MIAMI, 6:13 p.m. EST October 29, 2003 - Activist groups opposed to the Free Trade Area of the Americas were denied entry to a conference Wednesday at Miami's Biltmore Hotel.
It was the first of what could be many protests in Miami as the city gears up for the FTAA conference Nov. 19. Police arrived at the hotel but made no arrests. The small group of protesters headed home after a brief, vocal demonstration, saying they had made their point.
"They are locking the doors on us as they do with the FTAA," said activist Eric Rubin, one of the protesters. "This is what democracy looks like folks, with the FTAA." Police officers told the group the meeting was closed. Meanwhile, hotel workers and employees looked on as the activists attempted to register for the conference. "Half an hour ago it was $350. Now you can't get in. You got to wonder," said one activist whose attempts to register failed.
The protest was organized by members of two anti-globalization groups: South Floridians for Fair Trade, and Global Justice. The activists wanted to debate with leaders of several Latin American countries who came to the city to discuss the controversial hemispheric trade agreement. "To physically shut the doors on us like that does not surprise me," said protester Jonathon Harris. According to the groups, the FTAA will prompt U.S. corporations to eliminate American jobs, destroy family farms, privatize public facilities like schools, destroy the environment in foreign countries and operate sweat shops overseas. The peaceful protest was led by groups likely to participate in larger gatherings when the FTAA conference comes to town.
City officials fear those protests may not be so peaceful, and they cite the violent protests in Seattle in 1999 and in Cancun, Mexico, this summer as examples of why demonstrations must be limited.
While Tuesday's protest was nonconfrontational, animosity to the free-trade agreement was on full display.
"We wanted to have our say there, and the hotel suddenly became closed, and that is just an expression of democracy. There is no democracy in the FTA process, and there is not democracy here," said protester Naomi Archer.
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