[asia-apec 1423] US gov't shuts down venue of Filipino-led forum vs. IMF-WB

[BAYAN]

People's Campaign Against Imperialist Globalization
Media Release # 1
April 12, 2000


Groups slam ‘martial law’ in Washington, DC
U.S. GOV’T CLOSES DOWN VENUE OF FILIPINO-LED FORUM AGAINST IMF-WB

The People’s Campaign Against Imperialist Globalization (PCAIG) today deplored
the U.S. government for causing the closure of a university hall where
U.S.-based Filipinos and other people of color were to hold a symposium in
line
with the protests surrounding the Spring Meeting of the International Monetary
Fund and World Bank in Washington D.C.

The forum titled “Imperialist Globalization: Its Impact on the Environment and
Human Rights” was to be held at George Washington University’s Corcoran
Hall on
April 15. Government and school officials announced on April 10 that they were
closing the universiy to outsiders. 

The forum, sponsored by Amnesty International, was one of the activities under
the Filipino-led People’s Assembly Against IMF-WB.

“This is the way they treat Filipino activists here in Washington. They are
taking away our right to speak up against the harsh impacts of imperialist
globalization,” said PCAIG convenor and Bayan Vice Chairperson Dr. Carolina
Pagaduan-Araullo who is now in the U.S. as a speaker at the said forum.

“Its like martial law here at the U.S. capital. Just to make the IMF-WB
meeting
look good, the U.S. government is using all means to stop the protest actions
and thwart discussions against imperialist globalization,” Araullo added.

Araullo, a veteran of last year’s “Battle in Seattle,” will be joined by South
African anti-apartheid leader Dr. Dennis Brutus and Friends of the Filipino
People leader Boone Schirmer. The venue has been moved to the Church of the
Brethren, also at the U.S. capital, on April 15. 

“We ask Filipinos and Americans to condemn this fascist assault on the
right to
free expression, assembly and the right to dissent against the IMF-WB,” she
exhorted.

Last year, the PCAIG was also refused a permit to stage a rally in Seattle
during the World Trade Organization summit. However, this did not stop them
from pushing through with the march and joining thousands of others in a
historic show of protest against globalization. 

The closure of George Washington University is among the latest in a string of
measures taken by the U.S. government against protesters now gathering at the
U.S. capital. Several other national and international organizations will be
staging teach-ins and marches reminiscent of last year’s “shutdown” of the
WTO.
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