Suicide Mars WTO Talks in Cancun

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, September 11, 2003

Suicide Mars WTO Talks in Cancun

A South Korean protester has killed himself during a clash with riot police on the first day of world trade talks in the Mexican resort of Cancun.

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A South Korean protester has killed himself during a clash with riot police on the first day of world trade talks in the Mexican resort of Cancun.

The 54-year-old farming leader, named by friends as Lee Kyung-hae, stabbed himself during a violent protest against the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its policies on Wednesday.

The former lawmaker, who died in hospital, knifed himself in the chest after climbing onto a high security fence and waving a banner that read "WTO Kills Farmers."

A delegation of about 50 South Korean farmers said in a statement read after Lee's death that his suicide was an act of sacrifice to show his disgust at "how the WTO was killing peasants around the world."

Trade ministers from 146 countries are in Cancun until Sunday to reach a new agreement on stalled world trade talks.

Delegates have been deadlocked over agricultural trade and investment rules, which many believe have created barriers to global trade.

Many poor countries want their rich counterparts to deliver on a promise they made in Doha to cut $300 billion in subsidies they hand out each year to their farmers.

These subsidies, along with high tariffs, are seen as obstacles to poor nations breaking into those developed markets.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday called on the richest nations to scrap those handouts.

A group of 21 developing states, including China, India, Brazil and Cuba, have formed an alliance to demand the rich countries scrap the handouts, saying they condemn millions of their farmers to poverty.

Source: Agencies

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