Prague braces for IMF protests

A number of foreigners have been denied entry

By Ray Furlong in Prague

Police in the Czech capital, Prague, have launched the biggest security operation since the fall of communism ahead of the arrival of delegates for International Monetary Fund and the World Bank meetings.

The streets around the conference centre have been sealed off and police roadblocks have been enforcing new traffic restrictions in the area.

Businesses near the conference centre have been boarded up

Residents of what is called the "security zone" have been given special permits to enter, but shops in the area have been closed and boarded up.

The Czech authorities are planning to deploy 11,000 police with 5,000 army troops standing by during the meetings, amid fears of violent demonstrations similar to those against the World Trade Organisation in Seattle last November.

Denied entry

Many pensioners and schoolchildren have even been sent on holiday to areas outside the capital.

There has also been a security clampdown at the border, causing long queues at some points.

Several anti-globalisation activists have been refused entry to the country.

Groups protesting against the IMF are highly critical of these measures and have compared them to communist-era practices.

The Czech President, Vaclav Havel, has tried repeatedly to calm the atmosphere down and has been stressing the fact that it is an honour that Prague was chosen for the conference.

It is the first time the IMF has met in a former communist country.