Asian bank conference ready to get under way

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Asian Development Bank annual meeting begins today in Honolulu with events planned to welcome the financial institution and seminars dealing with controversies facing the Asia-Pacific area.

Gov. Ben Cayetano and business and tourism officials have heralded the conference at the Hawai'i Convention Center as a showcase to pave the way for future international meetings here.

About 58 finance ministers and more than 3,000 participants plan to attend.

But the bank's weeklong meetings and conference have also attracted protesters, prompting the Honolulu Police Department and other enforcement officials to gear up security to avoid confrontations that marred international meetings in Seattle in 1999 and Quebec City this year.

ADBwatch, an umbrella group representing about 24 organizations critical of ADB policies, estimates more than 2,000 protesters will march Wednesday from Ala Moana Park to the convention center and through Waikiki to Kapi'olani Park.

The protesters are critical of the bank's approval of loans that critics say exploit the poor, damage the environment and fail to benefit the majority of people in developing nations.

But ADB officials say the bank's goals include ridding the region of poverty, improving the status of women and preserving the environment.

Police and city officials advise people who don't need to go near the convention center to steer clear this week, especially during Wednesday's protest march.