31 august 2002
amsterdam, foe netherlands
Earth Summit threatens to turn into Trade
Summit
Thousands demonstrate in Amsterdam
One thousand message planks for the UN on
JohannesBridge
Amsterdam, 31 August 2002 --- Thousands
joined in today's demonstration "Limits to
Trade" on the Dam Square in Amsterdam. Over
one thousand planks painted with personal
messages to the UN Summit were nailed on to
the JohannesBridge. The JohannesBridge is a
symbol of Dutch people's concern about the
issues on the agenda in Johannesburg. The
Bridge calls on the ministers and world
leaders
gathered there to stop choosing trade above
people and the environment. The demonstration
was organised by Friends of the Earth
Netherlands together with fifty other
NGOs.
At 3:45 pm this afternoon, special envoy
to Kofi Anan for the Earth Summit and former
environmental minister in the Netherlands,
Pronk and the present environmental minister
Van Geel were asked some difficult questions.
They spoke to the people gathered in
Amsterdam live via a huge video screen. Pronk
and Van Geel are still hopeful that the
Summit will achieve good results.
At present the NGOs are not happy with how
the Earth Summit is developing. The
negotiating text now on the table is a time
bomb under sustainable development. The text
says that environmental treaties will be
subordinate to trade treaties. It would seem
that the Earth Summit is rapidly turning into
a new found of WTO negotiations. The current
text contains more than 200 references to the
World Trade Organisation, WTO.
Yesterday, NGOs including Friends of the
Earth, Oxfam, Greenpeace, WWF and Consumers
International left the negotiations on trade
and sustainability. They have said they will
not return until the issue of sustainability
i s taken seriously.
Art Installation in Johannesburg on
September 1st Tomorrow, Friends of the Earth
Netherlands will join its sister
organisations from around the world in
building a huge art installation with the
theme "Hear Our Voice". Artists from Soweto
have made 5,500 paper-maché people sculptures
that will be confronted by ahuge corporate
giant that symbolises the power corporations
have over the people. The sculptures will be
surrounded by the sound of radio messages,
which were collected from all over the
world.
For more information:
Milieudefensie Press Office, tel: +31 20
5507 333
For more about the JohannesBridge and the
Earth Summit see
www.foenl.org
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