As protesters marched down Massachusetts Avenue on Sunday flanked by police officers in full riot gear, it was clear that although turnout was lower than expected, the anti-globalization movement still has the power to catch the attention of the city.
Protesters, including Georgetown students, gathered over the weekend in opposition to the policies of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, which were holding meetings in D.C.
The demonstrations began Friday morning with a bike ride, in which a fleet of bicyclists planned to impede traffic flowing into downtown by riding the wrong way on the Beltway.
The goal of the protest was to advocate “green transportation,” which promotes minimal use of oil, and to call attention to the meetings, according to Ginny Leavell (CAS ‘05).
According to Luke Bailey (SFS ‘06), a participant in the bike ride, there were only about 60 or 70 riders and just as many police escorts on bikes.
Bailey stated that he felt the lack of participation weakened the overall effect of the bike ride.
“The less participation, the smaller the effect of the protests. It was supposed to be a critical mass bike ride, but the critical mass wasn’t really there,” Bailey said.
The bike ride ended at Freedom Plaza, a “safe space,” since demonstrators had obtained permits to assemble.
Leavell said that when the bikers got there, there were already hundreds of people assembled. Shortly after gathering, the crowd was forced by the police to move to Pershing Park, an area that was not covered by the permit, she said.
“The police began closing in and refused to let people out, even when they asked to leave peacefully. Eventually, everyone was arrested,” Leavell said.
Those arrested were handcuffed with plastic restraints, loaded onto Metro buses, and taken to the Metropolitan Police Academy, she said.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department website, 649 people were arrested Friday. The total arrests for the weekend were 655, the website said.
Leavell said she and the other Georgetown students were detained in the MPA gymnasium until noon on Saturday, at which time they were told they could forfeit their right to trial and pay $50 or receive a citation to appear in court in three weeks.
“We all took the citation because there is so much controversy surrounding the arrests. Our civil rights were squashed-?I’m pretty sure the charges will be dropped,” Leavell said.
“I know I didn’t do anything that warranted an arrest,” Bailey added.
Mike Wilson (CAS ‘05), also arrested Friday, was also skeptical about the validity of the charges.
“I was arrested during the protests in April on similar charges which ended up being dropped. I think the charges against some of the people arrested on Friday have been dropped already,” Wilson said.
Despite initial difficulties encountered in recruiting outside jurisdictions to send officers to work at the protests, officers from local agencies as well as jurisdictions as far away as Illinois and Georgia worked alongside MPD officers to ensure safety.
According to an officer from the Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia, there were very few problems with protesters on Saturday morning.
“We have almost every block surrounded and there are no protesters in sight. There are definitely less people than in April. It’s a beautiful day. Where are they?” the officer said.
Police presence was heavy Sunday at a march which protested the potential war in Iraq from Dupont Circle to the U.S. Naval Observatory, which is the home of Vice President Dick Cheney. An estimated 2,000 demonstrators carried homemade drums and flags, chanted statements like “People united will never be defeated” and carried signswith messages like, “As President Bush goes to massacre thousands of Iraqis we will not be bystanders.”
The number of people involved in the protests last weekend is in no way indicative of the strength of the cause, according to Leavell. “The anti-globalization movement suffered a little after 9-11. It is a huge movement, though, and change is not going to happen overnight. Just because only 2,000 people turn out for a protest doesn’t mean the movement isn’t well supported,” Leavell said.
Wilson said he felt that overall, the protests were a positive experience.
“The arrests just helped demonstrate the problems with our system of government and justice and our economic system. From our perspective, the day went well,” Wilson said.
