Report from A17th San Francisco

On Monday, April 17th, 1,500 protesters gathered in downtown San Francisco in solidarity with the activists from around the world who crowded the streets in Washington, DC during the last week to shut down the meetings of the IMF and World Bank.

Demonstrators, who traveled to San Francisco from locations such as Seattle, Eugene, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Anchorage, Alaska, took over Market Street as they marched from Justin Herman Plaza to United Nations Plaza. The protesters carried a giant piggybank filled with 'dirty' World Bank money, and many carried signs suggesting alternative meanings for "IMF" and "WTO," and dressed as angels, ladybugs, and office workers.

Event organizers, a coalition known as A17SF, are concerned with the local effects of World Bank/IMF policies and made the following demands:

1. That the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and World Trade Organization be abolished, in view of the fact that they are beyond reform. This includes the cancellation of all World Bank-imposed debt and the termination of all IMF economic austerity programs, known as Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP's), which it has imposed on many countries.
2. That the United States grant immediate, unconditional amnesty to all undocumented immigrants residing within its borders, in order to alleviate the economic and cultural damage caused by the IMF, World Bank, and WTO's impoverishment of their homelands, forcing them to seek employment abroad.

The spectre of this month's meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington, DC inspired tens of thousands of concerned people to pressure those institutions to immediately suspend policies that have damaged the global environment, institutionalized poverty, and perpetuated misery among the world's poorest people. While there have been reports of illegal arrests and indiscriminant police brutality, the protests have been viewed as a success by organizers and participants. The convergence in Washington, DC proved to be an amazing show of cooperation, courage, and organizing skills.

The San Francisco demonstration also proved to be a success. The opening rally included speakers from religious, labor, environmental, and immigrant communities. After the rally, marchers headed down Market Street, educating themselves and others about the IMF and World Bank, as well as the local manifestations of similar policies. Stops along the route included the Federal Reserve Bank and a mass sitdown at Kearny and Market. Access to The Gap store at Powell and Market was temporarily blocked by hundreds of the demonstrators in hopes of "Closing the Gap." The Gap has become a target of activist ire throughout the country for its use of sweatshop labor, and GAP Chairman Donald Fisher's family's role in cutting down old-growth forests in Northern California. When the marchers arrived at UN Plaza, they smashed the World Bank piggybank to expose the blood money inside. No arrests related to the demonstration occurred.

Many of the protesters are looking forward to MayDay, a celebration of International Workers' Day and the pagan holiday Beltane, on May 1st. In San Francisco, there will be a free picnic and festival on the grassy area near Justin Herman Plaza from 12-2:30 PM, to be followed by a festive march against corporate greed through downtown.

For more information, contact Karen Martin at
415 210-7026, A17SF at 415 219-0580, or Reclaim MayDay at (415) 339-7801.
For information about the events in Washington, see http://www.a16.org, with
local and DC reports at http://dc.indymedia.org and http://www.sf-frontlines.com.

A17SF
Press contact:
Karen Martin 415 210-7026 or 415 219-0580

A16 Washington
A16 Global Reports
Global Action Day Directory
www.agp.org