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Protests don't stop IMF
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April 16, 2000: 5:40 p.m. ET
Meetings among IMF officials, G-10 members begin, despite protests
By Staff Writer M. Corey Goldman
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WASHINGTON (CNNfn) - Meetings among ministers of the Group of 10 nations and officials from the International Monetary Fund got underway Sunday despite the best efforts of thousands of protesters to bring events to a screeching halt.
Demonstrators were blocking streets leading to IMF headquarters as early as 6 a.m. ET this morning in an attempt to block ministers and delegates from entering the area cordoned off by Washington police and Secret Service. The ministers are meeting this weekend to discuss the outlook for the global economy and reforms within the IMF, among other issues.
But the demonstrators arrived too late to keep most delegates away. Busses shuffling ministers and other senior fund officials began whisking delegates in from their respective hotels in the Washington area as early as 5 a.m., ensuring they arrived at IMF headquarters with little disruption. IMF acting managing director Stanley Fischer said the meetings began on time.
Outside, thousands of demonstrators locked arms at major intersections all around the IMF and World Bank headquarters, ensuring those who attempted to enter the cordoned-off area to attend Sunday's meetings could not get in. IMF officials and reporters attempting to pass through the human barricades were turned away by the peaceful demonstrators.
Delegates and reporters who didn't make it into the temporary compound surrounding the IMF headquarters found themselves wandering the streets amid an ever-growing number of protesters. Demonstrators were all around the downtown area, with most gathered at the Ellipse, a large grassy area south of the Washington monument and the White House.
Minimal disruption
As for the delegates themselves,  they wasted no time getting down to business. The G-10, a group of ministers and central bank governors of industrialized nations, outlined their agenda for their talks. Reform items dominate the agenda, as well safeguarding IMF funds and reviewing the IMF's debt relief program for poor countries, which has fallen behind schedule.
In a communiqué released at the start of their meetings, the G-10 reiterated what their G-7 and G-24 counterparts had said - that world economic conditions look favorable and that rising productivity, low inflation and better risk management on behalf of the group had helped propel strong economic performance on most of the countries.
They also noted that ongoing efforts to improve the sale and trade of emerging market debt - bonds and other securities which developing countries typically have to pay higher interest rates on to offset their perceived risk - were progressing. Several of the G-10 countries including the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada, introduced something called a majority-action clause - where bondholders have to decide as a majority whether or not to redeem a struggling country's debt. 
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