Friday, September 15, 2000
International trade meeting to spark protests
By Marie McCain
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Organizers are hoping the presence of a multinational trade conference in November will convince participants that Cincinnati is an international venue capable of conducting global business and trade.
Those who plan to protest at the event, however, see the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue meeting as an opportunity to spread their view — that the organization is nothing more than a
private club created to circumvent international labor and environmental safeguards.
Either way, organizers and protesters are expecting a peaceful event and hope to avoid any hint of violence that could be compared to unrest at last year's World Trade Organization summit in Seattle.
Created in 1995, the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue is part of “an action plan to enhance economic and political relations” between Europe and America, according to its Web site.
Joe Kramer, vice president of economic development for the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, who helped bring the conference to Cincinnati, said Thursday that protests were anticipated.
“It's not surprising to the TABD folks and it does not change our feelings about having the meeting in Cincinnati,” he said.
He expects about 200 CEOs to attend.
Mr. Kramer said he and other organizers have met with Cincinnati police and officials at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and have developed a plan on security.
Sister Alice Gerdeman is coordinator of the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center in Over-the-Rhine, one of several groups that plan to protest the event. She said the center's protest is intended to educate and inform through a nonviolent “teach-in.”
“We hope to have rallies and a march — everything we do will be done legally,” she said. “We are trying to get permits now.”
Daniel Seligman of the na tional office of the Sierra Club plans to speak at the center's protest as an adviser.
“We intend to present a forum that allows citizens to understand the trade policies,” he said.
“We will primarily be focused on teaching.”
Other groups planning to protest include the AFL-CIO and the Washington, D.C.-based Public Citizen Global Trade Watch, an organization that monitors business.
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