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Posted on 04/08/2003 12:03:18 PM PDT by areafiftyone
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Pacifists and anti-globalization activists plan a weekend of demonstrations in Washington alongside spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (news - web sites) and World Bank (news - web sites).
On Saturday, the group ANSWER -- which stands for Act Now to Stop War and End Racism -- expects tens of thousands of demonstrators to show solidarity with an international mobilization against the US-led war on Iraq (news - web sites).
"The whole world is watching to see if the people of the United States can intensify the power of the anti-war movement at the moment that the (President George W.) Bush administration is intending to slaughter tens of thousands of Iraqi people and occupy their country," ANSWER said while calling for a march to surround the White House on Saturday.
At the same time, delegates from the 184 member states of the World Bank and IMF and the finance ministers of the Group of Seven industrialized nations will be meeting at the lending bodies' headquarters and at Blair House, the guest residence for foreign dignitaries located across from the White House.
The IMF and World Bank have stressed that all measures have been taken to assure the security of their meetings.
Other large demonstrations are planned elsewhere in the United States, notably in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
ANSWER, which has led a series of mass demonstrations over the past several months against the war on Iraq, warns: "The war on Iraq is only one of the fronts on which the United States government is determined to build a world empire."
The United States is also "waging economic war through the IMF, World Bank and free trade treaties such as the Free Trade Area of the Americas agreement," ANSWER charges.
On Sunday, another activist group, Mobilization for Global Justice, is organizing a demonstration against military and economic intervention in Latin America and the Caribbean.
They say the IMF, World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank are stepping up pressure for globalization in the Americas while Washington is increasing military aid for repressive regimes in the region.
The group has called five days of action including lobbying members of Congress, refusing to file tax declarations, which are due for most Americans on April 15.
On Sunday they are organizing a "march of shame" outside the headquarters of individual companies and government agencies including the US Trade Representative's office, the IADB and Occidental Petroleum, criticized for its policies in Latin America.
They will proceed to the headquarters of the IMF and World Bank, which are expected to have a tight security cocoon.
In September, the annual IMF and World Bank meetings here drew some 5,000 anti-globalization protesters.
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