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Anti-WTO activists make their move
Masked: An activist wraps his face in a scarf before taking part in a demonstration against a World Trade Organization (WTO) conference at Renon Field in Denpasar, Bali, on Monday
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span class="inline inline-center">Masked: An activist wraps his face in a scarf before taking part in a demonstration against a World Trade Organization (WTO) conference at Renon Field in Denpasar, Bali, on Monday. JP/Agung Parameswara
Large contingents of uniformed and plainclothes police officers were sent to guard foreign consulates and strategic facilities in Denpasar on Monday.
Their deployment was due to anti WTO (World Trade Organization) activists keeping their promise to make their dissenting voices heard through rallies and discussions throughout the ninth WTO Ministerial Meeting slated to be held on Dec. 3-6 in Nusa Dua, Bali.
Early in the morning, activists from Gerak Lawan voiced their opposition against the global trade organization by cycling around Puputan Margarana, a vast field that lies in the heart of the administrative district in Renon. They wore white headbands emblazoned with '#EndWTO'.
Hasan Harry Sandy Ame from the national secretariat of the Youth Solidarity Festival said that three policy packages, known as the Bali Package, that would be discussed in the ministerial meeting would endanger the fate of Indonesian people.
'None of the WTO agreements will benefit Indonesian people. It will only marginalize us, all communities, including farmers, women, professionals and even civil servants,' Harry said.
'All of the packages are only the US' attempt to control international trade. Our people will only become victims of all those policies,' he declared.
As many as 200 uniformed police officers equipped with riot gear were deployed to protect the consulate building. They formed a human barricade that separated the protesters from the consulate's main gate.
'The deployment of such a large number of officers is important in our effort to prevent the rally from escalating into something negative,' Denpasar Police deputy chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Gusti Kade Budhi Harryarsana said, as quoted by Metrobali.com.
He said that another contingent of riot police had also been deployed to the Australian consulate on Jl. Tantular in Renon.
Meanwhile, numerous NGOs ' under the Gerak Lawan and the Social Movements for an Alternative Asia alliance ' held a public discussion at the Yuwana Mandala sports hall in Denpasar on Monday, during which they called for the dissolution of the WTO.
Pablo Solon, the executive director of Thailand-based Focus on the Global South, said that the organization had mainly benefited big transnational companies in developed countries.
'The philosophy behind it [the WTO's establishment] was to promote trade, economic growth and poverty reduction. Now it has been 18 years and we see that this has not happened,' Solon, who once served as Bolivia's ambassador to the United Nations, said on the sidelines of the discussion.
Muhammad Ikhwan of the Indonesian Farmers Union (SPI) said that his organization had stopped believing that trade talks under the WTO would actually bring about changes.
He forecast that this year's ministerial meeting would be no different to previous ones and would end in an impasse.
Similar protests were also held by students and activists from a number of NGOs in Makassar, South Sulawesi.
'The WTO conference will only strengthen the control of imperialists, especially the United States, over Third World nations, including Indonesia. Only powerful countries will gain profits, while poor, developing countries will suffer,' said Muhlis, coordinator of the rally.
'All the agreements made by the Indonesian government and imperialist countries have led to many foreign investors investing their money in the country and snatching away people's land. Many Indonesians have lost their land, while the land was their only source of income,' he added.
He also highlighted the education sector, which has been dominated by capitalist investors.
The protesters urged the Indonesian government to conduct a reform of the agricultural and industrial sectors in a bid to improve people's welfare.
As well as staging a rally, the protesters also held a theatrical performance, in which they portrayed what they described was the people's misery caused by liberalism and imperialism.
- Andi Hajramurni contributed to the story from Makassar
