Bush in South Korea Giving Asia Insults
South Korean protesters with defaced portraits of U.S. President George W. Bush, right, and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak stage a rally against Bush's visit in Seoul, South Korea, on 5 August 2008.5 August 2008
SEOUL, South Korea - Police fired water cannons at thousands of protesters Tuesday as President Bush got a volatile reception in South Korea at the start of his three-nation Asian trip.
Some 18,300 police were on high alert with riot gear and bomb-sniffing dogs to maintain order during Bush's brief visit, the National Police Agency said.
As evening approached, an estimated 20,000 anti-Bush protesters gathered nearby. Police turned water cannons on them as they tried to move onto the main central downtown boulevard, telling the crowd that the liquid contained markers to tag them so they could be identified later.
"I don't have anti-U.S. sentiment. I'm just anti-Bush and anti-Lee Myung-bak," said Uhm Ki-woong, 36, a businessman who was wearing a mask and hat like other demonstrators in an apparent attempt to conceal his identity.
The anti-Bush crowd dwindled later in the evening to several thousand people, with the hard-core remnants turning aggressive. Protesters shattered the windows of a police bus and authorities responded by again firing water cannons.
About 70 demonstrators were arrested, police said, in addition to another 12 near the military airport where Bush landed.
Bush held off on visiting Seoul earlier this year when protesters staged nightly candlelight vigils and repeatedly clashed with riot police over imports of American beef, saying Lee ignored public health concerns over the possibility of mad cow disease and failed to consult with citizens. Lee has promised to patch up relations with Washington that became strained under Seoul's previous decade of liberal governments.
Bush calls Lee a friend, which is interesting considering the raft of sensitive topics they will tackle before the American president heads to Thailand, then to the Beijing Olympics.
At the top of Bush's list, is getting North Korea to live up to its commitment to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.
Bush's Asia trip also includes stops in Thailand and China. In an interview aboard Air Force One with The Washington Post, Bush said it was "really hard to tell" whether human rights in China had improved over the past eight years.
Bush said he speaks candidly with Chinese President Hu Jintao about human rights, but he skirted a question about a pre-Olympics security drive by Chinese authorities.
SEOUL, South Korea - Police fired water cannons at thousands of protesters Tuesday as President Bush got a volatile reception in South Korea at the start of his three-nation Asian trip.
Some 18,300 police were on high alert with riot gear and bomb-sniffing dogs to maintain order during Bush's brief visit, the National Police Agency said.
As evening approached, an estimated 20,000 anti-Bush protesters gathered nearby. Police turned water cannons on them as they tried to move onto the main central downtown boulevard, telling the crowd that the liquid contained markers to tag them so they could be identified later.
"I don't have anti-U.S. sentiment. I'm just anti-Bush and anti-Lee Myung-bak," said Uhm Ki-woong, 36, a businessman who was wearing a mask and hat like other demonstrators in an apparent attempt to conceal his identity.
The anti-Bush crowd dwindled later in the evening to several thousand people, with the hard-core remnants turning aggressive. Protesters shattered the windows of a police bus and authorities responded by again firing water cannons.
About 70 demonstrators were arrested, police said, in addition to another 12 near the military airport where Bush landed.
Bush held off on visiting Seoul earlier this year when protesters staged nightly candlelight vigils and repeatedly clashed with riot police over imports of American beef, saying Lee ignored public health concerns over the possibility of mad cow disease and failed to consult with citizens. Lee has promised to patch up relations with Washington that became strained under Seoul's previous decade of liberal governments.
Bush calls Lee a friend, which is interesting considering the raft of sensitive topics they will tackle before the American president heads to Thailand, then to the Beijing Olympics.
At the top of Bush's list, is getting North Korea to live up to its commitment to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.
Bush's Asia trip also includes stops in Thailand and China. In an interview aboard Air Force One with The Washington Post, Bush said it was "really hard to tell" whether human rights in China had improved over the past eight years.
Bush said he speaks candidly with Chinese President Hu Jintao about human rights, but he skirted a question about a pre-Olympics security drive by Chinese authorities.
Commentary
I do not know how Bush can visit countries and insult his hosts as much as he is doing, while I do not know the South Korean government, one thing I could not do is be insulting in the manner which is apparent on Bush’s part.
As for the protest’s, this is only a guess to what the reality is.
Labels: Bush, South Korea, United States
posted by HRM Deborah of Israel and the Messenger of Peace at 7:07 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home