26th January: Oil, lies and videotape26 January 2003
Yesterday riots about the World Economic Forum (WEF) spread to Berne - further building the impression that it is a Forum under siege. Will Switzerland want the WEF back next year I wonder?
Big brother-why bother?
protest filmed by cops
protest filmed by cops
The WEF has amazingly, nothing to say on protests, riots and security.
Instead at the end of yesterday they launched a campaign to discredit Friends of the Earth and issued a press release about our director Tony Juniper!
The release concentrates on the incident I reported on Friday. It includes, for example, a claim that Tony did not display his accreditation badge (the 'identification documents' necessary to enter the WEF which dangles round delegates necks - and features their picture).
On Friday morning, 24 January, Swiss police refused to allow an associate of Tony Juniper, Vice-Chair of Friends of the Earth International, to bring a large, unidentified bag into the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting.
Extract from World Economic Forum
press release, 25th January 2003
How could Tony make
his badge more visible?
his badge more visible?
Tony was standing in front of and talking to the security for half an hour or so - as you can see from this picture, his id badge could hardly be more visible.
In short the WEF are making out Friends of the Earth is a raving bunch of thugs and making out we're interested in media stunts rather than legitimately questioning the power of multinationals and an unjust trade system.
Needless to say, we're thinking about what to do next as the WEF claims are outrageous and wrong.
An alt. agenda for
oil barons meet
oil barons meet
One of the reasons we challenge the WEF is the behind-closed doors networking of chief executives and politicians which is the real reason they are there.
Yesterday we heard of a secret meeting of oil executives at the WEF and got hold of a report by analysts at Deutche Bank which indicated it is oil executives from the UK and US that will benefit from War in Iraq.
So we wrote out what we thought the Chief Executives would talk about at their secret meeting on a placard and who would not be invited - the public, human rights, oil war victims and so on.
We then trooped to the entrance to the WEF. The protest attracted some media interest as it was on the day that Colin Powell addressed the chief executives inside. His speech was broadcast, but any discussions he had with the oil industry or other executives about the War were very much private.
Don't let big business rule the world,
Matt
Matt Phillips , our Senior Corporates Campaigner is sending daily updates direct from the World Economic Forum.
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