Sunday, September 16, 2001

The 50 Years Is Enough Network is shocked and deeply saddened by the
terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. We unequivocally condemn these
heinous actions. Our hearts and prayers are with the victims, survivors
and their families.

The 50 Years Is Enough Network has consulted with colleagues around the
U.S. and the world in the days since the September 11. We regret not
being able to announce our plans regarding the events scheduled for the
end of September before today.

We are changing our plans for the mass mobilization in Washington,
scheduled for September 25 to October 4, to coincide with the scheduled
annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World
Bank. We are in agreement with other coalition partners, including
Mobilization for Global Justice that this is not an appropriate time for
street demonstrations against these institutions. We will, however, go
ahead with planned educational activities.

We join and support decisions by several coalition members and allies to
cancel all street actions -- protests, demonstrations, civil
disobedience, direct action -- focused on the IMF and the World Bank.
This decision does not encompass any actions that may be planned in
response to military or other aggressive actions taken by the U.S.
government.

Most reports indicate that the IMF and World Bank will be canceling or
postponing their joint annual meetings. We agree with the position
expressed by the AFL-CIO that this is not the time for “another round of
closed-door meetings behind tall fences,” and hope that the institutions
will not now magnify the lack of accountability and transparency that
have already done so much damage to their performance and reputation.

The Teach-In Tour sponsored by the 50 Years Is Enough Network together
with Essential Action, the Center for Economic Justice, and Jubilee USA
Network was already underway at the time of the September 11 attacks.
Speakers from South Africa, Haiti, Zimbabwe, India, the Philippines, and
Panama, are addressing audiences interested in the IMF, World Bank, and
corporate globalization around the United States. The communities
hosting events have confirmed they want the Teach-Ins to go ahead as
planned. We expect other participants, from Senegal, Ghana, Haiti,
South Africa, Tanzania, the Philippines, and Brazil, who already have
plane tickets purchased to arrive soon, depending on airline capacity.
For more information on the Teach-In Tour, see
<www.essentialaction.org/wbimf> or contact Monica Wilson at 202/387-8030
or <mwilson@essential.org>.

The “Ending Global Apartheid” teach-in, sponsored by the same coalition
sponsoring the Teach-In Tours plus Global Exchange and International
Rivers Network (which has announced they will not participate at this
time), will likewise go ahead as scheduled, beginning with an opening
plenary the evening of Thursday, September 27, and continuing through
Friday and Saturday, September 28-29. The reduced number of speakers
who will be able to attend, together with the anticipated drop in
attendance, have prompted us to abbreviate and re-structure the
schedule. The price of tickets will correspondingly drop (with refunds
offered to those who have already purchased tickets). Please visit
<www.essentialaction.org/wbimf> for details and updated information.

The Religious Working Group on the World Bank and IMF and the Jubilee
USA Network are proceeding with plans for an interfaith service and
vigil on the evening of Saturday, September 29, 2001. For more
information and updates, <www.jubileeusa.org> and <www.religiouswg.org>.

These change in no way reflect a shift in the positions of the 50 Years
Is Enough Network or its members or partners on the policies of the IMF
and World Bank, nor on the imperative to challenge and change those
policies. Our eight demands of the institutions (see
<www.50years.org/s28/demands.html) remain our challenge to the
decision-makers of the global economy, and will be the gauge by which we
measure any policy decisions made, with or without the benefit of an
annual meeting.

We acknowledge, however, that the political landscape has changed
dramatically and suddenly, and that protests at this moment of
uncertainty could be counter-productive. Part of our intention in
re-structuring “Ending Global Apartheid” is to provide space for
activists from around the U.S. and the world to begin to discuss and
grapple with the new situation we all find ourselves in.

We encourage those who can to please join us in Washington, DC at the
end of September. In addition to the “Ending Global Apartheid”
Teach-In, the Religious Working Group is going ahead with the planned
religious service entitled, “Inter Faith Service for Justice and
Restoration” www.religiouswg.org .