Protests against the annual meeting of the IMF and World Bank in West Berlin in 1988

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Demonstration in the run-up to the conference

To protest against the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in September 1988 in Berlin tens of thousands of people took part. These consisted of a large number of disruptions and protests, which had been mobilized nationwide, and were embedded in a campaign lasting several years. The highlights were a central large-scale demonstration with 80,000 participants and a counter-congress the weekend before. The days of action and the campaign that accompanied them were an important event for both the Autonomous and the Third World Movement in the Federal Republic of Germany .

Embedding and Actors

The protests have been prepared since 1985 by various groups from the left-alternative spectrum, in particular the new social movements , the third world movement and the autonomists. The activities were bundled and coordinated in the “Berlin coordination”, which from February 1988 also published a monthly “information service”, and the “working committee” on a nationwide level. In addition to the Berlin coordination, several dozen groups belonged to the latter, including the Greens , the coordination committee of the peace movement , the BUND and the Federal Coordination of Internationalism (BUKO). The latter hired three full-time employees from June 1988 to coordinate the protests. Established associations for the articulation of interests did not participate, with the exception of a few basic groups - especially from the church.

The days of action were embedded in a multi-year campaign that was to culminate in this. Jürgen Gerhards counts 417 events in a case study that were carried out by 136 different actors. In addition to public organization and planning meetings, these included, in particular, information and cultural events, as well as demonstrations of all kinds. Among other things, 20 city tours to the “centers of rule” in West Berlin with almost 1,000 participants took place. From May onwards, a monthly magazine “Billion Fever” was published with a circulation of 20–50,000 copies and during the protests from September 24th to 30th the daily newspaper “Payday” with a circulation of 50,000 copies. Autonomous groups carry out several hundred direct actions in the run-up to and during the congress . The police counted 110 arson attacks in connection with the congress in West Berlin alone in 1988. The Red Army Faction carried out an assassination attempt on the eve of the annual meeting Hans Tietmeyer , State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance and German organizer of the annual conference, which however failed.

Counter-congress and large-scale demonstration

The protests begin on September 23 (Friday) with a counter-congress at the University of the Arts , which will continue on Saturday. The 4,000 participants declare in a final declaration that, in their opinion, “the realization of even these most urgent changes is not possible without profound social upheavals in the industrialized countries. Here in the Federal Republic and West Berlin we have to counter the logic of capital, which underlies the international structures of exploitation. Our resistance is therefore directed against those who cause exploitation, hunger and misery. Our fight is with the German corporations and banks as well as a policy that safeguards their interests in this country and stabilizes the existing capitalist world economic system. ”At the same time, the first demonstrations with a few hundred participants take place. 80,000 people took part in a large demonstration on Sunday, September 25th.

An international tribunal of the Lelio Basso Foundation at the Free University of Berlin is symbolically placing the IMF and World Bank on the “dock of a show trial”. A “jury” condemned both of them to major reforms.

Action days

Mainly from the Autonomous Movement and the Office for Unusual Measures , action days were called for for the duration of the congress. There were numerous demonstrations in front of companies, at the airport and in front of events at the IMF and World Bank congresses. Many of them are carried out despite the ban or without registration. In addition, employees of the congress were disturbed and sometimes attacked at their hotels, on their way to work and during leisure activities. 40 of their cars were damaged. In total, there were almost 1,000 arrests in the wake of the protests. The conclusion will be a demonstration, also largely organized by Autonomen, on Thursday, September 29, with 9,000 participants.

GDR opposition groups are also taking a stand against the conference. Inkota publicly criticizes the fact that the GDR "supports the annual conference with hotel beds, limousines and security services."

Effects

The counter-protests are then rated as a great “success” by those involved and in some cases even viewed as a “model for new movements in general”. According to Jürgen Gerhards' assessment, these had succeeded “a. initiate a variety of protest actions, b. mobilize a large number of participants and c. to draw public attention to the conference and the reasons for criticism of the conference. "

The protests are sometimes seen as a forerunner for the movement critical of globalization .

literature

  • Office for Unusual Measures and Federal Conference of Development Action Groups (ed.): Wut, Witz Resistance. The IMF / WB campaign in pictures and words. Stuttgart, 1989
  • Sponsors of the International Counter-Congress of the IMF / World Bank Campaign (ed.): Against IMF and World Bank: Contributions from the International Counter-Congress of the IMF / World Bank Campaign. Cologne, 1989

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Claudia Olejniczak: The Third World Movement in Germany: Conceptual and organizational structural features of a new social movement. Springer Fachmedien Verlag, Wiesbaden, 1999, p. 156
  2. ^ AG Grauwacke: Autonomous in motion. From the first 23 years, Association A, 2nd edition 2004, p. 204
  3. ^ Jürgen Gerhards: New lines of conflict in the mobilization of public opinion. A case study. Studies on Social Science, Volume 130, Opladen 1993, pp. 110-116
  4. ^ Jürgen Gerhards: New lines of conflict in the mobilization of public opinion. A case study. Studies on Social Science, Volume 130, Opladen 1993, pp. 116f, 120ff
  5. ^ AG Grauwacke: Autonomous in motion. From the first 23 years, Association A, 2nd edition 2004, p. 216
  6. ↑ a b c d Jürgen Gerhards: New lines of conflict in the mobilization of public opinion. A case study. Studies on Social Science, Volume 130, Opladen 1993, pp. 14f
  7. ^ AG Grauwacke: Autonomous in motion. From the first 23 years, Association A, 2nd edition 2004, p. 235
  8. ↑ "We had to expect an attack" . In: Der Spiegel . No. 39 , 1988 ( online ). See also: Statements by the RAF on the attack on State Secretary Hans Tietmeyer on September 20 and 21, 1988, documented on rafinfo.de
  9. ^ West Berlin Declaration . Documented on the website of the World Economy & Development newsletter
  10. ^ AG Grauwacke: Autonomous in motion. From the first 23 years, Association A, 2nd edition 2004, pp. 224–235
  11. ^ AG Grauwacke: Autonomous in motion. From the first 23 years, Association A, 2nd edition 2004, pp. 227–235
  12. ^ Claudia Olejniczak: The Third World Movement in Germany: Conceptual and organizational structural features of a new social movement. Springer Fachmedien Verlag, Wiesbaden, 1999, p. 225
  13. ↑ Office for Unusual Measures and Federal Conference of Development Action Groups (ed.): Wut, Witz Resistance. The IMF / WB campaign in pictures and words. Stuttgart, 1989, p. 5, quoted from: Jürgen Gerhards: New lines of conflict in the mobilization of public opinion. A case study. Studies on Social Science, Volume 130, Opladen 1993, p. 13
  14. ^ Jürgen Gerhards: New lines of conflict in the mobilization of public opinion. A case study. Studies on Social Science, Volume 130, Opladen 1993, p. 16
  15. ↑ Cf. Dieter Rucht , Roland Roth : Globalization-critical networks, campaigns and movements. In: Same (ed.): The social movements in Germany since 1945: A manual. Campus Verlag 2008, p. 496