10 September 2003
WTO Bulletin #5
The human tragedy of the World Trade Organization's
approach to food and agriculture were brought home today with the apparent suicide
of 56-year old Korean farmer Lee Kyong Hae during a mass protest of indigenous
peoples and peasant farmers in the city of Cancun.
The march, timed for the opening day of
the fifth ministerial meeting of the WTO, was the culmination of a forum of
peasant farmers and indigenous peoples from through the Americas, alongside the
international peasant movement Via Campesina. Their goal was to educate, debate
and develop alternatives to the WTO’s free trade model of agriculture, and to
make their presence felt among the leaders who claim the right to make such
rules on their behalf.
Their key demand was the removal of
policies about food from the grip of the WTO and the right of
self-determination for indigenous peoples, small farmers and democratic
governments over food security to ensure that agricultural policies meet their
people’s basic needs.
The protest of around 5000 people was
located in the township of Cancun. The march became a rally when it was
confronted by barricades that were erected at the entry point to the Hotel
Zone, some 10 kilometres from the conference venue.
An initial skirmish saw several parts of
the metal barrier torn down. Police reinforcements arrived, preventing any
large scale breach from occurring. Some rocks were thrown by both sides. An
initially tense stand off calmed down. Some campesina returned to participate
in the remaining forums.
Others maintained a presence at the broken barriers, making impassioned speeches against the WTO.