German Police Out in Force for Bush Visit

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, May 22, 2002

German Police Out in Force for Bush Visit

German police geared up to confront a wave of protests to mark the arrival on Wednesday of U.S. President Bush in Berlin at the start of a six-day tour of Europe.

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German police geared up to confront a wave of protests to mark the arrival on Wednesday of U.S. President Bush in Berlin at the start of a six-day tour of Europe.

Authorities mobilized 10,000 police -- a post-war record for a state guest -- to contain any violence from demonstrators angry over subjects ranging from a possible U.S. attack on Iraq to U.S. policies on trade, the environment and the Middle East.

During his 20-hour visit to Germany, Bush will meet Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and address parliament in the Reichstag before moving on to Russia, France and Italy.

Bush said in an interview broadcast on German television he was not worried about the demonstrations against his visit.

This will be his first trip to Germany, where his father President George Bush is remembered for his role in supporting unification after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

The U.S. president said he would use his visit to tell European leaders of the danger posed by Saddam Hussein, although he again insisted he had no firm plans to attack Iraq.

About 20,000 protesters marched peacefully in Berlin on Tuesday chanting "Yankee go home" and waving banners reading "Axis of Evil runs through the Pentagon," a jibe at Bush's description of Iran, Iraq and DPRK as an "axis of evil."

Police expect most rallies to be peaceful but they fear a hard core of 2,000 left-wing extremists in Berlin might try to turn anti-globalization and anti-Bush protests violent.

Bush's address in the Reichstag, expected to focus on the war on terror and the future of transatlantic relations, is the only major scheduled speech of his European tour.

European criticism of Washington focuses on talk of military action to overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the imposition of punitive tariffs on imported steel, and perceived U.S. indulgence of Israel's crackdown on the Palestinians.

But European leaders have sought to play down talk of a transatlantic rift, emphasizing the United States' close partnership with Europe, and with Germany in particular.

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