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by TOM HAYS

Associated Press
January 12, 2002


When the world's political and business elite gather later this month for the World Economic Forum, Matt Prescott plans to crash the party.

He won't be alone.

Anti-globalization protesters from across the nation - some of them self-described anarchists - want to disrupt an event they consider a celebration of corporate greed and corruption. They hope to rally tens of thousands of demonstrators, possibly setting the stage for a showdown with the nation's largest police department. ``Everyone's pretty gung-ho and willing to put themselves on the line to show we're going to fight for a just world,'' said Prescott, 20, of Philadelphia.

The annual event, Jan. 31 to Feb. 4, was moved to New York this year from Davos, Switzerland, where security cost $5.4 million during last year's meeting. The security burden now falls on new Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a veteran WEF member, who will join 3,000 other executives and dignitaries at the meeting. Attendees, including Secretary of State Colin Powell, will discuss topics such as global economics and terrorism by day, and network at lavish parties by night.

On Web sites, activists label the WEF ``the dining club for the ruling class.'' They accuse delegates of mocking the city's poverty and post-Sept. 11 pain by ``partying in the wreckage.'' Some organizers envision huge street demonstrations pitting militants against millionaires.

``We're trying to be creative and non-confrontational,'' said David Graeber, 40, a Yale University professor involved in the movement. Among the proposed tactics: denying delegates access to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel meeting site by forming human blockades at hotel entrances and Park Avenue intersections. Although they expect arrests, the protesters view violence and vandalism as counterproductive, Graeber said. ``Nobody's talking about fighting the cops,'' he said.

Still, police officials note the mayhem and arrests in recent years at international trade forums in Seattle, Prague and Quebec. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly declined to detail crowd control and dignitary security measures, but described the event as ``a major manpower commitment'' for his 40,000-officer force.

Police officials and some anti-WEF groups have negotiated ground rules for protests. One group, International ANSWER, has called for a mass demonstration within a police-approved protest zone. Group spokesman Brian Becker said he expects a ``lawful, disciplined and spirited'' demonstration uniting anti-globalization and anti-war activists.

``Our only concern is that the police not get out of hand,'' he said.

Whatever form the protest takes, observers are ``waiting to see if the events of Sept. 11 have nullified a movement that's been gathering steam since Seattle,'' Becker said. ``We believe it is alive, and can assemble in large numbers.''

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FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.