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CNN Sunday Morning

Streets are Calm in Quebec City

Aired April 22, 2001 - 08:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The centerpiece of the summit of the Americas, which is in its second and final day in Quebec City, as we just told you, may be the so-called democracy clause. That requires trade partners to adhere to democratic principles. But much of the attention has been outside the summit where a medley of groups and causes has been going toe to toe with security forces since Friday.

CNN's Lucia Newman joins us from Quebec City with the latest.

Good morning, Lucia.

LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles. Well, right now, the streets of Quebec are very, very quiet. Most people staying out of the rain. Even the Canadian riot police, which have been deployed all around the perimeter of the Congress Center where the summit is taking place, are staying pretty much out of sight. A lot of them huddled in fact inside of buses to stay out of the rain.

Nevertheless, they are prepared for more confrontations -- more of the confrontations that kept them busy all through the night yesterday and throughout much of the day of course. They repeatedly clashed with protesters who tried on numerous occasions to break through the perimeter.

Police had to use tear gas and water cannons to keep them at bay. In fact, you can see here on the screen, a yellow fan, a kind of a turbine that was used by the police to push the wind towards -- the tear gas rather towards the protesters and away from the Congress Center where world leaders were gathering.

Now while all of these clashes were going on, the 34 heads of state from North, South, Central America and the Caribbean were still inside the Congress Center. Last night, they attended a galled dinner and a performance by the Cirque de Soleil. As you can see here, this is Canada's famous circus.

Throughout today, however, they will be meeting again for a working session to put the final touches on a political declaration called the Declaration of Quebec. It is here where they are expected to commit themselves towards working to signing and finishing at least a treaty, a hemispheric free trade treaty for the Americas by the year 2005.

One of the highlights of this, of course, the democratic clause, which will oblige all the signatories to remain as democratic countries, to have democratic governments. Otherwise, they would not eligible to enjoy the benefits of free trade.

Now, at this very moment, President George Bush is attending a church service with the First Lady nearby. We see him arriving here at the church. And in about an hour from now, he will be returning to the Congress Center and joining the rest of his colleagues from the Americas to complete the Declaration of Quebec -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Lucia Newman in Quebec City thank you very much. Our coverage of the summit continues throughout the morning. In about 10 minutes, an international journalist will be joining us for his perspective on the summit, the protesters and how both sides might be accomplishing their goals.

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