City prepares for bank meeting protests
| • | City prepares for bank meeting protests |
| • | Native issues to be presented at ADB |
| • | Advertiser special: ADB in Hawai'i — global issues, local impact |
By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer
Concern about unruly protests at next week's Asian Development Bank conference has forced court officials to prepare for mass arrests, prompted a local hospital to set up tear-gas treatment gear and sparked a business boom for private security companies.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
Police will also close off parts of Ala Moana Park and Ala Wai Community Park to use as staging areas for their operations during the conference. The closures will occur this weekend and could last until the following Sunday, but exact times will not be announced for security reasons, police said.
Court clerk Michelle Nakama peers into a monitor, part of the District Court's video conferencing system that allows individuals to be arraigned after they are arrested and taken to the O'ahu Community Correctional Center.
Numerous businesses near the Hawai'i Convention Center have hired security guards to remove troublemakers from private property and board up windows if the situation gets too raucous, said Patrick Canonigo, senior vice president of Freeman Guards Inc.
"A lot of businesses are worried that there's going to be a riot because of what happened in Seattle," Canonigo said. "It's been an alarming thing."
Authorities are not expecting a repeat of the violence that left stores looted and streets littered with broken glass when Seattle staged a World Trade Organization conference in 1999.
But Canonigo said the mere possibility of serious unrest has forced some businesses to respond because of insurance concerns.
"Nobody wants to be sued for negligence," he said. "In this world today, you've got to be careful."
Some companies will have guards on call to respond if necessary, while others are taking no chances.
"We're going to have them here no matter what," said Mike Baker, general manger of the Century Center condominium and commercial building on Kalakaua Avenue near the convention site. Baker has also rented barricades to set up outside the building if necessary.
Eric Martinez, vice president of Centurion Security Systems, said he has never seen a single event spark such concern in Hawai'i from hotels, condo owners and businesses.
"A lot of people are calling and getting things lined up just in case something happens," he said. "We have a lot of people we can put on duty at any time."
'Protesters have to eat, too'
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
The Sheraton Moana Surfrider and other Waikiki hotels are tight-lipped about their security plans but say they have prepared for the conference.
'Aha Ho'okele Huli'au members Dennis "Bumpy" Kanahele, flanked by Dr. Sol Naluai, left, and Walter Heen, will promote awareness of Hawai'i history and political and cultural issues as part of the ADB conference.
"I can assure you our security staff has taken extra measures in maintaining the security for our properties," said David Uchiyama, regional director for the Moana's owners, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Hawai'i.
Eric Martin, property manager for McCully Shopping Center, said the center had extra guards available if needed.
"We're not going to call anyone in until we see what happens on Monday," he said. "We expect a lot of activity, but not necessarily destructive activity. We expect a lot of people are going to be hungry in our area, and the protesters have to eat, too."
Most District Court trials have been rescheduled to keep courtrooms available for dealing with any protesters arrested next week, said court administrative director Michael Broderick.
Arraignment system ready
If more than five protesters are arrested, the Department of Public Safety will transport them to the O'ahu Community Correctional Center, where a new video conferencing system linked to courtrooms can handle arraignments, Broderick said.
The system will make it unnecessary to transport defendants to and from the courthouse unless they insist to be arraigned in person, as is their right, he said. A similar system has been used for Circuit Court arraignments since 1993, and nearly all defendants in OCCC custody are now arraigned by video.
Straub Clinic and Hospital has installed special gear outside its emergency room to decontaminate anyone exposed to tear gas, pepper spray or other irritants, said Kevin Matsukado, the hospital's safety, security and patient relations supervisor.
The gear includes respirators and special showers used to cleanse patients of such substances so they don't contaminate the emergency room, he said, and hospital staffers have spent more than 100 hours training and developing plans for the ADB conference.
Hospital emergency department supervisor Raylene Nolan said the hospital will not postpone elective surgeries or otherwise change its normal operations during the conference.
"We're hoping it's going to be business as usual, but we wanted to be prepared in case something happens," she said.
National Guard alerted
The hospital has also set up a first aid station inside the Hawai'i Convention Center to assist any conference attendees who are injured. It will be staffed by two registered nurses or by a nurse and paramedic, Nolan said.
The National Guard will be ready to respond to street disturbances if necessary, said Guard spokesman Maj. Chuck Anthony.
"We have an undisclosed number of soldiers and airmen available to assist civilian law enforcement should the need arise," he said.
Some troops will be ready to deploy immediately and others on standby can also respond, he said. A guard unit regularly trains for civil disturbances and has increased that training with the ADB conference in mind, Anthony said.
Advertiser staff writer Rod Ohira contributed to this report.
