World
 
|
Building a wall around US a 'huge error': Mexican president-elect
AFP
OTTAWA
Petroleumworld.com 10 27 06The United States committed a "huge error" in choosing to build a wall between itself and its southern neighbor, Mexico's president-elect Felipe Calderon said Thursday during a state visit to Canada, comparing it with the Berlin Wall.
"The wall will not solve any problem. Humanity made a huge mistake by building the Berlin Wall, and I believe that today the United States is committing a grave error in building the wall on our border," he said.
US President George W. Bush on Thursday signed into law a bill authorizing construction of a 1,100-kilometer (700-mile) fence along a third of the US border with Mexico.
Some 1.2 billion dollars in funding were earmarked for the fence, in a bid to stanch the steady flow of illegal immigrants into the United States.
Calderon said the fence would be expensive to US taxpayers and lead to more Mexican deaths. Some 400 Mexicans died trying to cross the border last year, he noted.
Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he accepts US concerns about a safe and secure border, but added: "We obviously caution against things that can cause unnecessary barriers, not just to trade, but to the ordinary exchange of tourism and social relationships between our countries."
AFP 26 1812 GMT 10 06
Copyright ©2006 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
Your
feedback is important to us!
We invite all our readers to share with us
their views and comments about this article.
Write to editor@petroleumworld.com
Any
question or suggestions, please write to:
editor@petroleumworld.com
Best
Viewed with IE
5.01+
Windows
NT 4.0, '95, '98 and ME +/ 800x600 pixels