Over 25,000 Gather at British Parliament to Demand World Trade Justice

On Saturday, a massive campaign was held in London to demand the British government adopt new trade justice policies to protect the world’s poorest countries, as a concluding event to the Global Week of Action for Trade Justice.

The campaign "Wake Up To Trade Justice" took place from Friday 15th April evening to Saturday 16th April morning. An estimated 25,000 campaigners from all over the UK gathered near the British Parliament for the overnight multi-venue programme organised by the Trade Justice Movement (TJM).

At 10pm on Friday night, the opening ceremony began in Westminster Abbey with several famous celebrities such as Ronan Keating, Damian Lewis, Vanessa Redgrave and Pete Postlethwaite with singing, readings and keynote speeches all taking place. Finally, the ceremony of the kindling of the vigil light took place.

Starting from 11pm campaigners, led by representatives of British public life and the constituencies walked along Whitehall. On the way, they circled Parliament Square, forming a Human White Band, the symbol of Make Poverty History – the largest anti-poverty mobilisation in the UK launched earlier this year which demands trade justice, debt cancellation and increased aid for developing countries.

At Whitehall, an all night candlelit vigil was held. At both 12am and 4am, all participants observed a moment of silence for millions of people from all over the world who are suffering from unjust trade rules. After the night vigil, a final parade started from Parliament Square, passing through the House of Commons, Big Ben, Downing Street and alongside the River Thames. The route ended at Westminster Central Hall.

The protest moved to Downing Street on Saturday morning, where representatives of the Trade Justice Movement urged the three main political parties to make international poverty an issue in the coming British election.

Glen Tarman, Trade Justice Movement coordinator, said, "The British electorate is rightly concerned about the economy, health and education – but not just in the UK. The free trade policies the rich countries are pushing on the developing world are robbing people of health and education services and promoting economic insecurity for communities on a global scale."

"This is a wake-up call for political leaders of all the main parties – if elected, they must make sure urgent action is taken if we are to have justice in international trade and start to make poverty history in 2005. We are making world poverty a doorstep issue."

"All the parties claim to be concerned about apathy towards politics especially among the young. Yet thousands of potential voters are coming to Whitehall to demand the parties address their concern that Britain’s trade policies do not hurt the world’s poor and the planet. The parties would do well to listen."

The Trade Justice Movement has called on all UK political parties to make public statements setting out their position on stopping the push for poor countries to open up their economies at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and through other forms of international pressure.

According to the trade justice campaigners in the UK, this is a very crucial year for world to eradicate poverty. As the UK will take up the presidency of the G8 summit and EU in 2005, its policy has a leading effect on major influential countries in the world.

Around the world millions of people in more than 80 countries took to the streets in the Global Week of Action running from 10th-16th April, calling for trade justice to help lift people out of poverty.