FTAA: Protesters Want Focus On Their Voice, Not Acts Of A Few

MIAMI -- Tens of thousands of protesters are coming to Miami next week, and many say they want the focus to be on their words, NOT the actions of a few.

Estimates on how many protesters will travel to South Florida vary from 20-thousand to 100-thousand. They are converging on the Free Trade Area of Americas meeting November 17th through the 21st. That's where trade officials from 34 countries will discuss creating a free trade area that will cover the Western Hemisphere, except Cuba.

Protesters say they realize this meeting comes under the shadow of the infamous 1999 World Trade Organization talks in Seattle. Those meetings ended with little accomplished. The talks were derailed by five days of mass riots that cost the city about three (m) million dollars and resulted in 500 arrests.

Activists say that disruption was a turning point for protesters of the trade talks. They took to the Internet, started discussion groups, and became overall became more organized. (AP)