Archived press release

Put Tony in Your Pocket and Curb the Powers of the WTO

30 July 2003

Friends of the Earth today urged the British public to reclaim their Prime Minister and put him in their pockets, to stop the Government doing damaging new deals at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial meeting in Cancun, Mexico, this September [1].

All around the country people are adopting a pocket Tony following concerns that he is in the pocket of big business and is promoting the demands of trans-national corporations before the concerns of individual voters, who are worried about the impact of a new WTO deal on people and the environment [2].

The UK Government is leading the EU in calling for a new investment agreement at the WTO, designed to make it easier for trans-national corporations to invest in developing countries. But Friends of the Earth, development NGOs, and many developing countries [3] are opposed to the deal which will take power away from governments and citizens to hand it to big businesses profiting at the expense of local people and the environment.

Thousands of people around the country have voiced their opposition to the new deal by taking part in the Trade Justice Movement's record-breaking lobby of MPs. Now Friends of the Earth (a member of the Trade Justice Movement) is taking the message to the Prime Minister with a virtual display of mini-Tony's, sitting in the public's pocket, back where he belongs [4].

Friends of the Earth's Corporate Globalisation Campaigner Eve Mitchell said:

"Our Prime Minister seems to be sitting deep in the pockets of big business. His stand on GM is a case in point. The British public keep saying "NO!", but somehow Mr Blair still supports GM food and crops. We want people to put him in their pockets and let him be seen to be there. His Government is currently leading the world in pushing for a new agreement that could be bad news for developing nations, and disastrous for our environment. But he is intent on listening to the business leaders who have most to gain. Tony Blair must listen to the British public. They have already voiced their opposition once - and I am sure they will do it again."

Pocket-sized Tony's to cut out and keep are available on-line at www.pocketPM.co.uk

Notes

[1] World Trade Organisation Ministerial, Cancun, Mexico, 10-14^th September 2003.

[2] See www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/open_wide_this_wont_hurt_a_bit.pdf (PDF†)

[3] See WTO document, reference WT/WGTI/W/152, 19 Nov 2002

[4] See www.pocketPM.co.uk

†To view PDF files you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Visually impaired users can get extra help with these documents from access.adobe.com.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust