
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, December 5, 1993                   TAG: 9312050044
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: GENEVA                                LENGTH: Short

FARMERS GATHER TO PROTEST GATT

Farmers from around the world demonstrated Saturday against "American imperialism" and the GATT trade accord they fear will ruin hundreds of millions of farmers and uproot centuries-old traditions.

The accord, sponsored by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, aims to cut farm production and export subsidies, roll back trade barriers and end outright import bans on products such as rice.

"GATTASTROPHE," read one banner, summing up the mood of the estimated 3,000 demonstrators. Most were from France and Switzerland.

Police in riot gear sealed off the entrance to GATT headquarters and fired tear gas to disperse bottle-throwing demonstrators who tried to force their way through the barricades. No injuries or arrests were reported.

The protesters, who carried another banner that read "Let Us Unite Against U.S. Blackmail," included contingents from Europe, Japan, India and Canada.

A small delegation had a "short and to-the-point" meeting with GATT director-general Peter Sutherland, who told them their objections were unfounded, a GATT official said.

Negotiators preparing the groundwork for a meeting Monday between European and American trade officials in Brussels were tight-lipped. "No questions," insisted Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Rufus Yerxa when spotted by a reporter as he mingled incognito among the protesters.

by CNB