Anti-globalization activists aren’t very happy with the media's handling of the upcoming protest in Quebec City. Many activists see the media as sidestepping the important issues, such as the implications of the FTAA summit, while focusing on the debate over the use of violence in protests.

To mark one month before the FTAA summit, over a hundred activists marched to the Montreal Stock Exchange last Wednesday. "We're here to say that education and health-care are basic rights for all people," said event organizer Pascal Durand. "We want to stop the propaganda about the threat of violence. We want the media to focus on real issues, like the FTAA."
Conscious of expectations that the protest may turn violent, Durand asked protesters to avoid any acts of violence. "The media portrays us as violent in all its coverage. We democratically decided not to be violent," he explained to the crowd.
Police personnel who turned up anticipating violence, were treated instead to the beats of an anarchist marching band. Protesters set up a metal ringed fence at the bottom of the steps that lead to the stock exchange.
“The fence is a symbol of the separation between the rich elite and the rest of the people," said Durand. "It is a symbol of division."
Above the entrance to the building, a man dressed as a clown covered the Canadian flag with the red and black anarchist banner.
Although the demonstration attracted a relatively low turnout, protester morale was high. "We are not scared by the tactics of the police state," said CSU researcher Dave Bernans, referring to the removal of inmates to a prison near Quebec City to accommodate the large number of activists expected to be arrested. "The RCMP can try to intimidate us, but that is not going to work."
Over 5,000 riot police will be deployed for the April summit in Quebec City, guarding heads of states and corporate leaders who will arrive to discuss the proposed free trade area, encompassing all of North and South America.
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