International

IMF meet marked by peaceful protests

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

Washington APRIL 21. Officials from the Group of Seven industrialised nations have called on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to assess, as part of a regular economic review, efforts by member-countries to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing. They also discussed the economic crisis in Argentina.

Outside the meeting venue, thousands of people protested a host of issues, including globalisation and war. The demonstrations were peaceful as the police had cordoned off the meeting venue. Unlike two years ago, when the spring meetings of the World Bank and the IMF saw pitched battles between demonstrators and the police, this time, the protestors, who came from different parts of the country, were peaceful. An unofficial estimate placed the number of protestors at 50,000 but organisers said around 100,000 people took to the streets. "There are just large numbers of people who want to have their voices heard and that's what America is all about," the Chief of the District Police, Charles Ramsey, said.

Anti-globalisation groups were sharply critical of the policies of the World Bank and the IMF, which they believe has had an adverse impact on the environment and hurt the world's poor. The criticism has to be seen in the context of the view that poverty sowed the seeds of terrorism. But if the anti-globalisation groups thought that they could dominate the formal opening of the spring meetings, they were mistaken. The violence in West Asia was the major concern of those who showed up on Saturday. Thousands waved Palestinian flags in what was perhaps the biggest pro-Palestine rally in Washington.

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