By
The Associated Press
PRAGUE, Czech Republic - Unleashing a fresh round of fury against economic globalization, 5,000 protesters marched on the IMF and World Bank summit yesterday, throwing firebombs, sticks and rocks at police who responded with clubs, tear gas and water cannons.
The enemies of capitalism didn't get the 20,000 activists they had hoped for but were still able to raise a ruckus that left at least 69 people injured and turned Prague into a smoky battle zone.
Protesters threw Molotov cocktails and rocks they had made by breaking up a cobblestone sidewalk. Authorities pushed demonstrators back each time they approached the communist-era convention center where the titans of global capitalism had huddled to ponder economic issues.
Hundreds of activists got so close, however, that officials temporarily stopped the International Monetary Fund and World Bank delegates and staff from leaving before evacuating them through a subway station closed to the public.
The skies over Prague filled with black smoke after some of the demonstrators built barricades in the streets and set them ablaze, also torching cars in what they billed as a sequel to riots that marred recent economic meetings in Seattle and Washington.
One of the main goals of the protesters had been to trap the IMF and World Bank delegates inside the convention center, which happened briefly. The fighting hurt at least 69 people, including 51 police officers attacked by wave after wave of protesters.
Czech President Vaclav Havel appealed for calm, urging demonstrators to "abstain from violent forms of protests."
After nightfall, a group of 200 people was moving through the streets, smashing bank windows and demolishing a McDonald's outlet - the second to be struck in the riot - and a KFC. Some 1,500 activists blocked the road outside the State Opera House.
Riot police were exhausted, so reinforcements were being brought in, said Interior Minister Stanislav Gross.
"I fear that the protesters will divide into smaller groups, and we don't know what they will do," he said.
The protesters call globalization a menace to humanity that helps the rich get richer at the expense of the poor and the environment. The IMF and World Bank have become favored targets, as have capitalist icons such as McDonald's.
South Africa's Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, chairman of the summit, said it was "a pity that it has descended into violence" but added it was unclear what the activists were seeking as they fight the economic globalization trade officials call irreversible.
"I know what they're against but have no sense of what they're for," Manuel said.
Many of the protesters - mostly from Europe and representing a wide variety of groups including anarchists, communists and environmentalists - also seemed a bit fuzzy on their goals.
"The bankers decide to spoil the world during the day, and at night, they go to listen to music and to rest," said Daniel Gomez, an activist from Barcelona who joined the demonstration outside the opera house. "That's a bad joke."
"This is a battle for equal justice worldwide," explained a naked Swiss protester, identifying himself only as Rafael.
In a throwback to U.S. anti-war demonstrations of the 1960s, some activists waved banners saying "Make love not trade."
Rioters smashed the windows out of eight ambulances, and for several hours, Prague officials shut down an entire subway train line.
Czech authorities had mobilized 11,000 police to try to maintain control. Police spokeswoman Iva Knolova said an undetermined number of activists were arrested.
In the days leading up to the summit, Czech authorities at the border stopped almost 300 people with arrest records from previous anti-globalization rallies.
The protesters' goals yesterday included blocking the roughly 14,000 IMF and World Bank delegates and staff inside the meeting hall. For a while the delegates were prevented from leaving, as mob violence raged. Prague's mayor said a Japanese delegate was injured, but the delegation was not immediately able to comment.
Some delegates eventually got out on a subway train brought in as a special evacuation vehicle, picking them up at a station that remained closed to the public.
An official who sets schedules for the Japanese delegation admitted he was nervous after looking through a window at the riot.
"It's not comfortable at all for us," said Kunio Matsuda.
Many local shops have closed - with boards placed over their windows - after owners worried their property could be trashed by rampaging mobs.
"I find it neither amusing nor sad," said Ahmed Mahrous El-Darsh, the top Egyptian delegate to the summit. "It reminds me of the good old days when I was in the states during the '60s. These young people have a message to convey."
