The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) summit has started in Miami, Florida, US. Huge protests will try to interrupt the negotiations, which involve the leaders of all 34 countries of the American continents. The FTAA, if signed, will allow corporations to sue local or national governments in special courts for enacting any regulation that can be seen as a "barrier to trade" - labour, environmental, or health regulations, for example.Indymedia is reporting from the streets on FTAA Indymedia and broadcasting live web radio streams.
Update 3.30 pm: For users in Britain, please use this stream location:
http://j12.org:8000/ftaa.mp3
to connect to the stream.
Summary:
In the run-up of this summit, repression of protests and protesters by criminalizing dissent.
The local media takes a biased view against the protesters. The Miami Herald has already taken up an offer of the new police initiative to "embed journalists" in the police riot squads.
Thursday Nov 20:
10.30 am first protesters tried to attack fence, police attacked, protests declared illegal, downtown closed, buses blocked off, rubber bullets used, multiple reports of teargas and pepper spray, protesters attacked by bycycle police, protest circa about a 1000 protester, first arrests, lots of reports of police violence.
For Breaking News and timelines, please visit FTAA Imc.
More coverage:
[FTAA Imc | FRAA Resistance Radio | www-feature 1 , 2 , StopFTAA | Infoshop FTAA background information | Infoshop coverage]
