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By Ali Abdullahi
WASHINGTON (Islam Online)-Protesters shouting anti-globalization slogans marched in the nation's capital. Protesters, who wore gas masks during their marches, attempted to disrupt international financial meetings. Despite their efforts, they failed to stop the IMF’s main policy making committee from meeting. Delegates were rejuvenated knowing there was extraordinary protection, as early sessions got underway.
Demonstrators blocked off numerous downtown streets around the IMF, a few blocks from the White House, and were blocking people trying to get into the meetings. Protesters tried to break through a police line at 20th and K Streets, as the demonstration neared the IMF and World Bank. Delegates, along with some IMF employees managed to get through. "It looks like most of them are here. People were advised to come in early, about 5 o'clock,” said Connie Lotze, speaking for the IMF in a morning meeting. The IMF's first meeting was with finance ministers from 10 countries. It started as scheduled at 8:30 a.m. and began with Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers representing the United States. Protesters that had strung up a large banner reading, “IMF Plus World Bank Equals Hundreds Rich, Billions Poor,” blocked a street near the downtown campus of George Washington University. Others carried signs with slogans such as "Stop the War Against Poor" and "In All Your Decadence, People Die." The protesters’ objective is to have the institutions forgive more debt in developing countries. Outside the White House grounds, more than 50 people lay down on the street, trying to stop an empty police bus from getting by. Police used sticks to try to push them away but eventually gave up and left the bus where it was. One of the many protest leaders acknowledged that security was so tight that the demonstrators were not likely to stop the meetings that spread over Sunday and Monday. “What we wanted to accomplish was to make the public aware of the need for major changes in the way the IMF and the World Bank operates," said Dave Batker, a Seattle environmental activist who is 46 year old.
At another point, police in riot gear used pepper spray to control protesters who broke through a barrier. Mounted police used their horses to keep a crowd at bay on Pennsylvania Avenue, a block from the White House. Protesters complained that there was no warning before the arrests began. Demonstrators accuse the World Bank and the IMF of destroying the environment with dams and similar projects, allowing sweatshops and imposing harsh debt-repayment programs. "We have a right to be here and we also have a right to protest and we also have a right to walk away," said protester Larry Holmes, complaining that police had penned demonstrators in a barricaded area to arrest them. Police said the demonstrators had refused an order to vacate the street. "They had been given several opportunities," said D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey. Protesters and even tourists who witnessed the event said not only did police fail to order people to disperse, but they also prevented those who wanted to leave from doing so. Thus far about 600 people were arrested near the World Bank and International Monetary Fund buildings as tensions mount on the eve of the spring meetings of the two international bodies. Arrested in the initial police action were a few bystanders and at least one news photographer. A veteran photojournalist of the Washington Post, Carol Guzy, was arrested while covering the mass arrests of protesters against the World Bank and IMF. She was later released without any charges, reported Post officials. The weather in Washington is reminiscent of Seattle, the scene of similar demonstrations last December. Police Chief Charles Ramsey said those arrested would be charged with "parading without a permit and refusal to disperse, among other things." The Chief added that those who provide identification will be fined $50, and those who did not will be fined $300.
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