[www-features] FEATURE PROPOSAL: Actions in Auckland against US/NZ Partnership Forum

Tue Sep 11 00:30:08 PDT 2007

hey all,
here's a feature proposal from aotearoa. i do have access to the
global site so i can upload it (or someone else can of course ;-)).
solidarity
smush
ps. one of the people arrested is an indymedia activist, omar. he's in
court on friday.

PIC: http://indymedia.org.nz/usermedia/image/2/5_edit.jpg

HEADER: <a href="http://indymedia.org.nz">Aotearoa</a>: PROTESTS
AGAINST FREE TRADE

TITLE: Actions in Auckland against US/NZ Partnership Forum

ABSTRACT:

Around 100 people marched down Queen Street in Auckland to protest
against the NZ-US Partnership Forum. The forum, which brings together
representatives of the two governments as well as from major US and NZ
corporations to work on tightening the economic and political links
between the two nations, was moved in the last minute from the
Auckland Museum to the Hilton Hotel. <br />
   <br />
   The protests had begun earlier in the day with <a
href="http://indymedia.org.nz/usermedia/image/3/large/dscf6439edit.jpg">a
picket at the road corner</a> by approximately 20 people. The main
march started at 12 noon, with protesters taking the street, setting
off <a href="http://indymedia.org.nz/usermedia/image/5/large/img_6144edit.jpg">flares</a>
and chanting all the way to the Hilton. Upon arrival at the Forum
venue, a stand-off began with the police. Scuffles erupted when the
police attempted to allow vehicles to enter and exit the hotel. Three
people were arrested and several injured. <br />
    <br />
   <b>Links:</b> <a href="http://notforsale.org.nz/">Our World Is Not
For Sale campaign</a> | <a
href="http://indymedia.org.nz/newswire/display/73647/index.php">Protest
Timeline</a> | <a
href="http://indymedia.org.nz/newswire/display/73654/index.php">Our
World Is Not For Sale Press Release</a> | <a
href="http://indymedia.org.nz/feature/display/71701/index.php">Pre-Protest
Feature</a> | <a
href="http://indymedia.org.nz/feature/display/71713/index.php">Pre-Protest
police repression</a> | <b>Protest Reports:</b> <a
href="http://indymedia.org.nz/newswire/display/73659/index.php">1</a>
| <a href="http://indymedia.org.nz/newswire/display/73660/index.php">2</a>
<b>Images <img src="http://indymedia.org.nz/images/icons/image.gif"
alt="" /> :</b> <a
href="http://indymedia.org.nz/newswire/display/73653/index.php">1</a>
| <a href="http://indymedia.org.nz/newswire/display/73662/index.php">2</a>
| <a href="http://indymedia.org.nz/mod/comments/display/80749/index.php">3</a>
| <a href="http://indymedia.org.nz/mod/comments/display/80771/index.php">4</a>
| <a href="http://indymedia.org.nz/mod/comments/display/80772/index.php">5</a>
| <b>Video <img src="http://indymedia.org.nz/images/icons/video.gif"
alt="" /> :</b> <a
href="http://indymedia.org.nz/newswire/display/73652/index.php">1</a>

BODY:

The protests highlighted a number of issues. An <a
href="http://www.notforsale.org.nz">Our World Is Not For Sale</a>
spokesperson stated that the results of a free trade agreement between
the US and Australia have included "the degradation of
environmental protection, particularly in relation to genetic
engineering of food, the degradation of quarantine laws, an economic
nightmare for small farmers and businesses, a huge increase in
Australia's trade deficit with the us, reduced access to affordable
Australian pharmaceuticals and threats to Australian manufacturing
jobs." The same results and others can be expected if an NZ/US
agreement is signed.
 
 
On the March 
 
 At midday today around 100 people met at Aotea Square. Led by
marchers carrying a huge banner reading 'Notforsale.org.nz: No Free
Trade Deal with the US we marched down Queen Street. The banner was so
big it became a little bit impractical at times as it dragged at the
bottom so some of us carrying it occasionally tripped on it. 
 
 Another comrade led us in an awesome chant that nearly covered
pretty much every concern that demonstrators had about the extremely
destructive form of corporate globalization and state repression being
pushed by the governments of both the US and NZ: "When corporate
elites are on the attack – stand up fight back!, when innocent Iraqis
are under attack – stand up fight back. When GE free is under attack…,
when our environment…, when Tonga's democracy movement is…, when East
Timor is under attack…, when indigenous people are under attack…, when
the Treaty of Waitangi is under attack- STAND UP FIGHT BACK!" 
 
 Arriving at the Hilton 
 
 When we arrived at the entrance to the Viaduct one demonstrator,
with a loud hailer, started saying "if you care about the environment
take a step forward"(I can't remember his exact words). The crowd
steps forward. "If you care about democracy take one step forward."
The crowd stepped forward until they were just in front of the police
lines. Jane Kelsey, a professor of law at the University of Auckland
and well known social justice campaigner, gave an impassioned speech
about how the US-NZ Partnership Forum was such an anti-democratic set
up that it had to meet behind huge security, in much the same way that
Sydney was turned into a police state for APEC, in order to push an
extremely anti-human and anti-democratic form of globalization. She
also spoke of how a huge number of people's organizations of workers,
peasants and other poor people in South East Asia and Latin America
were seriously challenging the neo-liberal corporate globalization
order. In the Philippines, which has suffered over a century of
domination by American imperialism* popular movements have stopped the
government entering into free trade negotiations with the USA. 
 
 The driveway was blocked. Cars couldn't get in or out so the cops
pushed people back to create an entrance for vehicles. The police
formed a new line in front of their entrance way, leaving the
demonstrators to occupy the rest of the entrance. For the next 20
minutes or so there were some more speakers, including ones from the
Water Pressure Group and Citizens Against Privatisation. People milled
around listening to the music, talking and sometimes dancing. 
 
 Cops Get Viciously Violent 
 
 By this stage we were planning on leaving. I was holding up the big
banner at the front and one of the protester leaders came up to me and
said that we were about to leave, so bring the banner back out to the
front of the march. As demonstrators were leaving, the commanding
officer of the Team Policing Unit (the thugs the police use to break
up parties and demonstrations) began barking into his loud hailer that
the entrance was now a restricted zone and that we had to all leave or
we would be arrested. He literally did bark, sounding like a vicious
dog. It took a while for the 70 or so demonstrators to file through to
the footpath because it had been blocked off by road works barriers,
leaving only a metre wide gap to get through. All of a sudden the cops
started barking "MOVE, MOVE, MOVE" and pushed forward in a tight line.
 
 
 The Greenpeace wheelie bin boombox became quite soundtrack like,
suddenly switching track to "bad boys, bad boys. What you gonna do,
what ya gonna do when they come for you". Several people fell over and
then got crushed by other demonstrators being forced back by the cops.
The cops were yelling "get behind the barrier" but no one could get
behind because they were being crushed up against the barrier. During
that scuffle three people were arrested and several activists were
injured by the police. The cops threw punches and grabbed a woman's
breasts. One cop's hat was expropriated.