<nettime> More on A16: Bolivian World Bank Consultant Speaks Out

[DeeDee Halleck <dhalleck@ucsd.edu>]

For timely updates:
www.indymedia.org

Global Justice is Not a "Nebulous Thing"

by Leon Galindo 1:38am Tue Apr 18 '00, Washington, D.C.


 On Saturday, April 15 I was illegally arrested and imprisoned for 23
hours, together with hundreds of peaceful protesters and at least a
dozen innocent bystanders of which I was one.

 As a consultant to the World Bank, a citizen of a developing country,
and a person who has committed his life to the work of development I was
appalled by the conduct of the police and by the way the "system"
works. As a consequence, I am now far more sympathetic with the demands
of the protesters and just a tad more cynical about the
"establishment."

 I was arrested with no explanation, no prior warning, and for no
legitimate reason. I was standing close to the protesters because I
disagreed with much of what I had heard them say in the media prior to
coming to Washington D.C.. I wanted to hear in person what they had to
say in order to decide for myself whether their arguments were
reasonable or not and to summarize conclusions in a note for the World
Bank's daily internal newsletter. I was not the only one, Magali
Laguerre, a Haitian colleague at the World Bank, had the same purposes
and was also arrested. So were several tourists and local residents who
were literally just passing by.

 I had been there for less than five minutes when the police closed both
sides of the street and did not allow anyone to pass even though nothing
except a peaceful march was taking place. No warning was given. No
explanation was made. When I asked to pass or for an explanation on what
was happening, no response was given. After an hour in which dozens of
additional police arrived, police started handcuffing people one by one
and marching them onto school buses. Not one protester was violent or in
any way unreasonable.

 My experience was similar to that of hundreds of others, including
women and many teenagers. I was roughly handcuffed for over 17 hours (my
arms and shoulders are still sore), repeatedly lied to, and denied an
explanation of any kind or access to a telephone or to any means of
informing my wife what was happening until 5:00 am the next day, 12
hours later. A demonstrator who had come from Texas with his son was not
able to receive any information from the police on the status of his
teenage son who had no money, no contacts in Washington D.C., and who
had done nothing except protest peacefully. Several were looking for
their girlfriends and also were not given any information, and Jim, a
biologist with a health problem, was repeatedly told by police that they
could do nothing to help him retrieve his medication. I could not help
but think that it was through illegitimate and unjust arrests such as
this one that the terrible nightmares of political prisoners from around
the world had begun. I could not believe that this was happening in the
United States of America. Contrary to declarations in the press today by
Chief Ramsey, I did not see much professionalism among the police on the
inside, where there was no media to ensure accountability. Instead, I
witnessed harsh threats, incompetence, and injustice, very worrying to
see in the police force of a democratic and powerful nation.

 Fortunately, we were in the United States, and it only took 19 hours
before a lawyer appeared, and 5 more before a mock trial took place, and
so we did not "disappear" as common people, similar to us, may have
had this occurred in a different country.  The way they handled us, it
certainly felt like they could do so if they chose to. I was released
after 23 hours on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. with no charges, because it was
neither in the interest of the court nor in mine to keep the record. For
me, this open letter is the record.

 The group I was with was transported to three different facilities, all
heavily guarded.  The first was a detention center for mentally ill
patients. We spent three hours in an overcrowded room in which it was so
hot that it became difficult to breathe and all were sweating. Only when
the more than 50 people in the room started to really get angry did they
allow us to use the bathroom or have a drink of water, some five to six
hours after being detained. In almost 24 hours the only food provided
was one sandwich with baloney that was almost green.

 For all practical purposes, the police proved to be the greatest allies
of the protesters in this demonstration because they perfectly proved
the point the protesters were trying to make in this march: poverty and
suppression of liberty go hand in hand and lead to further social
injustice. In my own case, this first-hand experience of American police
and prisons was an enlightening, life-changing event that helped me to
fully understand the sometimes incoherently expressed, but otherwise
perfectly legitimate and profound arguments that

I now firmly believe the majority of the protesters were out to make.

 In this particular demonstration, protesters had centered their diverse
arguments on the relationship between the "Prison-Industrial Complex"
and the Structural Adjustment Programs enforced by the International
Monetary Fund and World Bank in developing countries. As a passerby
earlier in the day I had scoffed -- I know the World Bank, respect its
work enormously, and agree with someone who said that blaming the World
Bank for causing world poverty is like blaming the Red Cross for
beginning World Wars I and II. I did and still do believe that many of
the protesters have not bothered to educate themselves on what these
institutions do. If they had they would have greater respect for these
institutions and would perhaps even seek ways to coordinate efforts with
the World Bank to achieve their goals, as many other non-profit and
other organizations already do.

 On the other hand, after a day in prison listening to, and speaking
with a number of the protesters, many of them highly educated and decent
people with coherent arguments, I understood their point and it is a
simple and valid one. In essence, they argue that too many powerful
institutions and individuals, both in the United States and in
developing countries, are ignoring the fundamental principles and
liberties that are the sine qua non foundations for a free society and
an open economy. I agree, especially after having been imprisoned and
being subject to the ruthlessness with which people with power can treat
those who have no power.

 As Noble Laureate Amartya Sen recently argued in Development as
Freedom, political freedom and economic development must go hand in
hand. As Joseph Stiglitz and others have repeatedly pointed out, the
World Bank and particularly the IMF and especially governments of their
client countries still have much to do be more accountable to the common
citizen. And as the protesters in this march against the
"Prison-Industrial Complex" argue, and direct experience this weekend
confirmed, there are institutions in the United States that would like
to believe they are beyond accountability, beginning with the police
force which is supposed to uphold and not repress freedom of expression.
It is an unfortunate day when the image of great institutions is
tarnished, especially when their mission is precisely to serve the
public, reduce poverty, and build free and fair societies. And yet the
World Bank, the IMF and the governments of both developed and developing
nations are not helping their own cause or serving their citizens when
illegal arrests take place, especially when it results from dissent of
opinion.

 I refer not only to the arrests that took place this weekend but to
others that take place around the world all the time. I have witnessed
demonstrations since I was a child in my own nation, Bolivia (where six
people were killed last week in demonstrations). The IMF and World Bank
are identified, rightly or wrongly, as symbols of global capitalism. As
a consultant to the World Bank and someone who firmly believes in its
mission and integrity, I believe it is a big mistake to further
substantiate the claims of radicals who throw the World Bank and IMF in
the same bag as the "Prison-Industrial Complex" and "greedy
corporations." And yet that is exactly what happened this weekend. By
ignoring the demonstrators, freezing communication, and delegating
intermediation to the police the World Bank and the IMF did not deal
with difference of opinion, and this is precisely, in my view, the
severest critique made by demonstrators. If this is how they dealt with
dissent in Washington D.C., who is to argue that it is not possible at
least indirectly, that the Bank and the IMF would turn a blind eye to
similar tactics used by governments and their police forces in
developing nations.

 As things turned out, a few radicals that explicitly advocated extreme
positions set the tone of the demonstrations. As a result, there are now
more people who are convinced that the World Bank and IMF might in some
way be linked to injustice in developing nations. Constructive
alternatives, such as an open forum in which representatives of these
groups could express their concerns and in turn learn more about the
work of the IMF and the World Bank, would have had the opposite effect,
nurturing allies for the war on poverty instead of misinformed and
disgruntled opponents.

 The significance of this weekend's events lie not so much in whether
one side or the other is ultimately right in its arguments. Rather, it
is that there are people who have legitimate concerns to share publicly,
that these people have to take to the streets in order to be heard, and
that for better or worse the image and legitimacy of good institutions
were damaged.

 If the World Bank, the IMF, and governments refuse to listen to
well-educated and caring people who come all the way to their doorsteps,
and if street protests, prisons, and the use of police force are the
preferred tools to avoid engaging in dialogue, we are all headed down a
dangerous path. The protesters of course are not all innocent or correct
 -- among them there are clearly ignorant, misinformed, and downright
dangerous types who do believe in violence and do not respect or even
care about the rights that many of their fellow protesters do believe
in.

 Nonetheless, as poorly expressed and incoherent as the arguments of the
protesters may seem their fundamental cause is correct and noble. And,
it is completely in tune with what thousands of people at the World Bank
and IMF work hard for every day: ensuring that human beings everywhere
have the chance to live a decent life.

  To allow the police of any nation to intimidate and suppress voices
through such illegal and totally stupid procedures as those used in
Washington D.C.  this weekend -- methods that sometimes have far worse
consequences in developing countries -- is for these institutions, the
United States Police, the World Bank, and the IMF, to agree or at least
condone what a U.S. Marshall screamed in my ear as he violently slammed
me into a wall when reminded that he was violating my fundamental
rights: "Down here there is no democracy.  This place is a dictatorship
and I am God. If you open your mouth again I will kick your ass till you
are sorry."

 To cite the front page of this weeks, The Economist, this is a
"testing time for the world economy," and unless the IMF, the World
Bank, and governments around the world fully embrace the classical
principles upon which free societies are build and which Amartya Sen
reminds us of--political freedom and economic development must go hand
in hand--old and "forgotten dangers "will come back to haunt us. After
being illegally arrested for 23 hours, handcuffed for 17 of those hours,
and seriously threatened and intimidated for a crime I had not
committed, I clearly understood what the protesters are after. "Global
justice" is not a "nebulous thing", as The Economists' April 15th
article on the protesters puts it. Very simply stated, global justice is
the call for institutions and individuals worldwide to respect and
seriously uphold the basic principles upon which free, civilized,
humane, and prosperous societies are built.

 Leon Galindo

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