Gloria Arroyo, "Terrorism and poverty are twins"
Hopes for an end to the global economic downturn dominated the opening day of the World Economic Forum yesterday. World political and business leaders were urged to fight poverty and stem the spread of extremism by harnessing the global anti-terrorism coalition.
Some 2,700 delegates are taking part in the five-day conference in New York in a gesture of solidarity with the city scarred by the 11 September attack on the World Trade Centre. Meeting under massive security, they have expressed cautious optimism that the bruised world economy could rebuild at the end of the year, fuelled by a rebound in the United States.
However, the upbeat message on the economy was coupled with a warning that the West must tackle urgently the roots of violence. The President of the Philippines, Gloria Arroyo, said that the global coalition against terrorism should be used to fight poverty, "because terrorism and poverty are twins".
Told the annual WEF was moved from its home in Davos, Switzerland to New York, where streets were barricaded against traffic and footpaths were packed with heavily armed police and plainclothes security agents. Last year's summit was characterised by the largest security operation in Switzerland since the Second World War, but it still failed to prevent clashes between protestors and police in close proximity to the meeting.
This year, demonstrations began with a rally by about 1,000 people, including AFL-CIO president John Sweeney, outside Gap Inc.'s flagship store on Fifth Avenue. The demonstrators accuse the large apparel retailer of running sweatshops in developing countries with low wages and poor working conditions.
The U2 frontman, Bono, represented the arguments of the so-called "anti-globalisation movement" inside the conference. He demanded more determined action to fight inequality and AIDS. "The protesters outside, the vast majority, are passionate about the world... What they bring to this debate is urgency, because there is an emergency in the world."
