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. News from Friday 22 March to 23 March 2002


President Bush to Hold Talks With Peru's Toledo

VOA News
23 Mar 2002 21:56 UTC
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President Bush is due to meet with his Peruvian counterpart, Alejandro Toledo, later Saturday in Lima for talks amidst heightened security following a deadly bombing earlier in the week.

 Bright sunlight greeted the U.S. president and first lady, as they left Air Force One after arriving Saturday in Peru to begin a new chapter in U.S.-Peruvian relations, as Mr. Bush becomes the first sitting U.S. president to visit the country.
 
 

AP Photo
AP
Anti-Bush protester in Lima 
Mr. Bush and Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo embraced each other warmly during a brief arrival ceremony. The two leaders have scheduled a joint news conference later tonight. More than 20,000 Peruvian police are on the highest state of alert during Mr. Bush's 17-hour visit. Sharpshooters are on rooftops and airspace over the capital has been restricted. Mr. Toledo says any unauthorized aircraft will be shot down.

 Demonstrators rallied in the capital, burning a U.S. flag and shouting anti-U.S. slogans. Police used tear gas to break up the crowds. No injuries were reported.
 
 

AP Photo
AP
Policeman at scene of car bomb explosion in front of U.S. embassy in Lima 
Several small devices also exploded in Lima shortly before President Bush's arrival.

 On Wednesday, a bombing in the capital near the U.S. Embassy killed nine people. President Toledo has offered a $1 million award for information leading to the arrest of those responsible.

 Investigators are considering whether Colombia's main leftist rebel group - the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - may have been behind the attack. During the visit, Mr. Bush is scheduled to meet with Mr. Toleldo and leaders from Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador for talks on expanding free trade and anti-narcotics efforts. Mr. Bush heads to El Salvador Sunday.

 In his weekly radio address Saturday, President Bush said the United States is strongly committed to helping build a hemisphere that "lives in liberty and trades in freedom."

 The president traveled to Peru from a U.N.-sponsored development summit in Monterrey, Mexico, where he urged wealthy countries to demand political reform from poor nations in exchange for increased aid. 

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.

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