The Honolulu City Council yesterday approved shifting $750,000 in police resources to help pay for beefed-up security to deal with demonstrators expected to protest the May conference of the Asia Development Bank.
Leaders from 60 member nations are expected to meet at the Hawai‘i Convention Center May 7-11. The bank was founded to foster economic and social development in the Asia-Pacific region, but critics have said it has approved loans that exploit the poor, harm the environment and don’t benefit the right people.
The Honolulu Police Department has estimated that providing security for the conference will cost $6 million to $7 million once salaries and equipment are figured into the price.
But some who object to the bank’s policies question whether the police buildup may escalate problems by heightening tensions.
Stephanie Fried, of Environmental Defense, a nonprofit environmental group, said she’s concerned about costs as well as philosophical issues. "We have a lot of questions about our tax money being used, essentially, to subsidize this institution," she said.
Fried said 5,000 people peacefully protested an ADB meeting in Chiang Mai, Thailand. "We are deeply concerned that these kinds of actions are the actions that can lead to a police-driven riot," she said.
Assistant Police Chief Boisse Correa said police are planning an appropriate response aimed at protecting the safety and well-being of the community.
"We’re not over-reacting. We have a very measured response, timely and appropriate," Correa said. "We’re full of aloha, and if we could, we’d give everybody a lei, but in this situation we have to be realistic and work with the different groups."
Council Chairman Jon Yoshimura said city officials did not recruit the conference but now must ensure the event goes smoothly.
Councilman John DeSoto said he is now confident that conference preparation will not take away from other vital police work in the community. "There is nothing that’s going to be taken away from my area or other areas," he said.
Councilman Gary Okino said he favors preparation but understands the concern that certain actions "may provoke some kind of a reaction."
Also under consideration, but not yet up for a final decision, are several bills proposed as tools to deal with conference-related problems.
The bills include measures to ban wearing of masks or other disguises in connection with a crime, outlawing putting broken glass or similar substances on a highway and a measure to allow the arrest of people who camp in public parks where camping is not allowed.
Several people spoke against the measures. Carolyn Hadfield identified herself as someone who plans to protest at the conference. She said the measures could be aimed at the homeless and at Native Hawaiians exercising their cultural rights.
Hadfield said the measures also attempt to paint a glossy picture of the community for visiting leaders and investment bankers at the expense of citizens’ rights. "They want dirty people off the street and away from our sight," she suggested.
