12 Still Held in Hong Kong

> From: Anuradha Mittal <amittal [at] oaklandinstitute.org>
> Date: January 10, 2006 9:51:27 AM EST
>
> The Oakland Institute Reporter
>
> The Hong Kong Resistance Photo Gallery
>
> The Oakland Institute Staff and Fellows provided daily reports and
> photos from the mobilization against the WTO Ministerial in Hong Kong.
> See the new Hong Kong Resistance Photo Gallery at
> http://www.oaklandinstitute.org/?q=node/view/313
>
> Hunger Strike by 12 Political Detainees
>
> The action in Hong Kong against WTO is not over. The 12 WTO protesters
> are still in Hong Kong because the police brought them to court for
> trial. They have been released from jail on bail but they have to stay
> in Hong Kong until the trial on January 11.
>
> "We came to Hong Kong to protest against the 6th Ministerial
> Conference of the World Trade Organization. We are peasants. We are
> living with land and nature. We are workers. We are facing hazardous
> conditions at the workplace full of iron dust. We are homeless rights
> activists. We are working with and for the poor on the street. ...
> However, the WTO and the neo-liberal global system always try to
> conceal these voices of the people and the true face of WTO. Hong
> Kong's ministerial was no exception. The WTO and the Hong Kong
> government attempted to hide the true face of neo-liberal
> globalisation and voices against it behind the police line. We tried
> to deliver our messages directly to the government delegates from all
> countries. In the attempt to go closer to the Convention Centre, we
> jumped into freezing cold water of Victoria harbour, and marched
> painfully but proudly to the Convention Centre by bowing every three
> steps. However, the WTO and Hong Kong Police continuously tried to
> conceal and control our actions, voices and rights to protest within
> the police line. Worse still, the Hong Kong government not only
> stopped our voice from being heard but also arrested and imprisoned
> more than a thousand people from all over the world and finally
> charged 14 workers and peasants. From now on, we 12 WTO protestors
> arrested and charged by the Hong Kong authority will start an
> indefinite hunger strike. We want to continue our unfinished struggle
> against the WTO and struggle for a world filled with peace and
> justice."
>
> Read the statement of 12 Political Detainees, Our Struggle Against the
> WTO is Not Over (http://www.oaklandinstitute.org/?q=node/view/309) and
> join the International Campaign for the Immediate Release of Political
> Detainees.
>
> The Oakland Institute
> P.O. Box 18978, Oakland, CA 94619
> http://www.oaklandinstitute.org