Archived press release

Mass Parade to Call for Trade Justice

22 October 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 environmentalorganisations (see below) - the parade will highlight the impact of international trade rules onpeople, the environment and democracy, and call for a change to the way in which internationaltrade is regulated.

As governments prepare for major World Trade Organisation talks, the event will send out aclear 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 traderules. The parade will finish in Trafalgar Square, where speakers including Naomi Klein (authorof No Logo) and Sergio Cobo (of Fomento, a Mexican NGO working with small farmers andindigenous 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 MaryHarmsworth Park, outside the Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, London SE1 at 12.30pm and processing toTrafalgar Square (speakers at 3.30pm).
[2] The Trade Justice Movement is a group of organisations who call for fundamental change to the unjust rulesand 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 DevelopmentGroup, 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 currentinternational 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

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust