- SANTIAGO DE CHILE
- Street protests greeted U.S. President George W. Bush's arrival at the
Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation forum in Chile Friday, while Canada
talked to South Korea about a free trade pact.
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- Chilean police used water cannons and tear gas on thousands
of people protesting against a meeting of Pacific Rim leaders in the capital
Santiago de Chile.
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- Demonstrators were particularly vocal in denouncing Bush
and his country's war in Iraq, but they were also opposed to globalization
and unfettered free trade.
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- Organizers claimed 40,000 people took part in the protests,
while police said about 25,000 turned out to demonstrate against the forum.
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- Talks at this time are focusing on trade and security.
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- There were no serious injuries reported on this fourth
day of protests against the meeting, but television pictures showed demonstrators
burning American flags and throwing rocks at the windows of a McDonald's
restaurant.
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- There were thousands of officers on the streets of the
city, and some 20 demonstrators were reportedly arrested.
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- Bush will conduct a series of meetings Saturday with
other heads of states and premiers.
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- The president was also greeted by demands from the Chinese
delegation that the U.S. take "all measures necessary" to stop
the fall of the American dollar and "restore equilibrium" to
global foreign exchange markets, according to Agence France Presse.
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- Free trade negotiations
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- Prime Minister Paul Martin arrived in Chile Friday. After
a meeting with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, Martin said Ottawa
had launched exploratory talks with South Korea regarding a bilateral free-trade
agreement.
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- Ottawa would take a first step toward a possible deal
by consulting the provinces, business leaders and non-governmental organizations
over the coming months, before meeting again with South Korean officials
in six months' time.
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- "Officials will sit down and hammer out an agreement
next spring," International Trade Minister Jim Peterson said.
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- In 2003, Canada-South Korea trade was worth $7 billion,
with $5.1 billion of the total accounted for by Korean exports to Canada.
Canada only exported goods worth $1.9 billion to South Korea in exchange.
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- Korean peninsula nuclear talks
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- Other leaders arriving Friday included Philippine President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Mexican President Vicente Fox, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
and Chinese President Hu Jintao are also attending.
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- Among others, Bush plans to meet with leaders from China,
Japan, South Korea and Russia, hoping to give renewed impetus to talks
with North Korea aimed at making the Korean peninsula nuclear weapons-free.
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- On Thursday trade and foreign ministers from 21 Pacific
Rim economies issued a strong show of support for ongoing World Trade Organization
talks. They also agreed on new counterterrorism measures aimed at protecting
everything from air travel to shipping and food stocks.
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- APEC was set up in 1989 with the main purpose of promoting
greater trade between its 21 member states from Asia and the Americas.
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- - Written by CBC News Online staff
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- Copyright © CBC 2004
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- http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2004/11/19/apec-bush041119.html
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