LIMA, Peru (Islamweb & News Agencies) - Extending a hand to a shaken nation, President Bush declared Saturday that the United States would work to bolster "democratic foundations" in Peru as a means of fighting terrorism. He said the two nations share a common perspective on terrorist violence: "We must stop it."Toledo, for his part, said he and Bush share "the energy and the stubbornness" to combat terrorism without wavering.
Bush, the first U.S. president to visit Peru, arrived three days after a car bombing near the U.S. Embassy killed nine people and embarrassed the Peruvian government.
The terror attack on Wednesday loomed over Bush's visit. Security was heavy. Streets were filled with military tanks, armored cars, water cannons and 7,000 riot police and troops in camouflage. They stood watch over the thousands of Peruvians who braved the hot sun in shorts and flip-flops to smile and wave at the U.S. presidential motorcade.
Riot police firing tear gas dispersed dozens of anti-American demonstrators, and smoke billowed over a square near the Palace of Justice. There were no reports of injuries, but at least three men were seen being led away by uniformed police.
At the news conference, Bush offered condolences over the attack and announced 195 million in assistance for Peru this year, a threefold increase; 75 million of it would go toward counternarcotics and security. (Read photo caption below)
Afterward, Bush and Toledo met for an hour with the presidents of Bolivia and Colombia and the vice president of Ecuador, and then sat down to a fancy dinner in the palace conservatory.
In their meetings, the leaders discussed fighting drugs and terrorism and the prospects for Senate passage of an extension of the Andean Trade Preferences Act, said White House spokesman Sean McCormack.
PHOTO CAPTION:
President Bush and Peru's President Alejandro Toledo, as they arrive at the Government Palace in Lima, Peru, Saturday, March 23, 2002. Bush made the first visit by an American head of state to Peru, extending a hand to the terror-shaken nation as embattled leader Alejandro Toledo grapples with reawakened fears of guerrilla violence. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)