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The next World Trade Organization Ministerial will be held in the Persian Gulf state of Qatar. The dates for the meeting are November 9th - 13th.

While Qatar traditionally does not allow public protests and political demonstrations, the King has instructed the government -- in response
to European Union and other government statements of concern about the
lack of freedom of expression -- to make an exception for the WTO Ministerial.

Abdulla Bin Ahmad Al Thani (of the Qatari delegation organizing the Doha conference) told a news briefing that his country wanted to host a peaceful exchange of views. "Qatar wants to become a good venue for people who would come and exchange thoughts and create a dialogue amongst themselves in a respectful manner," he told reporters.

However, in later clarifications, it seems that Qatar will welcome --
and permit to protest -- only those non-governmental organizations that have WTO accreditation. Indeed, one version of the news is that only 2 maybe 4) representatives from each of the lucky NGOs selected for accreditation may attend. Apparently, a WTO credential is a prerequisite for obtaining a visa for U.S. participants from the Qatar embassy in D.C.! (And if you happen to live in South America or the Caribbean, you also will have to deal through the D.C. embassy as there are few Qatari consulates or embassies in other parts of the Americas.)

The government of Qatar, in other words, is making an EMPTY ROMISE to permit protests at the WTO Ministerial meeting, by excluding -- refusing entry to -- the vast majority of civil society activists, the great and good
grassroots who are not associated with certain select NGOs! Already the WTO Director General and staff and many WTO Member governments are also hiding behind this pretense of Qatar welcoming peaceful protesters when responding to public outrage about the venue choice.

Let's call their bluff!  Below is a sample letter to the Qatari Embassy
requesting formal information about and the forms to obtain a visa.
Let's make it clear that we all have something to say about the WTO and are planning to attend ANY WTO Ministerial, including when the ministerial is planned in Qatar.  What's more, for the many NGOs who do not feel comfortable working through the WTO accreditation process, we must stand up for the principle that all civil society has a right to participate, not just those who get accredited.

Thus, even if you are not sure you could attend (because of money,
schedule, etc) you should still submit this request. First, it keeps your options open because we know from past Ministerials, all sorts of technical excuses about visas and travel arrangement will be used as the date comes nearer to limit NGO attendance.  Second, it is very important to send the message to all WTO Member countries that if they agree to host a Ministerial there are certain civil society obligations that go with this role. If at the end you get OK'd and cannot attend, then no loss to you. And, if (as we suspect) the Qatari government simply rejects or ignores these requests, those of us who have seen the process through and been denied visas can start a (newsworthy) support group of diplomatic victims of the WTO's decision to go to Qatar.

You can mail or e-mail your request to:

Embassy of the State Qatar
Suite 200, 4200 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20016
202/274-1616 (phone)
202-237-9880 (fax)

or jbvisa@aol.com

(If you live in other parts of the world you may want to locate and
approach YOUR nearest Qatari embassy with similar requests for visas.)

Please make sure that you "cc" us if you send it electronically and
fax/send us a copy of your letter if you send it in via snail-mail (cc e-mails
to mstrand@citizen.org, fax is +202-547-7392, and our mailing address is
Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, 215 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Washington DC
20003, USA)

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SAMPLE LETTER TO QATARI EMBASSY FOR VISA APPLICATIONS

Your name
Address
City, State & Zip

Embassy of the State Qatar
Suite 200, 4200 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20016
202-274-1616 (phone)
202-237-9880 (fax)


City, Date & Year

Application for visa for WTO Ministerial meeting

I am planning to come to Qatar to attend the non-governmental
activities being organized around the World Trade Organization's ministerial
meeting from November 9th - 13th, 2001. Please send me a visa application.

I have not yet purchased my ticket to Qatar. Given some concerns that
it might be difficult to get a visa, I want to make sure that all my
travel documents are in order before I buy such a costly ticket. I will make
my final travel arrangements once I receive the visa.

I would also like to request a waiver of the $45.00 visa-application
fee. My resources are limited, and in order to make the Ministerial affordable
for activists like me I urge you to waive this fee for all activists
planning to participate in the non-governmental activities around the WTO
Ministerial.

I am looking forward to participating in educational events and
peaceful protests, and I am pleased to see that Qatar is welcoming civil society
to attend this historic WTO Ministerial. As with the vast majority of
civil society participants, I am not affiliated with an NGO that is planning
to be present in Qatar, and I understand that in the past that has not been a
requirement for access to the countries hosting the WTO Ministerials.

I look forward to visiting Qatar in November!

Sincerely,

Your name

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