siege up north

[Blank Frank]

QUEBEC — Police sealed off the
                             heart of old Quebec City on
                             Thursday, creating a heavily
                             guarded security zone to keep
                             protesters and possible violence
                             away from a summit of 34 leaders,
                             including President Bush. 

                             Forklifts hoisted concrete blocks
              topped with wire mesh into busy intersections, and
hundreds
              of police in bulletproof vests stood guard at spots along
the
              2.3-mile fence encircling meeting sites of the Summit of
the
              Americas. 

              More than 6,000 police officers will patrol the security
zone
              Friday through Sunday to guard against incursion by the
              expected 10,000 or more protesters. 

              Quebec City residents and demonstrators from around the
              world watched as the final pieces were dropped into place.
              Police are letting through only residents with special
passes
              and delegates, journalists and workers accredited for the
              meeting. 

              Protesters have dubbed the barrier the "Wall of Shame''
and
              liken to it to the Berlin Wall as a symbol of oppression
and
              division. Thousands of anti-globalization activists have
come
              to this picturesque 17th-century city, and organizers fear
the
              kind of violence that derailed trade talks in Seattle in
              December 1999. 

              But the first march of the week was peaceful. About 150
              people marched Thursday outside the Quebec provincial
              agriculture ministry and presented a list of concerns
about
              genetically modified food. A minister accepted the
              document. 

              The protesters represent a diverse range of activists —
              organized labor, human rights organizations, environmental
              groups and other who say the talks on creating a
free-trade
              zone should be in public instead of a locked-in conference
              center. 

              "The fence is a symbol of the destruction of our rights,''
said
              Clara Fogal, a director of the Defense of Canadian Liberty
              Committee, a human rights group. 

              Her group and others supported a lawsuit challenging the
              constitutionality of the wall. A judge agreed Wednesday
that
              the wall restricts personal rights, but said it was
justified
              because of the security risks. 

              Police cite concerns of Seattle-like violence to defend
the
              fence, which surrounds several acres of landmarks like the
              Chateau Frontenac hotel that dominates the old city
skyline
              and the provincial Parliament building. 

              Seven men have been arrested on charges of planning
              violence at the summit, and police seized military smoke
              grenades and small explosives. 

              The closest protesters can get to the convention center
              where the summit is being held is 100 yards across a
              cemetery, on Rue Saint-Jean. 

              Along the streets, shop windows were covered with plywood
              or metal screens Thursday in anticipation of unrest. 

              "The whole situation is deplorable. I'm going to keep my
kids
              inside the whole time. I may even leave town,'' said
Patricia
              Hamel, owner of the Collection Lazuli gift shop. 

              To stay open on Friday and Saturday, she said, she would
              need to hire security guards, and the protests would
probably
              scare away most customers anyway. 

              Local activists have made the wall a kind of bulletin
board for
              anti-free-trade and anti-U.S. sentiments. Among the
slogans
              spraypainted throughout the city are "Bush Go Home,''
              "Berlin'' in reference to the wall that divided East and
West
              Germany for decades, and "Viva Cuba'' in support of the
only
              hemispheric country barred from the summit for its lack of
              democratic elections. 

              Plastic flowers and colorful balloons are attached
elsewhere. 

              Protests also are planned far from Quebec City, with
              marches or blockades threatened in other Canadian and
              U.S. cities and in Tijuana, Mexico, near the border with
              California. 

              Cyberprotests also could occur. The Electrohippie
Collective
              says it is targeting Web sites connected with the summit
for
              protest activity — most likely a flood of e-mail that
would
              hamper operation of the sites.