PRAGUE — The 15,000-strong demonstrators who took action against the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meeting, held here from September 26-27, defied the claim of the September edition of Newsweek that the protesters would be "outnumbered by young Eastern Europeans who think that globalisation is just fine, thank you". And they provided another boost to the rising global movement against capitalism.
On the morning on September 26, the streets of Czech Republic capital slowly filled with thousands of people from around the world who wanted to show their anger at the destructive policies of the IMF and World Bank. Activists had been arriving for the previous few days, but on that morning buses with hundreds of activists arrived. Many had been forced to spend many hours at the Czech border when the authorities attempted to prevent their entry.
By 11am, the main square was filled with thousands of people waving colourful banners in many different languages. Balloons and placards displayed messages such as: "Make love not profit"; "Break the chains of debt"; and "IMF and WB out of indigenous people's land".
Red flags were everywhere, papier-mache globes rolled around the crowd and papier-mache "IMF pigs" sat on fences. Some people had made huge towering skeletons to symbolise the 19,000 children who die every day from preventable causes, in countries burdened by the debt and structural adjustment enforced by the imperialist financial institutions. Herri Batasuna activists from the Basque country were prominent with their flags, as were groups from all over the continent.
The atmosphere was exciting. Everyone was talking to each other about the issues and what kind of society should be the alternative to capitalism.
The atmosphere was also tense. People knew that the Czech state had been preparing for this demonstration for months and that enormous amounts of money had spent on security preparations. People were also aware that the US state had lent a strong hand. There were also Nazi groups around and they had attacked the official organising centre the night before.
Further, the authorities had refused to grant a permit for the march and seemed set on violent confrontation with the demonstrators.
The march set off with loud chants of "One solution, revolution", "Put the bankers in jail, our world is not for sale" and a funky refrain of "Ooh ah, dump the debt, we say, ooh ah, dump the debt!". All I could see was banners, colourful costumes and people so happy to be able to express their anger at what these imperialist institutions represent.
There were environment groups, socialist groups, anarchist groups, trade unions and thousands of individuals in the march. We were challenging the authorities' ban on marching in the city by joyfully filling the streets.
On reaching the main bridge which led into the congress centre where the IMF/WB was meeting, the demonstration split into three groups marked by the colours pink, blue and yellow. Earlier, people had been handed colour-coded leaflets, whistles and now they followed flags of their allocated colour.
Police attacks
We were told that on the bridge there were four tanks and thousands of riot police with tear gas. Many protesters pulled masks from their bags and put wet bandanas across their faces as protection against tear gas. Members of the Italian group, Ya Basta, were at the front wearing tyre inner-tubes and helmets to ward off the cops' baton blows and would try to push through the police lines. Everyone was to follow.
The yellow group remained on the bridge in a stand-off with the hundreds of riot police and tanks. The pink and blue groups, chanting and drumming loudly, marched to the east and west sides of the congress centre to blockade the entrances.
I went with the pink group. At every entrance to the centre we were met by a sea of riot police and trucks with water cannon guns on top. Behind the trucks were rows and rows of more riot police. We marched through the maze of Prague's streets, leaving hundreds of people to blockade each entrance.
At the entrance I remained at, people bravely danced in front of the police lines and everyone chanted. Some people with a metal banner were also at the front. Suddenly I heard extremely loud shots as police fired their water cannons and tear gas.
The riot police began beating protesters with batons and pulling people through the police lines to beat them even more. People defended themselves by throwing objects at the police and trying to protect themselves with sticks.
Similar outrages by the police occurred at many other blockade entrances as well. Demonstrators were chased down the streets by the riot police. The protesters were broken up and ran through streets in a cat and mouse game with the riot police. In an unfamiliar city, with Nazis hanging about, this was not very pleasant!
However, the direct actions succeeded in preventing most of the delegates to IMF/World Bank meeting from being able to leave for many hours. One of the pink groups conducted a 2000-strong "lock down" (in which participants linked their arms and legs) at the main vehicle entrance to the venue, which lasted for five hours.
Protesters from the various groups gradually gathered again at the original meeting point, before heading to the Opera House to blockade the delegates' planned evening entertainment.
At the Opera House, the high-spirited protesters sang "alternative" operas and chanted. In between, they learned of the outrageous violence that had been used against the demonstrators and that some people were still "missing" or had been arrested. A huge cheer went up when it was reported that the opera had been cancelled and the underground railway (the metro) had been closed. There were chants of "Prague, Seattle, continue the battle".
Excitement
The mood was one of anger at the IMF and World Bank, and at the police who protect these institutions, and excitement at having controlled for a time the streets of Prague — the same streets that anti-Stalinist protesters rallied on in 1968. "Prague was ours today", said one protester.
We heard that there had been many arrests and everyone decided to hold a jail solidarity rally at the police station near the Charles Bridge. As we walked in large numbers to the bridge, we could see in the distance masses of riot police marching towards us.
Now that it was dark, the cops decided it was pay-back time. Again demonstrators were chased through the streets and the march was dispersed. The spotlights of helicopters hovering above followed groups of people as they escaped down side streets.
Hundreds were arrested and beaten. In one dark street, I saw that at least 150 riot police had trapped about 25 people and were terrorising them. Down each small street, there were trucks full of riot police waiting. This was what a police state looks like, I thought to myself.
The next day, the protest Convergence Centre, where the S26 organising meetings took place, was shut down by police. Around 420 people were arrested and were then denied food, water or phone calls to their legal advisors. There were many activists still missing.
Protesters weren't so easily intimidated, however. On September 27, a strong and vibrant evening rally protested the arrests and treatment of the activists being held in jail. Demonstrators marched through the streets of Prague wearing placards which said, "I'm an activist against globalisation. Why don't you arrest me too!".
Protesters claimed victory when the IMF and World Bank on September 27 unexpectedly ended the meeting a day earlier than scheduled, although officials claimed that the massed confrontations outside had nothing to do with it.
BY SARAH PEART