Far Cry From Seattle: Tiny Qatar Is Picked as WTO Meeting Site


January 24, 2001 By HELENE COOPER
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

The World Trade Organization finally has found a country willing to host its next big meeting: Qatar.

The WTO formally accepted Qatar's offer to host the follow-up to the 1999 Seattle meeting. WTO Director-General Michael Moore said the event, which may launch a round of trade talks, will be held in Doha, Qatar's capital, Nov. 5-9.

"I am very pleased about this," Mr. Moore said. "They were the first to make an offer."

Last time, the WTO's big meeting blew up in spectacular fashion, as Seattle police in riot gear fired rubber bullets and canisters of tear gas at protesters. Some 30,000 free-trade foes closed down the meetings for a day, forcing the mayor to declare martial law for almost a week. Altogether, property damage topped $3 million, and the gathering left a permanent scar on Seattle's laid-back reputation.

After that experience, other countries haven't been lining up to host the next meeting. Indeed, WTO officials at first spurned Qatar's offer, saying the tiny Persian Gulf emirate didn't have enough hotel rooms. But with no other viable alternatives, trade officials worked out a compromise: Delegates will stay on cruise ships in the harbor.

Trade officials say Qatar has promised to allow all WTO critics who so desire to attend. The free-trade foes who disrupted the Seattle meeting were openly skeptical, however, pointing to Qatar's less-than-democratic record. Its people don't vote, and the same family has ruled the emirate since World War I.

"The WTO would have a much easier time if they just bought a remote island and fortified its coastline to keep the pesky public away," said John Sellers, head of the Ruckus Society, which helped spearhead the Seattle protests.

Mr. Sellers said he nonetheless will look into perhaps conducting a desert training camp for activists seeking to disrupt the Qatar meeting. "I'm calling around now looking for desert camouflage."