--- Forwarded Message from Dave Bleakney <DBLEAKNEY@CUPW-STTP.ORG> ---
>From: Dave Bleakney <DBLEAKNEY@CUPW-STTP.ORG>
>To: <tao-ott-news@tao.ca>, PGA Action at WTO Seattle <PGA_Seattle99@listbot.com>, <pga-ott@lists.tao.ca>
>Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 12:54:03 -0500
-----Original Message-----
From: Jaggi Singh [mailto:jaggi@tao.ca]
Sent: March 22, 2000 2:28 AM
Subject: stopftaa: Quebec 2001: forming an anti-FTAA coalition
AN OPEN CALL FOR THE FORMATION OF A GRASSROOTS COALITION AGAINST THE FTAA
AND THE SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS - APRIL 2001 IN QUEBEC CITY
*** Meeting: Wednesday, March 29th at 7pm in Montreal ***
Next April 2001, Quebec City has the dubious honour of hosting the Summit
of the Americas, which will bring together all the so-called leaders of
North, Central and South America (except Cuba). For a few days, Quebec
City will be turned into a militarized zone as these leaders, and their
CEO pals, gather for a series of meetings, photo-ops and posh dinners. The
stated purpose of the Summit is to put the final touches on the Free Trade
Area of the Americas agreement (FTAA), which aims to extend NAFTA (the
North American Free Trade Agreement) to the entire hemisphere. The FTAA
negotiations are not limited to commercial matters, but will include
issues related to social policy (education, health, etc.) and the
environment. The FTAA is supposed to be adopted by no later than 2005.
The FTAA, like the WTO, MAI, APEC, IMF and the rest of the never-ending
alphabet soup, is part of a host of accords and institutions that drive
capitalist globalization. Like previous gatherings of the WTO in Seattle
(1999) and Geneva (1998), APEC in Vancouver (1997) and Manila (1996), the
IMF in Washington (April 2000) or the G-8 in a variety of cities, the
Summit of the Americas is an opportunity for local activists from a
variety of struggles and causes to mobilize against a tangible example of
the power of big capital.
Already several organizations in Quebec have begun mobilizing against the
FTAA, ranging from unions and NGOs to grassroots groups who will be
engaging in non-violent civil disobedience. Analyses against the FTAA, and
to capitalist globalization more generally, range from those who wish to
reform the trading system (social clauses, Tobin Tax, etc.) to those who
challenge the underpinnings of capitalism itself.
The purpose of this letter is to set in motion the formation of a
coalition of activists and organizations in Quebec to mobilize against the
FTAA with a clear anti-FTAA, anti-capitalist position, as well as a clear
rejection of hierarchies between sexes, cultures and individuals. The
exact framework of this coalition is to be determined by participants,
although we'd like to encompass as many groups and individuals,
representing a variety of tactics, while stressing decentralization,
autonomy and affinity as organizing principles. We wish to creatively,
effectively and militantly oppose the FTAA, as opposed to engaging in
lobbying or reformist strategies.
An open meeting to discuss the formation of an "anti-FTAA" coalition will
be held on Wednesday, March 29 at 7pm at the University of Quebec at
Montreal (UQAM). There will be a rendez-vous in room A-2470 (2nd floor,
Pavillon Hubert-Aquin. If you are arriving by metro Berri, arrows will
indicate where to go within the UQAM maze). Translators will be available
for English speakers who don't understand or speak French.
Let's bring some of "Spirit of Seattle" to Quebec in time for April 2001
and the Summit of the Americas.
signed: Mathieu Houle-Courcelles, Louise Boivin, Jaggi Singh
e-mail: lombrenoire@tao.ca, tel: 514-526-8946
David Bleakney
National Union Representative
Canadian Union of Postal Workers
377 Bank Street
Ottawa, Ontario K2P 1Y3
Phone: 613-236-7230 ext 7953
http://www.wtocaravan.org
http://www.cupw-sttp.org
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