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A24 04 worldbank bechtel water thieves Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=a8zCn0Hz2M_0&refer=top_world_newshttp://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=a8zCn0Hz2M_0&refer=top_world_news
Bechtel, Bush Bear Brunt of Demonstrations Over IMF, World Bank
April 24 (Bloomberg) -- Bechtel Group Inc., the world's largest construction and engineering company, was among the targets of thousands of protesters demonstrating during World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington.
A group marching through the streets of downtown Washington paused in front of a building that houses the local office of San Francisco-based Bechtel to shout ``Shame, shame, shame on Bechtel!'' Protest leaders in a dark pickup truck held up a sign that said, ``The World Bank and Bechtel: Water Thieves.''
Others held signs protesting President George W. Bush's handling of Iraq. Closely held Bechtel, which built the Hoover Dam and hundreds of other water facilities, rejects protesters' allegations in a statement on its Web site. For instance, in Bolivia, where a group accused Bechtel of raising water prices, the government increased rates to repay debt, Bechtel says.
Bechtel said the company's record proves them wrong.
Protest organizer David Levy, 46, of Mobilization for Global Justice estimated about 3,500 people joined the march, which was planned to overlap with World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington this weekend.
The IMF is the global currency monitor and lender, while the World Bank makes loans to developing countries.
The protest was meant to call attention to accusations the World Bank and IMF hurt women, health care, the environment and labor rights, according to the Washington group's Web site.
Ian Goldin, vice president of external relations at the World Bank said protesters in general have the right to voice their opinion.
``We believe very strongly in freedom of expression. We also feel that many of them are focused on some of the issues'' that the bank cares about, such as poverty, the environment and debt relief. ``What would surprise them is that the meetings that are going on inside the building are precisely on those topics.''
A Quiet Day
About 25 motorcycle officers, three on horseback and a dozen other vehicles trailed the marchers through downtown streets on a clear day, where the temperature hovered around 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius).
Officer Kenny Bryson, a spokesman for Washington's Metropolitan Police Department, said he had not heard of any arrests in connection with the protests.
``Given the situation, it's been a pretty quiet day for us,'' said Bryson, who declined to give a crowd estimate or say how many additional personnel were deployed today.
The march contrasts with protests held in the city in September 2002, when hundreds of demonstrators were arrested.
Making a Point
At today's march, Ralph, a 55-year-old government auditor from New York who had a long gray beard and declined to give his last name, carried a banner with his wife that said, ``Free Trade Means Sweatshop Labor.''
The IMF and World Bank were ``supposed to have made the world a better place,'' said Ralph, who wore a black cap with the words ``No Sweat!'' Instead, the agencies' actions have led to ``more poverty'' and ``more separation between the rich and poor,'' he said.
Not all people at the march were there for the same reason.
While some demonstrated against sweatshops, John Wyrwas, a 19- year-old freshman at the University of Maryland, hawked $15 red T- shirts emblazoned with the image of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara. The shirts were made in Honduras, ``hopefully in a sweatshop,'' said Wyrwas, part of a counter-protest organized by Bureaucrash, a group that advocates limited government.
``The point is to show the hypocrisy of people who buy them,'' said Wyrwas, a member of the College Republicans and College Libertarians clubs at school. He said he would negotiate the price down to $5 and the group would still make a profit.
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