Protesters 'beat' World Bank By Ben Fenton in Washington
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=000579381554028&rtmo=pUhINsBe&atmo=99999999 &pg=/et/01/5/22/wglob22.html
World Bank cancels conference in Barcelona [21 May '01] - World Bank
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=000579381554028&rtmo=rQFQrtmX&atmo=99999999 &P4_from_link=/et/01/5/22/wglob22.html&pg=/Offsite/http://wbln0018.worldbank .org/NEWS/DEVNEWS.NSF/46773469c477da9285256716000f7221/aa4d03ed1125b6e485256 a53004dde4e%3FOpenDocument%23Story2
THE World Bank's decision to call off its meeting in Barcelona next month is a "victory without parallel", say anti-capitalist protesters.
Anarchists, communists and other leaders of the planned protest had been preparing to confront 4,000 riot policemen who were being mobilised to prevent demonstrators disrupting the gathering of 200 academics and World Bank officials. The bank decided instead to hold its conference via an internet video-conference link.
The Washington-based organisation has had several meetings, including its annual meeting in Prague last year, disrupted by anti-globalisation protests. The Czech meeting was ended a day early because of fighting in which more than 100 police were hurt. But the bank denied that its actions were a concession to those who threatened violence.
Caroline Anstey, a spokesman, said: "It is not a cave-in. It is the opposite. To have 200 academics protected by 4,000 police, which is what was planned, would have been absurd. Despite our efforts to reach out to some of the groups planning demonstrations, and to include them in the conference, the intention of many who planned to converge on Barcelona was not to contribute constructively to the discussion, but to disrupt it.
"We do not want to expose academics from around the world and our hosts in Spain to such a situation. It is time to take a stand against this kind of threat to free discussion." The protesters were elated by the decision and mocked the World Bank's depiction of the cancellation as a tough stand against intimidation.
A spokesman for the Barcelona Campaign Co-ordination Commission said: "For the first time in history, they have cancelled one of their meetings because of the prospect of people's power rising up against them."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=000579381554028&rtmo=pUhINsBe&atmo=99999999 &pg=/et/01/5/22/wglob22.html
_________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com