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Bring on the protestors
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September 21, 2000: 2:01 p.m. ET
Prague braces for the activists to descend, but so far everything is quiet
By Staff Writer M. Corey Goldman
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PRAGUE, Czech Republic (CNNfn) - As the hoopla nears for the weekend blitz of meetings of ministers and finance officials at the International Monetary Fund-World Bank annual meetings, one faction still is notably absent from the streets of Prague: the protesters.
The Prague Conference Centre located at the southern tip of this storybook city is a beehive of activity. Hundreds of young Czechs dressed in royal blue jackets and silver ties embossed with the insignia of the IMF and World Bank conference rush about helping delegates, officials and even reporters find their way in and around the cavernous building.
But outside it's a far different story. Traffic is much lighter than normal. The electric trams and subway cars that usually are packed with people are only half full. A cannon fired across the famed and typically thronged Charles Bridge wouldn't hit a soul. Indeed, residents alarmed by local and national government warnings of possible disturbances already have fled. City blocks will be isolated and more than 1,000 public schools closed for nearly a week.
What's missing in the eerie silence are the shouts and chants of protesters condemning the IMF and World Bank's agenda of globalization and trade, and accusing them of exclusivity and general lack of attention to world issues including poverty, political oppression and the environment, according to various pamphlets circulating in pubs and coffee shops throughout Prague.
Geared up on the web
But they're coming.
Organizations ranging from the more subdued Jubilee 2000 CZ, Friends of the Earth and Czech environmental group INPEG to more radical Marxist and communist organizations already are gearing up for at least two major protests planned for Sunday and Tuesday. There is even an organization, called Destroy IMF, dedicated to the destruction of the institution and which has created its own Web site, www.destroyimf.org.
"The IMF's economic model of export-led growth, which relies on the exploitation of natural resources, is unsustainable in the long term and must be changed," said Mark Helm, an activist with Friends of the Earth, an environmentally oriented nongovernmental organization, or NGO.
 Czech police said Thursday they already have turned away 194 activists from the country's borders in an effort to minimize disruption to the meetings, a move similar to Washington D.C.'s police force rounding up what they considered to be more-radical protestors ahead of the spring meetings there.
Super-tight border checks - much more rigorous than normal for the typically staid Republic -- have been imposed ahead of the meetings to keep troublemakers out, with police reportedly working from a blacklist of activists provided by foreign security agencies.
All told, police and protest organizers are anticipating anywhere from 15,000 to 20,000 activists in Prague through the next week, with demonstrations peaking next Tuesday, the official opening day of the meetings. The objective, according to the activists, is to block thousands of delegates within the Prague Congress Centre until they agree to disband the IMF and Bank.
Protests have mushroomed
Anti-capitalist protests have become a feature of global economic summits since 40,000 demonstrators brought the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle to a halt last year. They also managed to partially disrupt the annual economic forum in the upscale ski resort of Davos, Switzerland, last January and the IMF-World Bank spring meetings in Washington.
A year ago, however, the thought of barricades, riot police and tear gas at an IMF-World Bank meeting was unheard of.
Czech police Deputy Director Vaclav Vosecky said those turned away at the border were stopped because they failed to comply with Czech immigration laws.
 "Those people themselves declared they were coming in connection with these actions and were denied access," he said. "Either they have invalid documents or there are things unrelated to their journey, and there is a danger they may disturb public peace," he said, adding that police turn typically turn away 8,000 people a month.
One small display of anarchy occurred in drizzling rain in Prague's historic Old Town Square Thursday, though it ultimately attracted more reporters than activists. And only a trickle of people had arrived at a vast tented camp graciously set up by the Czech authorities in a stadium on a hill overlooking the city.
However, a collection of independent activist groups that were supposed to assemble to stir up demonstrators and make them feel good was canceled. "It was supposed to get people in a good mood and encourage them to be non-violent, but it just made everyone angrier," said one activist from INPEG, the Prague-based group organizing many of the protests.
"There is a misconception that the people coming are terrorists," said Australian campaigner Domenica Settle, 22, with protest group Car Busters. "The reality is that on Tuesday there will be a lot of protesters in silly costumes." 
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