Riot police have used teargas and water cannon against protesters at the Summit of the Americas in Quebec, forcing demonstrators back from a fence breached in yesterday's clashes. The protesters, some of them from anarchist groups, had been hurling paint, rocks and bottles over the 10-foot perimeter fence, which seals off the convention centre. Inside the heavily guarded centre, leaders of 34 countries of the Americas are discussing trade and democracy. The demonstrators argue that the leaders' goal of free trade across the Americas will hurt the poor and damage the environment.
Violent clashes between Canadian police and anti-globalisation protesters continued into the early hours of this morning after delaying the official opening Summit. Thousands of protesters had gathered outside the conference centre in Quebec's old city. They ranged from peaceful protestors who danced and played drums to the more hard-line who threw rocks, and bottles at the riot police. Police responded with tear gas and baton charges.
The leaders of the 34 countries were forced to discuss free trade behind a security fence which was under attack and eventually torn down. Delegates arriving to discuss the creation of the world's largest trading bloc clutched handkerchiefs to their mouths to avoid the effects of tear gas. Anti-globalisation activists have vowed to turn this weekend into a re-run of protests which disrupted trade talks in Seattle in 1999.
US President George W Bush disagrees with the protests against the free trade proposals. "Trade not only helps spread prosperity, but trade helps spread freedom," he said on arrival in Quebec. Opening the summit, Canada's Prime Minister, Jean Chretien, blamed the violence on what he called a small group of extremists. "I welcome those who have come to Quebec City to make known their views on how best to advance the social and economic interests of our fellow citizens, but violence and provocation is unacceptable in a democracy," he said. The Cuban President, Fidel Castro - the only Latin American leader excluded from the summit - has expressed his solidarity with the protesters.
In a separate development, 225 people were briefly detained by police after demonstrators hurled bottles and smoke bombs at police during an anti-European Union protest in Sweden. Nearly 1,000 protestors went to the southern city of Malmo, where European Union Finance Ministers and central bankers were meeting for a second day.
