As thousands protest against the policies of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Washington, the following are available for interviews:
QUENTIN DRISKELL
An attorney with the National Conference of Black Lawyers and the National Lawyers Guild, Driskell is providing legal assistance to protesters. He said today: “There’s a complete atmosphere of repression in Washington: the illegitimate preemptive arrests, the expansion of the restricted area around the World Bank building, the storming of the Convergence Center. The authorities seem bent on not allowing peaceful protests to go forward. The tactics that they’ve resorted to almost seem as if they’re trying to goad protesters into acting out. I’ve been doing political work and protests for 25 years and I’ve never seen police action like this.”
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AMBER BURSIK
The manager of MotoPhoto, a shop across the street from the World Bank building, Bursik said today: “The police are preventing the protests from being near the event that they’re protesting. They’ve questioned me on my way to work.”
BEVERLY BELL
Director of the Center for Economic Justice, Bell is helping to organize the World Bank bond boycott as well as protests with groups from the global South. Bell said today: “One very important component of the mobilizations in Washington is the experience and analyses of those most affected by World Bank policies.”
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OSCAR OLIVERA, JIM SHULTZ
After Bolivia — bowing to demands from the World Bank — privatized the water system in the city of Cochabamba, water rates soared. Workers making $100 per month got $20 water bills. Thousands protested, shutting down the city of half a million for a week in early April; the Bolivian subsidiary of the Bechtel corporation, the new owners of the water system, fled. On April 8, the government declared a state of emergency and shut down independent media. Olivera, a union leader from Cochabamba and Shultz, executive director of the Democracy Center, have just come to the U.S. from Bolivia.
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EDUARDO DIAZ
Director of International Affairs for the Communications Workers of America, which represents 630,000 workers, Diaz said today: “Many of our workers have come face to face with what global corporate greed means—lots of money for the bosses and the political elites and nothing for workers who produce their profits.” Diaz is available for interviews until Monday evening.
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For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy: Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020 or (202) 332-5055; David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
