[stop-imf] A16 preview in New Jersey

[Robert Weissman]

The Star-Ledger 
March 30, 2000
World Bank, IMF Conference in Florham Park, N.J., Draws Protest 
By David Schwab 

       The organizers of an international banking conference called to
discuss the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis that
   disrupted world markets in 1998 appear slightly bewildered by the
attention being focused on the event that opens tonight at a
   New Jersey hotel and runs through Saturday.

   Protesters upset at the policies of two of the sponsoring
organizations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank,
   are planning vigils outside the Hamilton Park conference hotel in
Florham Park, and local law enforcement authorities say they
   are on guard.

   That has conjured up images of the unexpected mass protests that
disrupted the World Trade Organization meetings in Seattle
   last December.

   But organizers and protesters alike say they don't expect any repeat,
with protesters representing a coalition of religious and
   labor groups saying they expect a few hundred people to gather and that
they don't intend to shut down the meeting.

   All of the hubbub has surprised officials at the IMF and the World
Bank, both based in Washington and both normally
   unaccustomed to being in the spotlight.

   "It's not that big a meeting," said Andrew Kircher, a spokesman for the
World Bank. "It's a seminar that's looking at how you can
   prevent future global economic crises."

   The top officials of the organizations -- World Bank President James
Wolfensohn and Stanley Fischer, the IMF's acting
   managing director -- both canceled scheduled appearances.

   Representatives said their decisions had nothing to do with any
controversy.

   "It was a scheduling issue," said Kathleen White, an IMF spokeswoman.
"It has been known for quite a while."

   About 180 people are expected to attend the conference, including
representatives from developing nations and banking and
   finance experts from the New York region. The Brookings Institution, a
think tank in Washington, is also sponsoring the event.

   Kircher said the conference is the second of its kind to be held in the
New York region in an effort to encourage more private
   investment in developing countries. The first session was held a year
ago in the New York town of Palisades in Rockland
   County, just across the New Jersey border.

   "What we are trying to do is reach out to people involved in the
capital markets," Kircher said.

   The problem, officials say, is that some private investors, such as
investment banks and pension funds, are reluctant to invest in
   nations that may not have stable economies.

   The World Bank functions essentially as an economic development agency,
borrowing money from governments and investors
   and lending the money to countries for basic improvements, such as
building roads. It lends about $ 30 billion each year.

   The IMF acts like a credit union, providing loans to central banks of
member nations that are used to shore up reserves and
   stabilize currencies. It has about $ 81 billion in outstanding loans.

   Critics, including those protesting in New Jersey, say the two monetary
organizations punish developing nations by imposing
   severe restrictions on how they may spend money, which can force
countries to cut back on education and health programs.

   "Their policies are so destructive," said Carol Gay, chairperson of a
group called New Jersey Jobs with Justice, which is
   organizing the protests, and a staff representative with the
Communications Workers of America.

   Representatives from the two organizations defend their lending
practices and say any conditions they may impose are required
   to maintain economic stability.

   "It's ironic that many of the same issues they are protesting are the
very issues we are concerned about, which is how to fight
   world poverty," Kircher said.