Home > Press releases > 2001
22 Oct 2001
Thousands of people will converge in the centre of London to call for
changes to global trade rules with a Trade Justice Parade on Saturday
3 November 2001.
Organised by the Trade Justice Movement - a new grouping of development and environmental
organisations (see below) - the parade will highlight the impact of international trade rules on
people, the environment and democracy, and call for a change to the way in which international
trade is regulated.
As governments prepare for major World Trade Organisation talks, the event will send out a
clear message that international trade rules must be made to work for the whole world.
Marlene Barrett, spokesperson for the Trade Justice Movement, said:
"Trade is a powerful force that affects people around the globe.
But it is currently governed by wealthy countries who protect their
own interests at the expense of the planet and the world's poor.
"The Trade Justice Parade gives people in this country the opportunity
to send a clear message to the British Government that they want to
see a trade system that benefits the whole world - and that in the current
international climate, rewriting the unfair trade rules is more vital
than ever. A fair and sustainable world needs fair and sustainable trade."
The parade will include music, puppets and costumes - fat cats, a trade dragon, dodgy traders,
a pirate ship and huge loaded dice will illustrate the wide range of concerns about unfair trade
rules. The parade will finish in Trafalgar Square, where speakers including Naomi Klein (author
of No Logo) and Sergio Cobo (of Fomento, a Mexican NGO working with small farmers and
indigenous people) will address the crowd and a massive banner will be unfurled.
Notes for Editors:
[1] The Trade Justice Parade will take place on Saturday 3 November 2001, starting from Geraldine Mary
Harmsworth Park, outside the Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, London SE1 at 12.30pm and processing to
Trafalgar Square (speakers at 3.30pm).
[2] The Trade Justice Movement is a group of organisations who call for fundamental change to the unjust rules
and institutions governing international trade, so that trade is made to work for all. Members include: Bananalink,
CAFOD, Christian Aid, The Fairtrade Foundation, Friends of the Earth, Intermediate Technology Development
Group, National Federation of Women's Institutes, Oxfam, People & Planet, Save the Children, Tearfund, Traidcraft,
the Women's Environmental Network and the World Development Movement.
[3] Originally planned as a carnival, the Trade Justice Parade has been changed in response to the current
international situation, and will include a minute's silence for victims of injustice everywhere.
[4] The WTO ministerial is scheduled to take place in Doha, Qatar from 9-13 November 2001.
Contact:
www.tradejusticemovement.org.uk
Contact details:
Friends of the Earth
26-28 Underwood St.
LONDON
N1 7JQ
Tel: 020 7490 1555
Fax: 020 7490 0881
Web: www.foe.co.uk/feedback.html
Media team
