Reuters | By Jane Sutton | Nov. 6, 2003
MIAMI (Reuters) - Miami is preparing for protests during the Americas trade talks as if for a human hurricane, with federal judges moving trials out of town, cruise ships heading for calmer ports and security guards becoming the hottest date for the opera.
The Free Trade Area of the Americas meeting Nov. 17-21 is expected to attract 1,000 government officials from 34 North, South and Central American nations to hash out a plan to lift tariffs and let goods flow freely through most of the region.
Opponents of the proposed trade pact expect tens of thousands of protesters to show up for demonstrations against everything from the environmental impact to the effects on the labor force. Some acknowledge that they aim to derail the talks, albeit through nonviolent acts of trespass and blockade.
"Miamians don't have anything to fear," said Bill Dobbs, coordinator for one group planning a peaceful march.
But the magnitude of the expected influx and the chaos that has disrupted other international trade talks in recent years, has the host city on high alert.
The police departments canceled days off, put officers on 12-hour shifts for the week and called in reinforcements from neighboring cities.
Fearing traffic snarls and unruly hordes, some employers are shutting their doors or letting workers work from home.
"We haven't asked anybody to close," Miami Police spokeswoman Herminia Jacobson said. "What we are asking everybody is to be patient ... just be patient."
The federal courts in downtown Miami are closing for the week and the judges are postponing trials and hearings or moving them to Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.
County courts suspended uncontested divorce hearings and will not hold jury trials during the week. "We're not calling any jurors downtown," said Miami-Dade County Circuit Court spokeswoman Nan Markowitz.
At the Port of Miami-Dade, where millions of passengers embark and return from voyages each year, all the cruise ships scheduled to sail during the meeting have pulled out, costing the seaport $600,000, assistant Port Director Juan Kuryla said.
The Miami port entrance is just blocks from the hotel where the trade ministers will meet, raising concerns that crowds may try to block access to the trucks entering to pick up cargo.
Bayside Marketplace, a shopping and dining complex adjacent to the port, has been working with police since January on its security plan. Some of its chain stores have been the target of violent anti-globalization protesters in other cities.
Security concerns spread beyond the downtown area. The Florida Grand Opera performs miles away, but had to scramble to hire security guards for its staging of "La Traviata." It usually hires off-duty police to direct traffic and safeguard bejeweled patrons, but there won't be any off-duty police that week.
"There's a LOT of competition in Miami for private security guards that week," said opera spokesman Justin Moss.Reuters:
