``I respect the right to peaceful expression, but make no mistake -- those who protest free trade are no friends of the poor. Those who protest free trade seek to deny them their best hope for escaping poverty,'' Bush said in a speech at the World Bank.

Bush's remarks represented an escalation of administration rhetoric against the protests and a reflection of concern over the impact of disruptive, sometimes violent street protests over trade and globalization that have accompanied many recent gatherings of international leaders.

``It really is becoming a modern fact of summitry and it's becoming an unfortunate part of summitry that violence is becoming a standard, not by the protesters but by others whose cause is not peaceful protest but willful violence. And that distorts the goals of the summit,'' White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters after the speech.

Bush leaves on Wednesday for Europe, where he will participate in the annual G8 summit of major industrial nations plus Russia in the Italian port of Genoa, from Friday to Sunday. A major theme of the summit will be global poverty relief, and U.S. officials have denied that the theme is meant as a response to the previous protests.

Some 15,000 armed police are bracing for what protest organizers say could be as many at 200,000 demonstrators in Genoa.

Bush was speaking on Tuesday at the World Bank to outline U.S. anti-poverty initiatives for the summit including a proposal to shift Wold Bank funding for development in the poorest nations from lending to up to 50 percent grants.

Bush also said he was hoping for broad agreement to launch a new round of trade talks under the World Trade Organization, a principal focus of the protests.

Anti-globalization protesters contend a march toward globalization of business and elimination of trade barriers exploits workers in developing countries and harms the environment.

The protesters, Bush said, ``seek to shut down meetings because they want to shut down trade.''

``Legitimate concerns about labor standards, the environment, (and) economic dislocation should be and will be addressed. But we must reject a protectionism that blocks the path of prosperity for developing countries. We must reject policies that would condemn them to permanent poverty,'' he said.

Copyright © 2001 Reuters Limited

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