Pope Presses Bush on Iraq Amid Muted Rome Protest

By Rachel Sanderson and Steve Holland  |  June 4, 2004

ROME (Reuters) - Pope John Paul and anti-war protesters delivered a common message to President Bush when he visited Rome on Friday -- return Iraq to Iraqis.

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Thousands marched across the city massed behind a large banner reading "No War -- No Bush."

Riot police with shields and batons scuffled with small groups of masked protesters, some of whom threw bottles and flares, but there were no reports of serious injuries or major clashes of the sort that marred a G8 summit in Italy in 2001.

On his three-day European trip, Bush will seek international support for his Iraq mission as well as commemorating the June 1944 liberation of Rome and D-Day invasion of Normandy.

The pope, who strongly opposed the U.S.-led war in Iraq, told Bush of his concern about the "grave unrest" in the Middle East. He called for the "speedy return of Iraq's sovereignty."

"It is the evident desire of everyone that this situation now be normalized as quickly as possible with the active participation of the international community and, in particular, the United Nations organization," the 84-year-old pontiff said.

Bush responded by telling the pope he would work for "human liberty and human dignity." He made no direct mention of Iraq or the prison abuse scandal that angered the Vatican.

Bush's visit was timed to commemorate the liberation of Rome by Allied forces 60 years ago, but it is the actions of a new generation of U.S. soldiers in Iraq that have raised passions.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has been a staunch ally of Bush, said the demonstration against the U.S. leader had been "a flop" and had attracted only a few thousand protesters.

The organizers of the march said 200,000 people participated. Police put the number at 25,000.

NO REPEAT OF GENOA

Fears of a repeat of the mayhem that marred a G8 summit in Genoa in July 2001 had led Italy to bolster security massively.

"People were frightened," said Monica, a 20-year-old student from Turin. "With thousands of police, people were scared it would be like Genoa."

A few masked protesters threw bottles at riot police and skirmished with other protesters, while others blocked traffic, set dustbins alight, lit flares and daubed slogans on walls. One group carried an American flag defaced with a swastika.

The protesters were kept away from Bush, whose motorcade of around 20 vehicles swept past lines of riot police.

A video message this week from a group holding three Italian hostages in Iraq calling for a massive demonstration against Bush may have deterred many from joining the march.

Most Italians opposed last year's invasion of Iraq and many want Rome to withdraw its 2,700 troops stationed there, a move Berlusconi's government has rejected.

"I'm here to show my revulsion of our Fuehrer George Bush and his servant Berlusconi," said Giorgio Faleri, a 25-year-old student from Pisa who was carrying an Iraqi flag.

Bush presented the pope with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian award, at their first meeting since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

Pictures of the visit may help woo Catholic voters in Bush's November re-election bid.

Bush later laid a wreath at the Ardeatine Caves, site of one of the worst World War II massacres in Italy.

Alessandra Mussolini, grand-daughter of Italy's wartime dictator Benito Mussolini, said Bush's visit was inappropriate and a publicity stunt for Berlusconi before European elections.

"The U.S. president has also come at a delicate time while the negotiations to free the Italian hostages are underway," Ansa news agency quoted her as adding.

Bush's biggest goal on his weekend trip -- which takes him away from a political storm in Washington after the resignation of the head of the CIA -- will be to try to overcome differences on a new U.N. resolution endorsing Iraq's caretaker government.

On Saturday Bush is due to meet Berlusconi again before flying to France for talks with French President Jacques Chirac, hoping to warm relations strained over Iraq. He will attend D-Day anniversary ceremonies in Normandy on Sunday. (Additional reporting by Philip Pullella, Caren Bohan, Roberto Landucci, Antonio Denti, Gabriele Pileri, Francesca Piscioneri, Robin Pomeroy)