[NYTr] Bush Visit Triggers Protests in Australia

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Agencia Cubana de Noticias (ACN)
http://ainch.ain.cu/mailman/listinfo/ingles


Bush Visit Triggers Protests in Australia

Havana, Sept 5 (acn) US President George W. Bush was received with 
protest in Sydney, Australia, where he arrived on Tuesday to 
participate at the Asia-Pacific Cooperation Forum.

The US president's delegation is made of 700 government officials, 
secret security agents, bodyguards, close friends and journalists, 
reports Granma newspaper.

Under the watchful eye of the Australian security forces, the 
demonstrators gathered near the Main Railway Station chanting slogans 
like "Bush go home."

Alex Baindridge, spokesperson for the Stop Bush Coalition, noted that 
the huge deployment of police and army troops is part of an 
intimidation strategy to frighten people from participating in the 
demonstrations against Bush.

"We have organized this rally because we cannot sit on the sidelines 
while a warmonger like George Bush comes to this country," said 
Bainbridge.

A five-kilometer, 3 meter-high, steel and concrete fence was erected 
around the downtown area to try to keep demonstrators away from the 
visiting leaders.

During this first day, the security forces arrested a group of 
environmentalists belonging to the organization Young People Against 
Climate Change that chained themselves by their necks to a coal cargo 
ship at the port of Newcastle.

Over the next 15 days in Sydney, the capital city of the state of New 
South Wales, the police have special powers to detain any citizen, stop 
tourists from taking photos and to ban the transit of people that they 
consider to be suspects.