| |
 |
Clashes bedevil summit
|
BLACK-CLAD protesters hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at police defending the perimeter fence of the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City yesterday in a violent sideshow to a rally against free trade.
Leaders from 34 American countries, all but Cuba, attended the April 20-22 summit to create the Free Trade Areas of the Americas (FTAA) by January 2005.
Protesters say the summit's aims of free trade and open borders help big business and hurt the poor.
Some 80 people, including 34 police officers, were injured in violent clashes since its opening on Friday, as police fired rubber bullets, water cannons and tear gas, and made at least 150 arrests.
More than 30,000 students, environmentalists, retirees and peasants gathered on Saturday, most of them peacefully underlining their belief Americas leaders should put social issues ahead of trade on the FTAA agenda.
Protesters are worried that labour and environmental concerns in an Americas-wide free trading area have not been addressed.
Government leaders addressing the summit acknowledged the concerns of the anti-globalization protesters, saying economic progress must go hand in hand with social justice and help for the poor masses.
``There is much wealth, but there is still much that we need to address,'' Mexican President Vicente Fox said. ``Our region continues to be one of the most inequitable regions in the world -- 220 million Latin Americans live in poverty.''
``We seek freedom, not only for people living within our borders, but also for commerce moving across our borders,'' said US President George W Bush, who used the seven-year-old North American Free Trade Area between the United States, Mexico and Canada as an example of how free trade can work.(SD-Agencies)
|
|
|
|
