Anti WTO Caravans

During the last Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in May 1998 Peoples' Global Action had been the only organized radical resistance against the WTO. (www.apg.org)

During the G-7/8 in June this year 500 activist from all continents organized an InterContinental Caravan through Europe.

Now are two smaller caravans crossing the U.S. and Canada, heading to Seattle.

If you are interested in more informations or in interviews with participants, please contact us.

on the U.S. caravan:
Friederike Habermann icc99presse@gmx.de
cellphone 610/ 507 4416 (Joy Marcotte and Friederike Habermann)
or at the Pennsylvania Consumer Education Project (Reading)
1-610-478-7888-tel 1-610-478-7457-fax
wtocaravan@pcan.org

on the Canadian Caravan:
cellphone 613/ 299-3397
or as media contact:
Catherine Louli, 613/237/1590 ext 268, clouli@cupe.ca

Peoples' Global Action was founded in 1998 when 400 representatives of grassroots movements from 71 countries, who had met through the Zapatista call for resistance, met in Geneva.

Three months later, as the G8 countries met in Birmingham and the WTO met in Geneva, 200.000 Indian peasant farmers met in Hyderabad and marched to demand India's withdrawal from the WTO. Over 30 Reclaim The Streets parties in over 20 countries took place, while in Brasilia 50.000 unemployed, workers and landless peasants took to the streets.

This year, when the G8 met in Cologne, 500 people from all continents traveled Europe for one month in the Intercontinental Caravan 99 to protest against the new economic world order.

The hallmarks of PGA include “a confrontational attitude” and a “clear rejection” of the WTO, a call to non-violent civil disobedience and local alternatives by local people. Peoples' Global Action is rejecting patriarchy, racism, religious fundamentalism and all forms of discrimination and domination. "We embrace the full dignity of people in their variety."