CWA 1180 - Solidarity Works

New movement against corporate domination sparks
government repression, media blackout
A hopeful, but perilous moment
November 2000

A year ago in Seattle, thousands of activists surprised the world by shutting down the World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting. The action brought together environmentalists, students, trade unionists and others, all to protest that private, corporate interests are being placed ahead of public goods, worker rights, ecological concerns and human needs. The Seattle demonstrations were the beginning of a new movement in the U.S.—but they were also the culmination of years of international organizing.

In May 1998, 500,000 people rallied in India, while 50,000 marched in the streets of Brazil and 10,000 protested outside the WTO meeting in Geneva. Actions were held in 28 countries. A year later, coordinated actions in 100 cities and 40 countries were held on June 18 while the "G8," the major industrial nations, held a summit. The next protest was the WTO meeting in Seattle, starting November 30, 1999—the first time U.S. activists turned out in numbers.

Since Seattle, a series of massive protests have taken place: at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank meetings in April and at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions in August. Protests have also continued internationally, most notably at the IMF meeting in Prague in September.

These demonstrations are a sign of growing resistance to economic elites who have enriched themselves at the expense of the rest of the world. Whether it is trade treaties that protect investors but not workers, privatization in the U.S. or "structural adjustment loans" in the Third World that force poor countries to slash public services, the common denominator is the dominance of corporate greed in public policy. The resistance to this trend is one of the most hopeful developments in decades.

However, the growing movement is in great danger. Beginning with the violent police attacks on peaceful demonstrators in Seattle, the new protests have been marked by serious acts of government repression. In Washington, police shut down demonstrators' headquarters and arrested 600 people without warning. In Philadelphia, activist leaders were singled out for arrest and held on $1 million bail. In Los Angeles, police prohibited the broadcast of the Independent Media Center by fabricating a false "bomb scare" that lasted exactly the length of the scheduled broadcast. Police have also infiltrated activist groups with spies. These are just a few examples of what has become a very disturbing trend.

"To let the terrible weapon of criminal prosecution be used in a politically convenient way is a hallmark of tyranny," wrote New York Times columnist Anthony Lewis recently about another U.S. case. What makes this development even more dangerous is that the mainstream U.S. media have virtually blacked out this story. U.S. government repression of the right to free speech and assembly would surely provoke public outcry—if the media reported it.

The best sources for accurate information about this growing movement and government repression against it can be found on-line. A good place to start is the Independent Media Center (www. indymedia.org).

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