'Medium' chance for violence at ADB conference, security chief says
By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer
There is a "medium" probability for violent demonstrations during the Asian Development Bank meeting in May, but Honolulu is better prepared than Seattle was when it played host to a similar group, the state's commander of security planning and operations said yesterday.
"We asked a federal agency for a threat assessment, and it came back as the possibility or probability was medium," said Honolulu Police assistant chief Boisse Correa. "The same assessment for Seattle was low to medium.
"We don't anticipate 30,000 to 40,000 demonstrators, like Seattle (during the 1999 World Trade Organization riots), but Seattle got blindsided," Correa added. "I think because of that we're better prepared."
Correa said yesterday the philosophy of the intensive security training here during the past few months can be described as "Preparation, prevention and protection."
"Our job is to secure the streets," he added, "but our people are being trained to stay focused on being impartial.
"We know several (protest) groups will be active at the conference, and part of our preparation stage has been to figure out the best way to let them get their messages out safely."
To prepare a strategy, Correa said, a group of state security officials observed security at the Republican and Democratic conventions in Philadelphia and Los
Angeles, respectively, and spoke with Seattle officials about lessons learned from the December 1999 riots.
Honolulu Police Chief Lee Donohue plans to accompany the group to Washington, D.C., in about two weeks to check out security at the International Monetary Fund meetings, Correa added.
"In Philadelphia we spoke with police commissioner John Timoney and deputy commissioner Robert Mitchell, and they told us how they were calling everyone demonstrators or protesters at the beginning of the convention," Correa said. "By the middle of the convention they were calling some of them anarchists and by the end that changed to urban terrorists.
"The labeling of these groups shows you the scope of what we're facing. You have violent groups that mix with peaceful groups."
There are three types of demonstrators, Correa said.
"You have the lawful, peaceful groups, which represent the majority," he said. "They are basically the marchers.
"Then you have the unlawful but peaceful groups, who are disruptive. They might stand in the middle of a street, blocking traffic, which is unlawful.
"The last group is the unlawful and violent. They are the ones who basically tear up a city. It takes a lot of energy and resources to deal with them."
A strategy of prevention dictates that, "whenever and wherever possible, we will diffuse situations and prevent them from getting heated," Correa said. "We have been and will continue to talk with protesters about them being able to lawfully get their messages out, and the majority of them do not want to see destruction of property or physical confrontations."
He added, however, that the police will do what is necessary to maintain order.
"We're prepared for peaceful and orderly demonstrations and for less peaceful demonstrations," he said. "But let me stress that we're here to protect everyone's free speech and rights."
Officials expect thousands of demonstrators.
