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TechnoratiWorld Bank Protesters Hit The Streets In Washington
White-helmeted D.C. police briefly scuffled with protesters yesterday during a demonstration outside the World Bank, but no one was seriously injured or arrested, officials and protesters said.
The confrontation came after violence erupted Friday during a protest in Georgetown. Objects were thrown at store windows, newspaper boxes were overturned and a police officer was pushed from a scooter, authorities said. Yesterday was quieter.
About 500 demonstrators marched from Franklin Square, near the White House, to World Bank headquarters, at 18th and H streets NW. The protesters, a mix of students, community activists and black-clad anarchists, denounced the policies of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, which are holding meetings this weekend.
The event was peaceful except for a tense moment in Edward R. Murrow Park, across from the bank, where the march ended. As delegates arrived for the meetings mid-afternoon, several anarchists charged the police line, according to officials and two demonstrators. Baton-wielding police raced in, shoving protesters and snatching their signs. A crowd massed, shouting "Our streets! Our streets!"
"They charged the police line," said D.C. Assistant Police Chief Patrick Burke, head of the homeland security bureau. "Police lines cannot be broken."
A protester who identified himself as Bob Exe, 20, said police struck him on the shoulder and nose with batons. The District resident, who had stuck a tissue into his bloodied nose, said no one charged the line but there "might have been some pushing." He acknowledged that the demonstrators had been trying to block delegates from reaching the World Bank.
Yesterday's event was a faint echo of the anti-globalization protests that brought huge crowds to the city in past years. In 2000, about 20,000 demonstrators converged on Washington, disrupting parts of downtown and clashing with police.
At protests two years later, D.C. police came under strong criticism for arresting hundreds of peaceful demonstrators without warning. The District has since paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal settlements and adopted new protocols to prevent abuse of police power.
Two protesters were arrested Friday night and charged with assaulting police officers.
Hundreds of D.C. police were on the streets for yesterday's protests, including SWAT teams. Some protesters yelled insults at police, but others said they had decided not to use violence.
"We've got immigrants and others we don't want to put in danger," said Luke Kuhn, 42, a self-described anarchist from Montgomery County.
Other protesters warily eyed the anarchists, who wore bandannas over their faces and waved black flags.
"This is not the usual environment to see us in, surrounded by people in balaclavas," said Ben Margolis, 27, a British demonstrator with the group Global Call to Action Against Poverty. "We're here to demonstrate the passion of civil society. We call on the Bank and Fund to become more transparent and promote good governance and end the negative conditions they put on their loans."
This weekend's demonstrations were organized by the loose-knit October Coalition and drew people critical not only of the international institutions but also of gentrification, U.S. immigration policies, D.C. school vouchers and consumption of meat.
An organizer, Sameer Dossani, acknowledged that the crowd was small compared with past years. He attributed the turnout to the scheduling of a variety of antiwar and other demonstrations this month in the District and other cities.
"It's good a lot of things are happening. But we do take away from one another a little bit," he said.
© 2007 The Washington Post
15 Comments so far
Show AllThe Anarchist uniform of Black with bandanna mask is also the uniform of police provocateurs so they can infiltrate the crowd. The mask conceals the Cops ID but the uniformed police will know the police infiltrators from the protesters but the protesters won't have a clue what they are bein led into.. it is an old tactic. But it favors all of the advantages of Police control while making it easy to blame any violence on the Anarchists ...and this has kept protesters down and confused since the days of Karl Marx when he was a New York newspaper reporter in Europe.... His big worry in the Manifesto was Police agents and provocateurs....
A great Old Tradition!
It keeps the crowds down to a minimum while those who want to act militant will have their chance to strut their stuff.
Somebody's got to do it.
I guess I'm just too Old for this stuff anymore.
Whenever there is a black bloc there are agent provocateurs. The irony is that the state's line is always about peaceful protest and what not. You can YouTube search "agent provocateurs" and see how these pigs operate. My guess is they do it because anarchists give them the most trouble and they want to be able to weed them out so, if need be, they can attack people who don't fight back.
Don't miss this great documentary:
The War On Democracy
by John Pilger
1 hr 34 min
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3739500579629840148
The War on Democracy, John Pilger's first film for cinema
I was right there when the police started charging protesters and I can tell you that it was definitely the police charging the protesters and not the reverse! People were running from the cops who were wielding batons and the protesters were not acting as aggressors at all. After the police stopped charging, the protesters peacefully shouted them down and then they retreated and left the park.
Earlier in the day, the cops came into a crowd of people in Murrow Park and tried to arrest a homeless person for no apparent reason. After all the protesters surrounded the police and started shouting and taking pictures, the cops let him go and left the park.
Far from the sensational image painted by the media, the protest seemed to me like an excellent example of protesters actually successfully de-escalating the violence of the police.
I do not see why we need the world bank. I am sick and tired of being ripped off by their preditory creditors and so is the rest of the world.
Everyone says you need credit but people really don't/
What do you want to bet there were police agent provocatures in the crowd, and were the ones most likely to have broken windows and 'charged' the police lines?
No arrests? Almost a sure sign.
zoya:
"Which countries are next on their list for bringing to the gates of hell?"
Probably the US, for starters - either directly or indirectly. Mexico for sure, and then there's the ongoing problems in the former Soviet Union. As you said..."It's appalling that the WB and the IMF still require protesting." Situations like this bring to mind a slogan I saw at a protest once: "De-f*** the world." Bravo to all the protesters in DC who are putting themselves on the front lines.
greatbear215 - your comment: "Heroes!"
I, too, thank them! Unlke our cowardice government officials, real representation comes from these heros, the protesters. March On! Be Safe! Be Proud!
Thank God there are people both patriotic enough, and passionate enough to protest! Heroes! Every last one! Thank you!
It's appalling that the WB and the IMF still require protesting. You'd think that the situation in Latin America would have so discredited these institutions that they'd have no choice but to close their doors. Which countries are next on their list for bringing to the gates of hell?
"Demonstrate non-violently. Use Bush-Cheney masks to depersonalize yourself. Say it with signs and make extra signs to give away."
Respectful diversity of tactics is the best way to keep the largest number of people involved. The vast majority of anarchist (yes, anarchist) protests in the US *are* non-violent, and for the same reasons as other protests in the US; nobody likes getting their head beaten about, or to have their image stored in a Homeland Security database. Broken windows = red herring and/or provocateurs, and who says anarchists don't use signs? I like the idea of giving away signs though, which btw is completely in accord with anarchist principles.
For an example of what solidarity between black-clad kids and older progressives can look like, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St1-WTc1kow . United we stand, divided we...
We're busy on Sunday, have careers and other interests to protect, we're not on the Metro to this type of event, but it's importance is huge. Statistics are needed but the enourmous numbers of law enforcement, equipped with millions in survelliance, armor and standard issue beat down equipment is incredible. They're certainly ready and willing to crush any type of resistance with brutality, they'll bash your head if you shut down Starbucks. It's much better to beat fight militancy, the status quo and corrupt authority with white paper, 1's and 0's.
Demonstrate non-violently. Use Bush-Cheney masks to depersonalize yourself. Say it with signs and make extra signs to give away.
Footage of World Bank protest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAjHqt9UTEw
'We call on the Bank and Fund to become more transparent and promote good governance and end the negative conditions they put on their loans'
I'm with the anarchists...what this clown is asking for will automatically be done tomorrow, of course...RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE with all the power and fight you have or you could always spout pointless 'calls' to the BANK and FUND to no avail! VIVA VIVA VIVA