[stop-imf] 50 Years Update

[Robert Weissman]

Sunday, September 16, 2001

The 50 Years Is Enough Network is shocked and deeply saddened by the
terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.  We unequivocally condemn these
heinous actions. Our hearts and prayers are with the victims, survivors
and their families.

The 50 Years Is Enough Network has consulted with colleagues around the
U.S. and the world in the days since the September 11.  We regret not
being able to announce our plans regarding the events scheduled for the
end of September before today.

We are changing our plans for the mass mobilization in Washington,
scheduled for September 25 to October 4, to coincide with the scheduled
annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World
Bank.  We are in agreement with other coalition partners that this is not
an appropriate time for street demonstrations against these institutions.
We will, however, go ahead with planned educational activities.

Last night we joined with our allies in the Washington-based host
coalition for many of the September events, the Mobilization for Global
Justice, in agreeing to cancel all street actions -- protests,
demonstrations, civil disobedience, direct action -- focused on the IMF
and the World Bank.  This decision does not encompass any actions that may
be planned in response to military or other aggressive actions taken by
the U.S. government.

All reports indicate that the IMF and World Bank will be canceling or
postponing their joint annual meetings.  The U.S. Treasury Department is
the official host of those meetings; it is expected to coordinate with the
boards of the two institutions to announce such a course of action as
early as tomorrow.  We agree with the view expressed by the AFL-CIO that
this is not the time for =93another round of closed-door meetings behind
tall fences,=94 and hope that the institutions will not now magnify the lac=
k
of accountability and transparency that have already done so much damage
to their performance and reputation.

The =93traveling teach-in=94 sponsored by the 50 Years Is Enough Network
together with Essential Action, the Center for Economic Justice, and
Jubilee USA Network was already underway at the time of the September 11
attacks.  Speakers from South Africa, Haiti, Zimbabwe, India, and now
Panama, are addressing audiences interested in the IMF, World Bank, and
corporate globalization around the United States.  Most of the communities
hosting events have indicated a desire to proceed as planned.  We hope
that our current speakers will soon be joined by others from Senegal,
Ghana, and Tanzania, but that depends on the capacity of airlines to catch
up with their disrupted schedules.  For more information on the traveling
teach-in, see or contact Monica Wilson at 202/387-8030 or .

The =93Ending Global Apartheid=94 teach-in, sponsored by the same
organizations as the tours as well as Global Exchange and International
Rivers Network (which has announced its intention to pull out of most
events), will likewise go on as scheduled, beginning with an opening
plenary the evening of Thursday, September 27, and continuing through
Friday and Saturday, September 28-29.  The reduced number of speakers who
will be able to attend, together with the anticipated drop in attendance,
have prompted us to abbreviate and re-structure the schedule.  The price
of tickets will correspondingly drop (with refunds offered to those who
have already purchased tickets).  Please visit for further details, or
contact Monica Wilson (see above).

The changes in our plans in no way reflect a shift in the positions of the
50 Years Is Enough Network or its members or partners on the policies of
the IMF and World Bank, nor on the imperative to challenge and change
those policies.  Our eight demands of the institutions
are posted at <www.50years.org/s28/demands.html>.

Addendum from 50 Years is Enough: The Religious Working Group on the World
Bank and IMF and the Jubilee USA Network are proceeding with plans for an
interfaith service and vigil on the evening of Saturday, September 29,
2001.  For more information and updates, www.jubileeusa.org and
www.religiouswg.org