Police expect TEN MONTHS OF SECRET training by the Honolulu Police Department will be put to the test this week as the Asian Development Bank holds its annual meeting at the Hawaii Convention Center.
calm, ready for
the worst
After 10 months of preparation,
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city police feel ready to
safeguard ADB meetings
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By Nelson Daranciang
Star-BulletinAs many as 3,000 delegates from 59 member nations, commercial bank officials and others are expected to attend the meeting which begins tomorrow and runs through Friday.
Honolulu police are providing security for the entire week but their biggest test will be on Wednesday. That is when the meeting officially opens and an estimated 2,000 people will stage a protest march and rally past the convention center through Waikiki.
Since last summer, police have been training at HPD's Training Academy in Waipahu and at the Hawaii National Guard facility in Kalaeloa to practice techniques to prevent and quell the kind of riots that caused millions of dollars of damage at the 1999 World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle.
Hawaii National Guard members have also gone through civil disturbance training and will be called if they are needed.
Assistant Police Chief Boisse Correa said police are hoping for peaceful protests but still needed to prepare for the worst. None of the groups who clashed with police in violent protests in Seattle or at the Summit of the Americas in Quebec last month are expected here.
A look at sites, marked on the map above, that will be closed or congested during this week's Asian Development Bank meet: ADB hot spots
TOMORROW TO FRIDAY
1. Ala Moana Beach Park: Police to close park ewa of McCoy Pavilion, including park drive. Beach open.
2. Atkinson/Kapiolani: Protesters on Atkinson Street, Kapiolani Boulevard
3. Kahakai Drive: 10 protesters allowed on convention center property with leaflets
4. Promenade: Most protesters here behind convention center
5. Ala Wai club/baseball fields: Police staging area
WEDNESDAY
6. March: Noon-2:45 p.m., Magic Island to Kapahulu
Protesters said they have all along declared that they plan to have peaceful demonstrations during the ADB.
"There is no need for boarding up windows, hiring extra security guards and of course tear gas," says Joshua Cooper, one of the organizers of ADBwatch, a network of organizations opposed to the ADB. Cooper helped organize an event yesterday afternoon in Waikiki which he says emphasizes their non-violent way of getting their message across.
Protesters stripped to their shorts instead of "stripping the land" and used beach mats to spell out their message.
"We're of course hoping that there won't be any violence" said Liz Rees of Refuse and Resist, "We just hope that the protesters are loud and boisterous and a lot of people come."
Other protesters remain cautious.
"I have no idea, it's up to them (police)," said Carolyn Hatfield of ADBwatch.
Correa does not anticipate major problems with the ADB protests. However he is not saying how many Honolulu Police officers will be on the street to insure both the right of the ADB delegates to meet and the right of protesters to express themselves.
Police may also have to keep an eye on thousands of members of the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Local 5 in Waikiki who plan a work stoppage to pressure hotel management for a new contract. Correa said if necessary, police will divert some personnel from ADB duties.
Honolulu police will conduct security operations from the Ala Wai Community Park clubhouse and baseball fields and the Ewa end of Ala Moana Beach Park from McCoy Pavilion. All of those areas will be off limits to the public for the duration of the ADB meeting.
Protesters are expected to demonstrate on the promenade along the Ala Wai Canal behind the convention center and at the front of the facility on the sidewalks across Atkinson Drive and Kapiolani Boulevard all week.
No more than 10 protesters at a time will be allowed on the convention center grounds to hand out leaflets and attempt to speak to attendees. A barricade was placed around the facility to prevent others from confronting ADB delegates and meeting participants.Most of the protesters are focusing their efforts on Wednesday's March for Global Justice and Hawaiian rights.
Protesters will gather at Magic Island. At noon they will march from the park to the convention center for an hour-long rally on Atkinson Drive and Kapiolani Boulevard.
Organizers expect the march and rally to be loud and festive. Protesters will have banners, drums, noisemakers and large puppets. Some protesters will be wearing costumes.
ADBwatch has rented three trolleys for protesters with limited mobility. One trolley will be for Kupuna.
The city issued the protesters a permit for the rally just last week after some legal wrangling over how demonstrators will be allowed to express themselves.
The city hopes to keep traffic flowing during the march and rally by placing detours around the affected roadways.
City officials will also place message boards before the detours to warn drivers, said Cheryl Soon, city Transportation Services Director. Police officers at every intersection within the detour will direct motorists trying to get out.
"It's going to get congested, no question," Soon said, "It's a congested area."
Asian Development Bank
