We all need to be there notwithstanding all their efforts to prevent our attendance.
http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/americas/07/...r.ap/index.html
GENOA, Italy (AP) -- After a three-day summit marred by violent protests, world leaders agreed Sunday to meet next year in a remote, 2,400-square-mile park in the Canadian Rockies west of Calgary.
Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, host of the 2002 Group of Eight summit, said the serenity of the Kananaskis park would encourage a spirit of informality. The leaders of the United States, Britain, France, Japan, Italy, Canada, Germany and Russia are scheduled to meet June 26-28.
"We have decided to change the format of the summit," Chretien said. "It is supposed to be an informal meeting of leaders. I was at previous meetings, and it was more manageable."
The remote location, 40 miles west of Calgary, also would discourage the presence of anti-globalization demonstrators, whose violent protests overshadowed the work of the Genoa summit and raised questions whether the annual meetings should continue.
"Everyone feels the G8 has to continue," Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi said. French President Jacques Chirac observed: "It is necessary to return to the original spirit of these summits."
To reduce the media-circus atmosphere, each delegation will be limited to about 30 members. Chretien said the hotel in Kananaskis has room for only 350 delegates. If more want to go, "they'll have to bring their sleeping bags."
An estimated 2,000 delegation members -- including staff assistants, communications personnel and security officers -- descended on Genoa. Italian authorities mustered 20,000 police officers to protect them.
Those who make it to the park are promised a "diverse landscape" of rolling, forested foothills and snow-covered mountains, according to the local visitor's bureau.
Chretien said some leaders were excited about the Canadian Rockies location. "I had no problems to convince them at all that this is what was needed," he said.
Berlusconi said the Canadians had urged a slimmed-down summit even before the Genoa riots.
Nevertheless, a major selling point for Kananaskis was the chance to avoid the tens of thousands of protesters who have disrupted major international gatherings since the 1999 World Trade Organization conference in Seattle, Washington.
During the Genoa summit, one person was killed, about 450 were injured and about 150 were arrested. This picturesque Mediterranean port, chosen as the summit venue two years ago by Italy's left-wing former government, was a breeding ground for left-wing terrorists in the 1970s.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he didn't care where the leaders meet -- as long as they could do so without the threat of anarchists.
"It would not be just a mistake but a very dangerous thing if the leaders, democratically elected leaders, felt unable to come together to discuss issues which are of vital importance to our people," Blair said.
Copyright 2001 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
(Edited by army of 12 monkeys at 8:26 pm on July 25, 2001)
(Edited by army of 12 monkeys at 12:10 am on July 26, 2001)
(Edited by army of 12 monkeys at 12:11 am on July 26, 2001)