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With disruptive protests becoming a standard feature at big trade summits like the WTO conference in Seattle, many predict a ruckus at the upcoming Summit of the Americas, scheduled for April 2001 in Quebec City.

But the plans of activists might well be foiled by so simple a problem as a lack of hotel rooms.

"We've been trying recently to book rooms for our parallel NGO conference, but have been told that of the 11,700 hotel rooms in the Quebec City area, 11,500 have already been reserved for the summit," Marcela Escribano of Alternatives, a development-oriented NGO, told the Mirror. "We can't find hotel rooms or conference space anywhere."

The parallel conference will see activists from North and South America protesting against the summit's agenda of creating a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), a NAFTA-like accord covering 34 nations from the Arctic Ocean to Tierra del Fuego.

Could the hotel room shutout be a precaution to ward off rowdy civil society types, who hope to organize a 10,000 strong march at the summit?

"Definitely not!" said Denys Tessier, summit spokesperson for Canada's department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. "We reserved the rooms to ensure that we will have enough space for the 8,000-9,000 people who will be attending." Some rooms might be freed up as the organizers assess logistical needs, Tessier said.

Either way, Escribano says, "We have a right to be heard, and we will be." :--John Edmonds

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