Thousands of protesters marched through midtown Manhattan and staged a massive anti-war and anti-nuke rally in the Central Park of New York on Sunday.  (Photo: Xinhua/AFP)

(Photo: Xinhua/AFP)

(Photo: Xinhua/AFP)

     NEW YORK, May 1 (Xinhuanet) -- Thousands of protesters marched through midtown Manhattan and staged a massive anti-war and anti-nuke rally in the Central Park of New York on Sunday.

    Holding signs that read "No War, No Nukes," "End the occupation," they passed the United Nations headquarters, where a conference to reassess the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty has been scheduled for this week.

    Among the protesters was Paul Brails ford, a 90-year-old World War II veteran from Ipswich, Massachusetts. He said he was worried about the government's policy on nuclear weapons and the war in Iraq, and would do his share to make people's voice heard by joining other veterans.

    Justin Gonzales, 9, a fourth grader from New Jersey, marched alongside his mother. He has lost his voice from shouting too loud half way through the march. His mother said this is the second time for her son to join an anti-nuke and anti-war rally.

    "It is necessary for kids to come to know the evil of wars, and nuclear wars in particular," she said.

    Protesters marched through midtown Manhattan to reach Central Park, where they formed a human peace symbol for photographers in helicopters overhead.

    They were joined by 1,000 activists from Japan, some of whom are survivors of the atomic attacks on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki nearly 60 years ago.

    Tadatoshi Akiba, mayor of Hiroshima, was among the speakers at the rally. He said survivors of the atomic bombs of the two cities were "the only people who have had the experience of nuclear war."

    "The human family needs peace, a peace without nuclear weapons. We want a world without violence, particularly nuclear violence. The struggle against nuclear weapon is a fight we can win and must win," he said.

    One of the Hiroshima survivors, Sunao Tsuboi, was a 20-year-oldcollege student when his city was blasted by an atomic bomb. He told the audience of his great physical and mental sufferings since the catastrophe.

    "No more Hiroshima, No more Nagasaki, and no more nukes," he shouted at the top of his voice.

    Protesters had concerns beyond nuclear weapons. United for Peace and Justice and Abortion Now, the organizer of the rally, denounced the Bush administration's policies in Iraq and demanded that American troops leave Iraq.

    "We've got to change our international policies a little bit, and we also need to stop nuclear proliferation as well,¡± said one protester. "We want to stop the war, and we want everyone to come home," said another.

    United for Peace and Justice and Abortion Now is known for holding a massive anti-war rally outside the United Nations in 2003.

    The city's park department is now moving to limit the number of large gatherings in Central Park to six a year, including the four annual philharmonic and opera concerts. Enditem