Thousands protest in Washington

A huge security operation was launched yesterday as thousands of protesters descended on Washington – demonstrating on issues ranging from globalisation to peace in the Middle East.

A huge security operation was launched yesterday as thousands of protesters descended on Washington – demonstrating on issues ranging from globalisation to peace in the Middle East.

As finance ministers from the main industrial countries - among them the Chancellor, Gordon Brown – arrived for the spring IMF and World Bank meetings, police kept at bay demonstrators protesting against the war in Afghanistan, US aid to Israel and Colombia, and Third World debt and poverty. There was also a counter-demonstration in support of US policies.

Police had erected barricades and closed off streets in expectation of large crowds of demonstrators. Officers wore patrol uniforms, but many carried riot gear in bags. "What we have to do is make sure the groups don't go at each other and wind up with someone getting harmed," said the city's police chief, Charles Ramsey.

Around 40 protesting bicyclists were arrested on Friday night after police said they ignored red lights and rode the wrong way down a one-way street. They were protesting against the US military's School of the Americas, which they claim produced Latin American military leaders who went on to commit human rights abuses and join oppressive juntas.

One protester, Kyla Hershey-Wilson, said that she was focusing her efforts against Citigroup. "They're using people's money to fund projects all over the world that are just really horribly destructive," she said. "They're the number one funder of fossil fuels and mining and one of the top funders of logging."