Brad,
Actually, the By the way was a reference to MANY papers that erroneously covered the situation as a response to Powell's comments about Zimbabwe. The protest started (with my group raising our banner Bush: People and Planet, Not Big Business) as soon as Powell finished his Thank-Yous. But the chanting started after our banners were taken - which happened to be at the same time as the Zim comment.
Let me be clear: Mike Green started the Shame on Bush chant. All of us doing the action joined in, and then hundreds of people followed suit. Did delegates do that out of a general disgust with the Bush agenda at the conference? Of course, absolutely - that's why they felt compelled to interrupt his speech over and over again - when he mentioned GMOs, when he mentioned "the US's leadership on climate change", etc - and even at the very end of his speech, as he exited the stage. Did some of them also do it because of what Powell said about Zimbabwe? Well probably. Many people who are staunchly anti-Mugabe nevertheless seethe watching the US use food aid to starving people in Africa as a political weapon against Europe's ban of GMOs.
But that's not why the action was organized, it wasn't the message of the organizers, and it wasn't why we started the chanting that let open a space for everyone's rage. The outrage and disgust at the Bush administration's agenda - including his snubbing the conference - were palpable during the entire conference. Ask anyone who was there.
Just to reinforce the point, the delegates also booed the US delegation when we entered our objections to the final document.
You know I haven't been to every UN conference, but I can definitely tell you that this type of booing and jeering is not part of the normal protocol. Americans would do well to stand up and listen when heads of state from around the world, in an official UN plenary, shout down the main US official for smashing progress on environmental conservation and poverty eradication. At least we now have part of the answer to that looming question, "Why does everyone hate us?"
Deborah -- Deborah James, Fair Trade Director Global Exchange deborah at globalexchange.org 415.575.5537 direct line 415.255.7296 x245 415.255.7498 fax 2017 Mission Street #303, San Francisco, CA 94110 http://www.globalexchange.org/coffee http://www.globalexchange.org/cocoa
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> From: "Patrick Bond" <pbond at sn.apc.org>
> Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2002 20:13:30 +0200
> To: "Deborah James" <deborah at globalexchange.org>
> Subject: Fw: Amateur hour in Jo'burg/Yo. Mr. Bond?
>
> This is a neolib-oriented liberal economist at Berkeley... What do you say
> in reply? Be cross, sister!
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Brad DeLong" <delong at econ.Berkeley.EDU>
> To: <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, September 11, 2002 8:28 AM
> Subject: Re: Amateur hour in Jo'burg/Yo. Mr. Bond?
>
>
>>> This just in from Deborah James at GX:
>>>
>>> ...Originally, we planned a silent protest.... The anger at the US
>>> delegation was so strong that the other people in the
>>> room and even the delegates from other countries joined right in and
> began
>>> interrupting Powell. This anger has been building over the four
> preparatory
>>> meetings (over the last year), as well as the last two weeks here in
> South
>>> Africa. Nevertheless, it is unfathomable that the delegates from other
>>> countries did that. That doesn't happen at the UN. It was unbelievably
>>> amazing. The delegates from other countries (these are senior government
>>> officials, heads of state) booed and jeered him throughout his speech...
>>>
>>> By the way, some press thought that we were also criticizing Powell's
>>> comments on Mugabe of Zimbabwe. That was completely inaccurate.
>>
>> The "by the way" is a reference to a story from the Manchester
>> Guardian, not usually a lapdog of the Bush Administration:
>>
>> 'The South African foreign minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who was
>> chairing the meeting, asked hecklers to stop. She said the outbursts
>> were "totally unacceptable". Dissent filled the hall when Mr Powell
>> criticised the government of Zimbabwe for exacerbating the food
>> crisis in that country and pushing "millions of people to the brink
>> of starvation"...'
>>
>>
>> I'm sure that Deborah James has told herself that everyone in the
>> hall shared her agenda--as opposed to, say, a pro-Mugabe agenda--so
>> many times that she believes it. But I don't see any reason to think
>> that the Manchester Guardian's story is wrong.
>>
>>
>>
>> Brad DeLong
>>
>>
>>
>>
>