by Manny Fernandez and Petula Dvorak
Washington PostApril 9, 2002
Demonstrators from several points on the activist compass hope to turn the streets of Washington later this month into a massive, multipurpose protest. At least four demonstrations are planned for April 20 in the heart of downtown, and organizers say they expect crowds numbering from several thousand to tens of thousands. Protests, concerts and teach-ins are planned throughout the weekend.
The four-day campaign will feature a diversity of dissent, including anti-globalization activists protesting the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, college students condemning the war in Afghanistan, Palestinian rights demonstrators rallying against U.S. aid to Israel, and others calling for an end to injustice in Colombia.
All of the groups are working together, and several plan to link their marches April 20. Organizers say participants will come from across the country as well as from the Washington area. Several organizers said they plan law-abiding but attention-grabbing protests.
D.C. police officials said they were concerned and plan to ask the federal government for about $9 million to help pay for security preparations, overtime and other costs associated with the April 20 protests. D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey estimated that 10,000 to 20,000 demonstrators would participate that day.
Police officials plan to follow strategies similar to those used during previous large protests, canceling days off for officers, deploying the armor-clad civil disturbance units and closing streets. D.C. Executive Assistant Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer said this time, however, authorities will not just be dealing with anti-globalization forces as they have in the past two years.
"Besides the World Bank issues, antiwar protesters will be in town, Prime Minister Sharon is supposed to be in town, so there are a few different dimensions this time around," he said. Two parade permits and protest permits for several parks have been issued.
Police have already met with some of the groups, he said. "Some of them we have met with are very peaceful," Gainer said. He added: "I hope the protesters realize they need not wreak havoc to convey their message. They should learn that when they do that they kill their message. And we'll take care of those messengers."
Members of International ANSWER -- an antiwar, anti-racism coalition -- held a news conference in the District yesterday and said they expect tens of thousands to attend a peaceful march and rally April 20. The rally is scheduled to begin at the Ellipse south of the White House at 11 a.m., lead to a march in front of the Justice Department and conclude near the U.S. Capitol.
The central theme, organizers said yesterday, is to call attention to the plight of Palestinians. "The Palestinian people are suffering today under the tracks of tanks made or bought by U.S. tax dollars," said ANSWER organizer Larry Holmes.
Other concerns, organizers said, include the Bush administration's assault on civil liberties and immigrant rights.
Also on April 20 -- called "A20" by organizers -- anti-globalization demonstrators will rally and march to protest the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. That protest is to be led by the D.C.-based Mobilization for Global Justice.
Brant Olson, a member of that organization, said IMF and World Bank policies that activists have criticized have not changed, and neither has protesters' desire to mobilize in the streets. "We've still got nations around the world with debt they will never be able to get out of, and the World Bank and IMF still have their fingers in fossil fuel projects that are causing horrible impacts on the environment," he said.
Olson said it was too soon to predict the size of the turnout. "Several thousands, definitely," he said, "but just how many is unclear at this point."
Protesters plan to be on hand when officials get to the meetings Saturday morning outside the World Bank and IMF headquarters at Pennsylvania Avenue and 19th Street NW, he said.
Also planning to be there are activists protesting the annual policy conference of the pro-Israel lobby group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Several hundred are expected in the feeder march, said organizers with a coalition called the Committee in Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
The groups rallying at the World Bank and the IMF buildings plan to join an antiwar protest later that is being organized in part by a student group.
The National Youth and Student Peace Coalition is planning its April 20 march to oppose the Bush administration's war on terrorism and its effect on domestic and global issues. Protesters will rally at the Washington Monument grounds at 11 a.m. and expect speakers including Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III. A march is planned after that.
Counter-protesters will be out that day, as well. The D.C. chapter of the national conservative group, Free Republic, is co-sponsoring the Patriots Rally for America, also on the monument grounds. "We're trying to get ahead of the Vietnam syndrome, and not allow the leftists to go unanswered in their demonstrations," said Kristinn Taylor, co-leader of the group. He said several thousand people are expected.
Then, on April 22, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is scheduled to speak at the AIPAC conference in Northwest Washington. Protesters are calling for civil disobedience in the area, though plans are still being worked out, said organizer Rami Elamine.
Also that day, activists plan an unpermitted march to demand an end to what they say is U.S. support for military, economic and ecological injustice in Colombia.
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