But "this conference will be a success; indeed it is doomed to succeed",Moore said. "I will accept a lot of criticism about the WTO and about whatwe can do, but what I will not accept is that this is somehow not ademocratic organisation," Moore said, referring to the protests which accusethe WTO of ignoring the views of civil society on issues ranging from humanrights to environmental protection.

US Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky, who is chairing the four-daymeeting, welcomed ministers and said organisers "regret any inconvenienceyou may have experienced today.

"It is unfortunate that some protesters did become unruly but that does notreflect the views of the people of Seattle or the people of the UnitedStates with respect to either notions of peaceful protest or with respect tothe WTO," she said.

She said that now proceedings had got under way "we look forward to a verygood and productive meeting" to launch a "balanced" round of further worldtrade liberalisation "that will be reflective of the interests of allmembers of the WTO."

Moore told reporters shortly before the meeting opened that he had nothingagainst "peaceful protest" which had "often led to important reforms andsocial achievements," noting that he himself had taken part in peacefulprotests in his younger days.

But he deplored the "very tiny segment" who had indulged in violence. Hesaid the WTO is a young organisation and "our critics are not always wrong,"but stressed that the WTO and other international organisations are vital toworld peace and stability and democratic debate.

"This is a ministerial conference" of representatives of democraticallyelected governments, he said, stressing the WTO's democratic credentials.The Indian trade minister, for instance, in addition to needing the supportof the Indian parliament also has a mandate from 300 million voters, he said.The head of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) said that worldorganisations needed to work together to improve labour standards across theglobe.

ILO director-general Juan Somavia, in Seattle for a meeting of ministersfrom the WTO said, "We believe that the whole of the multilateral systemshould sit together to see what different institutions can do aboutpromoting core labour standards and understanding much better how the globaleconomy is in fact affecting the world of work," said Somavia.

"From an ILO point of view I believe that has to be taken seriously. We needto create systems that take into account social policy and problems. It isvery important," he said.