G8 Alternatives Summit Edinburgh

G8 Alternatives Summit Edinburgh

Following Live 8 and the Make Poverty History demonstration, 5,000 people today attended what organisers claim is the biggest alternative political meeting ever held in Scotland. The G8 Alternative Summit covered more than half a dozen venues in Edinburgh and involved activists and speakers from most continents.

Speaking in the Usher Hall today, economist and author Susan George said told activists to:

“Concentrate on the rich and powerful, not the poor and powerless, and force them to change - people power can do it but it takes long hard and sustained work.”

Ana Drago, Member of the Portuguese Parliament, said:

“The G8 have Weapons of Mass Destruction, but this movement has Weapons of Mass Construction. We are able to create and propose real political alternatives, as Edinburgh has seen today.”

Official spokesperson of G8 Alternatives David Miller said:

“This has been the biggest political meeting in Edinburgh's history; there is a huge thirst for political knowledge and information which exposes the failed policies of the G8.”

Gill Hubbard, also a spokesperson for G8 Alternatives, said:

“This global movement took to the streets to protest in hundreds of thousands yesterday and showed today that we also alternative solutions.”

Rosemarie McIlwhan, Director of the Scottish Human Rights Centre, said:

“A wide range of solutions to the world's problems have been proposed by diverse speakers, all suggesting that Another World is Possible. We hope that the G8 leaders will listen and learn.”

ENDS

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