An exclusion zone around the IMF/World Bank yesterday kept protesters away from the meetings while inside the building, security officials stopped parliamentarians from developing countries presenting a petition to Rodrigo de Rato and Paul Wolfowitz.
In the streets, 1500 spirited protesters calling for the reform or abolition of the world's global financial institutions gathered at Dupont Circle, and then went to join the tens of thousands demonstrating in Washington against the war in Iraq.
The security cordon prevented any major disruption to delegates. The police presence accompanying the march was lighter than in previous years: in 2002, there were 650 arrests following clashes between activists and police, but none were reported yesterday.
Ghanaian MP Mohamed Jagri, who attempted to carry a protest message inside the IMF headquarters, told Emerging Markets yesterday that he had been evicted on the orders of IMF parliamentary liaison officer Paul Cricillo and Parmeshwa Ramlogan, an adviser to de Rato.
Jagri and Dradjad Wibowo, an MP from Indonesia, were invited by the G24 secretariat to attend the organization's meeting on Friday and hand over a petition signed by 1000 parliamentarians from 54 countries calling for democratic scrutiny of World Bank and IMF policies.
But the two MPs were asked to leave by Cricillo and Ramlogan. By the time G24 officials had stepped in and negotiated readmission with IMF security staff, the G24 communique had been read, and de Rato and Wolfowitz had left for other meetings.
'It reflects a poor attitude to scrutiny', Jagri said. 'I have not had any apology from the IMF. If I had been a British or American parliamentarian I don't think this would have happened.' Ramlogan and IMF spokespeople declined to comment.
Groups from the developing world on the march outside pointed out that the politicians from their countries inside the meetings did not necessarily speak for the population at large.
Nompumelelo Magwaza, a debt campaigner from South Africa, said that South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel 'does not represent me or my country's poor. That's why we need to protest and shout for an alternative'.
Some protesters thought that the turnout was smaller than previous years because the anti-war movement had drained support from anti-globalization groups.
Cliff Bradley, an agriculture specialist from Montana, said that the global justice and anti-war groups had to cooperate. 'The conditions being imposed on the Iraqis, namely economic liberalization and privatization, are exactly the same as those placed on developing countries by the IMF. And now Wolfowitz, an architect of the war, wants to get back into Iraq with the World Bank!'
One march organizer admitted that enthusiasm for anti-capitalist demonstrations had waned since the high point of Prague in 2000. Since 9/11, Òpeople still think it's unpatriotic to hit the streets', said Justin Webber of Industrial Workers of the World.