AP. 18 August 2001. D.C. Prepares for World Bank Protests.
WASHINGTON -- Police are preparing for more than 100,000 protesters to converge on the nation's capital during next month's meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
"Whatever takes place, we are going to keep control of these streets and Washington, D.C., is not going to burn," Police Chief Charles Ramsey said Friday at a news conference.
He conceded, however, that his force of 6,000 police from Washington and surrounding areas will be pushed to the limit and that it's unlikely the city will escape without property damage.
Demonstrators, who blame police for past confrontations, say they plan to sue the city to challenge planned restrictions on protester access.
"It's an attempt to deprive the people of this city and this country of the right to protest and we will not accept it,'' said Richard Becker, an organizer with the International Action Center, who was among a handful of demonstrators who gathered outside the news conference. "They say they want to keep the peace, but they are taking steps to create violence."
Becker said police plans are similar to those used in Italy and that "there should not be a Genoa-style police state set up in Washington."
Ramsey confirmed reports that authorities are considering sealing off the area surrounding the White House, the IMF and World Bank with nine-foot-high fencing. He said many streets will be closed and traffic will be a major problem.
District of Columbia officials are negotiating with the Bush administration to get about $30 million in federal funds for the extra security.
"If the resources cannot be identified in very short order, the agencies will not be able to protect our city and ensure the integrity of the meetings," Mayor Anthony Williams wrote President Bush in an August 6 letter released Friday.
Williams predicted the protests "will be of an intensity, scope and magnitude that we have never seen in this city."
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