Over 600 Arrested in Washington Protests on Friday - 2002-09-27

On Friday, over 600 people were arrested during protests in Washington. The Washington police, in preparation for demonstrations coinciding with the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, closed several streets on Saturday as well. The police chief stated that demonstrators engaging in violent actions would be arrested. So far, more than six hundred individuals have been detained in this context. In one instance, protesters created a traffic jam by sitting in the street. In another case, demonstrators broke the windows of banks. Representatives from over 180 countries are participating in this three-day gathering. The discussions will focus on global economy, development, and debt relief for poor countries. The Washington police anticipate that around 20,000 people will march today in protest against the policies of international financial institutions and U.S. foreign policy. Amid chaos in financial markets due to fears of war in Iraq and the presence of thousands of anti-capitalism protesters in the streets of Washington, senior policymakers from seven economic democracies, known as the G7, have gathered in Washington with the aim of accelerating efforts to improve the global economy. Security measures in Washington are particularly strict ahead of the World Bank and IMF meetings. On Friday, while finance ministers were in discussions, Nicholas Stern, a prominent economist from the World Bank, criticized wealthy countries for unfairly keeping their markets somewhat closed while asking many impoverished nations to open theirs.