南華早報 - (Mr Angry missing from front line)
2005-12-15 EDT EDT6 MARY ANN BENITEZ
French anti-globalisation hero Jose Bove has been nowhere near the clashes between police and anti-<<>> demonstrators in the past two days. He has been far from the madding crowd, giving interviews instead.
Mr Bove, known for his campaign against the McDonaldisation of food, founded the leftist French farmers' organisation Conf嶮廨ation Paysanne and also belongs to the international peasants' organisation La Via Campesina.
Mr Bove's notoriety preceded him when he landed at Chek Lap Kok on Monday night and was detained for six hours.
He was threatened with deportation, but was eventually admitted to <<>> when French consul-general Jean-Pierre Thebault intervened with Director of Immigration Lai Tung-kwok.
Mr Bove, an accredited NGO representative at the <<>> ministerial meeting, said he was aware of the protest actions of South Korean farmers, adding that he was not sure whether their anger would escalate this week.
He said the Korean Peasants League was part of La Via Campesina and he met representatives last week in Seoul.
We came here together, so I know them very well. They are not violent ... They show what is the reality of the situation, and last week three of them committed suicide because it was impossible for them to live with the conditions with <<>>, he said.
But Mr Bove said he had not joined the protest marches.
I was not there on Tuesday because I was giving a direct interview with French radio. It was exactly at the same time.
We have to communicate with the French people. It is part of my work to explain what is happening at the <<>> and this is very important for people to understand.
It is impossible to do two things at the same time. If you give me the way, I can do both.
He said violence was not a solution. What I saw on television, when compared with other protests overseas, the march was very peaceful.
He said the clash on Tuesday between police and the Korean protesters was nothing.
Everywhere in the world I have seen such a thing. What happened on Tuesday was really nothing. There was only one spray, a little moment. Then it was met by a very aggressive police reaction.
Yesterday, Mr Bove was at the Convention and Exhibition Centre to protest with 30 other international NGO representatives against the world's biggest producer of genetically modified foods, Monsanto. He organised a rendezvous with <<>> director-eneral Pascal Lamy to give him some organic fruit and vegetables, telling him they would disappear if the practice of GM food continued around the world.
Nothing is coming out of <<>>. There are so many contradictions it is going to be impossible for something to come out of the meeting.
If something comes out ... I am not sure it will be good for developing countries. It will be a bad situation - that is why we are helping developing countries to resist the developed countries.
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