Demonstrations planned in San Francisco during APEC Summit to highlight various issues
SAN FRANCISCO — The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit is around the corner, and all kinds of preparations are being made in San Francisco.
The summit is expected to bring leaders like President Joe Biden to San Francisco — that means closures and ramped up security in and around the Moscone Center.
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With an event like this, there are also issues community organizers are hoping to bring attention to. A few demonstrations and other actions are planned ahead of and during the summit.
The "No to APEC" Coalition is organizing a People's Counter Summit.
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"Something for people from all over the place to come and go through workshops to learn about people's struggles from different parts of the world," said Suzanne Ali, an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement, Bay Area chapter.
The Palestinian Youth Movement helped organize the Pro-Palestinian protest over the weekend in San Francisco. Ali said they are co-sponsoring the "No to APEC" coalition, who is also organizing a protest on Nov. 12, according to its website.
"To protest the presence of APEC and the city's pouring of millions of dollars in resources, taking out of what we need for welfare and housing and education," Ali said.
There are also other issues community organizers are hoping to bring attention to, including climate change.
Will Wiltschko is with the California Trade Justice Coalition. He said a protest is planned ahead of APEC relating to the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.
"There's going to be some actions this week centered around highlighting the fact that we need to take bold action on a lot of fronts including climate change," he said.
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"We're really hoping that the Biden administration can lock in some binding climate standards, can lock in some policies that actually combat climate change," Wiltschko added.
As for the "No on APEC" demonstration planned for Nov.12, the website says it's the "Shut Down APEC Mass Mobilization," where they plan to meet at Embarcadero Plaza and then March "within sight" of Moscone Center.
According to the SF Chronicle, a spokesman with the Secret Service said that protesters will be allowed to protest in non-restricted areas and that Secret Service along with local police have been training for bigger demonstrations.