From the moutains and valleys of the Andes, the people of the land call for a continental and global action.

The Confederación Campesina of Ecuador CONFEUNASSC-CNC, member of the CLOC and Via Campesina, committed to the Continental Campaign against the FTAA, makes a call to join the Mobilization in resistance and struggle against the neo-FTAA Free Trade Agreement, to occur in Quito the 17th of April, global day of Campesina Struggle.

In Québec, Cancún and Miami we achieved victories for the sovereignty of our nations and the unity of our people. The fathers of neoliberalism know that united we are stronger, so they have a new strategy of "divide and conquer" and are pushing Bilateral Free Trade Agreements.

The gaze of the USA encompasses the entire American continent. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was the harbinger and now they hope for the commencement of CAFTA in Central America. The main course will be we of the Andean region, and Argentina, Brasil and Venezuela will be served for dessert.

Ecuador has been and remains a country in resistance just as the other Andean countries continue resisting the attacks of neoliberalism. For years, not only have we resisted; we have also built and rebuilt alternative ways of life based in solidarity and support that guarantee the sovereignty of the people.

The Bolivian people in social rebellion suffered the loss of && lives in defense of their identity and sovereignty, overthrowing the president and protecting the natural resources. Our Colombian brothers and sisters live immersed in state repression and violence accelerated and regionalized and by Plan Colombia, a project propelled by US imperialism. In the case of Ecuador, the national government has called itself the best ally of the US, and they are proving it: in the last months, they have arrested, attacked and assassinated many social leaders and whose audacity has reached the point of censorship of the media, violating the right to free expression.

The mobilization of resistance in Quito will be days of struggle and celebration, that is to say, days of reflection, analysis and growth, of cultural and artistic demonstrations. We will be thousands of living beings, rising from of every corner of the planet in order to make our voices heard, to say strong and loud:

Yes to Life!
No to the neo-FTAA!
No to the Free Trade Agreements!

HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?

There are many ways to participate in the continental actions: -Plan an action in your community, city, and country.

-Support the nearest mobilization.
-Help provide the necessary resources for the mobilizations.
-Organize popular education venues and distribute information before, during and after the demonstrations and days of action.
-Prepare the means to respond if there is repression against the demonstrations (this includes sending faxes and emails, making calls, actions/vigils in places of interest, works of informative media and publicity, etc.). We can communicate in many languages (have no fear).
Companions, In our country we are developing a proposal for the mobilization that we wand to divulge and the space is open to the reception of proposals, ideas and additions.

Since we know that the Ecuadorian cost will be the most affected region of the country, we have decided to mobilize ourselves in force from April 15th in massive caravans that will go from the most distant communities of the cost to the destination Guayaquil, the largest city of Ecuador and major export center (for its port), on April 17.

The other large concentration will be in Quito, the country's capital, where demonstrators will arrive from the fields and the cites of the provincial region, in order to demand a meeting with the Ecuadorian negotiators of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States.

We hope that the different activities and actions will be open to the participation of all those affected by neoliberalsim, represented by the FTAA, the World Trade Organization, Bilateral Agreements, militarization, etc.
We are calling everyone: men, women and children, the flowers, the potatoes, corn, cows, dogs, the ducks, doves, the air, water, wind, sun the earth, the PACHAMAMA .

We came up with the idea of inviting street food vendors to a sit-in in front of Mc Donald$, in order to promote Food Sovereignty, among other alternatives.


Comment:

san diego a17 action
The ORGANIC Collective, 04.10.2004 08:55
April 17th, A Celebration of Resistance for International Day of Farmers' Struggle

2pm @ The City Heights Recreational Center on Fairmont and Landis

In honor of Via Campesina's call to action for International Day of Farmers' Struggles around the world, we will be doing a joint event with San Diego Indymedia showing films and sharing free organic food on Saturday, April 17th at 2pm at the City Heights Recreational Center.

We will be showing Praha 2000, a film about the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and resistance to their polices in Prague. In addition, we will be showing a short from the SD/TJ Mobilization about Via Campesina and the World Trade Organization.

A member of the ORGANIC collective will also give a short presentation about resistance to Corporate Globalization by farmers around the world. Come and learn about the movements and strategies in action around the world for food sovereignty.


Source:  http://ftaaimc.org/or/2004/04/4047.shtml