Harvard Students Travel to D.C. to Protest IMF Meeting

At least 14 Harvard students risked arrest and anti-riot measures this weekend as they demonstrated in Washington, D.C. against the policies of two leaders in international finance.

They and dozens of other area students joined thousands who gathered in the nation's capital in an attempt to derail yesterday's and today's meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. Similar efforts last year resulted in the premature ending of a Seattle meeting of the World Trade Organization.

Members of the Harvard contingent, organized by the Progressive Student Labor Movement (PSLM) and the Boston Campus Action Network, a local organization, left for Washington Friday morning.

Many protestors complained that guidelines the IMF and World Bank place on nations that receive loans were hindering economic development in those countries.

The students were involved in the Saturday rallies that caused Washington police to sweep the streets and arrest hundreds on charges that included marching without licenses.

But PSLM member Eleanor I. Benko '02, who is serving as a contact for members of the group and was in touch with them late Saturday, said none of the students had been arrested as of her last conversation with them.

Police response escalated yesterday as some confrontational protesters were met with pepper spray and what many claimed was tear gas, but what police said were smoke bombs. There were also additional arrests.

Benko said she had not heard from the group as of last night and did not know if any students had been taken into custody or subjected to anti-riot measures. However, she said police had been "arresting everyone who happen[ed] to be there, even if they're not trespassing or engaging in civil disobediance."

But she added that when she spoke with members of the group Saturday, they said they had "decided to try to avoid situations that may result in their arrest."

Before she left for Washington Friday morning, Marie E. Glynn '03 said she hoped to help "shut down the meetings" because, among other things, the IMF and World Bank conduct trade policies that "fail to include indigenous peoples in the international decision-making process."

Specifically, protestors say the stringent conditions the two organizations impose on countries to which they lend money cause increases in unemployment, poverty and environmental destruction in those nations.

Glynn, who is a PSLM member, said she and fellow protesters would try to implement non-violent "direct action" to support their cause, rather than resort to the kind of vandalism that marked last year's Seattle marches.

Benko said she expected members of the group to return either today or tomorrow.