Antiwar protests circle the globe](http://www.msnbc.com/news/887126_asp.htm?0cv=NB10) MSNBC
March 20 — A wave of sometimes violent protests circled the globe Thursday to protest the beginning of a U.S.-led war against Iraq. In the United States, anti-war demonstrators blocked morning rush-hour traffic in Washington and San Francisco and chanted “no blood for oil” outside the White House. …
Thousands protest as conflict begins, The Guardian, 20 March 2003
Tensions rose as police tried to control the mass of anti-war protesters gathering in Parliament Square today. An estimated 5,000 demonstrators, the majority of them schoolchildren, thronged the streets to voice their anger against today’s US air strikes on Iraq.
The protesters were responding to a call by the UK anti-war movement for workers and students to stage a mass walkout from offices, schools and colleges. Describing the outbreak of hostilities as a “day of shame”, the Stop the War Coalition said that it hoped to draw on the public feeling that saw more than 1 million people take to the streets of London last month. Stop the War spokesman Andrew Burgin said: “We call upon the people of Britain to act today in support of peace by walking out from work, school or college to join protest meetings and peace demonstrations in their community against this unjust war.”
But what began as a peaceful demonstration grew more heated as 100 youngsters staged a sit-in in front of the Houses of Parliament, blocking traffic. A further 60 lay down on the ground, refusing police pleas to disperse, and were forcibly moved, some with several officers dragging them away. Fellow protesters stood behind them chanting “Leave the kids alone!” and “Stop the war!”
As protesters tried to force their way through metal barriers surrounding the square, they were pushed back by cordons of police. Some demonstrators hurled plastic bottles, stones and coins at police, and one officer was seen punching a protester in the face. Flordete Iveson, 18, who attends Latimer School in Edmonton, north London, said: “We don’t want our name associated with this war. Our government doesn’t care what we think. I don’t think I have a right to speak out against the war unless I’m here to protest.”
In Cambridge, around 300 demonstrators stopped traffic during a sit-down protest and formed a “ring of peace” around market stalls. Sara Payne, the co-chairman of Campeace, who was with her two-year-old granddaughter Dorothy, said: "We have consistently opposed what we see as this illegal attack on Iraq: it does not have the authority of the UN.
“The UN was set up to protect future generations from the scourge of war. Tony Blair is a war criminal.”
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament also urged Britons to protest against the “illegal, immoral war”. CND called on campaigners to gather outside Downing Street at 6pm with whistles and drums, and to make as much noise as possible. The group also encouraged British soldiers to disobey orders and refrain from entering combat.
CND chairman Carol Naughton said: "Crimes against humanity will be perpetrated in this bloody war.
“We will support any members of the military who refuse to carry out an order that would cause death or suffering to civilians. That is their individual right and I hope they will use it.”
The Muslim Council of Britain, which fears that military action against Saddam Hussein will sour relations between Britain and Muslim countries, condemned the outbreak of war and said it was a “black day in our history”.
A statement from five aid agencies in Britain called for coalition forces to take “all possible precautions” to avoid civilian casualties in Iraq, and demanded extra funding to rebuild the country after war.
Global Anti-War Rallies Continue](VOA - Voice of America English News) :k:
VOA News 21 Mar 03
Anti-war demonstrations are getting under way in the United States for a second straight day, as similar protests continue around the world. The latest opinion polls indicate that three out of four Americans approve of President Bush’s decision to attack Iraq, even without backing from the U.N. Security Council. Activists say a sit-in outside the White House Friday afternoon is one of several small events taking place Friday. The organizers also have promised major anti-war rallies across the United States on Saturday.
At the Vatican, Pope John Paul II has added his voice to the chorus of anti-war protests. A papal spokesman said the pontiff was very disappointed at the outbreak of war and at Iraq’s refusal to heed United Nations demands to disarm.
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Bangkok Peace Protest 22 Mar 03
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Tokyo Peace Protest 22 Mar 03
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Madrid Spain Peace Protest
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Tokyo Peace Protest 22 Mar 03
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Palestine
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Syria
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Thailand
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Thailand
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Indonesia
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Bangaldeish
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Pakistan
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Yemen
**
Anti-war protests sweep the globe, BBC, 22 March 2003
Anti-war protests bring thousands out on the streets from Japan to New Zealand](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/03/22/international0622EST0477.DTL) San Francisco Chronicle 22 Mar 03
Thousands of angry protesters from Japan to Greece marched Saturday against the U.S.-led war in Iraq, in some cases condemning their own governments for supporting the United States. In Tokyo, hundreds of anti-war demonstrators held up photographs of Iraqi children wounded in the 1991 Gulf War and carried banners with peace messages. “Prime Minister (Junichiro) Koizumi supported America’s war on Iraq … but we want to let the world know that we citizens do not,” said 69-year-old Kensaku Ikeda. Demonstrators marched on the U.S. Navy base in Yokosuka – headquarters of the Seventh Fleet – just south of Tokyo, police said.
BIGGEST ANTI-WAR DEMO IN WAR TIME: AT LEAST 750,000](http://www.stopwar.org.uk/) Stop the War Coalition
The demonstration assembled at 12 noon, with two assembly points: [A] Gower Street and ** Embankment and marched to Hyde Park . The demonstration was the second biggest ever organised in Britain, planned in under a week and built with 3 days notice from the outbreak of war. It was a complete repudiation of Blair’s war. “If a crime is wrong before it is committed, it is wrong while it is being committed,” said George Galloway MP from the platform in Hyde Park, speaking to a sea of people and placards.
National trade union leaders joined speakers from the Muslim and Kurdish communities in Britain, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Tony Benn, Lindsey German (StWC) and Kate Hudson (CND) to denounce the war. More reports will be published as we have them. NB. We are aware of a news blackout on this demonstration. If the press does not report the demonstration accurately, it is your democratic right to complain.
'March' n march(ez) --- a unanimous verdict?
Anti-war protests sweep the globe
Tens of thousands of people worldwide have taken to the streets to stage the latest series of demonstrations against the conflict in Iraq.
There have been rallies in Australia and New Zealand, the Middle East and Asia, while in the US marches are planned in Washington and other major cities.
Demonstrations are also being held in Paris, Brussels and London, where protesters gathered in the city's Hyde Park for an afternoon of speeches.
Some protests turned violent. In Brussels riot police tried to prevent protesters who hurled rocks and sticks at the US embassy from getting too close to the building, later using water cannon on a small number who split from the main protest.
*Mass protest in New York *
In New York City, around 100,000 people marched at lunchtime from Times Square to Greenwich Village's Washington Square Park, filling 20 city blocks.
A few clashes took place as police chased and surrounded a small group who broke away from the main march.
"We support the troops, but we do not support the president," said New York Congressman Charles Rangel.
In Washington, several hundred protesters, chanting "No blood for oil," strode through the streets and rallied in front of the White House.
But pro-war rallies were also reported in some cities, like Atlanta, Chicago, and Lansing, Michigan.
Recent polls have suggested increasing support for the war among the US public.
*Pope's plea *
As 10,000 anti-war protesters marched through the Italian city of Naples towards a Nato base in Bagnoli, Pope John Paul II made his first public comment on the conflict.
When war, like the one now in Iraq, threatens the fate of humanity, it is even more urgent for us to proclaim, with a firm and decisive voice, that only peace is the way of building a more just and caring society," he said.
In Wellington, New Zealand protesters shouting "no blood for oil" marched to the US embassy and hurled fake blood into the compound.
The Australian cities of Brisbane and Hobart were brought to a halt.
"We feel sympathy with the people of Iraq, and the families of Iraq. That's why we're here supporting the families," said one demonstrator.
*'Evil aggression' *
In Indonesia, a crowd converged on the US embassy in Jakarta, shouting anti-US slogans.
"We condemn the evil aggression against Iraq. Bush, Blair and Howard should be brought to the international court of justice as war criminals," Hizb ut Tahrir, the Muslim group which organised the rally, said in a statement.
There were protests, too, in Malaysia, South Korea and India.
In the South Korean capital, Seoul, Buddhist monks struck giant drums at a rally of 2,000 people to console the spirits of victims of the war.
And India saw about 15,000 people march in Calcutta, where speakers attacked the US for its "anti-Islamic" war, Reuters news agency reported.
In Bangladesh, a general strike closed down many businesses and mosques, while in the southern mainly Muslim provinces of Thailand people organised prayers for peace.
In Japan, protesters rallied near a US naval base as well as outside a US air base on the southern island of Okinawa.
*Europe protests *
Europe saw some of the largest demonstrations, with hundreds of thousands of British citizens taking part in demonstrations across the country.
In London, marchers wound their way through central London and past Downing Street, the official residence of British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, before arriving at Hyde Park, where speakers denounced what they called US unilateralism.
However the turnout, put at several hundred thousand, was less than anticipated.
Protests in the Swiss capital, Bern, were tense after police used water cannon, rubber bullets and tear gas against a group of hooded demonstrators, said to be from a radical faction.
In Athens, Greece, demonstrators outside the US embassy threw two Molotov cocktails onto the embassy lawn.
An estimated 20,000 people attended a rally in front of the Swiss parliament, the French news agency AFP reported.
And in Vienna, Austria, demonstrators threw themselves to the ground to the sound of specially pre-recorded gunshots, and staged a "die-in" in protest at the conflict.
Arab world faces turmoil
Cairo, Sanaa in Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon and the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott have all witnessed clashes of varying decrees of seriousness between riot police and citizens enraged by what the US is doing in Iraq.
Washington, D.C.
A.N.S.W.E.R. photos by Deirdre Griswold
Washington Anti War Protest
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Thousands Rally in Lahore against Iraq War: LAHORE, Mar 23: Thousands of protesters gathered today in Lahore in a rally called by right-wing religious parties to demonstrate against the U.S.-led war on Iraq. The "Million Man March" is the third in a series of countrywide protests this month by the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), an alliance of religious parties that rode anti-U.S. sentiment to surprising gains in October elections. Police in riot gear stood guard as MMA activists used long sticks and batons to shepherd a quickly swelling crowd of people away from a makeshift elevated stage. Women in flowing Islamic robes marched beside their mostly bearded companions. Some wore veils that exposed only the eyes. "Hate Bush, Love Saddam," read one placard, as dozens of young men milled about, wearing white head-bands inscribed with "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) on their foreheads. "Axis of evil -- Bush and Blair," read another. About 8,000 people had gathered by early afternoon and the figure was expected to grow substantially as more supporters arrived by the busload. (Reuters) (Posted @ 15:55 PST)
what a nice thread with pictures :k: DHP i did not knew that u opened a anti war thread over here ..
Across the world the unprecedented opposition to America’s illegal war goes on…
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/story.jsp?story=389891
US embassies besieged across the globe
Anti-war protesters staged a fresh wave of marches in cities worldwide yesterday, focusing on US embassies and provoking clashes with police. For the second week, hundreds of thousands rallied on European and US streets, staging the largest series of wartime protests since the Vietnam war. In New York, up to 250,000 peace protesters, including the actor Roy Schieder and singer Patti Smith, marched down Broadway, while smaller events were staged in Washington, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
But a peaceful march by 40,000 through Berne, Switzerland, was marred by clashes involving 500 “Black Bloc” hardliners and police using water cannon and tear gas. In Madrid riot police fought running battles with anti-war protesters, hurling rocks and firing rubber bullets into the crowd, after nearly a million across Spain marched against the war. In Germany, there was a march on the US army’s European command in Stuttgart, with 40,000 Berliners on the streets. Thousands of Italians marched on a Nato airbase near Naples, while in Rome petrol pumps were damaged in a protest. At least 25,000 demonstrated in Amsterdam, and in Brussels 6,000 plus protested outside embassies. About 15,000 people marched in Stockholm and 15,000 in Gothenburg. In Helsinki 20,000 protested chanting “George Bush, CIA, how many kids did you kill today?” A protest by 5,000 in Oslo turned ugly after police used tear gas and dogs. In Copenhagen 10,000 went to the British and US embassies, burning flags. About 20,000 marched in Helsinki, while 35,000 marched in Lisbon, Portugal, and 25,000 in Vienna. In Ireland, protesters staged marches in Waterford, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Sligo. In Dublin, 5,000 denounced the Irish parliament’s vote to allow US planes to refuel at Shannon Airport.
Several hundred students in Bahrain threw stones at police using tear gas, and in Cairo 5,000 students protested. In Oman 400 people were stopped from reaching the US embassy. Police in New Delhi blocked off 5,000 protesters from the US embassy and arrested 30, mostly women. In Bangladesh, Dhaka was hit by a strike and protests. In the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and Hanoi, Vietnam, protesters rallied outside the US embassies, and 8,000 people joined a “peace run” in Kelantan, Malaysia. South Koreans marched in Seoul, complaining about their government’s decision to send 700 non-combat troops to help US forces. In Bangkok, about 300 Thai Muslims, many in Osama bin Laden T-shirts, protested outside the US embassy. In Japan, protesters marched through Tokyo and to the HQ of the US Seventh Fleet at Yokosuka naval base. The American embassy in Wellington, New Zealand, was besieged by 4,000 blowing trumpets and banging drums. In Australia, thousands demonstrated in Brisbane, Melbourne and Hobart, sporting gas masks and black arm-bands.
Thanks sadi but I think malik deserves that more than I do 
. I think its great to see so many ordinary people across every continent protest against this terrible and illegal war.
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Lahore Peace Protest
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Bangladesh Prayers for Peace 23 Mar 03
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Nepal Peace Protest 23 Mar 03
Thousands Attend Anti-War Rallies](VOA - Voice of America English News) VOA News 29 Mar 03
Thousands of people have turned out around the world to protest war in Iraq. Security was tight throughout Asia, where marchers shouted anti-American slogans and demanded an end to the U.S.-led war. Students scuffled with riot police in Seoul and demanded that the South Korean National Assembly reject the government’s request to send 700 support troops to non-combat missions in Iraq.
Armed riot police in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur fired tear gas to disperse protesters, while authorities in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka used roadblocks to stop thousands of Muslim supporters from marching on the U.S. embassy. In the world’s most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia, thousands rallied in the capital Jakarta and elsewhere to protest the war. Usually rowdy protests in Pakistan were somewhat muted ahead of a massive anti-war rally planned for Sunday.
Six months later and the occupation of Iraq seems never ending. The people of Iraq are still suffering from violence, civilians are still being killed or injured, there also seems to be a break down in law and order in the cities. Across the world thousands of people from all walks of life are marching against the occupation.
Thousands Rally To End Iraq Occupation](http://www.sacobserver.com/news/apwire/102703/iraq_war_protests.shtml) Sacramento Observer 27 Oct 03
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Anti-war protesters march down Jones Street in San Francisco, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2003.
WASHINGTON (AP) - To chants of “Impeach Bush,” thousands of anti-war protesters rallied in the nation’s capital Saturday and delivered a scathing critique of President Bush and his Iraq policy. Anti-war protesters march down Jones Street in San Francisco, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2003. Demanding an end to the U.S.-led occupation and the quick return of American troops, the demonstrators gathered on a sunny fall day at the Washington Monument to listen to speeches and songs of peace. One man’s small cardboard sign gave his summing-up of the day: “This administration does not represent me,” it said in black capital letters typewritten on white paper.
Al Sharpton, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, exhorted the crowd not to be content with the gradual withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.“Don’t give Bush $87 billion, don’t give him 87 cents, give our troops a ride home,” Sharpton said to loud cheers from the crowd. In contrast, people stood up to 12 deep in Oceanside, Calif., to cheer more than 11,000 Marines and sailors who marched through downtown in the homecoming of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force based at nearby Camp Pendleton. Many held flags or signs that said “Thank You,” and red, white and blue confetti filled the air.
Hundreds of anti-war protesters also took to sun-drenched streets in San Francisco. “This war is not about us,” actor Danny Glover told the protesters. “It is against us, against Iraqi people, and against our children.” Burbank, Calif., bookstore owner Bill Nelson said, “We want the money here for health care and jobs, not a military industrial complex.” The rallies on both coasts were organized by International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) and United for Peace and Justice. The protest in Washington drew a diverse crowd - young, old, veterans, relatives with loved ones in the armed forces and American Muslims. An activist group of older women called the Raging Grannies, singing anti-Bush songs, brought whoops of agreement from the protesters.
Organizers estimated that 100,000 people turned out for the demonstration, but police at the scene put the number much lower, from 10,000 to 20,000. Police no longer issue official crowd estimates, so the size of the protest could not be verified. Waving signs reading “Make Jobs Not War” and “Bush is a liar,” the protesters marched down around the White House, on to the Justice Department and then back to the Washington Monument.
But the activists weren’t afforded the symbolic satisfaction of yelling protests to the White House gates, because the Secret Service put up barriers to keep them from marching directly in front of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Bush was spending the weekend at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. Michael McPhearson, a veteran from the 1991 Persian Gulf War, denounced the president, saying he had misled the nation. “You have butchered the truth, George Bush.”
The D.C. chapter of Free Republic, an independent grass-roots conservative group, gathered a few dozen people at the U.S. Capitol to show support for Bush and the troops in Iraq.“Whether or not the war should have started is a moot point,” said Eric Campbell, a 32-year-old who served in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. “We have to stay if anything for the Iraqi people.”
Two Thirds of Europeans Believe War Was Unjustified](http://www.news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2102815) The Scotsman 27 Oct 03
More than two thirds of Europeans now believe that America’s war against Iraq was unjustified, a new survey shows today. Even America’s allies in Europe – Spain and the UK – reveal a majority of the population opposed to military interventions.
Only in one EU member state – Denmark – does a majority think military action was justified. The telephone poll, carried out for the European Commission, shows overwhelming backing for the United Nations taking the lead in rebuilding Iraq in co-operation with the provisional government. The UN should guarantee security in Iraq and manage the transition to a sovereign government, it said. America should bear the brunt of financing Iraqi reconstruction – and only 18% in the survey trusted the US to manage the rebuilding programme.
The survey, involving more than 7,500 people in the 15 EU countries, was conducted between October 8 and 16. It shows 51% of Britons opposed to the war, compared with 79% in Spain and a massive 96% in Greece. Only 15% of the UK believe the war was “absolutely justified”. An average 43% in the EU say the UN should guarantee security in Iraq, compared with 35% in the UK, and 58% say the UN should manage rebuilding, compared with 72% in the UK.
But 65% on average say the US should pay the costs of reconstruction, compared with 61% in the UK. Only 6% in general think the US should be in charge of guaranteeing security in the country – and just 5% in the UK. Europeans still feel threatened by terrorism – mostly in Spain and the UK where 76% admit to a “strong” fear of attack. This compares with just 6% and 10% in Finland and Austria respectively.
“March organizers said that the dramatic increase in the turnout, compared to the first demonstration against the occupation of Iraq on April 12 (estimated by the police at 30,000) is evidence that a growing number of people in the U.S. believe that the Bush administration’s rationales for the war and occupation have been exposed as lies.”
100,000 march against the occupation of Iraq](http://www.internationalanswer.org/news/update/102503report.html) International Answer 25 Oct 03
**100,000 people marched through the streets of Washington, D.C. today in the largest anti-war protest since George W. Bush’s May 1 speech on the U.S.S. Lincoln aircraft carrier where he proclaimed “Mission Accomplished.” **
The demonstration was co-sponsored by the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism) and United for Peace and Justice. The demonstration continued to grow throughout the day, reaching its peak only around 2:30 p.m., when the last busses arrived in the area of the Washington Monument grounds. By the time the front of the march reached the Justice Department the last demonstrators were only leaving the assembly area. The march stretched more than 20 city blocks filling them curb to curb including Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington’s eight lane boulevard.
More than 145 cities participated in organizing transportation, bringing busses and car caravans to the demonstration. March organizers said that the dramatic increase in the turnout, compared to the first demonstration against the occupation of Iraq on April 12 (estimated by the police at 30,000) is evidence that a growing number of people in the U.S. believe that the Bush administration’s rationales for the war and occupation have been exposed as lies.
The Washington demonstration was also the largest mass mobilization in opposition to the Patriot Act, which was signed into law two years ago this weekend, and the protestors marched to both the White House and the Justice Department. A sister action in San Francisco drew 20,000 people into the streets demanding an end to the occupation of Iraq and calling for troops to be brought home now.
“I’m ashamed of what my government is doing”: New Hampshire protester
Americans rally against war in Iraq BBC News 26 Oct 03
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It was one of the largest such protests since the Vietnam War
Tens of thousands of protesters came to Washington from across the United States in one of the largest anti-war demonstrations since the Vietnam War. The crowd filled Constitution Gardens within sight of the Vietnam War Memorial and spilled out along the reflecting pool before marching to the White House. They came from across the country, some travelling all day and night crowded onto buses to attend the rally. …