Thread: Protesters Mob Police at WTO Meeting

This article can be found at www.journalnow.com:



Protesters mob police at WTO talks in Hong Kong
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sunday, December 18, 2005


HONG KONG

Hundreds of protesters wielding bamboo sticks broke through police lines yesterday and tried to storm the convention-center site of world trade talks, but security forces scattered the crowd with tear gas. Police said that 41 people were injured and 900 were detained.

Police Commissioner Dick Lee said that the injured included five police officers. Two people were hospitalized. Police were determining whether to formally arrest those detained.

The demonstrations were the most violent during the weeklong meeting of the World Trade Organization.

Security forces spent much of the afternoon fighting running street battles with protesters, including South Korean farmers, Southeast Asian groups and activists from Europe and America. The demonstrators oppose the WTO's efforts to open up world markets.

Protesters hit police with bamboo sticks and used a metal barrier to ram a line of officers armed with riot shields. The police fought back with clubs, pepper spray and water cannons that shot a chemical mixture that burned the skin and eyes.

The clash occurred just minutes after Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee went on television and warned the public to stay away from the area. "The police will take robust action to dispel these illegal and violent actions," Ambrose Lee warned.

The six-day meeting will end today, and delegates were trying to agree on a final statement showing at least modest progress toward lowering trade barriers in agriculture, manufacturing and services.

A draft agreement circulating yesterday indicated that negotiators failed to tackle the toughest issues. Though it showed some progress in a few areas, it also was riddled with loopholes and gaps that might be hard to close with little time left.

One of the most contentious issues was setting a deadline for ending government payments to domestic producers to promote exports, a key demand of poorer nations. The draft suggested that such export subsidies be eliminated by 2010 - a date likely to be opposed by the European Union

The smart people of different nations DO NOT WANT TRADE DEALS BECAUSE THEY ARE BAD FOR EVERYONE CONCERNED!!!!!

Is NOBODY getting this MESSAGE out there????

Say a prayer today for these brave souls with bamboo sticks in hand standing up against the China Communist Regime and the World Trade Organization. I fear for them.

These are our Citizen Friends along with the South Koreans who protested Bush's visit because the Asia Pacific Free Trade Agreement and the South Americans who protested Bush's visit to Argentina.

The masses are not a bunch of fools. The masses of the world know what is going on and are saying NO.

Wake Up America!!

It's time to demand the Impeachment of this Traitor in the White House selling out the World.

Get his ass out of there and do it now. And I'm not speaking of his "donkey".