Obama extends support for protesters
Barack Obama, US president, offered more support for protesters against the global financial system after a
weekend of demonstrations in cities around the world, but called on them not to “demonise” those who worked on Wall Street.
On Sunday, Mr Obama honoured Martin Luther King at a dedication to a new memorial on National Mall in Washington. Referring to protests that have spread from Wall Street to London, Rome and elsewhere, Mr Obama said: “Dr King would want us to challenge the excesses of Wall Street without demonising those who work there.” Mr Obama had previously said the protests “express the frustration” of ordinary Americans with the financial sector.
Protesters complained about banking excesses, but the demonstrations reflect more than simple anger at financial institutions, argued a banker in London. “It’s becoming apparent these are protests that aren’t just about banks, it’s all manner of things . . . They’re talking about the number of millionaires in the cabinet and all kinds of things – it doesn’t necessarily simply involve the banking sector.”
Demonstrators picked the wrong target when they chose to rally at stock exchanges in New York and London,
executives of some of the world’s largest exchanges said. “We are the most visible symbols of the financial world so it makes exchanges an obvious destination. But I don’t think it’s the right target. We don’t represent the financial sector,” said Ron Arculli, chairman of the World Federation of Exchanges.
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Obama extends support for protesters - FT.com
