Police arrest World Bank consultant (whoops!).
> >The following is an account of a wrongful arrest of World Bank
>consultant,
> >Leon Galindo Vienna. Before Saturday he felt those protesting the IMF
>and
> >the World Bank were illinformed and misguided. After being arrested and
>
> >mistreated by DC police he now sympathizes with them.
> >
> >For the full text of this open letter or for more information on the A16
>
> >protests in DC see http://www.indymedia.org/
> >--------------------------
> >"Global Justice is Not a Nebulous Thing"
> >
> >On Saturday, April 15 I was illegally arrested and imprisoned for 23
>hours,
> >together with hundreds of peaceful protesters and at least a dozen
>innocent
> >bystanders of which I was one. As a consultant to the World Bank, a
>citizen
> >of a developing country, and a person who has committed his life to the
> >work of development I was appalled by the conduct of the police and by
>the
> >way the "system" works. As a consequence, I am now far more sympathetic
> >with the demands of the protesters and just a tad more cynical about the
>
> >"establishment."
> >
> >I was arrested with no explanation, no prior warning, and for no
>legitimate
> >reason. I was standing close to the protesters because I disagreed with
> >much of what I had heard them say in the media prior to coming to
> >Washington D.C.. I wanted to hear in person what they had to say in
>order
> >to decide for myself whether their arguments were reasonable or not and
>to
> >summarize conclusions in a note for the World Bank's daily internal
> >newsletter. I was not the only one, Magali Laguerre, a Haitian colleague
>at
> >the World Bank, had the same purposes and was also arrested. So were
> >several tourists and local residents who were literally just passing by.
> >
> >I had been there for less than five minutes when the police closed both
> >sides of the street and did not allow anyone to pass even though nothing
>
> >except a peaceful march was taking place. No warning was given. No
> >explanation was made. When I asked to pass or for an explanation on what
>
> >was happening, no response was given. After an hour in which dozens of
> >additional police arrived, police started handcuffing people one by one
>and
> >marching them onto school buses. Not one protester was violent or in any
>
> >way unreasonable.
> >
> >My experience was similar to that of hundreds of others, including women
>
> >and many teenagers. I was roughly handcuffed for over 17 hours (my arms
>and
> >shoulders are still sore), repeatedly lied to, and denied an explanation
>of
> >any kind or access to a telephone or to any means of informing my wife
>what
> >was happening until 5:00 am the next day, 12 hours later. A demonstrator
>
> >who had come from Texas with his son was not able to receive any
> >information from the police on the status of his teenage son who had no
> >money, no contacts in Washington D.C., and who had done nothing except
> >protest peacefully. Several were looking for their girlfriends and also
> >were not given any information, and Jim, a biologist with a health
>problem,
> >was repeatedly told by police that they could do nothing to help him
> >retrieve his medication. I could not help but think that it was through
> >illegitimate and unjust arrests such as this one that the terrible
> >nightmares of political prisoners from around the world had begun. I
>could
> >not believe that this was happening in the United States of America.
> >Contrary to declarations in the press today by Chief Ramsey, I did not
>see
> >much professionalism among the police on the inside, where there was no
> >media to ensure accountability. Instead, I witnessed harsh threats,
> >incompetence, and injustice, very worrying to see in the police force of
>a
> >democratic and powerful nation.
> >
> >Fortunately, we were in the United States, and it only took 19 hours
>before
> >a lawyer appeared, and 5 more before a mock trial took place, and so we
>did
> >not "disappear" as common people, similar to us, may have had this
>occurred
> >in a different country. The way they handled us, it certainly felt like
> >they could do so if they chose to. I was released after 23 hours on
>Sunday
> >at 4:00 p.m. with no charges, because it was neither in the interest of
>the
> >court nor in mine to keep the record. For me, this open letter is the
> >record.
> >
> >The group I was with was transported to three different facilities, all
> >heavily guarded. The first was a detention center for mentally ill
> >patients. We spent three hours in an overcrowded room in which it was so
>
> >hot that it became difficult to breathe and all were sweating. Only when
>
> >the more than 50 people in the room started to really get angry did they
>
> >allow us to use the bathroom or have a drink of water, some five to six
> >hours after being detained. In almost 24 hours the only food provided
>was
> >one sandwich with baloney that was almost green.
> >
> >For all practical purposes, the police proved to be the greatest allies
>of
> >the protesters in this demonstration because they perfectly proved the
> >point the protesters were trying to make in this march: poverty and
> >suppression of liberty go hand in hand and lead to further social
> >injustice. In my own case, this first-hand experience of American police
>
> >and prisons was an enlightening, life-changing event that helped me to
> >fully understand the sometimes incoherently expressed, but otherwise
> >perfectly legitimate and profound arguments that I now firmly believe
>the
> >majority of the protesters were out to make*.
> >
> >
> >*I refer not only to the arrests that took place this weekend but to
>others
> >that take place around the world all the time. I have witnessed
> >demonstrations since I was a child in my own nation, Bolivia (where six
> >people were killed last week in demonstrations). The IMF and World Bank
>are
> >identified, rightly or wrongly, as symbols of global capitalism. As a
> >consultant to the World Bank and someone who firmly believes in its
>mission
> >and integrity, I believe it is a big mistake to further substantiate the
>
> >claims of radicals who throw the World Bank and IMF in the same bag as
>the
> >"Prison-Industrial Complex" and "greedy corporations." And yet that is
> >exactly what happened this weekend. By ignoring the demonstrators,
>freezing
> >communication, and delegating intermediation to the police the World
>Bank
> >and the IMF did not deal with difference of opinion, and this is
>precisely,
> >in my view, the severest critique made by demonstrators. If this is how
> >they dealt with dissent in Washington D.C., who is to argue that it is
>not
> >possible at least indirectly, that the Bank and the IMF would turn a
>blind
> >eye to similar tactics used by governments and their police forces in
> >developing nations...
> >
> >*If the World Bank, the IMF, and governments refuse to listen to
> >well-educated and caring people who come all the way to their doorsteps,
>
> >and if street protests, prisons, and the use of police force are the
> >preferred tools to avoid engaging in dialogue, we are all headed down a
> >dangerous path. The protesters of course are not all innocent or correct
>
> >¯among them there are clearly ignorant, misinformed, and downright
> >dangerous types who do believe in violence and do not respect or even
>care
> >about the rights that many of their fellow protesters do believe in.
> >
> >Nonetheless, as poorly expressed and incoherent as the arguments of the
> >protesters may seem their fundamental cause is correct and noble. And,
>it
> >is completely in tune with what thousands of people at the World Bank
>and
> >IMF work hard for every day: ensuring that human beings everywhere have
>the
> >chance to live a decent life. To allow the police of any nation to
> >intimidate and suppress voices through such illegal and totally stupid
> >procedures as those used in Washington D.C. this weekend¯methods that
> >sometimes have far worse consequences in developing countries¯is for
>these
> >institutions, the United States Police, the World Bank, and the IMF, to
> >agree or at least condone what a U.S. Marshall screamed in my ear as he
> >violently slammed me into a wall when reminded that he was violating my
> >fundamental rights: "Down here there is no democracy. This place is a
> >dictatorship and I am God. If you open your mouth again I will kick your
>
> >ass till you are sorry."
> >
> >To cite the front page of this weeks, The Economist, this is a "testing
> >time for the world economy," and unless the IMF, the World Bank, and
> >governments around the world fully embrace the classical principles upon
>
> >which free societies are build and which Amartya Sen reminds us
> >of--political freedom and economic development must go hand in hand--old
>
> >and "forgotten dangers "will come back to haunt us. After being
>illegally
> >arrested for 23 hours, handcuffed for 17 of those hours, and seriously
> >threatened and intimidated for a crime I had not committed, I clearly
> >understood what the protesters are after. "Global justice" is not a
> >"nebulous thing", as The Economists' April 15th article on the
>protesters
> >puts it. Very simply stated, global justice is the call for institutions
>
> >and individuals worldwide to respect and seriously uphold the basic
> >principles upon which free, civilized, humane, and prosperous societies
>are
> >built.
> >
> > Leon Galindo Vienna,
> >Virginia April 17, 2000
>________________________________________________________________
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