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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: A. Geiche who wrote (494614)	11/18/2003 6:34:10 AM
From: Raymond Duray	Respond to of 769670

Now this is DEMOCRACY! MIRROR UK: GRANNY'S BUSH PALACE PROTEST Nov 18 2003 £19m ring of steel .. but a 61 year old gran armed with a flag spoils the Bush party mirror.co.uk A GRANDMOTHER defied a £19million security clamp by clinging to the gates of Buckingham Palace for more than two hours yesterday in protest at President Bush's visit. Veteran anti-war demonstrator Lindis Percy, 61, unfurled an upside-down US flag with the message "Elizabeth Windsor and Co - he's not welcome". Then she refused to budge until she climbed down voluntarily and was driven away by police. Her protest came as it was announced the number of police guarding London for Mr Bush's visit would almost treble from 5,000 to 14,000. Security chiefs remain "very concerned" about an al-Qaeda threat. White House aides were still locked in dispute over which relatives of dead British troops will meet the president amid fears he may be met with hostility. But unrepentant Tony Blair said he stood by the decision to invite Mr Bush who flies in today for a three-day State visit. Health visitor Mrs Percy scaled the palace's 18ft wrought-iron gates as the Queen prepared inside for Mr Bush's arrival. Dozens of police, who moved crowds about 100metres away, vainly tried to persuade her to come down. Firefighters and an ambulance also attended the scene. But Mrs Percy would only surrender in her own time and stayed up for two and a quarter hours. Fellow protester Anni Rainbow said: "She's protesting against Bush's visit. He's a bogus president and we don't want him here." Witness Stephen Beasley added: "She seemed happy to be there. It takes courage to stand on the gates of Buckingham Palace." Mrs Percy, from Hull, is one of 11 protesters accused of offences at RAF Fairford, Gloucs, used by US B52 bombers during the Iraq war. The mother-of-three, who has four grandchildren, is bailed to reappear before Cirencester court today in connection with a protest outside the base. Anti-Bush protesters celebrated yesterday after being given permission to march down Whitehall close to Parliament on Thursday. Police were originally against the idea fearing it posed a security threat. But after hours of talks with organisers they gave in. Up to 100,000 protesters are expected to march. The Stop the War coalition called the decision a "fantastic result". Police said: "We have been reassured they want this to be a very peaceful demonstration." With the hours ticking away, No 10 confirmed that details of Mr Bush's meeting with relatives of dead troops were still in the air. Mr Bush wants to tell the families their loved ones died for a "noble cause". Downing Street admitted the president would meet relatives, and soldiers who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, on Thursday. But asked if that included relatives of troops killed in this year's Iraq conflict, Mr Blair's spokesman replied: "The precise composition is still being worked on." It implied Mr Bush will not meet those bereaved families who believe the public was misled into conflict. The Defence Ministry increased confusion by insisting all plans were finalised. An official said: "There'll be a meeting between Mr Bush and some of the families who lost loved ones in Iraq. But we're not releasing information." Standing by his decision to invite Mr Bush, Mr Blair told the CBI conference at Birmingham yesterday: "This is the right moment for us to stand firm with the US. "I believe terrorism to be the threat of the 21st century. Now is not the time to waver, now is the time to see it through. "I understand how deeply people feel if they have lost a loved one. That's why you do not take a decision to go to war lightly." But Reg Keys - father of Lance Corporal Thomas Keys, who died in Iraq - said: "Bush is saying our troops died for a noble cause. "Soldiers in the First and Second World Wars died for a noble cause because they were trying to repel a country that wanted to invade us. But what threat was Iraq to us? "We were led to believe Saddam was about to unleash weapons of mass destruction on us. So Thomas and his colleagues went to war. These weapons have never materialised. I feel deceived." Charles Kennedy called on the public to join protests against Mr Bush. He said: "We should use this opportunity to leave him in no doubt as to the extent of public concern at the way events unfolded." Mr Bush will spend tonight at an undisclosed location after arriving aboard Air Force One at at 6.45pm. Tomorrow, he will receive a formal ceremonial welcome at Buckingham Palace. Later, the president is expected to address the Banqueting House before visiting a memorial to British September 11 victims. On Thursday he will meet Mr Blair and hold a joint press conference at the Foreign Office. It is thought Mr Bush will then fly to the Premier's Sedgefield constituency. He leaves on Friday.