A-Infos (en) US, Citizens Confront US Representative to OAS in New Orleans

[kame504@altavista.com]

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Citizens Confront US Representative to OAS in New Orleans 
   On March 19, 2001, 7 citizens from the group NO-FTAA (www.no-ftaa.org) in  
New Orleans, LA, attended a luncheon on the FTAA and the upcoming Summit of  
the Americas at The World Trade Center in New Orleans. The featured speaker  
was Luis J. Laredo, the USA’s representative to the Organization of American  
States(OAS), the organization responsible for the FTAA and the upcoming 3rd  
Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, Canada, this April. Mr. Laredo is  
also the co-cooridnator of the summit in Canada. 
    Mr. Laredo spoke to area business interests, some corporate media in  
attendance,  Latin American Consulars, and the “Tulane University Business  
School Students”(really NO-FTAA) on the FTAA, NAFTA, Fast Track, free trade,  
the inevitability of globalization, and the protests and concerns of the  
public. Highlights include when he spoke about having to be guarded from  
protestors in NYC the day before as he spoke to the Council of the  
Americas(a bunch of corporations), his stressing how much he wants to see  
“corporate responsibility”, and his manipulation of language, such as  
scolding a question asker for referring to what he now calls “Preferential  
Trade Authority” as Fast Track. Tricky tounges! Watch out for changes in  
language during the summit. Also a question was asked referring to the  
possibility of moving up the implementation date to 2003, but he stated that  
Brazil’s resistance to it and no wide support for it made it unlikely. 
    Their was a Q & A period at the end of his speech, and NO-FTAA immediately  
tried to begin questioning him. One question was fielded from that group, on  
the devastating effects of NAFTA on Mexico and the USA, citing Business  
Week, then he avoided the group for the next few questions, then the hosts  
cut him off and ended the program, announcing you could talk with Mr. Laredo  
afterwards. And we did just that. He was confronted with many questions and  
with facts to back them up about human rights, labor standards, job loss,  
sweatshops, “corporate responsibility” being used to replace the laws  
stripped away as “barriers to trade”, environmental concerns, health care,  
unions, and more. He was confronted in such a manner as to hear what he had  
to say, and our group dismantled his whole argument, except for the  
unargueable rhetoric of globalization being “inevitable”.  He finally rushed  
out, and we showed once again to those in power that resistance is growing,  
and we are everywhere. We said goodbye with ”See you in Quebec City in  
April!” Success! 
Mr. Laredo was appointed to his current position by Former President  
Clinton, and is expected to be replaced after the summit with a Bush  
appointee. Mr. Laredo has worked for the State Department, the  
(InterAmerican Development Bank)IDB, and in the private sector for a bank or  
something. He is planning, and is looking forward to, on returning to the  
private sector after he is replaced.  NO-FTAA would like to thank Mr. Laredo  
for coming to New Orleans, and hope he returns, because we will be here. We  
also would like to wish him well in Buenos Aires, where he fears protestors  
will show up, and then also in Quebec City, where tens of thousands of our  
closest friends will be there to greet this amazing(ly arrogant and  
uncaring) man. I’m sure he looks forward to it. 
Visit the N.O.-FTAA website at: www.NO-FTAA.org 
Come to the area’s Solidarity Protest in, New Orleans, if you can’t make it  
to Quebec City, Canada! It didn’t start in Seattle and it won’t end in  
Quebec, we are everywhere! 
If this man plans a visit to your town, please give him the welcome he  
deserves.             

Anarchism is New Orleans 
http://www.angelfire.com/la2/neworleansanarchists/


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