Protesters and police clash in Prague

Prague Policemen attempt to control protesters approaching the IMF conference building by hurling stun grenades and tear gas.

PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- Anti-capitalist demonstrators threw cobblestones from Prague's historic streets at police as they tried to shut down the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Molotov cocktails exploded around armed police as they tried to keep the protesters from advancing on the conference centre.

Tear gas and water cannon were used to force back the protesters.

Nearby, protesters were met at a bridge -- which is the only access point to the summit's convention centre -- by thousands of police in riot gear with busloads of reinforcements ready nearby.

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Fifteen thousand people including delegates from 182 countries, have converged on Prague for the meetings to discuss world financial issues including third world debt and poverty, rising oil prices and the declining value of the euro currency.

But the anti-capitalist protesters see the institutions as a central reason for the economic problems faced by the third world. They want wealthy countries to cancel the debt of poor nations.

As the summit opened, World Bank President James Wolfensohn told delegates the protesters' message should be heard although he did not directly mention their tactics.

"Outside these walls, young people are demonstrating against globalisation," Wolfensohn said. "I believe deeply that many of them are asking legitimate questions, and I embrace the commitment of a new generation to fight poverty. I share their passion and their questioning."

Earlier, 1,000 activists marched through Prague's streets to Namesti Miru (Peace Square) chanting "drop the debt," "we will close the IMF," and "capitalism kills".

In a throwback to anti-war demonstrations of the 1960s, some waved banners saying "make love not trade"

Norwegian student Hans Jurgen turned out wearing a green hat decorated with dollar signs claiming to be a caricature of globalisation's fat cats.

"I have children for lunch and I kill people in many countries of the world," Jurgen said.

The demonstrators wanted to converge on the meetings in a planned repeat of last year's mass protests in the U.S. cities of Seattle and Washington that violently disrupted similar summits.

A protester who hung banners near the Prague conference centre is arrested

They say those demonstrations forced the issues into the global political arena.

The IMF's Deputy Managing Director, Stanley Fischer, told CNN the issues would be a key focus this time.

"I hope and expect that we will be able to accelerate the work on debt relief at these meetings," he said, conceding there are improvements to be made in how the institutions deal with the problems.

"The recipes have worked in many countries but there are still poverty problems ... I'm sure we don't have exactly the right formulae."

Fischer said the IMF was working very hard to alleviate the problems and the greatest reduction in world poverty in history had already been achieved during its existence.

World Bank statistics predicted that the inclusion of 20 nations in new debt relief efforts, out of 40 that are eligible, will result in forgiveness of 65 percent of those countries' foreign debt, saving them about $30 billion.

Czech authorities were ready for trouble early mobilising 11,000 police and putting 5,000 troops on standby

As the protesters got to the bridge over the Vltava River, police were ready with signs in various languages saying the demonstration was not authorised and would be broken up if necessary.

In the days leading up to the meetings, Czech authorities stopped almost 300 people at the country's borders who had previous arrest records from anti-globalisation rallies.

Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman told CNN that the authorities' vigilance was aimed at protecting the conference delegates and the residents of Prague: "We are not against protests. We are against violence."

He said the readiness had contributed to the low turnout of protesters.

"If you show you are prepared, the protesters hesitate a little in being involved," he said.

Plain-clothes police arrested three protesters on Monday -- one American and two Poles -- who had chained themselves to a bridge and unfurled banners.

The American, Tedd Cain, told reporters on Tuesday he had been detained four hours and fined 1,000 Czech crowns ($25) after being charged with a misdemeanour offence.

The protesters had intended to form a human chain around the convention centre to trap delegates inside. They also threatened to block roads and shut down the city's underground train system.

Authorities closed the subway station nearest the convention centre early on Tuesday as a security precaution.

Most of the delegates attending the meetings were bussed to the venue at dawn before the access bridge was closed.

Many local shops were shut and boarded up by owners worried that their property could be damaged.

The meetings also intend to grapple with the problems of the falling euro currency and rising oil prices.

Finance officials meeting prior to the main meetings claimed some initial success on Monday in their effort to use strong words and selected market manipulation to stabilise the levels of both.

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.

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