Seattle WTO Protests (1999)

Tue Nov 30, 1999

Image

The Seattle WTO protests, sometimes referred to as the “Battle of Seattle”, were a series of large anti-globalization protests that began on this day in 1999. Protesters surrounded the WTO Ministerial Conference, which was to be the launch of a new millennial round of trade negotiations. The negotiations were quickly overshadowed by the massive street protests outside the hotels and the Washington State Convention and Trade Center, estimated to have more than 40,000 participants.

The protests were a mix of permitted rallies and marches (involving the AFL-CIO) and direct action from anarchists and other political radicals. By noon, the opening ceremony of the conference had been canceled due to protest control and vandalism of intersections downtown, and that night the Mayor declared a state of emergency. Police began gassing and arresting people indiscriminately, sometimes targeting bystanders who weren’t participating in the protests. By December 1st, 500 people had been jailed.

To many in North American anarchist and radical circles, the Seattle WTO riots, protests, and demonstrations were viewed as a success - prior to the “Battle of Seattle”, almost no mention was made of “anti-globalization” in the U.S. media, while the protests were seen as having forced the media to report on ‘why’ anybody would oppose the WTO. Controversy over the city’s response to the protests resulted in the resignation of the police chief of Seattle, Norm Stamper.