The issue was bananas, and not AIDS drug patents that had threatened to wreck the conference earlier in the week.

Hegel Coutier, a spokesman for the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group, but also representing the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) raised his voice and trumped the table at a press conference as he condemned what he said were "rich countries" reneging on at least 18 months of promises of special privileges that poor African countries have in exporting food-largely bananas.

He said Honduras was blocking the special waivers that the poorest countries enjoy from strict interpretation of WTO agreements, which generally call for no special treatment for anyone.

"For at least 18 months, we were told 'no problem, you will get it.' But two days before Doha we realized we weren't getting it," he said.

A special WTO waiver has allowed the poorest African countries to export bananas into the European Union under a special arrangement that was due to be phased out in 2006. Latin American countries have strenuously objected to the waiver that effectively crimps their sales.

The United States has acted as an honest broker among all sides, holding a series of meetings last week with Latin American and African diplomats. Coutier said the Europeans worked out a deal with Latin American countries that would involve some arbitration agreements in case of market loss, and that it was accepted by most of the Latin countries Monday night. "But on Tuesday Honduras rejected it," he said.

"We demand that they respect their (original) commitments," he said. "We are not part of the problem. After 18 months the WTO can't keep its commitments?" he asked.

He said African and other poor countries are now being asked to completely and instantly open their markets, upon rich countries' request, and added: "No country in the world developed in an open trade environment.

That was neither the case for the United Kingdom and United States in the 19th century, nor was it the case for Japan in the 20th century." Claiming to speak for dozens of countries, he said, "We cannot sign the final declaration until we get our guarantees."

Kenyan trade minister Kipyator Biwott told the joint ACP, OAU, LDC press conference that the waiver was "crucial, a matter of life and death. We do not believe that it is right to deny the ACP countries the right to have a continuance of the preferences that were already given."

Asked if the issue would totally block any agreement from the Doha WTO meeting, he said, "there is a possibility for failure if other delegations do not accept a compromise."

Iddi Mohamed Simba, said that the poor nations represented at Doha noticed a "fairly well coordinated maneuver on the part of developed countries to launch a new round" of WTO negotiations-"the first since 1986"-which less developed countries almost unanimously oppose. "We are not really technologically or financially ready to deal" with a new round, he said.

On the patent issue, Nigerian commerce minister Mustafa Bello said that the countries believed the final language would have allowed poor countries to protect public health in the face of foreign drug patent problems, and, that assuming that were the case, the patent problem would not block a final agreement.

"As of now," he said, looking at his watch, "We do not believe that we have a problem with TRIPS (Trade related aspects of intellectual property rights).

Asked about the so-called "Singapore" issues of investment and competition policies and government procurements, Biwott said that the African nations were against including them in a new round or even discussing them in Doha, but they lost on that issue too.

However, he said the poorer countries would accept a new round if it included the concept of "serialization," which would help the less developed countries to pace their participation.

Summing up for his colleagues before returning to the negotiations, Simba said "the draft final declaration does not reflect very clearly our fundamental needs."

All three of the ministers at the press conference lauded the efforts by American diplomats to solve the banana issue, and all three denied that any pressure was put on any party by the US officials. "That time has passed," Bello said.