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An invitation to Montreal
there are rides going to montreal on sunday which will likely come
back monday for those of you who might wish to attend just the shut
down of the Conférence de Montréal.
call dave bleakney at CUPW for details.
236 7238
ron
[hey ottawa people -- here's the basic info on operation salami in
montreal between may 24-27. if you're coming, let me know and we'll
arrange billeting and food from here. stay in touch. -- jaggi, on behalf
of operation salami]
[Please post and forward widely]
A plan to resist the MAI and the agenda of big capital ...
-- OPERATION SALAMI --
Montréal, Québec
May 24th to 27th, 1998
WHY SALAMI?
AMI -- Accord Multilatéral sur les Investissements -- is the French
acronym for MAI. "Sal" means bad or dirty. Hence, "Salami" means "dirty
little MAI." It has the alternative meaning of "no good friend."
THE PLAN.
Operation SalAMI is a plan to oppose the MAI and the agenda of big
capital which it represents.
Late this May, hundreds of business and political elites will be
gathering at the posh Sheraton Center Hotel in downtown Montreal. They
will be attending the Conférence de Montréal on Globalized Economies, an
annual three-day celebration of free market economics and corporate
globalization. Confirmed speakers include the Governor of the Bank of
Canada, the Governor of New York, the former head of the European
Commission, representatives of the US Department of State and the
Deutsche Bank Group, as well as senior executives of Bombardier and the
Royal Bank. Corporate "sponsors and collaborators" include Bell Canada
Enterprises, Power Corporation, Hydro-Québec, KPMG and the Globe and
Mail and La Presse newspapers. The entrance fee for the conference is
over $1000.
The featured speaker is to be Donald Johnston, former Liberal cabinet
minister and party President, and currently the Secretary-General of the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) where the
MAI is currently being negotiated behind closed doors.
The Conférence will also include representatives of "Team Canada,"
shamelessly described as "Canadian government experts serving business
in the conquest of world markets" providing business representatives
with "hard data relevant to their immediate needs."
THE RESISTANCE.
Operation SalAMI will be organizing an alternative conference to the
Conférence de Montréal as well as a public demonstration. Importantly,
Operation SalAMI will also attempt to blockade the Conférence de
Montréal. The action is organized on three basic principles:
non-violence, openness and civil disobedience training for any
participant who may be risking arrest or acting as a support person.
The objectives of Operation SalAMI are multifold: to oppose the MAI; to
contribute to the public education campaign on the MAI and its wider
socio-political context; to mobilize diverse groups and individuals; to
disrupt and/or shut down the Conférence de Montréal; to show that the
signing of the MAI -- whether this year or later -- will meet with
widespread resistance; to build and consolidate the non-violent
resistance movement in Québec and elsewhere; to contribute to the
various social struggles against the globalization of injustice and
poverty; and, last but not least, to satisfy one's own personal and
political objectives.
HOW YOU CAN HELP.
You are invited to join potentially thousands of demonstrators from
Montréal and all over Québec, Canada and the United States as we attempt
to shut down the Conférence de Montréal in opposition to the MAI. The
organizers of Operation SalAMI in Montréal can help provide simple
lodgings (bring a sleeping bag) as well as cheap, vegetarian meals (by
donation) for the duration of the Conférence de Montréal. Lodgings and
food are also available for the alternative conference to take place at
the Université de Québec à Montréal (UQAM) from May 22-23rd. We can help
organize civil disobedience training workshops in your area as well as
coordinate rides to and from Montréal.
You can participate in many ways: attend the alternative conference at
UQAM, act as a support person during the blockade starting on May 25th,
attend the celebration demonstration -- "Bye-bye Conférence de
Montréal!" -- on May 27th or participate in the civil disobedience
action by being part of the blockade of the Conférence. If you can't
make it to Montréal, your endorsement as an individual or part of a
group would be much appreciated. As well, donations for our campaign are
always welcome.
WHY THE CONFERENCE DE MONTREAL?
While the Conférence de Montréal is not specifically a negotiating
session for the MAI or another free trade agreement, it is at forums
like the Conférence that ideas like the MAI are conceived and discussed.
The Conférence de Montréal is a fundamentally elitist and pro-business
forum which purposely excludes the representatives of broader civil
society -- labour, women, indigenous persons, anti-poverty groups,
environmental organizations -- while strategizing about how to pursue
policies that are to their detriment.
Importantly, the Conférence de Montréal is a tangible, local symbol of
the corporate-driven globalization process. While the MAI may be
negotiated in Paris, and organizations like the World Trade Organization
or IMF are headquartered elsewhere, the Conférence de Montréal gives us
an opportunity to collectively demonstrate our non-violent resistance to
the MAI. By shutting down the Conférence de Montréal through Operation
SalAMI, we will be adding our voices to the worldwide resistance to the
MAI and the corporate globalization process which it represents. Join
us!
CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR OPERATION SALAMI.
-- Friday May 22nd to Saturday, May 23rd --
Alternative Conference on the MAI, Globalization and Resistance.
Université de Montréal à Québec (UQAM)
-- Sunday, May 24th (morning) --
Final Civil Disobedience Training Workshop.
-- Sunday, May 24th (evening) --
Logistics and Strategy Meeting for All Participants.
[If you are going to be participating in the actual blockade of the
Conférence, either as a support person or as someone who will be risking
arrest, the gatherings on May 24th are very important.]
-- Monday, May 25th to Wednesday, May 27th --
The Conférence de Montréal, Sheraton Center Hotel
25th: The blockade begins ...
27th: Demonstration and celebration.
"Bye-bye Conférence de Montréal!"
OTHER HAPPENINGS.
April 28-29th
MAI negotiations in Paris.
April 28-29th
Protests against the MAI in Paris.
April 30th/May 1st
Midnite street party -- L'AMInuit --
at the Montreal Stock Exchange.
May 18-20th
World Trade Organization Summit in Geneva.
May 18-20th
Worldwide civil disobedience campaign
as part of People's Global Action against Free Trade.
TO GET IN TOUCH.
-- Operation SalAMI --
P.O.Box 282, Station E
Montréal H2T 2A7
tel: (514) 982-6606, ext. 2236
fax: (514) 982-6122
salami@alternatives-action.org
http://www.alternatives-action.org/salami
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.tao.ca
there are never enough police to stop crime, but always
enough to suppress the freedom and desires of the people
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