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Food & Water Watch and International Coalition Members to Protest World Water Forum in Istanbul

Posted on: Tuesday, 10 March 2009, 07:30 CDT

WASHINGTON, March 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Wenonah Hauter of Food & Water Watch, an international consumer advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., along with Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians and the Blue Planet Project and representatives of the Latin American network Red VIDA and the Asian organization Focus on the Global South, will be available to speak to the media by telephone on Wednesday, March 11 about their plans to protest the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul. Food & Water Watch, Council of Canadians and the Blue Planet Project, Red VIDA, and Focus on the Global South are members of an international coalition that has come together to defend the human right to water.

The World Water Forum, organized and controlled by the World Water Council, will be held in Istanbul on March 16-22. Food & Water Watch will join a coalition of activists and hold counter events in Istanbul to protest the World Water Forum's stance on water privatization and to advocate water as a human right. While the World Water Forum has long touted the privatization of municipal water systems as a means of improving the welfare of communities in need, the reality is that water is being used to generate profit rather than to slake the world's growing thirst. The privatization of municipal water systems has caused conflicts around the world, and communities that have sold their water rights have faced limited access to water, higher tariffs, and poor water quality.

Event: Global Media Conference Calls Regarding the World Water Forum in Istanbul

Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Time: 2 media calls: 8 a.m. EDT (global media conference call for reporters in Europe, Africa and Asia) and 1 p.m. EDT (global media conference call for reporters in the U.S., North America and Western Hemisphere)

Call-In Details: International access number: 302-709-8424; U.S. toll-free access number: 1-800-377-8846; Participant code: 48712145#

Participants: Wenonah Hauter, executive director, Food & Water Watch; Maude Barlow, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians, founder of the Blue Planet Project, and senior advisor on water to the president of the United Nations General Assembly; Claudia Campero Arena, Red VIDA network; Mary Ann Manahan, Focus on the Global South.

Food & Water Watch, a nonprofit consumer organization based in Washington, D.C., works to ensure clean water and safe food in the United States and around the world. We challenge the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources by empowering people to take action and transforming the public consciousness about what we eat and drink. For more information, visit http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/

SOURCE Food & Water Watch

Source: PR Newswire

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