Bush's "spirit" cursed with black magic, tossed into Thai river

BANGKOK, Oct 18 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush has been trapped in a clay pot and tossed into a river in northern Thailand -- or at least his spirit has 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 Friday by demonstrators after they rallied at the US consulate in Chiang Mai, a farm group leader said.

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"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, told AFP Saturday.

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.

The real Bush was scheduled to arrive in Bangkok for a state visit later Saturday before he joins 20 other world leaders for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit which begins Monday.

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This article is Copyright 2003 by Agence France-Presse.

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