[R-G] 4 arrested outside Bush's speaking engagement in Calgary

[Anthony Fenton]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2009/03/17/cgy-bush-speech-calgary.html?ref=rss

4 arrested outside Bush's speaking engagement in Calgary
Former president charms crowd with humour, insights
Last Updated: Tuesday, March 17, 2009 | 6:32 PM MT

Four people were arrested in downtown Calgary on Tuesday during a  
protest outside the building where former U.S. president George W.  
Bush was making his first official speech since leaving office.

Two men were charged with obstructing a peace officer and resisting  
arrest. Another man was charged with breaching the peace, while the  
fourth was issued a ticket for violating a public behaviour bylaw,  
said Duty Insp. Rob Williams of Calgary police.

Bush addressed an invitation-only crowd of about 1,500 at the Telus  
Convention Centre in his first speech since leaving office. Tickets  
were reported to cost $400 per person. Media were not allowed inside.

About 200 protesters crowded around the entrance of the convention  
centre in the morning, heckling ticket holders and chanting "go home."

"I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to publicly voice my  
displeasure with the American foreign policy" under Bush, said Jeff  
Gaillus, who was carrying a rod with a shoe at the end of it. "I'm not  
sure what he has to tell us to shed wisdom on the future of the planet."
'The criminal is inside'

One protester, who told CBC News he was "making a statement," tossed a  
plastic flip-flop sandal, which hit a building. Police handcuffed him  
and put him inside a police van, saying he was going to be ticketed.

"What are you doing arresting that man? The criminal is inside,"  
shouted a protester while others chanted, "Let him go."
Police arrest a man in a Calgary intersection.Police arrest a man in a  
Calgary intersection. (CBC)

Several people used shoes as props during the protest, a nod to an  
incident in December 2008 in which an Iraqi journalist hurled two  
shoes at Bush during a news conference in Baghdad. Bush ducked, and  
the shoes never made contact with their target. Nevertheless, the  
journalist, Muntazer al-Zaidi, was sentenced last week to three years  
in prison for assaulting a foreign head of state during an official  
visit.

A lineup of people holding tickets to the event — the majority wearing  
business suits — stretched about two city blocks Tuesday morning, but  
they were inside the building by 1 p.m. MT, a delay of half an hour.

Security was tight as all guests were searched before entering the  
hall. Calgary police said they assigned a total of 79 officers,  
including traffic units, to the event.

Among those waiting to hear Bush speak were Senator Pamela Wallin,  
former Alberta energy minister Murray Smith, CBC hockey broadcaster  
Kelly Hrudey, former Alberta premier Ralph Klein and Calgary aldermen  
John Mar and Ric McIver.
A person dressed as a Guantanamo Bay prisoner tried to use a jury- 
rigged cannon device to fire shoes out onto Stephen Avenue Mall, but  
police stepped in.A person dressed as a Guantanamo Bay prisoner tried  
to use a jury-rigged cannon device to fire shoes out onto Stephen  
Avenue Mall, but police stepped in. (Andree Lau/CBC)

"You might not agree with eight years of the policies of Bush… but if  
he is here, might as well hear what he has to say," said Paul Dhillon,  
who was waiting in line to go into the event.

After the almost one-hour speech and question-and-answer session,  
attendees said Bush was candid and warmed the crowd with self- 
deprecating humour, joking that Calgary was one of the few places that  
would have him.

"This is my maiden voyage. My first speech since I was the president  
of the United States, and I couldn't think of a better place to give  
it than Calgary, Canada," the 43rd U.S. president said to largely  
friendly audience.

Bush defended his reasons for invading Iraq and Afghanistan as the  
appropriate approach to spreading democracy.
A lineup of people holding tickets to the event stretched about two  
city blocks Tuesday morning.A lineup of people holding tickets to the  
event stretched about two city blocks Tuesday morning. (Andree Lau/CBC)

"He said if we were in his boots in 9/11, a short time after he got  
in, there was a big demand to do something, and he had to react and he  
reacted," said George Fink, CEO of Bonterra Oil and Gas.

Bush also touched on the current economic slump, warning against too  
much government intervention.

"It's the risk takers, not the government, that is going to pull us  
out of this recession," he told the crowd. "I'm a free trader to the  
core."

Attendee John Owen said the address was interesting. "You get the  
sense that he genuinely believes in what he's saying… whether or not  
you believe or agree with him."
Shoes thrown at Bush billboard

Critics of Bush's visit held small demonstrations leading up to his  
speech, calling for his arrest as a war criminal for his alleged  
sanctioning of torture at U.S. military prisons in Iraq and Guantanamo  
Bay, Cuba.
Protesters threw shoes at a billboard image of George W. Bush outside  
the Telus Convention Centre, where the former U.S. president was  
speaking.Protesters threw shoes at a billboard image of George W. Bush  
outside the Telus Convention Centre, where the former U.S. president  
was speaking. (Andree Lau/CBC)

The protesters included a person dressed as a Guantanamo Bay prisoner  
who tried to use a jury-rigged cannon device to fire shoes in front of  
the convention centre, but police moved her further away down Stephen  
Avenue Mall.

Another protester, Doug Beck, who was wearing work boots around his  
neck and carrying several other pairs with his hands, called it  
"performance art."

"Four hundred dollars a plate? They've got to think of something  
better [to do] with that money," Beck said, pointing to the lineup.

Protesters made speeches denouncing Bush and his decision to invade  
Iraq and ended the rally by hurling shoes at a billboard with a poster  
of the former president's face.

"We don't agree with his actions," said Heather Hendrie, who attended  
the protests.

Bush was scheduled to speak "on eight momentous years in the Oval  
Office" and "the challenges facing the world in the 21st century,"  
according to promotional materials for the event.

Organizers Andy McCreath and Christian Darbyshire reportedly paid  
former U.S. president Bill Clinton $150,000 for a March 2006 speech in  
Edmonton and have hired Lance Armstrong and Colin Powell for other  
high-profile speaking engagements in the past.
With files from Andree Lau and the Canadian Press