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Sydney, Australia 'locked
down' as Bush arrives for summit
Agence
France-Presse
Wednesday September 5, 2007
After a surprise visit to Iraq, US President George W. Bush
headed Tuesday toward a regional summit in Sydney where authorities
have locked down the city in the biggest security operation in
Australian history.
North Korea emerged as a key focus of the meeting after the top
US nuclear negotiator said the communist state had to do more
to dismantle its atomic programme to be taken off a US list of
state sponsors of terrorism.
Trade and climate change also figure high on the agenda for the
21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.
If the US leader was hoping his visit to Sydney would give him
a break from the pressures of the bloody insurgency in Iraq, however,
he was destined to be disappointed.
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An established anti-war group called the Stop Bush Coalition
called a small "unwelcoming ceremony" in Sydney to kick
off a series of protests culminating in a march by up to 20,000
people on Saturday.
Police have launched a court battle against the march, saying
it poses a serious security threat if it is allowed to proceed
past the US consulate in the city centre.
"Our intelligence tells us there is an intent to act violently,"
said state Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione.
Some 3,500 police and 1,500 counter-terrorism and special forces
soldiers have been deployed to maintain security, while parts
of the city have been blocked off by a 5.5-kilometre (3.4-mile)-long
steel and concrete fence.
Prime Minister John Howard is a strong supporter of the US leader,
but an opinion poll published here showed most Australians believe
Bush is the worst US president in history.
The APEC conference brings Bush together with 20 other world
leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's
Hu Jintao, and global hotspots will dominate talks on the sidelines
of the summit.
Chief US negotiator on North Korea, Christopher Hill, told reporters
that while the US was considering whether to take North Korea
off its terror list, the reclusive nation had to take more steps
on denuclearisation.
"We agreed in February we would begin the process of taking
them off," Hill said after briefing his Japanese counterpart
here.
"We're working on that basis but to get off there will be
additional steps that are needed to be taken. They know this."
Bush, Howard and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are to meet
Saturday over breakfast for their first trilateral summit, set
to focus on security issues including North Korea and China.
Japan and Australia signed a security pact in March, Tokyo's
first such agreement with any country besides its main ally, the
US.
China, meanwhile, tried to block a meeting over its human rights
record timed to coincide with Hu's visit, but state officials
said they had rejected the demand.
Chinese embassy officials reportedly said the meeting being hosted
in the New South Wales state parliament would harm bilateral relations
between China and Australia.
Meanwhile, climate change campaigners staged protests for a third
straight day calling for APEC action to cut the emission of greenhouse
gases blamed for global warming. APEC groups the world's three
worst polluters -- the US, China and Russia.
APEC members account for almost half of global trade and calls
have gone out in the run-up to the summit for urgent action to
break the deadlock over World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations.
Australia's Trade Minister Warren Truss met with US Trade Representative
Susan Schwab and urged Washington to send a "powerful signal"
on cutting farm subsidies to give the protracted global trade
talks a much-needed push.
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