Isle soldiers brace Protesters and the National Guard were preparing to confront each other at next month's Asian Development Bank meeting at the Convention Center in Honolulu.
for ADB protests
While troops train for possible
riots, protest organizers vow
to remain nonviolentHawaii soldiers to chauffeur ADB officials
By Leila Fujimori
Star-BulletinMembers of the Hawaii Army National Guard, donned in flak jackets and helmets with face shields, trained for riot control as part of their monthly drills yesterday at Kalaeloa, the former Barbers Point Naval Air Station.
Some 5,500 Air and Army Guard members are training this weekend, but spokesman Capt. Charles Anthony, said not all of them are preparing for the ADB meeting and he would not say for security reasons the exact number of Guard personnel involved in civil disobedience training.
Other than batons, Anthony would not say whether yesterday's training entailed the use of tear gas or other weapons.
Across the island at about the same time yesterday morning, about 17 members of ADB Watch, a coalition of peace, ecology and human rights groups, practiced nonviolent protests clad in T-shirts and shorts at Kanewai Community Park and the Quaker Meeting House in Manoa.
"We remain nonviolent even when the other side reacts with violence," said Joshua Cooper, who conducted the first of a series of protest training meetings this month.
In one role-playing exercise of hypothetical situations of civil disobedience, they used the "hassle line."
A line of protesters learned to block entry by linking arms to form a human chain and to explain to people trying to get through their reasons for protest."We have our minds. We don't need Molotov cocktails," Cooper told the group.
The National Guard and Honolulu police are bracing for what could be large protests against the Asian Development Bank.
The purpose of the ADB is to eliminate poverty in Asia. Environmentalists and human rights groups oppose the globalization policies of the 60-nation organization.
Honolulu police have estimated some $6 million to $7 million will be needed to meet safety and traffic concerns at the conference, which is expected to draw President George W. Bush and finance ministers from around the world.
Cooper said the city and state's expenditure of money on riot -control measures is unwarranted, since no evidence of violent protesters exists. He was confident none would come to Hawaii.
Hawaii soldiers As many as 70 Hawaii Army and Air National Guard members will serve as drivers for the finance ministers of the 59 member nations of the Asian Development Bank, said Capt. Charles Anthony, National Guard spokesman.
to chauffeur ADB
officials for free
The tourism authority will
pay for fuel and use
of the driversBy Nelson Daranciang
Star-BulletinBut the state is still not saying how many National Guard members will be providing security for the ADB meeting at the Hawaii Convention Center May 7-11.
Ford Motor Corp. is donating the use of 69 Ford Crown Victorias through its subsidiary Hertz Rent A Car.
The cars are already in Hertz's fleet and will be set aside the week of the meeting said Donald Stys, acting Hertz area manager. The Hawaii Tourism Authority will pick up the tab for the gasoline, which is expected to cost about $2,000, said Jerry Silva, HTA director of communications and special projects.
"In contract with the ADB, the host country picks up the cost of transportation," Silva said.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority expects to pay the state $60,000 to $65,000 for the drivers, Silva said. It also has budgeted $37,000 for bus transportation to shuttle delegates and other participants between their hotel rooms and the convention center, and to and from the airport.
Silva expects others, including representatives of commercial banks and financial institutions, will arrange their own transportation.
The Tourism Authority is also responsible for hosting social events at the convention center and a few off site.
The biggest expense for the Tourism Authority will be the office space it will be providing the delegates and the ADB staff, Silva said. Some of the rooms in the convention center will have to be reconfigured and equipped.