Internationale media over bezoek Bush aan Margraten

Het bezoek van president Bush aan Zuid-Limburg, waar hij later vandaag aankomt, blijft niet opgemerkt door de internationale pers. Een zoekactie op het woord Margraten op Google News levert meer dan 140 resultaten op (en dat v??rdat het bezoek heeft plaatsgevonden). Een selectie:

USA Today - Grateful Dutch still honor fallen Americans:

Ginger Gregory last saw her father when she was 4, when he left Lumpkin, Ga., to fight World War II in Europe. She never saw his coffin and never laid flowers at his grave, in a Dutch cemetery named Margraten.

Martin Salden, who was born the year Gregory's father died, visits the grave for her. Salden, who lives in nearby Kerkrade, says he is grateful to the American who died so he can be free.

American Forces Information Service (Verenigde Staten) - Commemorations to Honor 60th V-E Day Anniversary:

A full lineup of commemorations is scheduled to kick off this weekend in observation of the 60th anniversary of V-E - for "Victory in Europe" - Day, the end of World War II there.

President Bush will visit the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, Netherlands, May 8 to honor the shared sacrifice of millions of Americans and Europeans to defeat Nazi aggression in Europe. Joining him will be Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and Jan Peter Balkenende, prime minister of the Netherlands.

San Francisco Chronicle (Verenigde Staten) - Bush Begins EU Tour With Tricky Terrain:

On Sunday, he visits the Netherlands, where he is deeply unpopular because of his decision to go to war in Iraq ? and later because of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal and the indeterminate detention of terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Cortez Journal (Verenigde Staten) - Far from home, but not forgotten:

Dorr was born in 1914 in Steamboat Springs and died at age 30. He was a tank gunner operating a vehicle-mounted .50 caliber machine gun during a prisoner pick-up mission in Unna, Germany. His contingency was fired upon by Nazi troops who were unaware of the beginnings of surrender.

"The Army said the (German) officers in charge knew of a surrender," Goodall explained, "but word didn't make it down to the (gunmen)."

Dorr participated in the reduction of the Saar-Moselle Salient under Gen. George Patton's 3rd Army. Following his death, the military said, " (Dorr) fought courageously to protect his companions until mortally wounded." He was later awarded the Purple Heart and Silver Star for his service.

Dorr was buried in Margraten, The Netherlands, at the World War II Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial.

On Sunday, President Bush will be the first American leader ever to visit the memorial, where he will offer remarks commemorating the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. Also scheduled to attend is Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands and Netherlands' Prime Minister, Dr. Jan Peter Balkenende.

Goodall, who has never visited the Margraten cemetery, expressed pride in her father's burial location.

"He was a proud man," she said. "My mother always said he would have wanted to be buried there."

The Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial is the only national cemetery in the Netherlands. It lies in the village of Margraten, which is six miles east of Maastricht. There are 8,301 U.S. soldiers buried at the location.

The site has a rich historical background, lying near the famous Cologne-Boulogne Highway, which was originally built by the Romans and used by Caesar during his campaign in that era. The highway was also used by Charlemagne, Charles V, Napoleon and Kaiser Wilhelm II, according to the Memorial's Web site.

In May 1940, Adolf Hitler's legions advanced over the route of the old Roman highway, overwhelming local military forces. In September 1944, German troops again used the highway to withdraw from the countries that were occupied during the four-year period.

For the last couple of years, a family friend of Goodall, Pat Castle, has been working as a Defense Department contractor in Schinnen, The Netherlands. His home happens to be just 10 minutes from the Margraten memorial.

Soon after arriving in Holland, Castle recalled Goodall's story of her father being buried there. He visited the memorial, and with the help of the facility's director found Dorr's grave and took some pictures for the Goodall family.

Castle, who grew up in Bear Creek, located between Dolores and Rico, said visiting the memorial has been one of the most memorable things he's done since living in Europe.

Voice of America (Verenigde Staten) - AWACS Planes to Patrol Latvian, Dutch Skies During Bush Visit:

NATO early warning surveillance aircraft will patrol the skies over alliance members Latvia and the Netherlands when President Bush visits the two countries later this week.

An alliance statement Wednesday, says NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft, commonly called AWACS, will monitor airspace over the two countries from Friday to Sunday at the request of their governments.

The Daily Star Online (New York) - Walton soldier?s grave adopted:

A teenager in the Netherlands who adopted the grave of a Walton teen killed during World War II is searching for information about the soldier.

Rick Mommers, 18, sent an e-mail to various people and organizations, including The Daily Star and the Delaware County Historical Association, seeking information about Pfc. Alfred G. Corgan.

Corgan died almost 60 years ago, April 12, 1945, less than a month before the war ended in Europe on May 8, 1945. Corgan entered the service Feb. 11, 1944, and left for overseas duty in August 1944. He was a paratrooper.

Mommers wrote, "At the American Military Cemetery in the town called Margraten, I adopted the grave of Alfred Corgan. He lived in Walton, Delaware County. He was fighting for our freedom during the Second World War."

Mommers adopted Corgan?s grave after a school trip to the military cemetery in Margraten, where he heard that it was possible to adopt the graves.

Expatica (Nederland) - Limburg 'ready' for Bush
visit amid tight security

The province of Limburg finalised security measures on Friday as the Netherlands geared up for the weekend visit of US President George W. Bush.

"We're ready," Maastricht Mayor Gerd Leers said.

Intense security measures have been taken in Margraten, Maastricht and Valkenburg, where city mayors have imposed emergency ordinances.

The bylaws will be in force from 8am on Friday to 4pm on Sunday and are considered necessary due to a serious fear of "the disruption of public order, partly due to announced large-scale demonstrations by various groups".

Protestors will be locked up in the Overmaze prison in Maastricht if they breach the ordinances as the police intend to apply the regulations strictly.

It is extremely busy in the region. All hotels in southern Limburg are booked, with Leers estimating that 6,000 beds have been filled. Among the guests are the hundreds of US security personnel and journalists.

Khaleej Times (Verenigde Arabische Emiraten) - Symbolism in Bush visit:

PRESIDENT Bush's current visit to Europe will be marked more for its symbolism. His visit is, on paper, meant to make America's presence felt at a Red Square event marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II.

But, it will also turn out to be an occasion for him to stress his main global mission in his second term as president, namely to encourage and support the progress of democracy and freedom around the world.

Bush's aides say there is no hidden message in the president's visit, though he has, apart from Russia, included in his itinerary two countries that were once under the Soviet leadership ? Latvia and Georgia. Bush has made it clear, in a radio interview, how he would highlight freedom and democracy issues during the visit. He would, for one, tell Putin that the end of the War didn't bring freedom for the Baltics ? Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which came under Soviet control in 1940, followed by a brief interruption, and final incorporation with the Soviet Union in 1944; a situation that lasted nearly half a century. As for the cause of democracy, Bush, praised the Baltic countries ? now with the EU and taking a pro-democracy and pro-West stand ? for their support in making a success of the Orange Revolution in Ukraine.

Japan Today (Japan) - Bush arrives in Latvia:

U.S. President George W Bush arrived in the Latvian capital of Riga on Friday night on the first leg of a four-nation trip which will also take him to the Netherlands, Russia and Georgia.

Bush will talk with Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga and leaders of Estonia and Lithuania on Saturday about the war on terrorism and his strategy of spreading freedom and democracy.

The Anatolian Times - US President starts tour to mark World War II:

US President George W. Bush has arrived in the Latvian capital Riga at the start of a visit to Europe and Russia to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II.

On Saturday Bush flies to the Netherlands to pay tribute to American soldiers who died in World War II, before attending ceremonies in Moscow to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the world's deadliest conflict on May 9.

The Russian event was controversial for the Baltic peoples, because the date marked the start of nearly 50 years of Soviet occupation of their countries.