Washington DC IMF / World Bank Protest Updates

Some carried signs reading "people over profits" and "debt relief now" to underscore their message to international lenders holding their spring meetings.

The boisterous rally modeled after "cacerolazo" pot-banging protests common in South America led protesters to a park across the street from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund headquarters in downtown Washington.

"We need to have people in the street to show that we're paying attention to what the IMF and World Bank are doing," said protester Tito Bourdon, 23, of Virginia.

Mobilization for Global Justice, an umbrella group of activists behind Saturday's protest, estimated between 3,000 and 3,500 people participated in the demonstration, though reporters on the scene estimated the crowd at closer to 1,000.

Police reported one arrest, though not directly related to the anti-globalization rally. A 46-year-old man was charged with a misdemeanor for carrying what appeared to be a fetus in a jar, Metropolitan Police spokesman Kenny Bryson said.

There is an abortion rights demonstration planned for Sunday in Washington. Both pro-life and pro-choice signs were visible among the anti-IMF and World Bank crowd.

Susanna Reid, a 57-year-old doctor from Oregon, said she had traveled to Washington for Sunday's women's march but decided to join the anti-globalization rally in a sign of solidarity with the movement.

"On a personal level, I believe that most people in this country are enslaved by debt, and the same is happening in countries around the world," she said.

Many critics of the IMF and World Bank argue the lenders restrict the policy choices of countries who accept their loans. Mobilization for Global Justice calls for the outright cancellation of all poor country debt using the bank and fund's own resources.

Read More
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=4929707

April 24, 2004 Listing of Events

8:30am - 7pm Earth Day Celebration, 201 Ethan Allan Ave. Takoma Park, Maryland

12:00 pm - 5:30 pm Youth Pride Day, Rock Creek Park on the corner of 23rd and P Street, NW,

Noon, Mass Demostration against the World Bank and IMF, Franklin Square, K and 14th St. NW 14th St. NW -Short Rally -March & Cacerolazo, bring your pots pans, bells, whistles, signs, banners, and drums, whatever. March Route -Festival of resistance: Festival of social justice games, music, poetry, spoken word and soap box speak out. -Food provided by Food Not Bombs.

1:00 pm - 4:00 pm Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land Films, Jack Morton Auditorium, George Washington U, 805 21st Street NW

1:00pm - 6:00pm Latina Summit on Mobilizing for Reproductive Justice, Omni Shoreham Hotel, Woodley Park Metro

2:30pm - 5:00pm Really REALLY Free Market! Franklin Park

4:00pm The International Working Group for the March for Women’s Lives, Lafayette Park

5:30 pm - 9:00 pm Take Back the Night, Dupont Circle

7:00 pm We Are Everywhere Book Event, Flemming Center, 1426 9th St. NW (at 9th and P)

8:00 pm - 11:00 pm March for Women’s Lives Kick-Off, DC Armory, block from Stadium/Armory Metro

8pm support neighborhood radio!, La Casa, 3166 Mt. Pleasant St. NW

Details At
http://dc.indymedia.org/feature/display/95061/index.php

ALSO SEE
http://sept.globalizethis.org/