First paragraph (Teaser):

by Amardeep Kaur Gill

Written and Compiled by Amardeep Kaur Gill, from Target: WTO!
Photos, video clips, stories, timeline of events and more following Dec 17th events in Hong Kong.

HONG KONG, (Dec 19, 2005) – As the WTO 6th Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong reached the 5th day of talks on Saturday December 17 of potential agreements and deals in global trade and agricultural opening, protesters from all around the world put up one of the strongest struggle against WTO polices. In an attempt to derail the WTO meeting from its killer polices that create poor conditions for farmers, women, and migrants in many non-western countries, unarmed activists overpowered the police reaching meters from the Wan Chai Convention Convention and Exhibition Centre where the meeting was taking place.

Rest of the text: Following the brutal use of police violence and release of five tear gas canisters, about 1,000 protesters moved back to stage a peaceful sit-in a block away from the Convention Centre on Gloucester Road. About 900 were arrested as police surrounded the peaceful occupiers refusing anyone in or out and denying access to water, food, blankets and sanitary facilities for over 12 hours to 18 hours. Allied organizations and activists are currently working hard in solidarity to have all remaining protestors who are being detained released immediately and to have charges against 14 protesters dropped. The Struggle : The struggle began at 3.30pm on Saturday afternoon as the first group confronted against pepper spray and water cannons at the permitted protest zone in Wan Chai to break through the police barricades. Meanwhile a large contingent of protesters that began the second march at 4pm from Victoria Park splintered off in different directions on Lockhart Road. The normal uniform police on the streets, marshaling the march, were caught off and unprepared for the multiple splits. Both groups dispersed out, breaking police barricades and taking over Hennessey Road. A large number managed to converge at the perfect breakaway place, Central Plaza (just outside the vicinity of Harbour Road entry to Convention Centre). As the last splintered group arrived at Central Plaza around 6pm, it formed the third front against the police line catching them unprepared. The 2,000 unarmed protesters overpowered the police, removing metal barriers and shields of the police. The groups finally broke through around 7pm but before the protesters could run further, five tear gas canisters were released without prior warning. As most protesters stepped back, choking, vomiting and crying in pain and tears, a small number continued in an effort to enter the Convention Centre but were arrested just meters away. About 50 riot gear police rushed into the conference to protect delegates in case protesters sieged the conference venue. About 70 have been injured and hurt from the police violence, pepper spray and use of tear gas including two protesters in critical conditions. The Occupation, Mass Arrests and Detention: 1,000 protesters staged a peaceful sit-in and occupation on Gloucester road at 8pm as the protesters retreated back to recover from the brutal use of tear gas. The protesters primarily South Korean and South-East Asian nationals danced, chanted and continued the spirit to fight against WTO polices that is destroying their livelihood. Victor Menetti with the International Forum on Globalization stationed inside the convention centre released a message to the protesters outside that the demonstrators had managed to cause a disruptive impact inside when they nearly reach the conference site. A victory announcement was made to the over 1,000 peaceful occupiers at about 10.30pm and the demonstrators celebrated with chants, cheers, drums, and dance. The meeting, however, continued through the night despite initial disruptions. The peaceful protesters refused to leave the area when the police threatened the use of tear gas and rubber bullets again. At about midnight, Police gave an ultimatum that all the occupiers would be arrested for illegal assembly and the violence they had stirred. The police had surrounded the demonstrators from all sides and was refusing anyone in or out. The peaceful occupiers remained without food, water, blankets and sanitary facilities for many hours, creating harsh conditions that exhausted the protesters. The arrests began at 3.30am as police started removing the occupiers individually. The protesters, tired out by now, went with little resistance. The arrests were made in two rounds to cope with the large number of protester, finally ending at 2pm the following afternoon on Sunday. In the early morning, a small number of Hong Kong residents managed to by-pass the police line without arrest but their ID card number and names were noted down for further investigation. The arrested were put in cells overloading up to 4 times its capacity. Some prison buses carrying the protesters remained parked on car-park without food until late afternoon because of lack of space in cells. On Sunday afternoon, the chief executive of Hong Kong, Donald Tsang, stated legal action and persecution will continue on the arrested protesters with sufficient evidence. The Struggle Continues : As the morning dawned on Sunday, International League of People's Struggle declared a solidarity march. Several Hong Kong protesters went on hunger strike in solidarity with the arrested. Protesters, mainly consisting of women and migrant groups came out in the afternoon to deliver their message against WTO and police violence with colorful displays of international solidarity, cultural traditions and their livelihoods. Two groups, one of which consisted of Korean Peasants League, managed to splinter from the march again on Sunday to go to the Wan Chai Police Station, demanding the release of its brothers and sisters. All Hong Kong residents were released on HK$500-$1,000 late Sunday afternoon. However, no information on charges or conditions have been confirmed. About 188 women protesters, mainly Koreans, were released on Sunday night and were taken back to their camp site. The women who have been released have made known the excessive use of force and brutality by Hong Kong police. One Korean woman stated that the “police humiliated them�? and did not allow privacy in toilet. Others were slapped in the face when they refused strip search. Allied activists and organizations from La Via Campesina, Target: WTO, Hong Kong People's Alliance are proceeding with solidarity efforts, legal support and international appeals to have the arrested and detained released immediately and unconditionally and that their human rights be protected. A candle vigil was held on Sunday night and supporters stayed overnight outside the Kwun Tong Police Station and Court. At the time of writting, about 700 are still in prison/detention centres. Exact details of the arrested and conditions are not known as police is denying the arrested activists their right to phone contact. Unconfirmed reports state that all others are going to be released late night by 3am Tuesday morning due to the lack of sufficient evidence to charge them within 48 hours. 14 protesters of which 11 are Koreans face charges at the Kwun Tong Magistracy for illegal assembly at 11pm Monday open to public hearing. The court hearing has now been extended until 23rd December. Inside the WTO trade talks : As the 6 day summit comes to an end, a draft agreement has been signed on to. Poor people, migrants, farmers, fisherfolks of Third World countries and East Asian countries are faced again with a bad deal that continues to put rich nations in domination of the political economy and exploitation of third world local markets. LDCs and developing nations want the US and EU to end agricultural subsidies by 2010. The US and the EU say they will end half of them by 2010, and all of them by 2013. "This text is going to kill poor people", remarks a woman activist with an NGO. Aileen Kwa with Focus on the Global South claims the agreed end to export subsides by European Union and United States is simply a box-shifting approach and that the text does not reveal any true closure of subsidized exported by rich-nations. This will continue dumping of its subsidized agricultural products that will improvish small-scale farmers in Asia and other countries. "This text is a recipe for disaster, and many developing countries will not be able convince people back home that they have come back with a good deal. The intention of the final G20 meeting headed by Brazil’s Celso Amorin and India’s Kamal Nath was to compliment one another to cover up the fact that they have agreed to a disaster," said Dr Walden Bello of Focus on the Global South. A follow up meeting is set for April 2006. ----- About the writer: Amardeep is an activist in Hong Kong and Canada against globalization, capitalism, patriachy and white supremacy. She is currently the web coordinator and main editor of Target: WTO (http://targetwto.revolt.org) resource. ----

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EDIT (Mic. Lessard, for the CMAQ) * made summary shorter and link clickable * improved title (made it clearer this is a 2005 report * Themes : - added Repression - kept Globalisation and Poverty, but removed Economy and Imperialism (the two later are related terms but not discussed as such in the article) - removed the theme Counter-Summit, since this was not a Counter-Summit but a protest at a summit.