During the weekend before the WTO Ministerial Meeting, thousands of protesters from all over the world took to the streets of Geneva branding the WTO and the MAI - Multilateral Agreement on Investment - enemies. The demonstrators, loosely gathered under the banner of People’s Global Action (PGA), were a mixed group ranging from farmers to Zapatistas, from health professionals to Brazilian landless peasants, from artists to trade union groups. Their actions were coordinated with those of tens of thousands of grassroots movement activists all over the world. During their mainly peaceful march through Geneva on Saturday afternoon, PGA demonstrators sprayed slogans and broke the windows of institutions such as fast-food restaurants and Swiss banks, which they see as symbols of the evils of global capitalism. A car with diplomatic license plates was also overturned.
Hundreds of other NGO representatives are meeting this week in the United Nation’s Palais des Nations the same building as some of the official sessions of the WTO Ministerial and 50th anniversary celebrations, discussing issues relating to the WTO’s work such as environmental protection; agriculture; gender and trade; labour issues; consumers concerns and transparency of the multilateral trading system.
”As WTO Marks 50 Years, Some Members and Opponents Protest Globalization,” WALL STREET JOURNAL, 18 May 1998 ; “OMC=Organisation mondiale du cavier,” LIBERATION, 18 May 1998.