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Page 1 in today's Washington Post....
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D.C. Gets
Ready for World Bank, IMF Meetings
By David Montgomery and Arthur
Santana
Washington Post Staff Writers Sunday , April 2, 2000 ; A01 The last time opponents of global capitalism confronted the ranks of domestic law enforcement – in Seattle, Nov. 30 to Dec. 3 – the results were clouds of tear gas, volleys of rubber bullets and the makings of a mass protest movement whose energy and appeal have surprised even some of its organizers. Round 2 is scheduled for April 16 and 17 in Washington, but protesters will begin arriving from across the country Saturday. Both sides are immersed in preparations. The region is about to take a ringside seat for a turn-of-the-century spectacle: Arcane economic institutions now spark as much outrage in some people as the Vietnam War, civil rights and nuclear weapons did during the storied demonstrations of yore. The protesters – activists of all ages concerned about an array of issues from the environment to worker rights – are drilling in nonviolence and street blockades. They plan a communal kitchen to feed thousands, medical clinics to care for anyone who is injured and bicycle couriers to ferry food, supplies and intelligence. They are also scouting the streets, making maps and trying to figure out what the police are up to. Law enforcement agencies also are busy. Some were in Seattle to observe the demonstrations and have been gathering intelligence since. Now, 60 D.C. police officers a day take a course at a Lorton training center to build a force of 1,500 for the demonstrations. They are watching videos of how Seattle police lost control, and practicing scenarios such as how to handle 5,000 protesters trying to block Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Hundreds of officers from local and federal agencies also will be standing by. "We anticipate this to be very peaceful," said Executive Assistant Chief Terrance W. Gainer. "We think we can manage this so the protesters can strut their stuff, pound their chests and we can also keep a city running." For Gainer and Chief Charles H. Ramsey, the stakes are high. The Seattle police chief and his deputy, under bitter criticism for their operations, have decided to retire. The protesters' target in Seattle was a summit of the World Trade Organization, which was disrupted by more than 30,000 demonstrators. In Washington, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are being cast as the villains. Their meetings April 16 and 17 are routine, but protest organizers decided to use them to sustain the Seattle momentum. They launched a plan to block delegates from entering the buildings. How have these institutions become so notorious? Their opponents charge that loan policies of the bank and the fund impose harsh conditions on poor countries and favor Western creditors and U.S. corporations. The allure of the movement also lies in connections protesters draw to many other concerns. In their view, a pipeline through the rain forest in Chad, sweatshops in Singapore, the high price of AIDS drugs in Kenya, flat wages in Washington and the ubiquity of Starbucks and the Gap are facets of the same problem. "This mobilization is part of a much larger movement globally that is raising a question: Who governs? Is it money, or is it people?" said Kevin Danaher, a San Francisco-based organizer of the D.C. campaign. It's a battle cry that resonates with people such as 16-year-old Sam Junge, hanging protest posters at Wilson High School in the District. "This struggle seems more like good versus evil than any other struggle I know," he said. "I could have easily been born some other kid in some other part of the world and be suffering and starving because these corporations want to have a pile of money." And the struggle attracted Peter Kent, 50, a retired federal worker from Silver Spring, who was in Seattle and will rally April 16 – his first big demonstration since the Vietnam War. "In terms of the environmental crisis and the whole growth in the power of big corporations, we're moving down the wrong road," he said. Police and protesters say they hope to avoid tear gas and a trashed downtown, the way Seattle fell victim to a small faction of vandals and looters among the more peaceful demonstrators. The protesters pledge nonviolence and no vandalism, but they acknowledge that they can't control everyone, and they refuse to condemn vandalism outright. "We're saying, 'You're not welcome at our demonstration if that's the tactic you choose,' " said Nadine Bloch, a local organizer of the Mobilization for Global Justice, as the campaign is called. "I'm not saying whether it's right or wrong." In Web site postings, self-styled "autonomists" and "anarchists" assert the right to use unspecified tactics of their own choosing. Gainer said one of his concerns is small factions of violent protesters running amok. Fanned in part by police preparations and media fascination, the possibility of violence has raised alarm in the region. "The thing I'm concerned with is what happened out there in Seattle," said Fred Barnes, business manager of the local Iron Workers Union. "Here's an excellent chance for a troublemaker who doesn't even know what global fairness is, who is just down there for a riot." Citing safety concerns, the March of Dimes canceled its WalkAmerica fund-raiser scheduled for April 15 downtown. The "tens of thousands" predicted by organizers to participate in the protest are to begin arriving Saturday for a week of teach-ins and rallies. They will join a strikingly organized community of radicals, ruled by consensus and lacking charismatic leaders. As in Seattle, interlocking committees with rotating spokesmen make key decisions. There are guidelines for everything, from facing down the police to avoiding gender stereotypes in committee debates. "You could call the guidelines ground rules, but that sounds too authoritarian," said Elliott Caldwell, facilitating a meeting on how to facilitate meetings. Some go so far as to call it a new kind of revolution – prizing both radical democracy and conservative accounting. Another guideline: The budget ($105,000, so far) shall be balanced. "You had the last century, we get this one," said Matthew Smucker, 22, a local organizer and rain forest advocate. "It's a structure where instead of preplanning a demonstration and advertising for bodies to come join it, we are putting out a call for minds to participate in creating an event." Yet the revolution is struggling to live up to its ideal of diversity. Nearly all participants in planning meetings are white. Most live in the District. They are aware they are inviting thousands of visitors to break the laws of the predominantly African American city. So they are trying to organize in black and Latino neighborhoods. "It's always a struggle to make bridges of this type, particularly when the issue appears to be a little removed from your daily life," said the Rev. Graylan Ellis-Hagler, pastor of Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, a protest supporter who is black. In their quest to turn out crowds April 16 and 17, the organizers may get a boost from unions and religious groups coming to Washington for other rallies April 9 and 12 to cancel Third World debt and to block trade relations with China. To extend the appeal to those who want to avoid civil disobedience and arrest, they have arranged a separate "permitted" rally – with approval from the National Park Service – for April 16 on the Ellipse. Michael Moore, the satirical corporate critic, will be the master of ceremonies. This overture to the mainstream may be succeeding. After hesitating for weeks, the AFL-CIO just endorsed the permitted rally. The protesters are promising plenty of street theater, music, prayer and giant allegorical puppets. The police are promising arrests if they block traffic. "It's not just a party in the streets, although it's going to be that," said Robert Weissman, an organizer with Washington-based Essential Action. "It's a real chance to change the world." ý D.C. police, supported by federal and local law enforcement agencies, plan to ensure that the world doesn't change too dramatically on the streets of Washington. One recent Thursday morning at the Lorton training facility, police officers and some U.S. Secret Service agents assembled for classroom training and field drills. The officers wore old riot helmets and carried batons while they practiced marching in formation. "If [protesters] exercise peaceful demonstrations in areas that don't block vehicle or pedestrian traffic, then everything's fine," Gainer said. "But if they block thoroughfares that are critical to keeping the city moving, then we are prepared to . . . make arrests if they fail to move." Failing to move is what protesters were practicing the night before the police training. It was a clinic on nonviolence in a renovated factory building on Florida Avenue NW. After a couple of hours talking about nonviolence, 16 protesters acted out a scenario in which they blocked the entrance to a Metro station. They played all the roles – police, blockaders, reporters, bystanders. Such a scene may or may not be part of the real demonstrations. The point was to try to empathize with all the characters they'll meet on the big day. One by one, the "police" were able to carry away the blockaders, except for bike courier Luke Kuhn, who explained his technique: "I think I came up with something new, namely, locking down directly to an officer's leg." Across the city, in nooks and crannies donated by Greenpeace and other nonprofit organizations, such preparations are underway. Newcomers are taught the "consensus process," a kinder, gentler Robert's Rules of Order. On Saturday, mobilization headquarters are to open in an alley warehouse off Florida Avenue, where thousands of protesters are expected to check in. Training will run from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Members of the Ruckus Society from Berkeley, Calif., and the Direct Action Network from Seattle will teach civil disobedience skills, including something called "Climbing for Activists." The activists will not set details of their strategy until next week, so that supporters from out of town can participate in the planning. Early on the morning of the 16th, they will gather not far from the World Bank and the IMF. Secret Service agents will have jurisdiction inside and just outside the buildings, because both locations have been declared temporary diplomatic missions for the protests. While everyone is talking nice, everyone is dressing for trouble. D.C. police purchased $1‚million worth of riot gear for the event, including helmets with neck protectors and arm, chest and shin guards. In addition to service weapons, officers will carry gas masks, and some will bear arms that shoot rubber bullets or can deliver tear gas. No one may deploy tear gas without orders from Ramsey or Gainer, who will roam the area. Protesters have vowed to carry no weapons. On the advice of their medical team, they will bring bandannas soaked in vinegar for tear gas, shatterproof goggles for rubber bullets, and a change of clothes in case the first set is contaminated with gas or pepper spray. "Do not wear contact lenses!" warned an e-mail sent to the protesters' listserv. "Trapped chemicals may cause eye damage." ý Last year, as every year, a demonstration was called during the IMF and World Bank spring meetings in Washington. Twenty-five people showed up. "Something has changed," said Njoki Njoroge Njehu, director of the Washington-based 50 Years Is Enough Network, a leading critic of the World Bank and IMF. "We may fancy ourselves good organizers, but I don't think we could have planned for this." Global justice is now fashionable. At universities, classes on globalization are oversubscribed. Having served in the battle for Seattle can be a mark of status. One activist in Washington shows off a souvenir rubber bullet. At meetings, everyone hushes while those who were there tell war stories. But it's not a passing fad, organizers insist. Njehu says that a decade of grass-roots educating, including the failed campaign against the North American Free Trade Agreement in the early 1990s, led to this moment in history. Every meeting of the revolution ends with a different closing ceremony. One Sunday afternoon, a couple dozen tired and wired people took turns offering a few words to sum up their expectations for D-Day, April 16. This time, there was no consensus. "Logistical nightmare." "Happiness." "Rockin'." "Jail time." "Empowerment." "Peaceful anarchy." ======================================= Loan Practices Of World Bank, IMF Targeted By David Montgomery Posted in large letters inside the vast glass lobby of the World Bank building is the motto, "Our dream is a world free of poverty." Across 19th Street NW is the beige building where the International Monetary Fund pursues its mission to promote a stable world economy and to aid countries suffering economic crises. Both institutions were founded near the end of World War II to help build a better world, and their directors point to records of loans, construction projects and technical assistance that they say have helped millions in developing countries. The bank has traditionally funded huge projects, such as dams and steel mills. It has provided loans for such purposes as teaching new farming techniques and is experimenting with aid to community groups instead of only backing government initiatives. It is directed by governors from 181 member countries. The IMF has 182 member countries that contribute money to the pool. Only members can qualify for loans, which are intended to help correct balance-of-payment problems. Countries that contribute the most, such as the United States, have the most influence over decisions. For many countries, the IMF is the lender of last resort, after they have been refused credit elsewhere. So why all the outrage? Some complain that too many development projects funded by the bank have hurt the environment. They say loans from the bank and the IMF come with conditions that force countries to cut social spending or to open themselves to Western corporations, destroying local industries. Some protesters want the bank and fund radically changed so that residents in developing countries have greater say in the world economy. Others want poor countries' debt canceled. Leaders of the bank and the IMF concede that not all their policies have been successful and say they have instituted reforms, including debt relief. An IMF spokeswoman pointed out that membership is voluntary, and she said the fund does not interfere with sovereign decisions over local economies. Bank and fund officials say they are willing to discuss differences with their critics but warn that blocking the April meetings is against the best interests of the world's poor. For example, a key item on the World Bank's agenda April 17 is a discussion of the HIV crisis. How ironic that some protesters, who favor greater access to AIDS drugs, would try to stop that, said bank spokeswoman Caroline Anstey. "We hope we can debate around tables rather than in the streets," she said. "The problem with street democracy is that it isn't always very democratic. There are a whole lot of voices, most importantly the voices of the 1.2 billion [people in the world] who live on less than a dollar a day whom the bank is there to serve and who may not be represented in the streets." ===================================== Rally Web Site Also Interests The Uninvited By David Montgomery and Arthur
Santana This revolution will not be televised. It will be downloaded. The campaign against the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund is a highly evolved example of the Internet exploited as an organizing tool. The Web site--www.a16.org--is the virtual meeting site for demonstrators getting ready to travel to Washington from across the country. "People could not be more pumped," reported a representative from Denver. An organizer from western Massachusetts promised 11 buses of protesters plus a squad of wheelchair riders to shield blockaders from police. "It would have been impossible to organize this demonstration so close on the heels of Seattle without the Internet," said Chuck Kaufman, 48, development director of the Washington-based Alliance for Global Justice, who is fund-raising for the mobilization. He arranged for donors to give by credit card, over the Internet. Once the protests begin, the demonstrators' media collective will issue live radio Webcasts. But sometimes, the virtual goes too far. Some anti-World Bank posters contain only a Web address for more information. No telephone number. "Pardon me, but that's a little class-based," groused a supporter dispatched to hang those posters in Anacostia. And the new tool has two edges. Some protesters think they are being watched. They are correct. Police are monitoring the Web pages. Executive Assistant Chief Terrance W. Gainer said D.C. police have not posed as protesters in virtual chats, but he would not say whether undercover officers are mingling among protesters at meetings. "If it's an open meeting and it says, 'Come on over,' then anybody's welcome," Gainer said. That's what Detective Neil Trugman of the intelligence unit figured. He and a partner showed up at organizer Adam Eidinger's Adams-Morgan apartment building one night after getting word that Eidinger would lead six crews to hang posters around town. Eidinger said the detectives identified themselves and said he didn't have to speak to them. Eidinger agreed anyway, and they talked on the stoop. The detectives, Eidinger recalled, said they hoped there wouldn't be any violence, and Eidinger said he hoped so, too. Then the detectives warned him against hanging posters, saying protesters could be arrested. "I felt intimidated," Eidinger said. In an interview, Trugman said he just tried to make clear that the city is cracking down on illegal posters. D.C. law allows political messages on lampposts but no more than three on each side of a block. The remarkable thing was how timely Trugman was in crashing Eidinger's poster party. "The 'Net," Trugman said, chuckling, "is wonderful."
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