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Police line facing protesters at WTO protest, Seattle, December 1, 1999
Order an ImageThe Third Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) was held in Seattle from November 30 to December 3, 1999. Trade ministers and other officials from the WTO's 135 member nations met in an unsuccessful attempt to plan negotiations to further deregulate free trade. Tens of thousands of activists for many causes gathered to protest what they saw as the WTO's favoring of corporate interests over social and environmental concerns.
This photo shows five police officers in riot gear and gas masks standing in a cloud of tear gas. Tear gas and pepper spray were some of the tools the police used to disperse protesters; on December 1, 1999, gas masks were made illegal in the city for the protesters only.
Caption information sources: "WTO Meeting and Protests in Seattle (1999) - Part 1," by Kit Oldham, HistoryLink.org Essay 9183; and "WTO Meeting and Protests in Seattle (1999) - Part 2," by Kit Oldham, HistoryLink.org Essay 9213.
This photo shows five police officers in riot gear and gas masks standing in a cloud of tear gas. Tear gas and pepper spray were some of the tools the police used to disperse protesters; on December 1, 1999, gas masks were made illegal in the city for the protesters only.
Caption information sources: "WTO Meeting and Protests in Seattle (1999) - Part 1," by Kit Oldham, HistoryLink.org Essay 9183; and "WTO Meeting and Protests in Seattle (1999) - Part 2," by Kit Oldham, HistoryLink.org Essay 9213.
ID Number: 2000.107.19991201.19.15
Date: 1999
Creator(s):
Giase, Rick, Photographer
Physical Description: 1 negative : color ; 35 mm
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant.
Credit: MOHAI, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection, 2000.107.19991201.19.15, photo by Rick Giase
Copyright: All Rights Reserved