US, Washington, DC: Activists Confront IMF and World Bank

Over the last weekend, activists confronted IMF and World Bank delegates at their hotels, at their meeting sites, and even at their homes! Demonstrations
were also held at some of the mega-corporations profiting from IMF/WB policies.

Thursday activists disrupted a press conference with a banner reading "World Bank Finances Corporate Corruption" and chanting, which was followed by them being removed and their press credentials being confiscated. Other activists joined in chanting and were also removed. A press conference outside followed with an explanation of how the World Bank/IMF fund corrupt multinationals and exploit the third world. Full story with photos: http://dc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/133467/index.php

On Friday, after this media stunt in front of the IMF, protesters followed through on their promise to go after offices related to capitalist institutions working hand-in-hand with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Activists went to
Halliburton with flyers intending on educating the public and Halliburton's own employees. More than that, they went to confront Halliburton directly. Protesters entered Halliburton's offices on 18th Street between L and M and began shouting chants. Halliburton
employees looked very disturbed inside their 2nd floor offices as the sound reverberated throughout the building. Flyers about their connections with the IMF/WB were scattered throughout.

Successful, the protesters went on to Bechtel at 15th and K Street, across from McPherson Square. Bechtel is much more overt about its IFC money than is Halliburton. Ask the people of Bolivia about Bechtel's involvement in that country. A lot of people simply think of
Halliburton and Bechtel as war profiteers, but the fact is they are simply profiteers who work with governments to produce profits for the rich in first world countries, sometimes helping to enrich corrupt puppet rulers in the Global South.

At Bechtel, protesters took elevators up to the 7th floor without difficulty. The people inside Bechtel's offices were stunned to see protesters outside their offices. Protesters littered their floor with flyers explaining the corporate abuses of their corporate employers.
Protesters left the building without facing difficulty.

After Bechtel, our next target was Shell's corporate office at 1401 I st NW. By this time, things were getting pretty crazy. We saw a large convoy of cops go by without stopping a block away, and received an interesting report courtesy of bike messenger dispatch radio. The
report was that a Black Bloc was going "from place to place" trying to lose the cops!

We decided to continue in action, and proceeded to Shell's office on I st. In remembrance of the Ogoni activists who were hanged in Nigeria for protesting sHell's destruction of their land, we entered the building. We intended to go up to protest in Shell's office itself,
and decided to use a new strategy. We went to the guard desk posing as people who had business with sHell, but one mention of that company seemed to raise alarms. She said someone from sHell would come down to speak with us, but we'd have to wait outside.
Half believing her, we headed out-and then stormed back in! When the lobby guard said we needed to show ID if we wanted to go up to sHell's office, we started chanting and banging pots and pans. She was yelling franticly into the cellphone(as usual) while trying to force
us out. We continued for a few minutes, then exited sHell's building and escaped into the street. Full report on office demos:
http://dc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/133470/index.php

After the Office Demos, a small contingent continued the protest after stumbling upon the G7 meetings at the St. Regis Hotel. After reassembling, activists stood on the sidewalk chanting as people exited their limos. Getting less than 8 feet away from the ministers, we made our point, loud and clear. After a few minutes of yelling a motorcycle cop tried to intervene, but without adequate knowledge of the law, he stepped down. He put up a fight, wouldn't give out his badge and accused us of breaking laws that don't exist, but in the end, we prevailed.

To end the day's activities, a significant and spirited group of protesters converged on World Bank President and Iraq War architect Paul Wolfowitz's home yet again at 7104 Pinehurst Parkway in Chevy Chase after 9PM on Friday night. Some came by bike, some by car for a spirited and raucous protest that ultimately spilled into Western Ave. after leaving the house. Police tailing the group blocked many cars from getting through.

There were no arrests, and except for a few isolated incidents, no trouble from police. Unlike recent encounters, there were no private security, a sign that Wolfowitz was not home (though his car was in the driveway). In fact, for the first time in several encounters, his immediate neighbors seemed to be gone as well. This suggests that the neighbors are getting keyed in on the protests and are being affected by them. This is one of the aims of these protests. A mass murderer lives at 7104 Pinehurst Parkway, and it's our responsibility to do something about it, to confront any member of our community who is committing such crimes. In Paul's case, many thousands are dead, many thousands are displaced due to policies he's directly responsible for both when he was Deputy Secretary of Defense and now in his position as World Bank President. Many have no homes due to World Bank policies, due to Paul Wolfowitz; it's not
illegitimate to stand in solidarity with these people at his home as we call on this murderer to resign.

For the first time in any of these protests, DC police were there as well, joining Montgomery County Police.

In and of itself, this protest was not much, but that's deceptive. When we organized this, we thought he would be at a hotel, but we knew it was important to go there anyhow. As part of a campaign that has already lead the neighbors to share rumors about Wolfowitz's supposed desire to move from the location, it is significant. Neighbors are reacting. Some in the past bring their children out to watch. Others get upset. All of them are beginning to realize that the protests are not going away. It's possible, even likely, that many will blame the protesters, but all must consider the issue of whether we are are brother's keeper, that is whether we are
responsibile as a community for the crimes of our own neighbors and whether we should do something to stop them. That is one reason we chant, "World Bank shut it down! Paul Wolfowitz out of our town!"

In a day of action that included office demos that startled workers in their workplaces and for a moment could not be invisible, a direct confrontation with G7 delegates, the Wolfowitz action capped off a productive day. People in the protests felt empowered, and that's the most important thing of all. That empowerment will only energize more actions.

Some may think the action was meaningless because he wasn't home, but these demonstrations this week are merely part of an ongoing campaign, a tactical and strategic shift, away from the mass mobilization and toward sustained direct action that personalizes the crimes of systemic institutions. People commit these crimes; the World Bank is people.

We are all responsible, and we must all be touched by it.

A Video of the protest at Wolfowitz's house:
http://images.indymedia.org/imc/washingtondc/media/video/8/wolfowitza21.mov

Saturday, activists took to the streets and into the lobbies of hotels housing World Bank delegates, in one case storming into the lobby of the St. Gregory Hotel. Activists directly confronted delegates at a party at the Fairmont Hotel.

Full Saturday Action report:
http://dc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/133492/index.php

Sunday morning, a planned IMF Soccer Riot targeted the Fairmont Hotel with activists showing up around 3 AM and converging at the 24th and M Street location at about 3:30 AM.

Activists blocked off both ends of the block on 24th Street in front of the hotel and played soccer in the streets for more than 10 minutes before police finally arrived and then at first did little to stop anything. There were also a large number of air horns and chants and some very angry and aggressive security at the Fairmont. People woke up and looked outside their windows. It was extremely loud.

There was 1 known arrest for an activist who was holding a broom, and the police arrested him for not wanting to give up that broom.

Police did everything from shoving activists and throwing them to the ground without provocation to simple things like refusing to give badge numbers repeatedly to forcing activists standing around doing nothing to move at random for no reason.

The action outside the Fairmont continued nonstop with energy until after 7AM. This gave activists a chance to confront very tired delegates directly entering their vans.

Another very small group broke off after most had dispersed and went to the Washington Marriott. There they stopped a delegate van from leaving for over 10 minutes as they screamed at delegates who were clearly disturbed by their inability to get to the meetings. The
bus was wedged in to a parking spot sticking into the road.

After facing near arrest there, those activists left for another hotel to find another small group facing police harrassment being followed by motorcycle police who were within inches of them trying to force them along a sidewalk. The original set of activists at the Marriott returned to the Marriott and confronted other car and bus loads of activists, often getting right into the door and screaming at the delegates who were feet and if outside inches away.

Next, they went to the Lombardy, another scene of action from Saturday night, and screamed some more at the hotel before heading toward the new IMF building at 19th and Pennsylvania. There, hundreds of delegates waited in line to go through security. This group descended on their line and were standing right next to them and yelled things like, "Murderers not welcome here!" Police quickly acted to move the delegates inside their barriers, rushing about half of them to another security checkpoint. Activists continued screaming at hundreds of IMF delegates for the next 20-30 minutes, mere feet away.

Full Sunday report:
http://dc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/133504/index.php

http://worldbank.activeresistance.org