When in August this year Australian Finance Minister Mark Vaile announced he was hosting the World Trade Organisation's meeting in Sydney over the 2 days of November 14th and 15th, no one could forsee the huge amount of community pressure that would be placed upon him to cancel the meetings and cancel the WTO invitation.

As soon as he announced the meeting, the Sydney and Australian community rallied together to do all in it's power to stop the meeting from going ahead. Meetings were immediately called across the country and groups have formed [ sydney | melbourne | canberra | brisbane | adelaide | wollongong ] with the single intention: saying NO to the WTO

by Mr Wooly

When in August this year Australian Finance Minister Mark Vaile announced he was hosting the World Trade Organisation's meeting in Sydney over the 2 days of November 14th and 15th, no one could forsee the huge amount of community pressure that would be placed upon him to cancel the meetings and cancel the WTO invitation.

As soon as he announced the meeting, the Sydney and Australian community rallied together to do all in it's power to stop the meeting from going ahead. Meetings were immediately called across the country and groups have formed [ sydney | melbourne | canberra | brisbane | adelaide | wollongong ] with the single intention: saying NO to the WTO

The Australian Fair Trade And Investment Network has put a call out for a rally; various medics have mustered; an autonomous network of media activists has built a comprehensive website of action resources; the No Borders collective has put out a call for an Orange Bloc; there are various autonomous black blocs forming; a red bloc has put out a call to action; and dozens of email lists have formed around the country.

But it doesn't stop there: A queer bloc has formed; a joint pagan and discordian global event is taking place; a Latin American Actiong group "Que se vajan todos" has come together; hundreds of students and teaching staff are expected to protest because of the potentially disastrous affects GATS could have on education and more groups are forming all the time.

Clearly the Australian community has said NO.

But this isn't what Mark Vaile or the N.S.W. Police Minister wanted to hear. Their first move was to start working on secret plans to ban websites advocating protest against the WTO. This enforced censorship would either be by forced removal of content, or by adding the site's addresses to internet filtering software. But any plans are likely to remain secret due to the insidious upcoming changes to the Freedom Of Information Act so advocating dissent is likely to be illegal soon in Australia.

At first there was doubt about where the WTO meeting would be held. Then it was revealed that the meeting would take place in Double Bay, home of Sydney's richest folk, in the very hotel where Michael Hutchence spent his last evening, the Stamford Plaza. A petition by Double Bay residents has been circulating demanding the meetings not take place in their suburb because they "fear the potential mayhem police and protestors are known to cause but we fear the long term effects of the WTO more. "

And it would seem the concerned Double Bay residents are in luck! The Federal and State governments are busy pointing the finger to each other about their mutual lack of insight into choosing such a shoddy venue; a venue that is almost a protestor's dream with it's narrow surrounding streets and lack of opportunity to isolate the hotel.

There are an incredible number of reasons for protesting the WTO and for urging the government to stop the meeting from going ahead. What they decide to do is anybody's guess and we await word from them with baited breath.

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