US embassy cable - 04OTTAWA3258

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 003258 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/02/2009 
TAGS: CA, PGOV, PREL, ASEC 
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT BUSH VISIT BRINGS TOGETHER DISPARATE 
ARRAY OF DEMONSTRATORS 
 
Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Brian Flora, reasons 1.4 (b 
) (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary: Preparations were in place for large protests 
during the visit of President Bush but in the end it was a 
small, albeit at times unruly lot that demonstrated.  The 
stalwarts, such as the Raging Grannies and "No War/No to 
Bush" coalition, were paralleled by anarchists and others, 
but overall there did not seem to be widespread popular 
support for the anti-Bush display.  There were no more than 
5,000 total in Ottawa, with some 4,000 overall in Halifax. 
Demonstrators were of two persuasions, one group reasonably 
orderly and passive, and another group that engaged in 
sporadic incidents of violence throughout the two-day visit 
which left ten policemen hospitalized.  The modest numbers 
appear to reflect an inability by protest organizers to 
develop a compelling theme more than anything, but may also 
show the practical side to Canadians, and a desire to move 
beyond particular policies and see bilateral relations 
improve more broadly.  End Summary 
 
Raging Grannies and Belly Dancers vs. Bush 
------------------------------------------ 
 
2. (U) Police and public security officials were braced for 
the worst in Ottawa during the President,s visit but in the 
end the demonstrations were modest in size, although at times 
violent.  There appeared to be a good deal of mobilizing in 
the week preceding the visit, with &No to Bush8 and &Rally 
Against BMD8 posters all over the city and protest websites 
reporting large numbers of hits.  There was talk of 
largescale bussing from other cities.  Some organizers were 
hoping for numbers in the tens of thousands and while 
expressing the desire for a peaceful protest, did not promise 
there wouldn,t be conflict.  Police brought in hundreds of 
officers from Toronto and other districts and riot police 
were staged throughout the central downtown district. 
 
3. (U) But lack of information on scheduling and the 
motorcade, as well as an apparent weak interest, apparently 
helped disrupt the plans of the disrupters.  One key rally 
was set to start at noon in front of Parliament, just about 
when the Bush party was leaving the grounds.  There were no 
more than 400 demonstrators on the grounds when the President 
met with PM Martin in Centre Block.  The crowd grew 
throughout the day and by evening there were several thousand 
protestors milling about downtown.  By then there were 
apparently two groups -- one largely passive and contained, 
and another looking for a fight.  One protest leader 
apparently defused a possible conflict when he successfully 
used a bullhorn to ask protestors to move back from the 
barricades while other groups threw objects at the police and 
engaged in shoving matches with public security officers. 
There were several incidents when the riot police had to push 
back against the crowd and a handful of arrests, but overall 
the protests were peaceful and orderly.  The rowdiest crowd 
showed up at the Hotel Chateau Laurier as the delegation left 
Ottawa December 1, doing mild damage to the outside of the 
building and putting ten policemen in the hospital (this 
unfortunately was the kind of incident CNN focused on). 
 
4. (U) In Halifax there was a similar crowd of about 4,000 
that staged outside the immigration museum where the 
President delivered his speech.  They had common themes of 
&No War8 and &Bush Go Home,8 but were, like their Ottawa 
counterparts, fairly subdued. 
 
Five Finger Waves 
----------------- 
 
5. (U) In both Ottawa and Halifax there were also scattered 
Bush supporters who did their best to ensure the President 
saw their positive message.  One group was given a tip by the 
local police and staged outside the airport on the motorcade 
route.  They were given a thumbs up sign by the President, 
who later thanked them for their &five finger salute8 in 
his speech. 
 
6. (C) What appeared to hurt the demonstrators most was a 
general lack of any theme.  Some commentators have suggested 
that there will, for any event, be a hard-core of 
&professional protestors.8   The Raging Grannies are fairly 
reliable, one of whom said she was protesting because of 
President Bush's stand on homosexuality, Iraq, and missile 
defense (this sort of potpourri of issues led one commentator 
to complain that protestors were &inventing protest.")  The 
Belly Dancers Against Bush were nowhere to be seen and did 
not make a statement after the visit (they do tend to be more 
active in the summer for obvious reasons).  One of the key 
groups was &No War8 and &No to Bush,8 a coalition that 
grew out of the run-up to the Iraq war and focuses on Iraq 
and missile defense.  But there was little intelligent 
discourse on Iraq either during or after the visit, and other 
than demanding a pull-out from Iraq, the demonstrators had 
little to say.  There were also anarchists and other violent 
protestors sprinkled in, including some anti-Semitic skinhead 
type groups who were responsible for the violence that 
accompanied the protests.  All of this contrasts distinctly 
with the 20,000 demonstrators who came out to oppose the 
invasion of Iraq in 2003 when they may have believed their 
voice, and their numbers, would count. 
 
7. (C) Missile defense was the one theme that got people out 
with a coherent and manageable message.  There was a small 
demonstration on the Saturday preceding the visit against 
Canadian participation in the BMD program, which had fewer 
than a hundred demonstrators on Parliament Hill in a very 
well-organized display.  Anti-BMD demonstrators and themes 
were also sprinkled in the crowds during the visit. 
 
Jack Layton Multi-Tasks 
----------------------- 
 
8. (C) NDP,s Jack Layton was the only party leader to get 
involved in the protests.  Layton used party funds to hire an 
auto-dialing telemessage service to call 2000 Ottawa-area NDP 
supporters to encourage them to attend a candlelight vigil on 
Parliament Hill.  He also gave them the times and locations 
for several protests throughout the day.  Ironically, Layton 
went from the Parliament Hill protest directly to the 
President,s reception at the Museum of Civilization.  (Or 
perhaps not so ironically, since Layton apparently used his 
time with US officials to continue his protest against BMD). 
 
9. (C) Comment: The President,s visit was a good time to 
take stock of popular opposition to U.S. policies.  In the 
end an optimist could be somewhat encouraged.  One columnist 
went so far as to suggest that the protests were so small as 
to be embarrassing and &President Bush deserved a better 
show.8   While there is still widespread antipathy for 
certain U.S. policies here and for the current administration 
in particular, there is also a rising sense that the 
bilateral relationship is simply too important to allow such 
antipathy to overcome traditional Canadian practicality and 
it is time to move forward. 
 
Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa 
 
DICKSON