ĦĦĦĦNEW YORK, March 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Waves of anti-war demonstrations rippled
across the world on Saturday to protest against US-led military attacks on Iraq
and call for an end to the war.
ĦĦĦĦTens of thousands of demonstrators marched in downtown Manhattan in New
York on Saturday in what is estimated to be the largest anti-war rally in New
York since the war on Iraq broke out.
ĦĦĦĦThe procession, which stretched across several blocks in downtown
Manhattan, was constantly conjoined by more protesters. By 2 p.m., thousands of
protesters had already reached Washington Square Park miles away.
ĦĦĦĦThe rally was organized by United for Peace and Justice, the same group
that led a massive protest near the United Nations last month that drew more
than 100,000 demonstrators despite bad weather.
ĦĦĦĦMarch organizer Leslie Cagan of United for Peace and Justice said it could
be the largest protest among several planned across the nation Saturday.
ĦĦĦĦ"We're now a movement to end this war as quickly as possible," the
organizer said.
ĦĦĦĦAccording to the march organizers, beside New York, anti-war protests were
also planned Saturday in other major US cities, including Chicago, San
Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington.
ĦĦĦĦIn Britain, tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of
London and other cities on Saturday to protest against the war with Iraq, the
biggest rallies since the start of the US-led invasion of Iraq.
ĦĦĦĦOrganized by the Stop the War Coalition, the Campaign for Nuclear
Disarmament and the Muslim Association of Britain, the demonstrators started
from two assembly points at Embankment and Gower Street in the British capital,
merging at Piccadilly Circus before heading into Hyde Park for the rally.
ĦĦĦĦShouting anti-war slogans and beating drums, the demonstrators carried
streamers and banners bearing such slogans as "Stop war on Iraq", "Stop, look,
listen. No war in our name. No-one seems to be listening."
ĦĦĦĦA total of 3,500 policemen have been called in to line the route of the
London march, which by mid-afternoon organizers said had topped the 100,000
mark.
ĦĦĦĦFurther demonstrations are being held in cities across the country and at
US military bases.
ĦĦĦĦThousands of anti-war protesters marched from Fairford Town in
Gloucestershire in west England to the local RAF base, where US B-52 bombers are
based with heavy police patrol. The bombers are believed to have played a key
role in Friday night's strikes on Iraq.
ĦĦĦĦMeanwhile, up to 1,000 people gathered for a "Foil the Base" demonstration
at the US base at Menwith Hill in Yorkshire. Hundreds arrived clad in tin foil,
which organizers hope will disrupt communications by blocking satellite signals.
ĦĦĦĦIn Prime Minister Tony Blair's constituency in north-east England, about
100 protesters gathered outside Trimdon Labor Club in Sedgefield to watch a
caricature of Tony Blair jump through a hoop on the orders of a cartoon George
W. Bush.
ĦĦĦĦIn Scotland, several thousand people took to the streets of Edinburgh,
capital of Scotland, and Glasgow to voice their opposition to war, with smaller
protests reported in Aberdeen, Inverness and Dundee.
ĦĦĦĦThe weekend marches followed days of protests across the country.
ĦĦĦĦIn other parts of Europe, there were demonstrations involving tens of
thousands of people France, Germany, Finland, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway,
Denmark and other countries on Saturday.
ĦĦĦĦIn the Spanish capital Madrid, police fired rubber bullets to disperse
protesters for the second day running. In Barcelona, police said 150,000
protested, while town hall officials estimated up to half a million.
ĦĦĦĦAbout 90,000 people marched in Paris. Police said 30,000 people marched in
Bern, Switzerland. In Amsterdam, the Netherlands, police said about 25,000
people marched against the war. In Berlin,about 40,000 protested.
ĦĦĦĦIn the Asia-Pacific region, anti-war demonstrations held by different
political parties, groups and people from all walks of life continue to break
out Saturday.
ĦĦĦĦTens of thousands of people attended peace rallies throughout New Zealand
to protest against war in Iraq.
ĦĦĦĦAn anti-war protest rally was held Saturday morning at the Civic Square in
Wellington. Thousands of protesters left the Square after the rally, chanting
anti-war slogans and carrying banners as they marched to Parliament and on to
the United States Embassy.
ĦĦĦĦThe anti-war protest rallies were also held in Auckland, Nelsonand
Christchurch on the South Island.
ĦĦĦĦThousands of South Koreans held rallies to condemn the United States for
waging the war against Iraq without the approval by the United Nations.
ĦĦĦĦSeveral non-governmental organizations also attended the anti-war
demonstrations held near the US embassy in central Seoul and apark in eastern
Seoul.
ĦĦĦĦThe protesters, mostly are young people, held banners as "Stop the Shameful
War", "No War" and "Don't attack Iraq".
ĦĦĦĦA group of about 600 Thai Muslims, calling themselves the Muslim Group for
Peace, gathered peacefully in front of the US Embassy in Thailand on Wireless
Road to call for peace and early end of the renewed war in Iraq.
ĦĦĦĦSimilar calls have also been made from Thai Muslims in the South who called
for people to boycott US and UK products.
ĦĦĦĦBangladesh was paralyzed today as a nationwide half-day strike to protest
the US-led military campaign in Iraq was held, disrupting transport and
businesses.
ĦĦĦĦThe eight-hour strike started from 6:00 am (0000 GMT). Most of the private
offices, schools, shops and stock markets were closed in Dhaka and southeastern
Chittagong, the second largest city in Bangladesh.
ĦĦĦĦThe activists carried banners, placards and replicas of tank and missiles
reading "We want war-free world" and "Stop war in Iraq."
ĦĦĦĦEffigies of US President George W Bush were also being carried around and
then torched.
ĦĦĦĦIndian students and political leaders held demonstrations in several cities
to protest military action against Iraq led by the United states.
ĦĦĦĦAnti-US rallies were held for the second day on Saturday in Uttar Pradesh
with Samajwadi Party activists burning en effigy of US President George W. Bush
and workers of the Nationalist Congress Party taking out a peace march in
Lucknow, capital of thestate some 500 kilometers east of New Delhi.
ĦĦĦĦThe Communist Party of India would stage an anti-war march in Lucknow on
Sunday and in New Delhi next Thursday to condemn the USfor its "imperialistic
designs."
ĦĦĦĦIn the south city of Bangalore, 2,060 kilometers of New Delhi, protesters
"executed" an effigy of US President Bush to flay the US-imposed war on Iraq and
demanded an immediate halt to the war.
ĦĦĦĦSome Philippine dailies ran editorials Saturday critical of US-led war on
Iraq, saying it has set a dangerous precedent and placed at stake a system
governing the relations between states.
ĦĦĦĦPhilippine Daily Inquirer said in an editorial that by going towar without
a clear United Nations mandate, US President George W.Bush has destroyed the
multilateralism that has characterized international security and comity since
the end of World War II.
ĦĦĦĦ"It is not for nothing that fears have been expressed about theattack on
Iraq as the trigger to another world war. Bush has pushed the world to the brink
of the first global war in the new millennium," said the newspaper, one of the
largest circulated dailies in the Philippines.
ĦĦĦĦThere were also reports of anti-war protests in the Middle Eastregion and
Africa in the day. Enditem
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