Posted on 05/27/2004 12:20:14 PM PDT by areafiftyone
ROME, May 27 (Reuters) - Italy will throw a security shield around U.S. President George W. Bush when he visits Rome next week, a government official said on Thursday amid growing fears that planned anti-war protests might turn violent.
Bush is coming to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Allies' liberation of Rome during World War Two, but the conflict in Iraq looks likely to cast a long shadow over the celebrations and could limit his movements.
Pacifists, far leftist parties and anti-globalisation activists have called for huge demonstrations to denounce U.S. operations in Iraq and Italy's support for the war.
Interior Ministry Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano told parliament there would be "maximum levels of protection for the U.S. delegation", but rejected calls from some quarters for the government to ban rallies during Bush's visit.
The U.S. president will stay in Rome for little more than 24 hours and is due to hold talks with staunch ally Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Pope John Paul.
Authorities have yet to announce Bush's full schedule, saying it is still being defined. However initial suggestions that the U.S. president might take part in public events on June 4 in the city centre appear to have fallen by the wayside.
"There's no point denying it, I'm worried about the atmosphere," said Achille Serra, the prefect of Rome who is responsible for security in the capital. "It's an unpleasant atmosphere," he told Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Two hooded activists, claiming to represent an assembly of anti-war groups, held a news conference earlier in the week to say they planned to penetrate the security zone around Bush.
REPEAT OF RIOTS
Officials fear a repeat of the violence seen at a summit of world leaders in the northern Italian port city of Genoa in 2001. Three days of riots left one anti-globalisation activist dead and hundreds of police and protesters injured.
Anxious to avoid being tarred by any possible mayhem, mainstream centre-left opposition parties have gone easy on calls for supporters to hit the streets next week, despite their outspoken criticism of the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
"The bloody events of Genoa have left their mark, and the on-going talks over the Anglo-American resolution at the United Nations have pushed the centre-left into a cautious stance that would have been unthinkable a few days ago," wrote Italy's leading newspaper Corriere della Sera in an editorial.
Rome's left-wing mayor, Walter Veltroni, called on Thursday for peaceful protests, such as a display of peace flags, which are a common sight hanging from windows throughout Italy.
From the other end of the political spectrum, Alessandra Mussolini, grand-daughter of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini who was forced to flee north when the Allies liberated southern Italy, said she might march against Bush.
"We Italians must not forget that our dead boys and those that are being held hostage by fundamentalist gangs, owe their fate to a wrong-headed war that Bush wanted," she said.
Four Italians were seized by Iraqi kidnappers near Baghdad last month and one was later shot dead. A further 20 Italians have been killed in Iraq since last November.
Since the end of World War Two, Italy has been a fervent supporter of the United States. However, the war in Iraq has polarised opinions and revelations of U.S. abuse in Iraqi jails has fuelled anti-American sentiment.
An opinion poll published by L'Espresso magazine on Thursday said 46 percent of Italians had negative views of Bush against just 24 percent who saw him in a positive light. Some 71 percent said they preferred his predecessor Bill Clinton.
In a sign of solidarity for the United States, former Italian President Francesco Cossiga had lunch at an American hamburger chain on Thursday and said he would do the same every day until Bush's arrival to show his support for U.S. values.
Notice how quiet the no-global luddites have been since 9/11 ?
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