BRUSSELS, Feb. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- Thousands of people came to street in Brussels Monday in protest of US President George W. Bush's three-day visit to the European capital.

    The protects, staged in central Brussels Monday and to be launched near European Union institutions on Tuesday, are aimed to show their opposition to the US unilateral policies.

    An estimated 1,000 protestors, organized by Brussels Tribunal, waved banners and played music Sunday evening in front of the Brussels Stock Exchange three hours before Bush's plane touched down.

    Protest groups said that the protests are against US foreign policy and not Americans themselves.

    "We are showing resistance to the growing American empire but we are not anti-American," said Peter O'Connell, founder of Acts of Resistance, whose group participated in the Stop Bush! campaign.

    Stop Bush! is a group of 88 mostly Belgian environmental, human rights, peace and youth organizations who have planned a joint protest Monday in front of the US Embassy in Brussels.

    On Tuesday, another Stop Bush! protest will be held in front of the EU institutions. In the same area, the Belgian chapter of Democrats Abroad will be coordinating a protest against Bush's domestic social security policies for the US-based Our Future group.

    However, the Bush visit was said to have been or chestrated down to the minute and it is unlikely that he will encounter any protestors. The roads around the EU institutions will be closed off on Tuesday afternoon when Bush visits the institutions.

    Some 2,500 guards from the Belgian army and the Belgian police force will be on call to make sure that Bush's trip runs smoothly. Enditem