Schroeder to Curb Anti-US Protests During Bush Visit Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source - "Clore Daniel C" Times of London via The Irish Independent - May 20, 2002 Schroeder to curb anti-US protests during Bush visit by Roger Boyes in Berlin DEMONSTRATORS who use violence to try to disrupt President George Bush's visit to Berlin this week will face the full force of the police, Gerhard Schroeder said yesterday. The German chancellor issued the warning in the hope of avoiding a politically embarrassing outburst of anti-American anger. Other politicians also urged Social Democrats and Greens to think again before taking part even in peaceful protests against Mr Bush. About 10,000 police are on alert after receiving warnings that anti-American, anti-Israeli and anti-globalisation groups across Europe intend to stage the most violent spectacle since the World Economic Summit in Genoa. The president arrives in Berlin on Wednesday night before travelling on to Moscow. His hotel is next to the Brandenburg Gate, minutes from the Reichstag where he will deliver a speech, and from the Chancellery and a restaurant where he is to dine with the Schroeders. From today that area will be the most densely monitored square kilometre in Europe: the airspace will be closed and the sewers patrolled. Already snipers have set up positions on the rooftops. "People who confuse the right to demonstrate with rioting will face the hard counter-force of the police," the chancellor said in an interview yesterday. Berlin, which is governed by a coalition of Social Democrats and former communists, has been following a policy of 'de-escalation' during riots. On May Day, for example, police stood back as anarchists prepared to ransack supermarkets and set fire to cars. Mr Schroeder is now insisting the city change its policy. He is all too aware of the huge political row that will ensue if anti-American violence spills anywhere close to Mr Bush. The demonstrations - at least as long as they remain peaceful - are supported by a broad majority of Germans, who now have reservations about Mr Bush. An opinion poll commissioned by Der Spiegel shows Germans are even more sceptical about him than the French are. The 3,000 respondents across Europe were asked to judge Mr Bush: 26pc of the French were positive, 51pc negative; while 19pc of the Germans were positive; 50pc negative. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytact-05.22.02-12:37:43-21308