Bush's 'spirit' cursed with black magic,
tossed into river
October 19, 2003
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/10/18/1066364541599.html
The spirit of US President George W Bush
has been trapped in a clay pot and tossed
into a river in northern Thailand after
being cursed by hundreds of farmers
protesting US agriculture policy.
A photograph of the US leader was sealed
inside a pot amid black magic mantra
chants, then tossed into the Ping River on
Friday by demonstrators after they rallied
at the US consulate in Chiang Mai, a farm
group leader said.
"This is a traditional northern Thai
ceremony aimed at keeping his spirit down
on the riverbed so he could not come and
exploit our natural resources or suppress
our (farming) brothers with his superior
influence," Weerasak Wan-ubol, an executive
of the Northern Farmers Alliance, said today.
The 300 protesters, claiming to represent
20,000 members from seven northern
provinces, railed against imminent plans
for a free-trade agreement between Thailand
and the United States.
The act was also a protest against
Washington's military intervention in
sovereign nations, the Bangkok Post reported.
A respected elder performed the voodoo
rites, inscribing ancient Khmer scripts on
the pot, aimed at trapping the spirit of
the US president.
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