MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Protesters are pouring onto the streets of Washington as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund meetings get underway this morning. The demonstrators oppose a global finance system they say operates at the expense of the world's poor people. One of the focuses of today's demonstration is the Ellipse just outside the gates of the White House. CNN's Bob Franken has the latest from there. Good morning, Bob.</s>BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles. In about an hour and a half, the legal demonstration is supposed to begin here. However, police tell us that what they're concerned about is that frustrated marchers from IMF and the World Bank buildings may spill over to here. So they're prepared for whatever trouble they might encounter. Heavy body shields, very heavy police presence, helicopters overhead, the whole nine yards. Now, there have been some demonstrations, protests, and arrests in Washington this morning, starting quite early in the day before the sun even rose. We're hearing estimates of about 40, and I underline about 40 arrests this morning, as protesters have in fact tried to block streets, and they've been arrested, as you can see here, by police who are more than ready. The whole idea for the police department here is to avoid a duplication of Seattle, Washington, where they felt that the authorities were not ready for the WTO protest. Now, the issue here, why, the demonstrators say, they want to block the IMF World Bank meetings, they believe that those two institutions, which provide money to developing countries, in fact, really are protecting corporate interests, that, in fact, in the process, they hurt the people of the country, particularly the poor people. They also cause a loss of jobs in the United States because they create cheap labor overseas. They harm the environment, so they claim, and they also are saying they want debt relief, they want these debts canceled. But at any rate, there have been some Metro stations closed in Washington. There has been some use of pepper spray, according to police authorities. And the day is just beginning. Bob Franken, CNN live, at the Ellipse in Washington. Search CNN.com CNNSI.com CNNmoney.com The Web
Protesters Pour Onto Washington, D.C. Streets Outside of World Bank and IMF Meetings