{"id":67,"date":"2009-12-05T05:04:41","date_gmt":"2009-12-05T13:04:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.citizenstrade.org\/ctc\/oregon\/?p=67"},"modified":"2011-12-23T05:09:05","modified_gmt":"2011-12-23T13:09:05","slug":"oregonians-demonstrate-against-the-wto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.citizenstrade.org\/ctc\/oregon\/2009\/12\/05\/oregonians-demonstrate-against-the-wto\/","title":{"rendered":"Oregonians Demonstrate Against the WTO Again"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Immediate Release<\/strong>
\nDecember 5, 2009<\/p>\n

BUSINESS, LABOR, ENVIRONMENT:<\/strong>
\nOregonians Demonstrate Against the WTO Again, 10 Years After the Historic \u201cBattle in Seattle\u201d<\/strong>
\nMarch and Rally in Portland Voice Opposition to Proposed WTO Expansion; One of Many Demonstrations around the Globe<\/em><\/p>\n

PORTLAND, OR \u2014 A coalition of more than 75 labor, environmental, human rights and social justice organizations across Oregon held a large march and rally in downtown Portland today, with thousands voicing opposition to new attempts to expand the World Trade Organization (WTO), an international body that negotiates and enforces global economic agreements. The demonstration was one of hundreds around the globe, and comes on the 10-year anniversary of the historic \u201cBattle in Seattle\u201d WTO protests.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s needed in response to the economic crisis are good-paying jobs, comprehensive banking regulations and a social safety net that Americans can count on when times get hard. WTO policies continue to pose a serious threat to all those things,\u201d said Tom Chamberlain, president of the Oregon AFL-CIO. \u201cWe said it ten years ago, and we\u2019ll keep on saying it until the message is heard: we need to end the WTO\u2019s failed policies. Business-as-usual trade agreements are no longer acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

On November 30, 1999, tens of thousands of people from throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond converged in Seattle to demonstrate against a meeting of the WTO. The massive protests made headlines around the world for shutting down the opening of the WTO\u2019s conference and helping to derail its internal negotiations. Last year, the protests were even made the subject of a Hollywood movie.<\/p>\n

Ten years later, the WTO is trying to jumpstart its stalled expansion plans once again. Earlier this week in Geneva, Switzerland, the WTO held its biggest meeting in many years. In response, global justice activists held large demonstrations in multiple cities and towns throughout the world. The Portland march was the largest such demonstration in the United States, and attracted demonstrators from throughout the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Seattle protests represented a \u2018movement of movements,\u2019 with environmentalists, trade unionists, family farmers and others demanding that decisions that affect the economic and ecological well-being of our communities be made in the interests of people over profits,\u201d said Wes Kempfer, interim Trade Justice Coordinator for the Oregon Sierra Club. \u201cThe notion that \u2018increased trade volumes trump everything else\u2019 is perverse, and should be eliminated for a wide range of reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

Event organizers say that the WTO\u2019s proposed \u201cDoha Round\u201d expansion would:<\/p>\n