WTO Activists Liberate 12 Unit Downtown Apartment Complex
by Doyle Canning and Robby Herbst 4:02am Mon Nov 29 '99
Commencing at 8 PM this evening, 50
to 150 WTO activists entered an
abandoned downtown building on
Virginia Street between Terry and 9th
Avenue, and established an
occupation of the space.
The activists entering the building have pledged to
bring no weapons or alcohol into the space.
According to their leaflet, the activists “see the WTO
advancing a system in which human rights are
subordinated to property” rights. They also “want to
provide an example of democratic and civil self-rule.”
The activists are occupying this space with a “good
neighbor policy.” There is also a code of “no
engagement” with the police.
This action has two purposes: to attract public
attention to global poverty, which leads to
homelessness worldwide, and to create affordable
housing for local homeless families. The occupation
of the space by WTO activists and homeless
individuals is a microcosm of the global economic
crisis, which has escalated to unprecedented
proportions because of the World Trade
Organization’s “Free Trade crusade”. The burden on
local homeless shelters will undoubtedly be eased by
the WTO activists’ commitment to turn over the space
to homeless families after this week’s WTO ministerial
meeting.
As WTO delegates check into the Hilton, Sheraton,
and Westin hotels, thousands of Seattle’s citizens
sleep on the street, or vie for the limited space that
Seattle’s homeless shelters currently offer. According
to municipal authorities, 5500 people compete for
Seattle’s 2500 shelter beds every night. The WTO
activists hope to provide adequate housing for 12
homeless families in Seattle.
Because of this week’s WTO ministerial, public outcry
against corporate profits at the expense of human
rights and environmental sustainability have
escalated to an alarming pitch. “American CEO’s are
now paid, on average, 419 times more than line
workers…The top 200 corporations of the world --
enjoying the efficiencies of scale and consolidation --
employ only one-half of one-percent of the global
work force…” reports the International Forum on
Globalization, which is in Seattle this week.
Globalization is an insatiable search for ever cheaper
operating costs by transnational corporations; it hurts
the poor throughout the world, and the Virginia Street
action is an attempt to ease the burden on a few of our
city’s “Free Trade Casualties.”
FOR INTERVIEWS OR ONSITE TOURS CONTACT
THE DIRECT ACTION NETWORK MEDIA CENTER
AT: (206) 262-9137
Source: Seattle Independent Media
http://www.indymedia.org/
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