NEW YORK - When the World Economic
Forum opens this week, the largest gathering of political and business
leaders since Sept. 11 will address a world newly beset by insecurity,
conflict and recession.
The WEF is a living symbol of political and business leaders
scratching each others' backs, proclaiming that they're meeting to
solve the world's problems while in reality they're looking for ways
to enrich each other.
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Authorities hope
the new sensitivity to violence, particularly in New York, will help keep
street protests relatively calm, unlike the unruly demonstrations that
have routinely disrupted international economic meetings since 1999 in
Seattle.
Partly as a show of solidarity with a city stricken by terrorism, the
economic talks are being held in New York instead of the quiet Swiss ski
resort of Davos, where the forum has been held for 31 years.
Normally little is decided by forum attendees, who swap business ideas,
hobnob and party. But as the annual meeting starts Thursday, its 3,000
global leaders - as well as the anti-globalization, anti-war and other
protesters on the streets - are seeking relevance in a world profoundly
altered by the terror attacks on New York and Washington.
Since then, the world has slipped into recession, tolerance for
terrorism has plunged and trust in business has been shaken by the
collapse of U.S. energy giant Enron.
In early November, organizers moved the conference from Davos to the
Waldorf-Astoria hotel partly to "show solidarity with New York in the wake
of Sept. 11," forum spokesman Charles McLean said. "Most of our
participants agree with us there has never been a more important time to
convene a meeting like we're having here."
For attendees, the new location means more than swapping ski boots for
leather shoes.
While still a business-dominated event, the forum this year includes
fewer panels on globalization and more on ethnic conflicts and how to
defuse tensions. The number of religious figures participating has risen
to 43 from 17 last year, including more Muslim leaders.
Nonbusiness groups like Amnesty International want to build support for
an agenda that tries to balance human rights with the crackdown on
terrorism. But the backdrop of New York, still reeling from the attacks on
the World Trade Center that killed thousands, may heighten the challenge.
"It's a city that has been devastated and still in deep shock. It will
add to the weight and put more pressure on all participants to try to
address this issue and to see how to balance security with upholding
international standards," said Kamal Samari, a spokesman for London-based
Amnesty International which is participating on a forum discussion panel.
The agenda was shaken up elsewhere. Forum organizers threw off former
Enron chairman Kenneth Lay, a regular participant, as his company
collapsed amid allegations it cooked its books and bought political
influence.
Greenpeace decided to boycott the event after it was barred from a
panel on the automotive industry, which it has accused of dragging feet on
cutting emissions harmful to the environment.
President Bush won't attend because of scheduling conflicts, but up to
eight Cabinet members are coming, including Secretary of State Colin
Powell, said McLean, the forum spokesman. Afghanistan leader Hamid Karzai
is set to give opening remarks Thursday.
While the five-day forum includes dozens of panels, workshops and
speeches, many discussions among business and government leaders occur
behind the scenes, in coffee shops and bars away from the public eye.
It's such behind-the-scenes networking that riles opponents of global
capitalism, who plan marches to bring to the fore their contentions that
cozy economic institutions are widening the gap between rich and poor.
"The WEF is a living symbol of political and business leaders
scratching each others' backs, proclaiming that they're meeting to solve
the world's problems while in reality they're looking for ways to enrich
each other," said Eric Laursen of Another World is
Possible, a coalition of anti-globalization groups that plans a march
to the Waldorf-Astoria in the city's first mass demonstration since Sept.
11.
Yet the public appetite has diminished for the strident tactics blamed
on some protesters as well as police that grabbed headlines at the Davos
summit last year and other recent world economic gatherings.
Drawing from 40,000 police officers, New York authorities are ready to
use crowd control tactics on unruly demonstrators honed during practice
sessions earlier this month at Shea Stadium.
"After Sept. 11, anyone who thinks that violence is a legitimate form
of protest certainly won't find anyone to agree with them. My guess is New
Yorkers won't be very sympathetic," McLean said.