’99
 

Seattle International

PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY
 

SEATTLE
 
PA’99

 

4501 15th Ave. Suite 101

Seattle, WA 98108

Tel: (206) 721-6355

Tel/Fax: (206) 763-9611

 

Seattle International People’s Assembly, March-Rally

 Program

November 28 – 30, 1999

Seattle, Washington

 

The Peoples' Assembly Committee (PAC) and Sentenaryo ng Bayan, a Filipino organization, invite you to SAY NO TO WTO! in the Seattle International Peoples' Assembly to be held at the Filipino Community Center, Martin Luther

King Jr. Way in Seattle, Washington on November 28-30 and a March-Rally on November 30 in downtown Seattle.  These activities are being held in time for the 3rd Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO). They are part of the numerous activities to be undertaken in November and December by the Seattle-based coalition, Network Opposed to WTO.

 

The 3rd WTO Ministerial Meeting will be held in Seattle on November 29 to December 3.  A review of the Agreement on Agriculture (AOA) will be a major part of the agenda. While the pre-1994 GATT did not include agriculture, after the Uruguay Round, which also gave rise to WTO, fulfillment of commitments to the AOA was pushed through regional formations like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and others.  AOA has proven disastrous to the agriculture and fisheries sectors.  As a result, peasants, women, fisherfolk and other anti-WTO and anti-globalization advocates worldwide have started a campaign to take agriculture out of WTO.

 

The current WTO meeting may well start the Millennium Round of GATT negotiations and open up new and expanded areas of coverage of agreements.  It is also expected that MAI advocates will try to sneak in a rehash of the investments liberalization agreement which was defeated at the Overseas Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) last year.  In contraposition, anti-WTO activists will campaign to reject any rehashed MAI and to quash attempts to start a new Millennium Round of negotiations.

 

Say No to WTO! -- the Seattle International Peoples' Assembly and March-Rally continues the struggle against globalization initiated in 1996 by the People's Conference Against Imperialist Globalization (PCAIG) and the People's Caravan Against APEC in Manila. The torch was passed on to the NO to APEC Coalition which convened  the Vancouver conference, PCAIG - Continuing the Resistance, as a counterpoint to the 1997 APEC Leaders Summit. To be mentioned likewise are the Anti-Imperialist World Peasant Summit (AIWPS) held in Manila in 1996 and the Asia Pacific People’s Assembly with the theme “Confronting Globalization: Asserting People’s Rights” in Kuala Lumpur in 1998.

 

Representatives of people's organizations, citizen's movements, churches and NGOs from different parts of the world will join hands in the Seattle International Peoples’ Assembly and March-Rally to reiterate their opposition to the AOA, WTO, MAI and imperialist globalization.

 

The Seattle International People's Assembly will also highlight the continuing one hundred years of resistance against foreign domination by the Filipino people.

 

 

 

 

OBJECTIVES:

 

1.        To make people aware of the disastrous effects of the WTO, AOA, MAI and all schemes of imperialist globalization on the peoples of the world.

 

2.        To expand linkages, forge stronger unities and establish cooperation in international campaigns with other anti-AOA/WTO and anti-imperialist groups and individuals worldwide.

 

3.        To further advance our work of building anti-imperialist resistance in North America.

 

 

NOVEMBER 28

 

09:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon                      Arrival and registration of delegates

 

12:00 noon - 1:00 p.m.                                               Lunch

 

01:00 p.m.                                                                    Opening of the Peoples' Assembly

                                                                            

                                                                                      · Welcome Address

                                                                                       Ace Saturay, Sentenaryo ng Bayan and

                                                                                       Rev. Lucy Hitchcock, Rainier Unitarian Universalist Congregation

                                                                                     · Introduction of Delegations

                                                                                       Fr. Art Balagat, Migrante International              

                                                                                     · Logistical Announcements

                                                                                       Mario Santos, Secretariat

 

 

01:45 p.m.                                                                    Statements of Solidarity 

                                                                                     · Sally Soriano, Washington Fair Trade/No To WTO!

                                                                                     · Dr. Carolina P. Araullo, BAYAN and

                                                                                       People's Campaign Against Imperialist Globalization 

                                                                                     · Cecille Diocson, NO to APEC Coalition,Vancouver

 

                                                                                     Cultural Number

 

02:15                                                                            Keynote Address: 

                                                                                     The Need to Advance the People’s Resistance Against

                                                                                     Imperialist Globalization!

                                                                                     Prof. Jose Maria Sison

                                                                                     International Network for Philippine Studies

                                                                                     Chief Political Consultant, National Democratic Front of the

                                                                                     Philippines (NDFP)

                                                                                                                                                                                               

02:45                                                                            Coffee/Tea Break

 

03:00                                                                            The People Say No to WTO!

                                                                                    

                                                                                     Panel of Speakers:

                                                                                     There's No Such Thing as Free Trade Nor Fair Trade

                                                                                     Under Imperialist Globalization

                                                                                      Dr. Pao Yu Ching, Taiwan and USA

                      

                                                                                     Don't Let MAI In:

                                                                                     Oppose Inclusion of Investments Liberalization in WTO

                                                                                     Maude Barlow, Canada

                                                                                     Council of Canadians and

                                                                                     International Forum on Globalization (IFG)

 

                                                                                     American Trade Unionists Spurn WTO

                                                                                     Philip Koritz, Seattle, USA

                                                                                     Philippine Workers Support Committee

                                                                                    

                                                                                     WTO and Environmental Justice

                                                                                     Richard Moore, USA (invited)

                                                                                     Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice (SNEEJ)

                                                                                    

04:00                                                                            Open Forum/Sharing

 

04:30                                                                            Coffee/Tea Break

                    

05:00                                                                            Anti-Imperialist Struggle and Resistance Among the Filipino                                                                                       Community in the US

                                                                                     Jay Mendoza, Los Angeles, USA

                                                                                     Pilipino Workers Center and Alliance of Filipino Immigrants and

                                                                                     Advocates (AFIA)

 

05:30 – 07:30                                                               Say No to WTO, Youth and Student Caucus                                                            

 

05:30                                                                            Korean People’s Action Against Investment Treaties and

                                                                                     WTO New Round

                                                                                     Lee Changgeun,  Korea

                                                                                     KoPA, Policy and Information Center for International Solidarity

 

05:45                                                                            With Globalization Comes US Aggression

 

 Panel of Speakers:

· The Case of Yugoslavia

Richard Becker, International Action Center (IAC)

                                                                                    

                                                                                     · The Case of Cuba

                                                                                     Fernando Ramirez de Estenoz (invited)

 

06:15                                                                            Open Forum

 

06:45                                                                            Dinner

 

07:30                                                                            Film Showing and Q&A session

                                           “Pressure Point” – documentary by Malcolm Guy, Magnus Isacsson

                                           and Anna Paskal about the Montreal blockade of MAI called “operation

                                           salami”

 

                                                                                     Film Showing

                                                                                     “Junk APEC” – a documentary produced by Bayan and AsiaVisions

                                                                                     about the 1996 APEC Ministerial meeting in the Philippines and the

                                                                                     nationwide and international people’s movement against imperialist

                                                                                     globalization

 

                    

NOVEMBER 29

                    

09:00 am                                                                      Cultural number

                                                                                    

09:15                                                                            Solidarity Messages

                                                                                     · Raymond Lotta, RCP-USA

                                                                                     · Jim McMann, WWP, Seattle

                                                                                     · Seattle Mumia Defense Committee

 

09:30                                                                            Report of the Youth and Student (YS) Caucus

                                                                                     · Designated Representative from the YS Caucus

 

09:45                                                                            Keynote Address:

                                                                                     Take agriculture out of the WTO! Resist Imperialist Globalization!

                                                                                     Rafael Mariano, Philippines

                                                                                     Chairperson, BAYAN (New Patriotic Alliance)

                                                                                     Chairperson, KMP (Peasant Movement of the Philippines)

 

10:15                                                                            No to AOA!

 

                                                                                     Panel of Speakers:

                                                                                     · Rafael Alegria, Honduras

                                                                                        International Operational Secretariat, La Via Campesina

                                                                      

                                                                                     · Mika Iba, Japan

                                                                                       Network for Safe and Secure Food and Environment

                                                                                    

11:00                                                                            Open Forum and Sharing

                    

11:30                                                                            Coffee/Tea Break

                    

11:45                                                                                                  Anti-Imperialist Struggle and Resistance Among Filipino Communities in Canada

                                                                                     Cecilia Diocson, Canada

                                                                                     Network Opposed to APEC

 

12:00 pm                                                                      Lunch Break

                    

01:00                                                                            Cultural Presentation

 

01:15                                                                            Women Say NO to WTO!

                                                                                     Panel of Speakers sponsored by GABRIEL and APWLD

                                                                                     · Liza Largoza-Maza, Philippines

                                                                  GABRIELA

                    

                                                                                     · Sarojeni Rengam, Malaysia

                                                                                       Pesticide Action Network - Asia Pacific (PAN-AP)

                                                                                       Paper to be read by Jennifer Mourin, PAN-AP

 

     · Ravadee Prasertcharoensuk and

       Cholada Montreevat, Thailand 

       Task Force on Women & Environment and

       Task Force on Rural & Indigenous Women, APWLD

                                                                                      

                                                                                      · Chie Abad, USA

                                                                                        Global Exchange

                                                                                    

02:30                                                                            Open Forum and Sharing

 

03:30                                                                            Coffee/Tea Break

 

03:45                                                                            Cultural Presentation

 

04:00                                                                            Presentation of Statement Against the WTO

                                                                                     and Imperialist Globalization

                                                                                     Dr. Carol Pagaduan-Araullo

                                                                                     BAYAN Vice-Chairperson

                                                                                     PCAIG

 

05:00                                                                            Closing Ceremony

                                                                                     Closing Remarks

                                                                                     Christene Reyes, Sentenaryo ng Bayan

                                                                                      

                                                                                     Cultural Number

 

06:00                                                                            Dinner

 

06:30                                                                            Film Premiere Showing and Q & A Session

                                                     “Golf War” – a documentary by Jen Schradie and Matt DeVries about

                                                     land, golf and revolution in the Philippines

                                                    

07:30                                                                            SOLIDARITY NIGHT

                                                                                     Songs, dances, poetry reading and more!

 

NOVEMBER 30

 

08:00 - 10:00 am                                                          Bilateral Consultation with Japanese and Korean Farmers Organizations

                                                                                     Venue to be announced

 

                                                                                     March-Rally “No to WTO! No to imperialist globalization!”

11:00                                                                            Assembly -- International District at 4th and Jackson

 

11:30                                                                            March to downtown Seattle

 

12:00 –01:00 pm                                                          Rally Program – 4th and Pine

 

01:00                                                       Join the AFL-CIO/People for Fair Trade march towards

                                                                                     the site of the WTO Ministerial Meeting, Seattle Convention Center

 

07:00                                                                            “Food-Cultural Evening” celebrating rice cultures 

                                                                                     Unitarian Universalist Church on 4620 South Findlay St.