In the Saturday, Dec. 4 issue of the Seattle P-I (page A10) the City of Geneva, Switzerland, (where the WTO has its headquarters) ran a paid advertisement. Here's the text:

An Appeal To The Citizens of the World

The Parliament of the Republic of Geneva is opposed to any attempt to increase the power of the World Trade Organization (WTO) within the framework of the new round of negotiations now envisaged.

As the democratically elected representative of the people, the Geneva Parliament is extremely concerned by the loss of power of the public authorities arising form the growing liberalization of the world economy.

The final agreement of the Uruguay Round signed in Marrakesh in 1994 and the establishment of the WTO were both presented at the time as an opportunity to ensure the well-being of the peoples of the member countries of the WTO through the development of trade. Today, however, it cannot be ignored that the WTO has failed on this count. What we are witnessing instead is a concentration of "well-being" which benefits only a minority, while poverty continues to rise in the poorest countries and among the member states of the OECD.

Faced with the growing instability of the markets, especially in the financial sector, the collapse of national economies and rising inequalities between and within countries, the time has come for a pause, at the very least, in this destructive process so that we can take stock of the policies conducted especially by the WTO, the IMF, and the World Bank.

Moreover, the agreements already concluded have seriously undermined the ability of communities to protect themselves against the social and environmental consequences which are now appearing. All the more urgent then is the need to call in question the policy pursued thus far.

The Parliament of the Republic and Canton of Geneva is opposed to all new negotiations designed to bring about liberalization, especially where the aim is to extend the authority of the WTO to new sectors such as investment, competition and other services (leading ultimately to the privatization of health and education in particular). The Parliament is also strongly opposed to the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement.

For these reasons, the Parliament of the Republic and Canton of Geneva wishes to add its voice to the appeal launched by 1,800 NGOs world-wide for a moratorium on all new negotiations to extend the powers and scope of action of the WTO. The Parliament further calls for a review of the political, social, environmental and economic impacts of the existing WTO agreements to be conducted from outside the organization, by an impartial institution, which will duly consult the movements representative of civil society.