizen Oppose MNCs, say they are guilty of "omnicide" Sea Turtle Restoration Group Oppose WTO ruling preventing US ban on import of shrimp caught with turtle-killing nets.(Dressed as sea turtles, protesters caught the most attention in Seattle.) Seattle Lesbian Avengers Oppose bovine growth hormone Sierra Club Oppose rainforest logging, g.m. foods (managed to meet Clinton) Teamsters and AFL- CIO (Organised American Labour) Oppose job losses overseas, already unnerved by Chinas entry into WTO Environmentalists (Greenpeace, Oppose g. m. foods, want environment standards factored into trade.
