Human Rights taken away during WTO Protest? ( Edited Blog Post)

The WTO protest took place in Downtown, Seattle on November 30th 1999. The reason for this protest was of many different beliefs. The WTO stands for World Trade Organization they make rules on how trade works and make rules about how much you can tax corporations, and what kind of limits can be put on free trade, they basically try to make trade as free as possible. They were holding a meeting in Seattle, it was their first ever meeting that ever took place in the United States. Many people participated who had various points of view. Some protesters believed that the World Trade Organization should not be getting rid of but that it should change the way it works.Others were protesting about what they believe in. This protest did cause great damage, many arrest and injuries through out Downtown, Seattle area. This Protest got so out of control that the mayor of seattle, Paul Schell declared a state of emergency. The National Guard and Washington State Patrol participated in controlling this major protest. There were many different ways these protesters decided to protest. Many would roll up, kind of into a kneeling position and just lay there in the middle of the streets which didnt allow certain vehicles to pass. So the way these people were removed is with pepper spray and tear gas which forced them to move. Another way that they got people to move is by shooting them, not with real bullets, they were rubber bullets.

But were there human rights really taken away? I am kind of stuck in the middle to believe if they were or were not. In this article that I read they said yes there human right were taken away. They state the following reason to how there human rights were taken away,

"On Wednesday December 1 the city of Seattle awoke to discover their rights had been cancelled overnight. The center of Seattle around the WTO meeting had been declared a "no-protest zone" where anyone who exercised their right to free speech or peaceful assembly was subject to immediate arrest. Undaunted by the "state of emergency" (aka martial law) demonstrators traveled to early morning assembly points but were met by police check points where signs, banners, cell phones and communications equipment was illegally confiscated. Still demonstrators refused to give in and marched into the "no-protest zone" where hundreds were arrested, many after being pepper sprayed or teargassed numerous times."

I do believe there is more to the story that is not stated in this article. During a project I had done in the 10th grade we all as a class got the chance to interview out teacher about the WTO protest because she took place in it. She said the following,

"Windows got smashed like Starbucks and Gap and I remember seeing the guys climb up they had big like Nike store and taking the three dimensional letters and like taking them off and like throwing them on the streets".

Since this was a protest that did get out of control I only think it is fair that the police step in and take charge, I don't believe they took charge of the situation the right way but at least they did get a majority of it under control.