WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- As world financial leaders began arriving in the nation's capital Thursday for the annual World Bank and International Monetary Fund meeting, activists were gearing up for protests demanding that the institutions reform their policies.
Loren Finkelstein, a spokeswoman for the Mobilization for Global Justice, said she saw this year's demonstrations as an opportunity to express the fact that the injustice America felt on Sept. 11 is felt by people all over the world every day.
"The policies of the IMF and the World Bank create situations that are just as harmful to peoples' lives," she said.
The group is calling for the IMF and World Bank to open their meetings to the public and the media. Activists say that because the meetings are closed, the institutions are unaccountable to the public.
They are also demanding that the institutions give debt relief to poor countries that can't repay their loans to the World Bank.
"(They) have created a situation where it would be impossible for those countries to pay them back and support the welfare of their people at the same time," said Finkelstein.
In preparation, up to 1,700 police officers arrived from Illinois, New York and Georgia. All 3,650 of Washington's Metropolitan Police force were working 12-hour shifts, patrolling neighborhoods.
Washington Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey said they would set up a fenced perimeter around the World Bank and IMF headquarters on Thursday evening.
Police issued a "citizen advisory" on Monday, telling commuters to expect significant delays in getting to work. They encouraged city workers to use public transportation and avoid the downtown streets on Friday and Saturday.
Many of these preparations were in response to some activist organizations that have vowed to prevent government and downtown companies from doing business on Friday by blocking intersections and subway stations.
Others vowed to "quarantine" IMF and World Bank representatives in their building and not let them leave the meetings on Saturday.
Neither the activist groups nor the police would speculate on how many demonstrators will be in the streets this weekend, but both said they expect thousands.
Last year's meeting was cancelled after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The previous year's meeting, in April 2000, drew about 20,000 protesters.
Finding a place to sleep has been a challenge for some of the out-of-town demonstrators. Jubilee USA, an organization calling for debt relief from the IMF and World Bank, reserved hostel beds in advance. Others have claimed spaces in church basements or on the floors of friends' apartments.
At the "command post" for Mobilization for Global Justice, a Washington-based organization that has been planning most of this weekend's activities, people slept on the tile floor, underneath tables.
Their major activities are scheduled for Saturday. They plan a rally near the Washington Monument and a march through the city to highlight their message of IMF and World Bank reform.
The organization has complained that police have not responded to repeated requests for a march permit or returned their frequent phone calls.
Neither the Washington Metropolitan Police nor the U.S. Park Police, which grant permits, would give any information about permit applications.
On Saturday afternoon, activists said, thousands plan to mass around the security perimeter at the IMF and World Bank and "quarantine" the delegates.
They said that surrounding the grounds was a symbolic way to highlight their frustration.
"It is a disease that they're spreading," said Finkelstein.
Friday, however, is when police expect most of the action. A group of anarchist activists and anti-capitalists plan to disrupt traffic, block intersections and target commercial and political institutions throughout the day.
"We plan to shut down Washington D.C.," said Rae Valentine, an organizer for the Anti-Capitalist Convergence. By bringing the city to a halt for a whole day, he said, they would make sure they were heard.
Activists said the IMF and the World Bank epitomized capitalist institutions that cared more about money than people. Although many have said their radical actions would only divert attention from their message, Valentine disagreed.
"It's all about the message," he said. "This is creative non-violent civil disobedience."
Police acknowledged the protesters' right to be heard but were unsure what some groups had planned, so they were preparing for the worst.
"You always have some who are going to be violent and destructive. We have to be prepared for that," said Sgt. Joe Gentile, public affairs officer for the Metropolitan Police. "We don't know what to expect."
