Tens of Thousands Rally at Washington Summit

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Anti-Globalisation Movement:
Tens of Thousands Rally at Washington Summit

More than 100,000 anti-globalisation demonstrators, many of whom were youth, gathered in Washington DC on Saturday, April 20, as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank began their annual spring meeting, according to the Independent Media Centre.

The protests touched on a wide variety of issues, but were dominated by Israel’s military actions in the West Bank and the United States’ "war on terrorism".

Organisers of the national demonstration stated that it was the largest showing of solidarity with Palestinians in US history.

Other themes included anti-racism, especially concerning discrimination against people of Arabic origin, opposition to intervention in Colombia, and also opposition to corporate globalisation.

The central demonstration was the Palestinian Solidarity March, organised by the Committee in Solidarity with the People of Palestine, which began at 10:30 am at the AIPAC Conference at the Washington Hilton.

It was joined by two other "feeder marches". One, organised by the Mobilisation for Global Justice (MGJ), began outside the IMF and World Bank buildings at 11:00 am. The other, the A20 Mobilisation to Stop the War at Home and Abroad, was organised by the National Youth and Student Coalition, formed out of the Student Peace Action Network and the International ANSWER coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism).

Other groups involved included the Chicago Direct Action Network, Women in Black for Peace and Justice, the MIT based Nerds against the War and Essential Information.

The three marches met in the afternoon at Washington’s "Mall", the grassy park area between the Capital Building, the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.

Demonstrators gathered in front of the White House, waving flags and posters reading "Free Palestine, no war on Iraq".

A 30-foot balloon painted to represent the Earth and bearing a "For Sale" sign was displayed across the road from where finance officials met in advance of the summit.

Fatina, a Palestinian mother of four who brought her children dressed in colourful, traditional dress, explained, "I have been living in the US for 25 years and I pay taxes, and I don’t expect my money to go to killing my people."

Hajie Tunkara from the West African country of Gambia said, "We want our tax dollars to be used wisely, and instead the US is using our money to butcher Muslims in Palestine. Look at Jenin," the refugee camp recently destroyed by the Israeli Defence Forces (Israel is the most heavily armed country per capita in the world, armed and financed in particular by the US).

"I want to see equality for the Palestinians," said Cathy Bentwood, the mother of a 14-year-old son who accompanied her to the protest from New Hampshire.

Ryan Sarni, a 21-year-old student, said, "We’re all working under the same banner of pro-choice, pro-environment, pro-worker and pro-women. There is just diversity of tactics and viewpoints here."

Various cultural events were organised in the evening, such as the Colombia Mobilisation Solidarity Concert at the First Congregational Church, and DC Asians for Peace & Justice at St. Stephen's Church, an event organised by Asian and Asian-American activists, featuring local Asian and Asian-American musicians, dancers, drummers and spoken word artists.

Though the protests were peaceful, police sealed off the venue of the meeting as the demonstrations got under way. Rubbish bins and post boxes were removed, while all police leave was cancelled and reinforcements were drafted in.

During the weekend, 35,000 people also rallied in San Francisco and actions were held throughout the US and Canada. According to initial reports, rallies also took place around the world in Argentina, Brazil, Panama, Mexico, Japan, the Philippines and Australia.

Demonstrations took place on Saturday in Newport City Centre and at the Israeli Embassy London, among others in Britain.