A CALL TO FAIR TRADE OAS ACTION!!! PROTEST THE OAS!!! THE STRUGGLE TO STOP THE FTAA IS NOT OVER!!! The next round is in SOUTH FLORIDA, JUNE 3rd THROUGH JUNE 9th. Activists in South Florida are now organizing a protest at the upcoming General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), the originator of both the FTAA and the proposed Central American Free Trade Area (CAFTA). Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice will be meeting with 1,200 dignitaries in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, arriving on Friday, June 3rd, in part to promote "free" trade. We must send a powerful message rejecting "free" trade and its implications for our human, environmental, and economic rights. We also will protest the OAS for its actions regarding human rights, the environment and foreign domination in Central and South America and the Caribbean. Be there!!!
The OAS, following the lead of multinational corporations, gave birth to the idea of the first Summit of the Americas in the early nineties. A notoriously two-faced hypocritical animal, the OAS claims that it is a promoter of "peace, justice and solidarity", but has actually turned a blind eye to human rights violations and U.S. imperialistic domination throughout South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. It has never condemned the forced U.S. domination of countries such as Nicaragua, Grenada, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Chile, among others--and most recently Haiti. In addition to the OAS' weakness on human rights issues, the OAS has a terrible record on environmental issues, which is another cause it claims to promote. The OAS has allowed the continuing deforestation of the rainforests at alarming rates, and when assigned the Summit of the Americas' non-trade part of the agenda, environmental and human rights issues were blatantly ignored!
Our event will include: a film festival on Friday evening, June 3rd featuring "La Resistance", a documentary about the first Haitian coup of Aristide, and a discussion with its producer Kathleen Kern, located at the I.B.E.W. Union Hall, 201 SE 24th St., Ft. Lauderdale; a "Carnival of the Americas" at St. Maurice Catholic Church at 2851 Sterling Road in Dania Beach, an all day/evening event on Saturday which will offer free multicultural vegan/vegetarian food and music, guerilla theatre, puppet-making, sign-making and poetry, and information-sharing workshops (childcare provided); and finally a peaceful rally and march to the OAS meeting convention center from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) building at noontime on Sunday June 5th; also, an alternative ministerial will be held on Sunday evening in Miami, hosted by the Boliverean Circle.
We want our Carnival and other events to create a forum for discussion, debate, and creativity, to include a wide range of people and to envision the world that a truly-representative OAS might create. Some of the topics for our informational workshops on Saturday include: U.S. domination in Central and South America, the history of the FTAA, how the FTAA affects workers, Cuba, Haiti, veganism and hunger in South America, saving the Everglades, and local struggles.
Many groups have endorsed our action, including: the South Florida AFL-CIO, the Miami and Broward Green Parties, the Sierra Club, the Florida Fair Trade Coalition, Code Pink, Veye Yo, the Haiti Solidarity Committee, Root Cause, the Bolivarean Circle, Lake Worth Global Justice Group, the North Miami Collective, Rattle the Cage, Alliance of Retired Americans and the Broward Anti-War Coalition. We wish to coordinate with any state and/or national organizations which may already have plans to attend or mobilize for this OAS protest event. Visit our website at www.AJA2005.org. Please contact us, if possible, to let us know what actions you and/or your organization will take to make this protest heard, or if you have questions about lodging etc. You can contact us at
justiceintheamericas@yahoo.com , or by calling Jack at 305-582-4846, Ray at 754-423-0051 or Rebecca at 305-756-4686.
A Call for Autonomous Action At the OAS Summit in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida June 3rd - 9th 2005: This is an invitation going out to affinity groups (AGs) and individuals that have been involved in resistance to the ongoing trend of capitalist expansion and colonial expliotation now known as 'globalization'. The heads of 34 nations in the western hemisphere will once again be meeting in South Florida (this time as the Organization of American States), to discuss further industrializing and privatizing the Americas. This is not a call for mass mobilization and confrontation at the Summit fences... Yes, there will be riot cops (particularily at the official AJA protest Sunday, June 4th), NGOs, legal teams, etc.; the 'Miami Model' is already in full swing as the City of Fort Lauderdale has agreed to pass a new anti-protest ordinance, close public roads and sink several million dollars into security. Yes, there are marches, rallies and festivals in the works. But this invitation is more specific. It is likely that direct-action oriented participation will be pretty limited, so those of us who can attend will need to make our presence count. As we know, several well-prepared affinity groups can have a large impact. We are proposing that AGs come with one of three ideas in mind: -Blockades, disruptions and stunts that require small numbers, low risk, high visibility and clear message to OAS delegates -Creative direct actions that can grab the spotlight from the summit and highlight local struggles and radical alternatives -Propaganda brigades to cover the streets with art and information by night and to go door-to-door by day in the neighborhoods surrounding the summit Resources & accommodations for direct action planning are very limited. If you have resources to contribute or specific requests of local organizers, please get in touch ASAP. anacardiaceae collective 561-547-6686.