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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 April 2000 Issue No. 478 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 April 2000 Issue No. 478
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Heritage Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters 'Organised chaos'
By Thomas GorguissianIt was not another Seattle. Thousands of protesters made their voices heard, but failed to disrupt the IMF and World Bank spring meetings. The police, long-prepared for the event, sealed off the area near the White House, and federal workers were told to stay home on Monday. World financial officials pledged, at the end of their meetings, greater efforts to alleviate poverty and fight AIDS. The protests were largely peaceful. Violence was sporadic and some clashes took place. Barricades, batons, smoke bombs, tear gas and pepper spray were used. About 1,300 were arrested.
Inside the IMF's downtown headquarters, where the officials met, protesters' concerns were echoed. Financial officials asked IMF managers to continue reviewing their lending programmes, and willingness was expressed to forgive large portions of debt. Outside the buildings, the protesters were asking for "global justice" and many demanded the dismantling of the two financial institutions.
Some 10,000 to 30,000 people took part in protests, most of them in their twenties. Slogans like "Whose Streets? Our Streets!" "You are killers" and "More world, less bank" began in the early hours of Sunday. Some of the official delegates, including those representing France, Brazil and Thailand, failed to arrive for the start of meetings.
More than 600 groups formed what was described as "organised chaos," including environmentalists, human rights activists, anarchists, peaceful anarchists, and students against sweatshops -- in addition to those asking for debt relief for poor countries, for ethical treatment of animals, for lifting the sanctions against Iraq, and other endless agendas.
Both the IMF and the World Bank came under scrutiny. For years those two institutions were working all over the world, as one of the protesters noted, and always behind closed doors. Now they have a face and have to be accountable for what they did and are still doing.
The anger was criticised by some observers and, as expected, by the financial officials themselves. Michael Moore, director-general of the World Trade Organisation, said: "Blaming the World Bank for poverty is a bit like blaming the Red Cross for starting World Wars I and II."
The World Bank and the IMF are not perfect. They have, however, had a positive effect on the lives of millions of people, US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers wrote in an op-ed article; but in a statement to the 24-nation Development Committee, the World Bank's main governing body, he mentioned that too often there remains a gap between the Bank's policies and development aspirations and actual results.
In a closing news conference, World Bank President James Wolfensohn expressed concern about what was said "unfairly" about the bank's role and performance. "We are the organisation that has reached out enormously in the last five years ... to embrace civil society. It affected me, it affected everybody in the building, and we were a bit non-plussed, to be honest with you."
The World Bank President and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Acting Managing Director Stanley Fischer announced at the spring meetings the establishment of a Joint IMF/World Bank Implementation Committee (JIC) to coordinate work on two high priority joint Bank/IMF initiatives, the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative and the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) programme.
The Development Committee also issued a statement urging quick and coordinated action to strengthen health care in developing nations before AIDS does further damage to their economies.
On the opposite front, Njoki Njehu, director of the "50 Years is Enough Network," said in a TV interview, "I think that it's sad to see that the World Bank and the IMF think that theirs is a PR problem. It's not just in Washington, but in Haiti, in Kenya, in India, in Mauritius, in Bulgaria, in Turkey. In all of these countries there are similar protests and mobilisations happening, because people are speaking specifically on what the institutions have been doing."
IMF Acting Managing Director Stanley Fischer and others defended the global economy against the protesters' claims, mentioning that open markets can lead to growth rates and reduce poverty. "We are not trying to keep poor countries down," Fischer said, stressing that the best way to grow is to integrate into the global economy.
According to IMF Outlook, the world economy will grow by 4.2 per cent rate this year, its fastest growth in a dozen years.
"I think we've delivered a very strong message that citizens of the United States are concerned about the impacts of these institutions," said Stephen Kretzmann, spokesman for Mobilisation for Global Justice, the coalition of groups that organised the protests.
And it was announced in Washington that this summer's Republican and Democratic presidential conventions, scheduled for the end of July and the beginning of August respectively, will be the next targets for similar public demonstrations, before protesters head to Prague in September, where the IMF and World Bank Summit is going to be held.
Even average Americans are worried and anxious about globalisation. According to a poll conducted by Business Week magazine and Harris Interactive, 64 per cent of those polled think globalisation benefits the US economy, and 68 per cent think US consumers stand to gain. But the public is split about whether the advancing global economy hurts the environment and jobs. And 69 per cent believe that trade agreements with low-wage countries force US wages down.
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