PRAGUE — 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly's SARAH PEART spoke to protesters at the rally on September 26 about why they were there and what they hoped to achieve.
Raul, 24, from Slovakia: I am here to protest against the exploitation of the Third World and Eastern Europe by these institutions. I think our final aim is the liberation of humanity — the liquidation of these institutions is the first step towards this.
We Communists in Slovakia and the Czech Republic have a difficult task because our fathers and mothers spoiled the communist ideal. We have to start from the beginning and show by our behaviour that communism is possible. We can show it by helping the people to struggle against capitalism.
Katerina, 22, from Austria: These institutions have no transparency, there are hardly any women involved and not many countries are represented. The structural adjustment programs imposed on Eastern Europe and the Third World have had very negative effects. We hope that we can get our message across and educate more people about what these institutions are doing.
Pauline, 56, from Britain: I think today is great. It is very important to protest because the IMF and the World Bank introduce structural adjustment programs in Africa that result in more debt and price rises. They are servants of big Western companies, the same ones that make it impossible for Third World people to afford treatment for HIV because drug companies won't let the drugs be manufactured locally.
They are forcing privatisation of water in Bolivia — water should be a human right. I am a socialist and I think ordinary people have the capacity to run society. We have the technology for society to be run differently.
Morton, 21, from Norway: I strongly believe that what the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank stand for is wrong. What they are about is profits and that they hurt large parts of the world.
Tom, 22, from the Czech Republic: I am here to protest against the IMF and WB, especially the environmental impact of their policies. I want the protest to show that many people don't agree with what these organisations do. Some young people here in Prague don't realise the negative impact because we have had the [capitalist] system here for only 10 years and they appreciate the shops and so on. I say that this system hates my rights and the rights of the majority of people here and in the Third world.
Mark, 30, from Germany: I don't think it is a good idea if money is the only thing valued in the world. Since the IMF and WB are mainly there to protect interests of big money, I think they should be abolished.
Piru, 23, from Finland: I am working with the first aid team here on the frontline. My opinion is that these institutions are undemocratic and don't serve people's needs. They serve the big companies. I hope the demonstrations are non-violent and I hope I don't need to use my skills today.
Boris, from Russia: I saw the police take strategic positions to block the protesters. They had old Soviet-style gas masks on. They were so familiar because I saw them in the '80s.
Inside the World Bank and IMF there has been some attempts to talk about reform because people around the world are demanding the abolition of these institutions. But even those who want reform have to call for abolition because if you don't call for abolition, they will just keep going as they are.
That is why calling for the abolition of these institutions is both the most radical and the most realistic slogan. It is the only one that can really unite those opposed to effects of the financial institutions. The IMF and World Bank say they don't want to negotiate under pressure. Come on! They only negotiate under pressure! So let's not let them off the hook!