The WTO started today, the protests got off to a good start

The WTO started in Hong Kong today, as did the more confrontational demos. As a speaker from Focus on the Global South announced at a meeting on the evening before:

“Civil Society? Don’t give me civil society! They’re [the WTO] not civil so why the hell should we be?”

And that’s what the press don’t get. There’s oceans of coverage on the ‘violence’ which was nothing more than a few scuffles yesterday, and very little on the impact of WTO policies on people’s lives. You only have to look at the impact of privatisation on the railways in the UK, apply that directly to people’s livelihoods in the ‘developing’ world, and you get some impression of what is happening - on an unimaginineable scale.

That 1000 Korean small farmers made the expensive journey to HK, and were willing to put themselves at great risk - not only by plunging into the waters by the conference centre, but also by confronting the cops should tell a story in itself, but media likes to paint these people as scrappers looking for a fight.

Between 8000 and 10000 people attended the demo, with more people lining the streets giving thumbs up signs as we passed. Given this must be one of the most demonised marches in HK history, a pretty good turnout. The only large scale overseas group was from Korea, everywhere else sending small delegations. Neighbouring countries are either poverty stricken or too strict to allow activists and trade unions to exist, let alone travel for protests.

That NGO representatives stood up inside the WTO itself and disrupted the conference came as a great boost. It was action inside and out that lead to the successes of Seattle and Cancun, and the determination of people on the streets of HK shows no sign of abating.

In fact, at the end of the protests yesterday the Korean Farmers Union speaker got one part of his speech translated for the attendant english speaking media (which I’ve never ever seen in such numbers). I was just discussing with one of the more informed UK journalists the problem of the press getting in the way of the push on police lines, then this came over the PA:

“We thank the press for their coverage and their interest, however, we could not get at the police lines today such was the number of photographers. We ask you in future to stay clear of this area to save you from being hurt by police shields and clubs.

“It is our intention to enter the conference centre to stop those people from wrecking our lives, please do not disrupt our progress tomorrow.”

And that was the leader of the union speaking. Imagine Brendan Barber saying that on the streets of Birmingham (that’s if you know who Brendan Barber is).

Talking of Mr Barber, there is good news comiung from the Trade Union movement in the UK. It appears the TUC is breaking ranks with the New Labour project and coming out explicitly against Blair and Mandelson’s line on the WTO. I think not only because the WTO is putting paid to any faint hopes of Make Poverty History hopes being realised, but the membership of the TUC must be so out of step with Blair that any other course of action would be ridiculous.

Wednesday sees a protest against GATS, visiting embassies and consulates on the way, also an Asian People’s Rally (most likely dominated by the Koreans again) and scores of meetings. I’d better get on with it.

Kong Yee Sai Mau!