ECONOMY: Tight Security Belt Around Davos Forum

By Emad Mekay Reprint | | Print |

Emad Mekay

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 22 2003 (IPS) - Holding his helmet in one hand and his baton in the other, the Swiss anti-riot police officer assigned to keep calm around the venue of the World Economic Forum here in this Alpine resort, appeared nervous as he said his wish for the weekend.

"I wish it would be so cold, below freezing point," he said. "This will keep the protesters away. And if they make any noise, water hoses will be used at them. Cold water could hurt them in this cold. This will keep them away."

The policeman who said he wished to remain unidentified is among thousands of police officers, military and private security guards who are now the most visible sign that the now often-controversial World Economic Forum (WEF), an annual five-day event that gathers business leaders, economists and politicians from across the globe, was about to start.

Critics of the meetings, who see it a part of undemocratic gatherings for corporate leaders and government officials who unilaterally chart out economic direction for the global economy, have been given permission to demonstrate in the resort on Saturday.

This year’s WEF runs January 23-28 against background of a possible U.S. war on Iraq, a stagnant world economy and, evidently but perhaps more importantly, a growing mistrust of how the world economy is being run by the very same institutions that dominate the forum.

Ironically, the main official theme of the gathering is "building trust".

"We want to discuss the issue of trust in the global economy," said Justin Blake, a media official with the World Economic Forum. "We want to rebuild confidence in world economy."

More than 2300 participants including some heads of state, business leaders and representatives from international organizations were expected to attend the 33rd annual meeting.

The participants will include Brazil’s new president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, U.S. secretary of State Collin Powell, King Abudllah II of Jordan and former Israeli prime minister Shimon Perez.

To protect such dignitaries, water hoses in the cold days of Davos are not the only option on the table.

Troops here are under an order to shoot down suspicious aircraft. A no fly zone has been set on the small village. Military helicopters are roaming the sky breaking the silence of the surrounding mountains. Roadblocks are popping up by the hour around the narrow streets.

Security officers in different types of uniforms, some of them brought from Germany, are already combing the streets, sifting faces and occasionally stopping passers-by checking their identify card, while others are walking Doberman dogs sniffing for explosives

"The protesters come here to fight with the police on purpose," said the policeman still hiding his tension and going about his wish that the protesters could vanish.

"They come from all over Europe and they know that Swiss police is polite and want to exploit that. They want the newspapers to take pictures of them."

But the policeman’s little dream, who said most of his ideas about the protesters came from "my boss", along with the extensive military presence, may actually be revealing attempts by establishment surrounding the forum to distract attention from their role in the current global volatile economic situation.

It could also be partly an attempt to demonize the anti-corporate globalization movement as a violent drive, shut off their accusations of failing capitalism and erring Western democracy and scare away their ideas of an economic alternative.

Although some of the high-profile names justify the extensive security, it also gives away a sense of shaken self-confidence among the organizers and the "business leaders" and an ego that needs protection.

The would-be protests from the anti-corporate globalization movement, have before blamed many of those business leaders and corporate executives and international organizations’ officials for similar practices that lead to the Enron and Worldcom debacle in the U.S., the decline of stock markets, the meltdown in Latin America and the unfolding human tragedy in many parts of the developing countries.

The theme that the World Economic Forum is probably passing the peak and needs to hold strongly to its glamorous image is now often discussed here among Davos old hands.

Lance Knobel, founder of the seasonally popular website Davos Newbies, says that other ‘Davos veterans’ increasingly confirm that idea to him.

The people behind the forum may also feel the same themselves.

WEF president Klaus Schwab said on Tuesday that the forum this year hopes to reach "a better understanding" of world economy – a major step down from the usual mission of "finding solutions".

"Seven or eight years ago you could propose solutions. But many fewer are possible today. If we can contribute to better understanding we will already have done a lot," Schwab said.