Students who protested in Seattle last fall remember the tear gas, and what it’s like to spend a few days in jail for marching in the streets. Now they’re preparing to do it all over again, this time in the nation’s capital.

"We’re hoping to make a statement against global capitalism," Kavin Paulraj ’03 said.

The students are among a group of 20 that will travel to Washington DC this Sunday, and Monday April 17, to join demonstrators protesting policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. Labeled by some as "Seattle Part Two," the planned protests will be an attempt to shut down the IMF-World Bank spring meetings on Sunday and Monday.

The students will join an unlikely coalition of union workers, environmentalists and human rights activists formed at the World Trade Organization protests in November out of common fears of undemocratic globalization.

Joseph Koch Megan Hansen PI '03 watches a friend test equipment for DC Protests.

Many who returned from Seattle thought they had seen the beginning of a new social movement, and have been planning for DC using the lessons they learned months ago.

Tobiah Gaster ‘03 is one of them. Gaster, who was tear gassed and spent three days in a Seattle jail, thinks environmental and labor rights allegations are evidence of deep structural problems within the IMF-World Bank.

"These institutions think the rest of the world doesn’t know what’s best for them," Gaster said. "They don’t have bad intentions, but they’re ignorant and stubborn. We want to let them know that people are not puppets to be played with."

In preparation for any disruptions that might occur, the DC Metropolitan Police Force has dedicated 1,500 of its 3,500 person police force to controlling IMF-World Bank related incidents throughout the week. The District of Columbia Police have also received special riot training and spent over $1 million on new helmets, shin guards and glove guards. The DC police have been trained with the hope of containing protesters without replicating the violence seen in Seattle.

The Seattle Police Department was widely accused of mistreatment of protesters and residents, and recently admitted that they were unprepared for the protests. Eli Hastings PI ’00 and Stefan Judelman PI ‘00, both of whom attended those protests, said that police brutality was widespread. "Guaranteed one kid was going to get the shit kicked out of him on every bus [holding prisoners] that came in just to prove a point to the other protestors," Judelman reported from Seattle last December.

Reporting from the protests, Rudy Babouder SC ‘00 said, "It wasn’t just protestors who were getting beaten up, it was residents—kids and old people—who were just bystanders."

Thousands of protestors have already convened in front of the IMF building. Although police reported few problems, seven protestors were arrested Monday for blocking a street. Two small protests were also held Tuesday to call for debt relief for the world’s poorest countries, and other small demonstrations were held throughout the week in anticipation of Sunday and Monday’s large protests.

The United Press International estimates that anywhere from 5,000 to 30,000 protestors will be present by Sunday.

"The area from DC all the way to New York has so many colleges," Gaster ’03 said. "I have friends whose schools are sending three or four busloads to the protests."

All protestors have been asked to abide by an oath of nonviolence, and are being trained on methods of nonviolent protest. Both police and protestors are hoping to avoid the same sort of violence that erupted in Seattle’s streets.

"I think there will be similar energy and a sense of empowerment based on having thousands of people who are there for the same reason," said Gaster. "I’m hoping it won’t turn violent, but it’s the front lines and it won’t be pretty."

Babouder agreed: "I hope that DC cops can handle themselves better than Seattle cops."

The group will probably attend teach-ins on Thursday, but is unsure about all of the things they will do while in DC. Nevertheless, many converging on the capital are there for one reason: to shut down the IMF and World Bank meetings.

In preparation for the demonstrations, Jason Buhle ’02 and Billy Grayson CMC ’00 attended an Alternative Spring Break Action Camp held in March by the Ruckus Society, an environmental activist group founded by former Greenpeace leader Mike Roselle.

The 80 camp participants learned both the physical methods and philosophical ideas behind nonviolent protest. They were taught how to organize and recruit protestors, how to lock onto objects or form human chains, how to climb and hang large signs from tall buildings and received information about how to maintain nonviolence in protest.

"I went to Ruckus to learn more about direct action...how to organize rallies and press conferences, and to see what the people were like that I would be working with," said Grayson, who did not attend the camp with the Washington DC protests in mind. "I definitely see myself using the things I learned [at Ruckus] in DC. One of the more important was how to keep things nonviolent."

"It’s not a rebellion," Gaster said. "It’s tactical and planned, and it’s intended to send a message. These protests are not irrational violence."

One of Grayson’s concerns in going to Washington DC is that the media will warp the message protestors are trying to voice.

"I would urge everyone to look at as many media sources as possible," Grayson said. "[The media] thinks we’re all trying to destroy the IMF-World Bank, but [some of us are] just seeking radical reform."

The IMF was created in 1945 to promote international monetary cooperation, exchange stability and orderly exchange arrangements. The World Bank is the world’s largest source of development assistance, providing nearly $30 billion in loans annually to its client countries.

Many critics believe nations that borrow from these institutions are forced to devote so much of their money to debt repayment that they have little money left to spend on their own citizens.

Others see the IMF-World Bank as a promoter of foreign sweatshops, which result in human rights violations as well as movement of jobs out of the United States and into Third World countries such as those in Latin America.

Environmentalists contend that IMF-World Bank sponsored dams and mineral explorations in Asia devastate the environment and that some countries are forced to destroy natural resources in attempts to repay their heavy debts.

"[The IMF and World Bank] give political conditions and only when these countries meet the conditions do they receive money," Paulraj said. "Often times countries have no choice but to take loans from the IMF, and this subjects them to structural changes set by the IMF."

Overall, those who plan to attend protests this weekend are confident that no matter what the end result, they will have raised awareness among people of the world and among politicians. Pomona Professor of Politics Pierre Englebert, former employee of the World Bank, agrees that the IMF-World Bank is concerned about the protests.

"It’s a nightmare for the World Bank when they have a massive PR crisis like this," Englebert said. "They’re very good about PR, very good at lipservice. I think they’ll eventually change."