>From: [log in to unmask]
>Organization: censa
>To: "Quebec City" <[log in to unmask]>
>Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2001 20:54:57 -0700
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>Subject: Popular Upheaval in Quebec
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>      Popular Upheaval Hits Free Trade Meetings in Quebec City
>                          By Roger Burbach
>
>For three days from April 20-22, the historic city of Quebec
>was the scene of a popular revolt as thirty-four heads of state gathered
>for the Summit of the Americas.  Their agenda, a Free Trade Area of the
>Americas, or FTAA.
>
>On the first day, a surprisingly warm sunny Friday that ended the
>long winter in Quebec, thousands of demonstrators gathered on the
>outskirts of the old city. They faced a ten-foot high chain link fence with
>cement abutments that ran for two and a half miles around the hotels and
>conference centers where the summit was held. Led by a number of
>militant civil disobedience organizations, many of which united under the
>slogan “Carnival Against Capitalism,” the demonstrators engaged in a
>variety of antics and tactics designed to protest the FTAA meetings.
>
>Green Peace sent a hot air balloon over the chain link fence with
>three passengers aboard.  They were immediately arrested when they
>descended not far from the main conference center.  Next a wooden
>catapult was assembled that launched teddy bears over the fence.  When
>the police picked up the teddy bears, demonstrators joked that the bears
>“were being taken hostage by the authorities and will be held until police
>demands are met that we disperse.”
>
>These playful antics quickly gave way to a more confrontational
>mood.  Many demonstrators sat down in front of the fence while others
>tried to push it over. By late afternoon, the melee was on as police began
>launching tear gas canisters and using water cannons against the
>demonstrators.  Around 5 o’clock demonstrators breached the security
>perimeters as a fifteen-foot section of the fence was toppled.  Dozens of
>officers armed with batons and guns moved to close the gap, firing
>repeated rounds of tear gas.  Smoke rolled over blocks in the heart of the
>city, floating into the meeting centers of the summit, causing the opening
>ceremonies to be delayed for an hour.
>
>Although the Black Bloc--an anarchist group that first made its
>appearance in the Battle of Seattle in late 1999 against the World Trade
>Organization--was present in the assaults on the fence, its members were
>actually outnumbered by other militants. Even more notable was the fact
>that the Black Bloc and other demonstrators were overwhelmingly home
>grown, speaking French, the language of the people who reside in Quebec
>City and the province of Quebec.  As evening turned to night, many of the
>demonstrators would regroup in homes near the old city, receiving
>succor from local residents.  The battle at the fence continued until 3 in
>the morning, with scores injured and the police arresting approximately
>150 demonstrators.
>
>The biggest protest occurred on Saturday, an even warmer day.
>Then upwards of 50,000 people assembled from around the hemisphere
>to participate in a mass demonstration. French-speaking Canadians once
>again predominated. Trade unionists, not just from Quebec, constituted
>the principal component of the demonstration. Auto workers from
>Tennessee, public service unions from New York, trade unionists from
>Chile, sweatshop organizers from the maquiladora regions on the
>Mexican-US border, as well as trade unionists from the rest of Canada
>participated with their anti-FTAA banners and slogans.
>
>The demonstrators began to gather in the morning near the port
>of Quebec City. Before they marched, thousands gathered in a nearby
>“People’s Tent” where a number of Canadian organizers and international
>participants spoke.  No one condemned the demonstrators who battled at
>the fence the night before.  Maude Barlow, the chair of the Council of
>Canadians, one of the main organizations backing the march, opened her
>address by declaring: “Welcome to the revolution.”  She went on to state:
>“We are a movement of non-violence,” but refused to criticize the
>youthful demonstrators who assaulted the fence and battled with police
>the night before.  She said: “Our youth and children are born into a toxic
>society run by the multinationals in the name of free trade.  We are
>poisoning them.” She rhetorically asked: “Are they vandals?  The first
>vandals are the ones who ordered the wall built. The real violence is being
>carried out by those who are meeting behind the wall.”
>
>Marching six to ten abreast, it took well over two hours for all
>the demonstrators to pass in front of the train station that was just beyond
>the staging area near the docks.  The banners of the demonstrators were
>colorful and creative.  Some environmentalists were dressed as black and
>white cows, carrying a large sign saying “FTAA=Mad Cows.  Others were
>dressed as frogs to protest the use of animal genes in the creation of
>genetically modified foods. Following a banner “Les Artistes pour la
>Pax” came a mime troupe of about forty members who were dressed up
>in black suits as bankers and multinational executives. They stopped in
>unison every few steps to look at their wristwatches, mocking corporate
>efficiency and profiteering.
>
>Quebec nationalism was a critical factor in the spirited and
>militant march. Many trade unionists as well as other demonstrators
>carried emblems of the Quebec provincial flag on their protest signs.
>They view opposition to free trade as an extension of the Quebec
>struggle to win independence from the Canadian federal government
>based in Ottawa. The current Prime Minister of Canada, Jean Chretien,
>endorsed the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, after
>first objecting to it in his campaign for Prime Minister in 1993.
>Comprised of Canada, the United States and Mexico, this agreement is
>the fundamental building block for the FTAA and is viewed as costing
>tens of thousands of jobs in Quebec and being one more step in the
>usurpation of the rights and livelihood of the Quebecois.
>
>As the huge march came to an end, many participants, including
>trade unionists, headed for the chain link fence, intent on disrupting the
>FTAA meetings.  Many sat down in front of the barrier in acts of civil
>disobedience, but many more taunted the police and tried to breach the
>fence.  The confrontation grew even more militant than the day before, as
>wave after wave of protestors began to storm the fence. Proclaimed one
>trade unionist: “This movement is going to keep growing, it’s not just
>those few dressed in black who are at the barricades.” Stones, cans,
>balloons filled with paint, hockey pucks, and golf balls flew over the
>perimeter, while some demonstrators brought up battering rams to knock
>down the fence. Clouds of tear gas engulfed the city and the police began
>using plastic bullets to repel the demonstrators. The single exit gate from
>the FTAA meetings was shut down, trapping reporters and functionaries
>inside the perimeter.
>
>One of the peaceful demonstrators at the fence, Svend
>Robinson, a member of the Canadian Parliament, was among those
>injured as the police themselves jumped the perimeter in order to push
>back demonstrators.  He was hit point-blank by a tear gas canister, leaving
>an ugly gash on his thigh.  Others were struck in the face by plastic
>bullets.  Over 400 people were arrested. The League of Rights and
>Liberties had about 25 official observers present with credentials.  One
>of the spokespersons for the League noted: “The militants who tried to
>breach the fence were more agile at evading police sweeps, often
>escaping down side streets.  It was those engaging in civil disobedience
>who were often attacked and arrested.”  One young women college
>student was charged with rioting for merely holding up her fingers in a
>peace sign.
>
>The battle at the perimeter continued throughout the night and
>well into Sunday morning. Bank windows were smashed and
>demonstrators set bonfires as they grew even angrier. A loud explosion
>echoed throughout the city. Helicopters hovered continually overhead,
>providing guidance and coordination to police efforts to contain the
>demonstrators. The city of Quebec was effectively under siege.
>
>On Sunday afternoon, the thirty-four hemispheric leaders
>concluded their summit meeting by releasing their official declaration.
>Pronouncing this “The Century of the Americas,” they called for the
>conclusion of negotiations for the FTAA by January 1, 2005, and for the
>official implementation of the new trade treaty by December 31, 2005.
>The declaration also announced a “Program of Action.”  Special social
>funds would be set up by the governments of the hemisphere to alleviate
>poverty, improve health and education, and to provide job training.
>
>This program was reminiscent of an ambitious plan for
>improving education drafted at the last Summit of the Americas held in
>Santiago Chile in 1998. A study by the Miami based Leadership Council
>for Inter-American Summitry concluded that countries and multilateral
>lenders actually provided less money for education projects after the
>summit of 1998 than before it.
>
>President George W. Bush in his remarks to the press at the
>conclusion of the summit made it clear that his main interests were the
>trade provisions of the declaration. He said, “Skeptics should look at
>NAFTA.  I campaigned on a program of free trade.  We will vigorously
>pursue a program of free trade.”  After the end of the FTAA gathering,
>Bush held a special meeting with the other two presidents of NAFTA,
>Chretien of Canada and Vincente Fox of Mexico.  On their agenda,
>according to Bush, was a discussion of an “electrical grid for the
>Northern Hemisphere.”  He added, “if other countries are looking for
>markets, they should look to the US, especially for energy.”
>
>While Bush ignored the popular revolt that occurred outside the
>chain fence perimeter, others at the meeting were visibly concerned.
>Enrique Iglesias, the head of the Inter-American Development Bank told
>the press: “We cannot ignore these kinds of things. The image
>demonstrators create can undermine the capacity of leaders to implant
>free trade.” Even Prime Minister Chretien was forced to admit:
>“Democracies face a crisis of legitimacy and relevancy.”
>
>Special thanks to Eric Squire for his assistance in participating in the
>battle of Quebec City.
>