World Bank, IMF conclude Washington meetings amid protests
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World finance officials closed out the most tumultuous meetings in the history of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank on Monday with renewed pledges to hasten debt relief for poor countries and increase support for fighting the AIDS epidemic. A final statement from the Development Committee, which sets policy for the World Bank, disagreed with the thousands of protesters who had thronged the streets by describing the multilateral lenders as “a powerful force” for good in the global economy. The demonstrators had complained during a week of escalating protests that World Bank policies made poor countries even poorer and that the bank and the IMF were not doing enough to aid debtor states or curb the scourge of AIDS. “We were a bit nonplused,” said World Bank President James Wolfensohn, who was awakened before dawn on Saturday by demonstrators who said bank lending increased indebtedness and poverty, promoted sweatshops and destroyed the environment. The bank’s key role was to reduce poverty around the world, he said. Neither Monday’s meeting of the Development Committee nor Sunday’s get-together of the IMF’s policy-making International Monetary and Finance Committee made clear decisions on the issues of the day. They agreed to review lending rules, push for extra debt relief and improve the way they monitor the state of member countries’ economies rather than coming up with detailed proposals or backing developing country efforts to change the voting system at the IMF. Police said they arrested nearly 500 protesters Monday — bringing the total number of arrests in the demonstrations to about 1,200. Police Chief Charles Ramsey spent much of the day on the front lines as police used pepper spray and tear gas to confront protesters who were trying to block traffic and shut down the final day of talks. Delegates began their meetings ahead of schedule in an attempt to outmaneuver demonstrators. They arrived under police escort at the World Bank and IMF buildings, in the heart of a barricaded downtown Washington, not far from the White House. Most of those arrested Monday were taken into custody 15 at a time — as part of a negotiated surrender to police — which allowed the protesters to cross the barricades to make their point. “Please stay calm. We respect your position,” Terry Gainer, the assistant chief of police, told the crowd. |