MEDIA ADVISORY

Protestors to Drown out Bush Trade Talk with Cultural Resistance
Black and Immigrant residents reject the "Three Amigos"

NEW ORLEANS (April 18, 2008) - On the eve of the arrival of Bush, Calderón and Harper for a major summit in New Orleans, Black and immigrant residents will unite for a demonstration of cultural resistance to shed light on the disastrous policies that have displaced both communities.

Long time New Orleans residents and newly arrived day laborers and migrants will open a three-day "People's Summit," hosted by more than 30 local, national and international organizations. The opening event will uncover how these three world leaders have used economic agreements to destroy families and workers' rights.

Where: Ashe Cultural Center Parking Lot
1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd
What: Street Theater Press Conference
When: Sunday, April 20 at 2:00 p.m.
Visual: Street theatre featuring the deportation of President Bush by Latino Day Laborers
Who: Day laborers, homeless residents of New Orleans, Katrina survivors
Congress of Day Laborers, STAND!, The Peoples' Summit and other organizations

MEDIA ADVISORY

NEW ORLEANS PEOPLE'S SUMMIT
AFSC, 1137 Baronne St., New Orleans, LA 70113-1201
www.summitneworleans.org

Contacts: James Williams (504) 307-6588
Jessica Walker Beaumont (917) 609-5788

People's Summit of Grassroots, National and International Groups in New Orleans
Challenging the Legitimacy of President Bush's Summit

NEW ORLEANS (April 16, 2008) - 30 local, national and international organizations and networks will host the New Orleans People's Summit: Our Response to NAFTA Expansion beginning April 20 in New Orleans, LA with participation from groups based in New Orleans, other parts of the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and Quebec. The People's Summit will build collective knowledge and action to transform NAFTA and other unjust economic policies pushed by Presidents Bush and Calderón, as well as Prime Minister Harper. NAFTA expansion under the Security Prosperity and Partnership Agreement (SPP) will increase free trade and militarization throughout the North American continent.

Media Advisory
Contacts: Kathy Ozer (202) 543-5675 or (202) 421-4544 (cell)
Jon Hunt (202) 550-7025 (cell)

U.S- based Groups call on Congress to Reign in Undemocratic
Security and Prosperity Partnership

Washington, DC (April 18, 2008) - On Monday, April 21 a group of U.S.-based non-governmental organizations (NGO's) and advocacy organizations will be issuing a letter to Congress regarding the North American Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP). At that time, the leaders of Mexico, the United States and Canada will be attending the 4th Leaders Summit, in New Orleans, LA. This gathering will take place behind closed doors, and will not include the voices of civil society or the people these leaders claim to represent.
This letter, signed by more than 25 organizations and networks, will be calling on Congress to exercise its authority to regulate and oversee issues of commerce and security. Currently under the SPP there is no Congressional oversight, nor opportunity for investigation. There is also no opportunity for civil society to participate in the SPP meetings and dialogue. This letter will call on Congress to:

We, the participants of the Second Continental Conference Against Free Trade and Privatizations, stand opposed to the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) Conference of the Americas being convened by US President George W. Bush in New Orleans, Louisiana April 21st and 22nd.

This meeting is a heinous crime against the peoples of North America, but particularly against the dispossessed and displaced peoples of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

More than 20 proposals have been submitted for The People’s Summit.  venues have been confirmed and civil society organizations, local and tri-national, have contributed to workshop plans around four central themes.  The summit will take place both April 21st and 22nd, however the workshops will take place in the morning and afternoon on Tuesday the 22nd.  The three hour workshops will speak to the ways in which free trade and security policy affect everyday people, especially in relation to increased militarism, privatization, forced immigration and migration, and abuse of the environment.

Launched in March 2005 at a first Summit of Heads of State of the three countries, the Security and Prosperity Partnership for North America (SPP) represents a new phase of neo-liberal integration in North America where the issue of security is closely linked to economic and trade relations. The SPP places CEOs from the regions transnationals at the center of decision-making, allowing them to promote their corporations interests over the public interest.

Also known as NAFTA plus or "deep integration", the SPP includes 300 program areas that government bureaucrats are developing behind closed doors, many of which relate to energy integration, with the active participation of economic elite regrouped in new SPP bodies like the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC) and the North American Energy Working Group (NAEWG).

To challenge the democratic deficit behind the SPP, the four social multi-sectoral networks in North America (ART-US, RMALC, Common Frontiers and RQIC) in close collaboration with their member unions, succeeded in gathering in Montreal in August, 2007, more than 60 energy worker unions and social groups delegates to share experiences in the 3 countries and to identify common grounds for action at a North American level in order to challenge the SPP neo-liberal project in the energy sector.

The Head of State of Canada, Mexico and the United States (Harper, Calderón, and Bush respectively) will be meeting April 21-22 in New Orleans Louisiana for a summit of the "Three Amigos."  There, with their chosen corporate advisors, they will continue setting an agenda for the three countries through the Security Prosperity Partnership (SPP), without the consent from their citizens or legislative bodies.  Civil Society organizations in New Orleans have been gearing up to host civil society from across the continent for The People's Summit: Our Response to NAFTA Expansion, an inclusive gathering to educate the public on the SPP process while grounding that learning in the New Orleans experience.

You may be wondering why these organizations are up in arms about this Three Amigos meeting and how it will really affect the average citizen’s day to day life. 

This week representatives of the four North American Hemispheric Social Alliance (HSA) networks will be in Havana.  We will be there representing the respective networks from Mexico (RMALC), Quebec (RQIC), Canada (Common Frontiers) and the U. S. (Alliance for Responsible Trade) at a meeting of the HSA General Council.  A priority of the gathering is to develop collective work priorities, strategies and plans for the coming year as well as analyze current globalization policies and possible alternatives.