ADB protest People here to demonstrate against the Asian Development Bank think their message is being eclipsed by the local mobilization of security forces in reaction to violence at other meetings of international investment organizations.
criticizes police, too
Concern over security buildup
is added to a list of gripes with
the banking organizationLocal exhibitors hope to secure
contracts at ADB conventionBy Mary Adamski
Star-Bulletin
"Unfortunately, the government of the state of Hawaii is displaying its fangs at people who simply want to bring their story out," said Walden Bello of the Philippines, executive director of Focus on the Global South and a leading critic of the bank.
"Do you think these are the faces of terrorists?" he asked yesterday of the 25 citizens of Pacific and Asian countries who stood on the sidewalk outside the Hawai'i Convention Center. They were part of a press conference called to tell stories about ADB investments that have gone awry in their homelands.
He said people from 20 countries are here "trying to bring what ADB does in Asia out into the light. We feel the U.S. and Hawaii security forces are complicit in making sure that story does not get out because of the atmosphere of militarization and intimidation that they have created."
The number of demonstrators was nearly matched by the number of police and Royal Guard Security staff who lined the convention center perimeter.
Police cited orders from the state Attorney General's Office as the reason for refusing the group access to the shady Ala Wai Promenade just steps away.
Demonstrators will be allowed to assemble on the promenade tomorrow through Friday.The group is predicting that more than 5,000 people will join their planned march tomorrow from Ala Moana Beach Park past the convention center and through Waikiki along Kalakaua Avenue.
Some of the opponents will face off in debate with ADB representatives during seminars from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. today and Thursday at the University of Hawaii Campus Center. The sessions, sponsored by the university departments of political science, ethnic studies and the Globalization Research Center, are open to the public.
About 3,000 people from government and business organizations are expected to attend meetings of the ADB board of governors, which begin tomorrow. The United States, Canada, Germany, Australia and Japan are the major donors among the 59 member nations of ADB. The bank was organized in 1966 to foster economic growth in Asia, and in 1999 it adopted a goal of "poverty reduction" through its loans and grants to countries.
"We call on ADB to cancel all projects that are controversial, that have not been successful," said Vicky Corpuz of the Indigenous Peoples' Network in the Philippines. "They are quoted as saying that 70 percent of projects in Indonesia, for example, are unsustainable. Therefore, these projects are failures, and these kinds of projects should be canceled if they are still ongoing, and they should make compensation to people who were displaced and whose livelihoods were destroyed."
"The ADB should come and ask the people what they want," said Poy Bun Nyok of Cambodia. She spoke against a 1996 dam project in Vietnam which has flooded Cambodian farmland. "It benefits people outside but destroys all traditional livelihood of that area."Dawan Chantarahassadee of Thailand said, "If the ADB is really sure what they are doing is good, why don't they investigate their own project?" She was speaking of the Samut Prakarn waste-water treatment project, which was the target of thousands of demonstrators at the ADB meeting in Chiang Mai last year.
Despite ADB opponents' emphasis on grass-roots stories, reporters' questions were about potential for violence such as occurred during the World Trade Organization meeting last year in Seattle and the Summit of the Americas meeting last month in Quebec.
Bello said: "If you see window smashing or that sort of activity, that will not come from us. We can definitely assure you that will not come from the protesters."He said the training and arming of law enforcement agencies here is "the greatest militarization of civilians since World War II. The authorities have ... created the myth of terrorists coming in, in order to give themselves a reason to upgrade their security mechanisms as well as their weapons. We are really worried about this. If you are going to arm yourself, the danger is that you are going to try to find a way to justify that arming," Bello said.
Victor Menotti of the U.S.-based International Forum on Globalization, said, "If you do see window smashing, I ask you to watch exactly how the police react to that."
ADB security would not say how many security officers were guarding the perimeter of the convention center, only that there were about 30 officers per shift. Among the guards are 30 to 40 members of the University of Hawaii football team who security officials said had undergone at least six to eight hours of training.
"It's not like we picked them up from UH and threw them to the wolves," said security head "Rags" Scanlan. "They've all been screened by the FBI, Secret Service and local law enforcement."Scanlan said his team is responsible for securing the outside perimeter of the convention center, from curbside to the center walls. Scanlan said the job mostly consists of checking credentials as people enter the conference.
Star-Bulletin reporter Rod Antone contributed to this report.
Asian Development Bank