"The Sierra Club's actions in Seattle were peaceful, legal, and fully coordinated with the Seattle Police Department. Contrary to some published reports, the Club did not participate in, organize, or condone
either the violence or the civil disobedience."
"Despite the deplorable violence, the message of the peaceful demonstrators came through loud and clear."
---------------- Begin Forwarded Message ----------------
Sierra Club Action Daily
Dec. 15, 1999
"If Seattle proved anything, it is that nongovernmental organizations -- such groups as the Sierra Club and Public Citizen -- have become permanent players on the global trade scene."
Bruce Stokes, National Journal, Dec. 4, 1999
THE BATTLE IN SEATTLE
[See Draft Letter to Editor Below]
70,000 protestors brought the mighty World Trade Organization (WTO) to its knees at the "Battle in Seattle" from Tuesday, Nov. 30 - Dec. 3. The Sierra Club joined nearly 50,000 labor, environmental, human rights, and
church activists in a peaceful and legal People's Rally and March for Fair Trade on Tuesday, Nov. 30.
Simultaneously, tens of thousands of protestors organized by the Direct Action Network linked arms and sat down in the streets surrounding the Washington Trade and Convention Center, site of the summit. Their peaceful civil disobedience stopped the WTO from meeting on its first day. Unfortunately, this demonstration was marred by about 100 self-described anarchists who rampaged through downtown Seattle, smashing windows with hammers concealed in their coats. Later that afternoon, the police moved in with tear gas and rubber bullets to clear the streets of
the sit-in.
A combination of pressure from the protestors outside and internal dissension forced the talks to collapse on Friday night, without so much
as a formal communique.
The Sierra Club's actions in Seattle were peaceful, legal, and fully coordinated with the Seattle Police Department. Contrary to some published reports, the Club did not participate in, organize, or condone
either the violence or the civil disobedience. We are proud to say, however, that our message cut through the media clutter to reach the largest public ever to learn about how the WTO undermines health and environmental standards.
As Dan Seligman told the New York Times, "The creation of the WTO was an
act of pure hubris -- to promote trade by micro managing policies of every government on earth. It was only a matter of time before that over-ambitious agenda reached a point at which it could go no further." (New York Times, Dec. 4, 1999)
Meanwhile, the demonstrators helped forged a new populist coalition that
could permanently shift the politics of trade policy in America and around the world. For instance, Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa, Jr. made frequent appeals to protect the world's environment in trade policy.
The Sierra Club's Executive Director Carl Pope reciprocated during the big Fair Trade rally on Tuesday, Nov. 30. Following Steelworkers President George Becker to the speakers' microphone, Pope gave a ringing
endorsement to trade unionism, telling the crowd, "If America didn't have a steel industry, it would have to invent one just so we could have the United Steelworkers of America."
On the streets, a spontaneous call and response chant arose between the Teamsters and dozens of activists who were dressed as sea turtles to protest a WTO ruling against US sea turtle protections.
"Turtles love Teamsters!" the chant began.
"Teamsters love turtles," the truckdrivers answered.
It doesn't get any better than that.
NEXT STEPS
Over the next year, we must mobilize our new coalition to "fix or nix" the WTO. We must also turn the corner on bad trade policies and begin advocating positive alternatives of our own. Stay posted for further action alerts.
In the meantime, defenders of the free trade status quo have mounted a campaign to pin the blame for the Seattle debacle on Clinton and the protestors in the streets -- everyone but those who developed the hair-brained notion of the WTO in the first place.
Lets fight back with letters to the editor explaining the truth about Seattle.