Wednesday, October 18 8:43 PM SGT
Campaigners and officials meet ahead of ASEM demonstrations SEOUL, Oct 18 (AFP) - Anti-globalisation campaigners on Wednesday met organisers of this week's Asia-Europe summit for landmark disussions aimed at avoiding the running street battles which have marked such global conferences recently.
Senior government officials from a number of countries participating in the third Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) spent nearly an hour in closed-door discussions with the campaigners.
Although ASEM organisers stressed the meeting was not an official part of the summit, which will bring more than 20 heads of state and government to Seoul, it was the first contact between the two sides at such an international set-piece.
Clashes between demonstrators and police plagued last year's World Trade Organisation conference in Seattle as well as the World Bank/International Monetary Fund meetings in Prague last month.
The activists at the meeting represented a string of pressure groups all pushing for the summit to consider more closely the effects of economic globalisation on ordinary people.
The groups have organised an ASEM People's Forum to run alongside the main summit, and plan a major demonstation on Friday, the day the meeting opens, alongside Korean trade unions.
John Dunlea, from the Dutch-based Transnational Institute, one of the main groups behind the People's Forum, said he hoped that violence could be avoided if demonstrators felt ASEM was taking their concerns more seriously.
"We are obviously concerned that if there were any violence, that would receive the most attention," he told AFP.
"The most important message is what we are doing here. We would like to make this a regular part of ASEM."
But he warned that no guarantees could be made about Friday's protest, saying that up to 60,000 people were expected to take part.
"There is tension, certainly. But we are hoping for the best."