Expect the same kind of massive turn-out that greeted the World Trade Organization's policy conference late last year in Seattle.
That's the word from organizers of a similar protest planned to coincide with a joint meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank on April 16 and 17 in Washington, D.C.
Organized by the 50 Years is Enough Network, the Direct Action Network, Ruckus Society DC, Katuah EarthFirst! and Global Exchange, plans for the counter-event include acts of non-violent civil disobedience, educational workshops, and various forms of puppetry and street theatre. Bus caravans are being organized to transport participants to Washington from across the United States and Canada.
Why are protesters so miffed at the IMF and World Bank? In a word, the issue is the same one that sparked the so-called 'Battle in Seattle': globalization. In opponents' eyes, large and unaccountable bureaucracies have been re-writing the rules of international trade in ways that have damaged the environment and created more misery for the world's poor.
While the World Trade Organization is a new organization, created to oversee an increasingly unified world economy, the IMF and the World Bank have been playing this game for some time.
Over the years, the World Bank has been the target of bitter criticism for planning and funding mega-projects that have created enormous environmental damage and plunged Third World countries deep into debt.
The IMF, meanwhile, has been imposing so-called Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) on poor and endebted nations for decades. SAPs typically call for countries to encourage export-oriented industries (which often compete in the global marketplace on the basis of low wages and lax environmental controls) at the expense of national economic activities (such as local agricultural production). As well, SAPs almost invariably demand cuts to government funding for social services, health care and education, in order to shift investments to support industries that export their products to wealthier nations.
This week, a number of events being held across Canada will focus on the role of the IMF and World Bank in shaping the current global reality. Here are some of the highlights:
Halifax - Wednesday, March 29, 8 p.m.
Screening of the film "To be a Woman: African Women's Responses to Structural Adjustment" (45 minutes). The film will be introduced by Barbara Rumscheidt, faculty member of the Atlantic School of Theology and author of a book on the dehumanizing effects of technology. MacMechan Room, Killam Library, Dalhousie University. Contact: Penny McCall Howard cfsnspei@globalserve.net; (902) 425-4237.
Halifax - Saturday April 1, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Mobilization for Global Justice teach-in. Various topics. 5th floor, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, 5163 Duke Street. Contact: Penny McCall Howard (co-ordinates above).
Vancouver - Thursday, March 30, 7 pm
Battling the Third World Debt: Can we stop the IMF? A panel discussion on the debt crisis and how to end the human tragedy imposed by the IMF and the World Bank. SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street. Contact: Tara Ehrcke, pschreck@sfu.ca (604) 215-8500
People who are interested in participating in the Washington D.C. protest can get in touch with their local organizing committee by sending an e-mail to mike@flora.org.
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