7 US supporters arrested during action outside the IMF in Washington DC

Seven Jubilee 2000 supporters were arrested for trespassing, at the main entrance of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC on Friday 2nd April.

The arrests occurred at the conclusion of a Good Friday procession of 120 people entitled the "Economic Way of the Cross." In contrast to the traditional procession, the participants processed by fourteen Washington institutions, ranging from the Office of the Central Intelligence Agency, to the Office of the US Trade Representative, to the World Bank to commemorate the burdens of the impoverished in societies around the world, and highlight the institutions involved in creating those burdens. Along the route, the participants carried chains bearing the names of impoverished nations and the total amounts of foreign debt. At the final station, the IMF, participants deposited the chains in front of the entrance. After trying to work around the activists to keep the entrance open for about 30 minutes, IMF security personnel directed staff and visitors to side entrances usually used for construction workers working on a large addition to the building. After another hour, Washington police came and arrested the seven, loading them into a police van. They were later released. The maximum penalty for their infraction - trespassing on private property (the IMF) - is one year in jail.

The action marked the start of a week long `chain-in' during which groups across the US will mail in or personally deliver hand-made paper chains to their members of Congress, asking them to help "break the chains of debt”.