I am a peace protester. I'm also one of those anti-globalization activists you may have read about. I'd like to tell you who we are and why these issues concern us. On Sept. 28, I went through deserted airports so I could arrive in Washington to protest war and to attend a summit organized against corporate globalization.
Throughout the weekend, I frequently saw signs calling for peace. One in particular had a quote from Jesus that said, "Blessed are the Peacemakers." We protest this war because we don't want innocent civilians in Afghanistan to die.
We don't believe that the war will solve the problem of terrorism. It may actually create more terrorists who are repelled by the bombings.
We also protest this war because it is being used as a smokescreen to advance corporate interests. Since the heinous Sept. 11 attacks, business groups have urged Congress to push through controversial trade initiatives. Business Week magazine writes, "Old agendas are being wrapped in the flag as everyone from Cabinet secretaries to corporate lobbyists tries to capitalize on the public mood."
ExxonMobil recently placed an ad in the New York Times titled "An Opportunity on the Fast Track." The ad explained how the events of Sept. 11 have led to heightened concern over domestic and global economies. ExxonMobil's solution is to grant President Bush fast-track authority, something Bush wanted but could not get before the horrifying events of Sept. 11.
Fast-track authority would give Bush the power to railroad trade agreements through Congress without amendments. These free-trade agreements often end up hurting working people here and abroad, diminishing human rights and damaging the environment.
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At the Washington conference, an organizer from the Indigenous Organizations of Honduras explained how these trade agreements have stripped the people in his country of their mineral rights. More than 60 percent of the land in Honduras was given to corporations during the last decade because the country could not pay off the high rate of interest on its debt, the organizer said. Currently 80 percent of the people of Honduras live in poverty, and free-trade policies have helped cause similar misery elsewhere.
On Sept. 29, 10,000 people marched for peace and economic justice. Since then, I've been to several peace rallies in Madison, Wis. We protesters do not want Bush to compound the senseless violence of Sept. 11. We don't want the war to be used as an excuse to give corporations more power.
I and many other protesters like me are not going to go away.
by Sarah Turner
Knight Ridder-Tribune Columnist
Sarah Turner is a weekly opinion columnist for the Daily Cardinal, a student newspaper at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
She is also an intern at the Progressive Media Project. She can be reached at pmproj@progressive.org.
