www.undercurrents.org/imf.html
Riots, pink fairies, corporate men and money. An insight into the IMF/World Bank summit which activists shut down in September 2000.
​50,000 people traveled to Prague to stop the money men destroying our planet.
Undercurrents co-ordinated video activists from many countries to film the events from different perspectives. We then edited this documentary within 5 days of the protests and toured the video with discussions all over the UK.
Anti-capitalist Protests in Prague took place during the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Banksummit on September 27, 2000, in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic.
This protest followed similar protests in Seattle and Washington.[1]
Thousands of activists who travelled from all over the world protested and some clashed with police in the streets of Prague for several days. Various anti-capitalist protesters saw these institutions as one of the reasons for the economic problems faced by the developing world. Anger was directed against the way the IMF and World Bank pushed for a policy of directing power to the markets and multinational companies.
Most radical activists tried to prevent the opening of the summit by blocking access roads to the Prague Congress Centre. There were barricades in the streets and camouflaged protestors threw Molotov cocktails and cobblestones.
Tear gas and water cannons were used to force back a breakaway group of activists that attempted to reach the summit venue to shut down the meetings of the global financial institutions. In spite of the large police presence, the protesters succeeded in breaking up the last day of the summit.
Additionally this action was marked by the emergence of both the "pink bloc" and the "white overall" tactics used by the Italian radical group Ya Basta!. Many video activist groups from across the EU joined up to share footage and produce a number of documentaries. UK-based Undercurrents produced Revolting in Prague, giving a street view of the various blockade groups.