Fw: [MGJMedia] Reuters on IMF/WB Demos

[Mark Rickling]

> IMF Protests Will Test Anti-Globalization Movement
> Sat Sep 21, 7:47 AM ET
> By Laura MacInnis
>
> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters demanding a better deal for
the
> world's poorest countries are expected to converge on Washington next week
> during the IMF ( news - web sites) annual meetings in what may prove a
litmus
> test for the anti-globalization movement in the aftermath of Sept. 11.
>
> Between 5,000 and 25,000 people are expected to join rallies, traffic
> blockades and attempts to "quarantine the IMF and World Bank ( news - web
> sites)" during the meetings of the global lenders and a gathering of
finance
> ministers from the Group of Seven wealthy countries, said Police Sgt. Joe
> Gentile.
>
> Organizers said they are under pressure to prove that the
anti-globalization
> movement, which gained momentum from the protests outside global trade
talks
> in Seattle in 1999 to the demonstrations that led to the death of one
> protester in Genoa, Italy, last year, had survived a cooling-off period
after
> the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
>
> If the numbers are as large as demonstrators hope and police are bracing
for,
> it would mark the first major U.S. protest since a slowdown after the
attacks
> that struck at the heart of America's financial and military might.
>
> "The big question is, is the movement in it for the long haul or was it a
> flash in the pan?" said David Levy of the Mobilization for Global Justice
> coalition group.
>
> He said Sept. 11 and the subsequent "war on terrorism" by the United
States
> had splintered the movement just as it was gaining critical mass.
>
> "Sept. 11 was a challenge to the movement because a lot of activist
attention
> became diverted," Levy said, citing new concerns over civil rights, the
Middle
> East, and Iraq.
>
> "We don't have the same level of anger and excitement that came right off
> Seattle. We've had to bring peoples' attention back," he said.
>
> Before Sept. 11, 2001, it seemed like the movement would keep growing in
> intensity. Washington Police had expected last September's IMF/World Bank
> meetings to draw the largest U.S. street protests since the Vietnam War,
with
> about 100,000 demonstrators from across the country.
>
> After the attacks, however, the meetings were moved from Washington to
Ottawa
> and large-scale protests were abandoned in favor of a more modest anti-war
> march.
>
> Next week's planned demonstrations include a day-long traffic disruption
and a
> rally outside the IMF and World Bank headquarters, where officials from
more
> than 180 countries will be meeting to discuss international lending.
>
> Washington will bring between 1,800 and 2,000 extra police officers from
> Virginia and Maryland to cover the protests, working with federal agencies
> like the Secret Service ( news - web sites), Deputy Mayor Margret Kellems
> said.
>
> Sgt. Gentile said police would blockade the IMF and World Bank buildings
with
> fencing and that the area would be screened for bombs or other security
> threats.
>
> "It would present something of an opportunity for those seeking to use
> terror," he said of the crowds. "In light of recent events we have to
rethink
> how we approach it."
>
> MOVEMENT 'HIT PAUSE BUTTON'
>
> Protest organizers said while the Sept. 11 attacks put a damper on
> anti-globalization debates for months, news of corporate scandals at
energy
> trader Enron and humbled telecommunications giant WorldCom had reignited
the
> spark.
>
> "We were quite conscious in hitting the pause button after 9/11," said Rob
> Weissman of Essential Action, a D.C.-based advocacy group. "But we are
seeing
> a very broad opposition to corporate globalization, especially since
Enron."
>
> Zein el-Amine of the Anti-Capitalist Convergence, which is planning next
> Friday's traffic blockades, said the proof of corporate corruption bred an
"I
> told you so" sentiment among protesters. "The corporate scandals showed
there
> was some truth to our message, there was substance there," he said.
>
> Consumer advocate and 2000 presidential candidate Ralph Nader ( news - web
> sites) will join "No Logo" author Naomi Klein to address activists in a
> separate forum before the protests start.
>
> Criticisms of the World Bank from Columbia University economist Jeffrey
Sachs
> and former presidential advisor Joseph Stiglitz have also fueled
activists,
> said Soren Ambrose of the 50 Years is Enough network.
>
> Ambrose said declining protest numbers could signal the maturing of the
> anti-globalization movement.
>
> "We are dealing with the global economic system. It's a huge, huge task to
try
> to change it," he said.
>
> "People are digging in for a more long-term struggle on this, and not
relying
> on fireworks every few months."