The Star-Ledger / By David Schwab
The organizers of an international banking conference called to discuss the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis that disrupted world markets in 1998 appear slightly bewildered by the attention being focused on the event that opens tonight at a New Jersey hotel and runs through Saturday.
Protesters upset at the policies of two of the sponsoring organizations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, are planning vigils outside the Hamilton Park conference hotel in Florham Park, and local law enforcement authorities say they are on guard.
That has conjured up images of the unexpected mass protests that disrupted the World Trade Organization meetings in Seattle last December.
But organizers and protesters alike say they don't expect any repeat, with protesters representing a coalition of religious and labor groups saying they expect a few hundred people to gather and that they don't intend to shut down the meeting.
All of the hubbub has surprised officials at the IMF and the World Bank, both based in Washington and both normally unaccustomed to being in the spotlight.
"It's not that big a meeting," said Andrew Kircher, a spokesman for the World Bank. "It's a seminar that's looking at how you can prevent future global economic crises."
The top officials of the organizations -- World Bank President James Wolfensohn and Stanley Fischer, the IMF's acting managing director -- both canceled scheduled appearances.
Representatives said their decisions had nothing to do with any controversy.
"It was a scheduling issue," said Kathleen White, an IMF spokeswoman. "It has been known for quite a while."
About 180 people are expected to attend the conference, including representatives from developing nations and banking and finance experts from the New York region. The Brookings Institution, a think tank in Washington, is also sponsoring the event.
Kircher said the conference is the second of its kind to be held in the New York region in an effort to encourage more private investment in developing countries. The first session was held a year ago in the New York town of Palisades in Rockland County, just across the New Jersey border.
"What we are trying to do is reach out to people involved in the capital markets," Kircher said.
The problem, officials say, is that some private investors, such as investment banks and pension funds, are reluctant to invest in nations that may not have stable economies.
The World Bank functions essentially as an economic development agency, borrowing money from governments and investors and lending the money to countries for basic improvements, such as building roads. It lends about $ 30 billion each year.
The IMF acts like a credit union, providing loans to central banks of member nations that are used to shore up reserves and stabilize currencies. It has about $ 81 billion in outstanding loans.
Critics, including those protesting in New Jersey, say the two monetary organizations punish developing nations by imposing severe restrictions on how they may spend money, which can force countries to cut back on education and health programs.
"Their policies are so destructive," said Carol Gay, chairperson of a group called New Jersey Jobs with Justice, which is organizing the protests, and a staff representative with the Communications Workers of America.
Representatives from the two organizations defend their lending practices and say any conditions they may impose are required to maintain economic stability.
"It's ironic that many of the same issues they are protesting are the very issues we are concerned about, which is how to fight world poverty," Kircher said.:
