Four arrested as hundreds protest Bush speech
By Richard Cuthbertson,
The former President's speech in Calgary
Photograph by: Dean Bicknell, Calgary
Blowing whistles and chanting "war criminal," demonstrators carried signs and shouted "shame on you" at people attending the event at a cost of $400 each.
At the protest pinnacle, four people were arrested. One man tried to enter the convention centre and was turned back by police. After a second person was arrested, two more protesters were taken into custody. One kicked the side of a police van.
Another was taken to the ground in the middle of
Police viewed the protest as largely peaceful and say they didn’t push demonstrators out from in front of the convention centre door as they worried that would cause more chaos.
Duty inspector Rob Williams also said they didn’t contemplate closing down that part of the
Protester Orest Slepokura from Strathmore had a sign comparing disgraced
“Of the two, I would say that Bernie Madoff comes off almost saintly by comparison.”
Of the people actually attending the luncheon talk, hundreds had to line up outside before being let in slowly by security. One man in the lineup said he wasn’t anti-Bush nor a Bush supporter but he was curious about what the former president had to say about his time in office.
“(He was) the most powerful man in the world for 8 years, I wanted to come to see what he had to say,” said Shane Hawryluk.
Protecting foreign dignitaries visiting
Bush also travelled with his own detail of U.S. Secret Service agents, which is permitted by RCMP policies governing foreign security officers.
The cost of the security operation during Bush’s visit will come out of the RCMP’s budget.
Cpl. Patty Neely, an RCMP spokeswoman in Calgary, and officials at headquarters in
The cost for current President Barack Obama’s official, one-day visit to
Calgary police, meanwhile, said Bush’s visit didn’t result in any extra costs. Tactical officers, a mountain bike team and a crowd-control unit used during Bush’s stay were on regular duty when they were pressed into service.
Event organizers paid out of their own pocket for uniformed “pay duty” police officers to provide security for the event.
Herald Reporter Jason van Rassel
rcuthbertson@theherald.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The
Tue Mar 17, 2009 5:59pm EDT
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By Jeffrey Jones
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - More than 100 protesters chanted "war criminal" and flung shoes in Calgary on Tuesday, angry that former U.S. President George W. Bush was in the Canadian city to give his first speech since leaving the White House.
At least two demonstrators were hauled away by police after brief skirmishes, as 1,500 business people in the oil patch city waited outside a convention center for an hour to pass through tight security and enter the C$400-a-plate ($315) luncheon.
Media were barred from covering the invitation-only event, during which Bush had been expected to reflect on his eight years as president.
According to sources who attended, he conceded that his administration spent its final days "bailing water" to keep the
However, the Obama administration should not let government become a substitute for the free market, and it should also avoid becoming more protectionist on trade matters, he was said to have remarked.
Although he was not Bush's first choice as president, Barack Obama has his full support, he said.
The luncheon crowd was friendlier than the one outside.
"He is a war criminal who fought an illegal war, and there are some who say he was never elected democratically, so there are some who say he should be arrested as soon as he comes here," said a woman dressed as a Guantanamo Bay prisoner, who called herself Ivana Nomobush.
She had brought with her a makeshift "shoe cannon" that catapulted footwear, but complained that security personnel were not letting her use it.
The shoe theme is an homage to Iraqi reporter Muntazer al-Zaidi, who was sentenced last week to three years in prison for hurling his shoes at Bush in December.
The reaction was in stark contrast to President Barack Obama's first official visit to
A handful of demonstrators came out in support of the former president, who left office in January, having suffered plummeting popularity due to more than five years at war in
"We wanted to welcome George W. Bush and let him know that everyone's not opposed to his presidency," said Jeff Willerton, who held up a pro-Bush placard. "I think under the circumstances he was one of the better presidents we could have asked for."
As center of
By the turnout among its business community for the speech, it is clear that Bush can still draw a crowd, city councilor Joe Ceci said.
"But it's this crowd that gratifies me even more," Ceci said of the demonstrators. "Just to see Calgarians interested, aware, and just kind of speaking up, and speaking up for things anti-war."
($1=$1.27 Canadian)
(Reporting by Jeffrey Jones; Editing by Peter Galloway)
© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
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"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs
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