Posted on 29-9-2002
Street
Opposition To Global Trade
By The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Chanting ``quarantine corporate greed,''
thousands of
demonstrators angered by AIDS, war and the plight of the poor
marched
Saturday to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund,
the two
financial institutions they blame for many of the world's problems.
Under the watchful eye of a police force reinforced with officers
from
around the country, the protesters flooded downtown streets,
banging drums
and waving giant puppets as they walked. Security was exceedingly
tight.
The perimeter around the buildings was extended out several
blocks, with
chain link fences and security officers in full riot gear protecting
the
grounds and the finance ministers meeting inside. At the perimeter,
there
were scattered skirmishes between protesters and police. At
one
intersection, where protesters tried unfurling a banner, bottles
were
reported tossed. At another, protesters sat in the street, hoping
to
prevent delegates from leaving. The smell of vinegar hung in
the air.
Protesters routinely carry handkerchiefs soaked in vinegar,
believing it
prevents the sting of pepper spray, which police could use.
Only a couple of arrests had been reported as nightfall neared,
a sharp
contrast to the 649 taken into custody Friday after sporadic
clashes around
the city.
The second day of protests linked to the IMF-World Bank meetings
began
peacefully with a festive rally on the grounds of the Washington
Monument,
where the crowd cheered speakers addressing a variety of causes,
from Third
World debt to AIDS to possible war against Iraq. By early afternoon,
the
crowd numbered about 2,000, according to reports to D.C. police.
``We need
this movement more than ever before,'' said Michelle Shocked,
who played
blues with her electric guitar on stage. Scattered among the
crowd was an
inflatable menagerie -- a 20-foot-tall pig adorned with the
words
``Hog-tied corporate glutton'' and a shark balloon with a globe
in its
mouth and a sign, ``Stop IMF Loan Sharking.'' A large rolling
Trojan horse
had a sign that said: ``World Bank Aid.'' Protest organizers
handed out
orange, white and yellow police-type tape and biohazard suits.
``We're just
trying to quarantine the World Bank because their policies are
infectious
to the rest of the world,'' said Melanie Grumman of Burlington,
Vt.
>From the monument, protesters moved to a downtown park,
where they burned
American flags and, in effigy, a symbol of the IMF and World
Bank. ``We
want them to immediately cancel the debt to all African nations
that are
suffering from AIDS and allow that money to be spent in those
countries to
buy drugs to keep people alive,'' said Paul Zeitz, 40, director
of the
Washington-based Global AIDS Alliance. Jason Nordsell, 21, a
junior at
George Washington University from Euless, Texas, retrieved the
tattered and
scorched flags. Nordsell said he had come to take pictures,
not protest.
``It's a sign of our freedom,'' said Nordsell. ``It's a sign
of everything
we have, and I just can't stand by and watch people set fire
to something
that summarizes our ideals, everything we live for.''
Speaking under a bright blue sky, Njoki Njehu, director of the
50 Years is
Enough Network, called for a cancellation of Third World debt.
Her
organization opposes IMF and World Bank policies. ``The debts
must be
canceled to make sure that there is money for children to go
to school. The
debt must be canceled to make sure that those children don't
go to bed
hungry,'' Njehu said.
At the District of Columbia Courthouse, a much smaller group
of
demonstrators challenged the treatment of the people arrested
Friday. Most
of those detained were charged with failing to obey a police
officer or
parading without a permit; five were charged with destruction
of property
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