Weeklong Protests Target World Bank, IMF

By Lisa Mastny Environmental News Service Members of Friends of the Earth protest against the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund last week WASHINGTON, DC - Seven people were arrested today in Washington, DC, in protests against the lending practices of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The arrests begin a week of protest against the world’s largest development institutions, which activists say fail to consider environmental and labor impacts of their international loans and investments. The World Bank and IMF will hold their annual meeting next Sunday and Monday, and as many as 10,000 activists are expected to use civil disobedience to disrupt the meetings. The protest is seen by many of the activists as a continuation of the protests last November against globalization, at the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle, Washington. This morning, two activists locked themselves to a rented, 17 foot sound truck parked in front of the World Bank headquarters, while others chained themselves to the awning of the building’s main entrance. Using the top of the truck as a makeshift stage, Friends of the Earth executive director Brent Blackwelder and Ozone Action executive director John Passacantando announced a campaign platform demanding that the World Bank phase out its financing of oil, gas and mining projects, which the groups say lead to environmental destruction and human rights abuses. "The World Bank's oil, gas and mining projects have left a trail of environmental devastation, increased poverty and severe social disruption in their wake in poor countries," said Andrea Durbin of Friends of the Earth. "The record shows these projects do little or nothing to foster poverty alleviation, and instead mainly benefit multinational corporations." More than 200 organizations, representing environmental, human rights, religious and economic justice organizations from 55 countries called on the World Bank to stop financing oil, gas and mining projects. A rally on Saturday drew between 5,000 and 7,000 people to the Capital Mall. James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, welcomed the rally, called Jubilee 2000, for bringing attention to the issue of debt relief for developing countries. Jubilee 2000’s organizers say that the enormous debt carried by many developing regions creates incentives for leaders to exploit natural resources in an unsustainable fashion. "I am personally very grateful for the enormous contribution Jubilee 2000 has made to debt relief," Wolfensohn said. "While we do not agree with every aspect of how to address this challenge, we salute the coalition for helping to bring this critical issue to the world's attention." Gene Sperling, President Bill Clinton's economic adviser, read a letter from the president to the rally. "Let us say today that no nation on this Earth should be forced to choose between feeding and educating children or paying interest on excessive debt," the letter read. "Let us say that no children, no matter where they are born, should be deprived of the opportunity to reach their full potential." Also speaking at the rally were religious leaders from a variety of faiths, a politician from Mozambique and representatives of labor unions. A second, larger rally is planned for next Saturday, and protests are expected to escalate on the final meeting days, Sunday and Monday. At a press conference today in Washington, DC, and in simultaneous releases in the United Kingdom, Canada, The Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Nigeria and the Czech Republic, representatives of these diverse organizations announced a campaign to get the World Bank to phase out its funding of these extractive industries. The campaign was unveiled on the first day of the World Bank's annual "Energy Week" conference in the Washington area. In a platform presented to World Bank officials, the groups - including Friends of the Earth International, OilWatch Africa, Greenpeace International, Oxfam Canada, United Methodist Church and environmental groups from Africa, Asia and Latin America, highlighted the 10 most harmful impacts of oil, gas and mining projects. Noting that flooding and heat waves linked to global warming, a process linked to the burning of fossil fuels, are already overwhelming developing nations, Ozone Action's John Passacantando said, "The World Bank likes to talk about its new concern for stopping catastrophic global climate change. Yet it is still spending 25 times more on the very fossil fuel projects that cause global warming, than on clean, renewable energy projects. Is this what the Bank calls improving lives?" The platform claims that: The poor are the most likely to be forced off their land by oil, gas and mining projects, the most likely to live in contaminated surroundings as a result of oil spills, gas flaring and improper waste disposal, and the least empowered to demand fair compensation. Extractive projects have devastated dozens of indigenous groups around the world, resulting in loss of their numbers, livelihoods and cultural identity. Extraction of valuable natural resources often exacerbates human rights violations in countries with corrupt and repressive regimes, as governments and the corporations collude to repress citizen opposition and demand for compensation. Desperate for hard currency to service debts, poor nations exploit resources such as petroleum reserves and minerals at unsustainable rates, a costly development path that fuels indebtedness and dependence on foreign aid. The multinational corporations that receive World Bank financing for extractive projects often have profits that dwarf the annual budgets of poor nations. These wealthy corporations do not need World Bank support, which diverts aid from programs that truly benefit the poor, the groups say. The World Bank should be investing in clean technologies and programs aimed at poverty alleviation, the groups charge. The platform detailed 10 better examples of good development the World Bank could finance, from renewable energy and conservation programs, to technical and job training, micro-enterprises and urban quality-of-life projects. In addition, the platform urges immediate debt cancellation for highly indebted poor countries. "The debt burden of developing countries is killing hundreds of thousands of children every year," said John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO labor union, at Saturday’s rally. "That's why we can't wait until next year and that's why we are united and committed to the goal of debt relief now."

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