Lucas,
Protests. Yards
signs. Stunts. Mic-checks.
Handbills.
That's what activists used to drag into the sunshine the goings on at the
14th round of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks in Leesburg,
Virginia. As word of the TPP threats have started to get around,
folks traveled from across the country to expose these negotiations.
Every day, the negotiating venue and the bus routes to it from hotels hosting
negotiators were lined with yard signs: "TPP
- WHY SO SECRET?" Within the venue, stickers and handbills were
everywhere you looked, saying: "TransParency Please."
One
set of protestors gained access and mic-checked an official negotiation
session about new limits on regulation of banks and speculators.
For days, negotiators from other countries were saying: Very interesting ...
the public here is also upset with what the U.S. negotiators are pushing for
Wall Street.
Another group tried to block
the entrance to the resort where closed-door negotiations were held.
While only a few negotiators were inconvenienced, the messaging
was so funny that more negotiators heard about it.
Another used the theme of "TPP makes me sick" to make this video .
The amazing global online activist group Avaaz did a petition that got more
than 700,000 signatures. When they tried to project it on the wall of the
negotiating venue, they were escorted out. Except they were staying at the
resort. When actress Q'Orianka Kilcher -- known by many for her role as
Pocahontas in The New World -- photographed the police throwing the hotel
guests out, she was arrested .
Dozens of negotiators visited informally at a reception organized by civil
society groups with members of the U.S. Congress and were stunned to hear
about their deep
concerns with the TPP.
Bottom line: We wanted you to know that you are not alone on this one.
And if we can get the word out to our friends, neighbors, and colleagues
about the TPP, we can make sure that either it's no deal or a new deal for
the TPP.
Thanks for all you do.
Sincerely,
Brooke Harper
Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch