Dozens Of Issues Protested

Anarchists and auto workers, anti-communists and Aboriginal groups marched side by side Sunday to protest a rainbow of issues surrounding the APEC forum.

Part of the alternative People’s Summit on APEC, the demonstration was a way to showcase dozens of viewpoints that haven’t been raised at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, said Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians.

“The people at the other summit are there for the transnational corporations,” she said. The march, Barlow said, helped point out APEC’s “anti-human and anti-Earth” agenda.

Groups as diverse as the Taiwanese Canadian Association, advocates of democracy in Burma and Tibetan independence, environmentalists, labor unions and women’s rights activists braved a blustery drizzle to walk about a mile through the downtown streets.

Led by the Aboriginal Women’s Action Network, who beat drums and sang songs, the peaceful parade included giant puppets, street actors and one man dressed as Satan on stilts. Hundreds of signs and banners fluttered in the wind bearing such slogans as “Long Live the Dalai Lama,” “APEC Fiddles While Borneo Burns,” and “Canadians: Act Your Rage.”

“We want to bring out people that are united in opposition to the things that are happening in APEC,” said Faye Blaney of the action network. “I think that this brings our message out loud and clear that we are united.”