Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Saturday
Nearly 1,000 Protesters Gather at World Economic Forum Site
Aired February 02, 2002 - 18:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Nearly 1,000 demonstrators gathered in midtown Manhattan just a few hours ago. They're protesting the World Economic Forum there. That is the largest turnout since the conference began on Thursday, but an even larger group of police are in position to help keep the peace there, and CNN's Jason Carroll has also been keeping watch all day. Jason, how's it look now?
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well what a difference a few hours make. At this point, most of the protesters have gone home, but if you take a look behind me you can see that's not the case with the police officers. Still, many police officers still out here on patrol near the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
Just about a half an hour ago, New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly held a press conference. He updated us with the very latest information. He said so far police have made 36 arrests most for disorderly conduct. Also, three officers received minor injuries while making those arrests. However, Kelly saying overall the protesters behaved pretty well. He also gave his assessment on how the situation is developing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAY KELLY, POLICE COMMISSIONER: So, so far so good. Again, we're not here to declare victory by any means. The forum is going forward. I've gotten positive feedback on the participants in the forum. And again, the demonstrations -- the demonstrators have caused a minimum of disruption to the city.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: And by far the largest demonstration that we saw was today. Late this afternoon about 1,000 people lined the Park Avenue near the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. A group called the ANSWER Coalition sponsored that demonstration, ANSWER standing for act now to stop war and end racism. Although there were many people in the crowd that you see there that were not affiliated with ANSWER at all, they simply came out and wanted to have their voices heard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm concerned that the world is increasingly run by a small number of very wealthy people who have no regard for working people. They exploit workers and destroy the planet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm disgusted of the fact that after the disaster of September 11 these rich parasites and billionaires should come here to celebrate. These are the people that cause misery all over the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Again, according to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, so far so good. As for the World Economic Forum, well, tonight many of the attendees will be going to a dinner at the New York Stock Exchange. They're going to be bussed from here to downtown under very tight security -- Catherine.
CALLAWAY: Jason, we have certainly seen much larger protests for this forum in other places. Any idea why things are a lot calmer this time around? Could it be, perhaps, what New York has been through in light of the terrorist attacks?
CARROLL: Well, I think you're absolutely right Catherine. I think there are several factors that played into this, 9/11 definitely being one of them. Also, Ray Kelly saying during the press conference that they've learned a lot from past experiences, you know, similar conferences held in Genoa, in Seattle where there was a lot of trouble. They really went to those places, talked to those police departments, gathered information, and used what they could gather here, and I think all those things really helped in this particular situation.
CALLAWAY: All right. Thank you. CNN's Jason Carroll. Thanks, Jason.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
