DC IMF-World Bank Protests Continue
Police in full riot gear used batons and pepper spray on Sunday in the first use of force against protesters who tried to stop a meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
Police sprayed some demonstrators in the eyes and hit others with batons as they tried to push back protesters who had broken down a barricade outside the U.S. Treasury Department, located next to the White House.
CBS News Correspondent Howard Arenstein reports at one point Sunday morning a line of demonstrators completely blocked Pennsylvania Avenue, while Alan Etter of CBS Affiliate WTOP-AM reports at another spot, a small group of protesters tried to run a police blockade.
However, early sessions of the financial meetings got under way as delegates were spirited to work under extraordinary protection.
At least three finance ministers were unable to attend the meetings, however: Pedro Malan, Joaquim Pina Moura and Laurent Fabius, the ministers from Brazil, Portugal and France, were cut off by the street protests.
The streets of Washington were relatively calm everywhere except in the area immediately around the IMF, reports CBS News Correspondent Eric Engberg. There have been periodic skirmishes between police and demonstrators at virtually every street corner.
Sunday morning started peacefully enough with a colorful array of marchers representing a broad range of gripes. Anti-globalization, anti-Corporate America, pro-animal rights.
Washington police chief Charles Ramsey seemed in good spirits.
"That's what America is all about, letting people voice their opinion," he said in a news conference.
Body-armoured police used batons "liberally," a witness said, as they clashed for 10 minutes with about 500 protesters before they reestablished the security fence that had been set up to keep the protesters away from the meetings.
"You're killers," bandana-clad protesters shouted at the police.
Police stepped up security on Sunday, pushing back by several blocks a security perimeter around the buildings were the meetings of finance ministers and central bankers from around the world were to take place.
IMF acting Managing Director Stanley Fischer vowed that the meetings would go ahead, despite the protests, and busloads of delegates were able to enter through a secure entrance. Mayor Anthony Williams told CBS News Face The Nation anchor Bob Schieffer the clashes have not been very serious so far, and he attributes that to the police and federal agencies. "They've tried to be very pro-active but at the same time flexible in their response to balance the need of the protesters to have their protests...at the same time, respecting the rights of these officials — the IMF, World bank — to conduct their meeting and go on about their affairs," he said. "This city has hosted protests of hundreds of thousands of people in a peaceful way." The activists believe that the IMF and World Bank foist ill-suited economic policies on poor nations, forcing them deeper into misery. They also believe IMF and World Bank policies serve the interests of rich countries at the expense of the poorest people in the world. This is something the lending agencies deny but many of these criticisms are also shared by economists and members of the U.S. Congress.
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