FTTA Summit Protest
"Schedule":
April 20, 21, 22
The big protests will be happening in Quebec City in April. The
actual Summit of the Americas takes place from April 20th to April
22nd, and protests are planned for each of these three days.
Each day of protest will have a somewhat different flavour
reflecting the three major categories of progressive forces. In all
cases, protests around the perimeter will be divided into three
different classes of sectors:
a) 'safe' sectors in which there will
be no danger of arrest
b) 'low-risk' sectors in which the
chance of arrest will be minimal but nevertheless present
c) 'high-risk' sectors, in which
civil disobedience and direct action will occur and arrests are
fairly likely.
April 20th
will be dominated by those who object to the FTAA's most
fundamental, underlying principles: lack of democracy, laissez-faire
capitalism, and perpetuation of repressive police-state methods.
Since this sort of resistance poses the most profound threat to
corporate control, a strong police backlash is quite likely. This
will be a day of surprises!
April 21st is the day
of the 'legal march', which, as I understand, will begin at 11:00 am
and conclude with a rally in the mid-afternoon. The march is
organized primarily by labor unions, although many other groups are
participating. There will continue to be protests around the
perimeter, and it is possible that large numbers of marchers will
join the perimeter protests at some point.
The People's March of
the Americas
As part of the People's
Summit of the Americas and the Hemispheric Social Alliance
THE MARCH OF THE PEOPLES OF THE AMERICAS
Saturday April 21st at Noon
Rally: Old Port of Quebec City (Abraham-Martin
Street)
The Réseau québécois sur
líintégration continentale (RQIC) and CommonFrontiers,
along with other coalitions including the Convergence Table are
organizing the March of the Peoples of the Americas under the theme:
Resisting ? Proposing ? Together.
There are other ways to foster continental integration than the
strictly commercial approach of the FTAA. This is why a great number
of organizations that will be in Quebec City during the Summit of the
Americas will participate in this demonstration. Thousands of people
from Canada, Quebec, the United States, and members of the
Hemispheric Social Alliance from Latin America will unite their
voices expressing their opposition to the process of corporate-led
globalization and the commercial agreements that sustain it.
While the heads of states of the hemisphere meet behind the
barricades in order to shape the future of the Americas, all sectors
of civil society will be on the streets voicing their concerns:
unions, women organizations, environmentalists, students, community
organizations, international solidarity organizations, human rights
advocates, groups opposed to corporate-led globalization,
ethno-cultural associations, regional coalitions, church groups.
It will be a colorful, diverse and pacifist march. The route has
been designed in order to avoid provocation and confrontation. All
participants are asked to respect the route in order to ensure the
security of those participating.
Schedule and organization:
- Arrival of people and busses at noon at the Old Port of Quebec
City.We recommend that all buses use highway 40 on their way to
Quebec, and meet us on Saint-Paul Street. For those of you who
are coming by foot, or are planning to use another highway to
enter the city, a committee will meet you on Saint-André
Street.
- A group in charge of March security will be clearly identified
as from the People's Summit and will indicate to you how to get to
the rally on Abraham-Martin Street. There you will find
directions to each of the different sectors of the march.
- Empty busses will be asked to proceed to the parking lot
reserved for the event which is located near the end of the march
in the Victoria Park area. Each bus will be given an
identification number in order tofacilitate the return of
demonstrators to their respective bus. All groups coming by bus,
should also ensure they clearly identify theirvehicles with signs
on the front and back windows.
- In order to limit traffic jams while demonstrators are getting
off the buses, we kindly ask everyone to follow the instructions
given by the security staff of the Peopleís Summit, and be
prepared to get off your bus as quickly as possible after
arriving.
- Only buses and people on foot will be allowed entry to the
rally area. Because of limited parking space for cars and other
vehicles, we recommend that people park their vehicles far from
the rallying and starting points of the march.
- The march will start at 13:30, and will be opened by
international delegations, and the organizers of the event.
- The route will start on Abraham-Martin Street, we will take
Saint-Paul Street - which changes its name and becomes Charest -
up to Rue de la Couronne, where we will turn right to reach the
parking lot of the Municipal Stadium at Victoria Park. This is a
2.5 km route.
- There will be animation throughout the march. We will use the
full width of the streets. These streets will be closed to
traffic, and reserved for participants of the march.
- The participants are expected to reach the end of the march,
the parking lot of the Municipal Stadium at Victoria Park, at
around 15:00. This area is big enough to accommodate 20,000
people.
- There will be musical animation while people are arriving at
Victoria Park.
- There will be 1 hour of speeches following the March where
representatives of the Hemispheric Social Alliance, as well as
representatives from the Convergence Table will address the
public.
- The event is expected to end at 16:15.
- We are asking all organizations and participants to take their
placards, and all other materials away with them.
- We will announce from the stage how to proceed to the buses.
Members of the security staff of the Peopleís Summit will
direct participants to the location of the buses' parking site
located near Victoria Park.
- An information pamphlet with further information for marshals
and bus coordinators will be circulated shortly to the members of
the RQIC, Common Frontiers, and the Convergence Table and posted
on this website.
- A detailed map of the route of the March of the Peoples of the
Americas, as well as a map indicating the drop-off locations, the
starting and ending points of the march and the busesí
parking lot will be made available shortly.
Other information:
- Each organization participating in the event is asked to
ensure marshaling. We suggest 4 people for 50 participants. We
ask that these people be identified with an armband of the colors
of their organization.The People's Summit security staff will
ensure coordination with the marshals.
- For the participants coming from outside Quebec City, and
planning to drive into the city, whether by bus or by car, we
suggest that you eat prior to your arrival in Quebec since we are
expecting a lot of people on the 21st in an area with very few
restaurants.
- Toilets will be on site, and ambulances will be available in
case of emergency.
- The organizing committee of the Peopleís Summit has
obtained a demonstration permit from the Quebec municipality and
we are discussing with the authorities our request to close the
streets to traffic.
- The route is wheelchair-friendly.
- We strongly suggest that participants bring warm clothes with
them, as well as rain gear and food. Watch the weather forecasts
the day prior to the march.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, WE RECOMMEND THAT
YOU CONTACT YOUR RESPECTIVE ORGANIZATIONS
WELCOME TO THE MARCH OF THE PEOPLES OF THE AMERICAS!!!
April
22ndis Earth Day which, this
year, has been declared 'Fair Trade Day'. Environmental groups will
be mounting a collective rally during the day, as well as an open
speaker symposium and other events which Brian Sarwer-Foner is
organizing in conjunction with OQP2001. The symposium and other
lectures will take place at CEGEP de Limoilou (Adresse: 1300, 8e
Avenue, C.P. 1400 Quebec (Quebec) G1K 7H3, Telephone: (418) 647-6600
Telecopieur: (418)647-6798). The Green Party will be participating in
and co-sponsoring these events, so greens are of course urged to
participate in large numbers. More info will be forthcoming as things
take shape
Info: eric and others
BACK to
FTAA
Index
Counter Set April 4,
2001