thanks.
Protesters stand 'shoulder to
shoulder' down Whitehall
Several thousand people have lined a London street in
protest at a possible military strike against Osama bin
Laden.
About 3,000 protesters from the Campaign for Nuclear
Disarmament stood "shoulder to shoulder" as they marched
down Whitehall, mocking Prime Minister Tony Blair's
description of Britain's political and military relationship with
the US administration.
The protest, opposite the entrance to Downing Street,
came a day after Mr Blair finished his tour of Europe and
North America to drum up support for the anti-terrorist
coalition.
CND chair Carol Naughton said the organisation opposed
any military strike, and warned Mr Blair and US President
George Bush that they risked being seen as terrorists
themselves if they used any violent action.
"Any military strike is going to kill yet more civilians who
don't deserve to die, in the same way as the Americans
didn't deserve to die," she said.
"It will only create a spiral of violence and it will create a
huge uprising against the US and, possibly, Britain. I would
not condone any act of terrorism, but any action should be
done through the proper channels."
Ms Naughton said even a very targeted strike by special
forces would risk incurring civilian casualties.
"There can't be any kind of military strike. We've seen
precision go wrong before, killing bunkers of women and
children. All it will do is create terrorists out of Bush and
Blair."
Protesters, many wearing black, waved leaflets saying
"Stand shoulder to shoulder". Some held them up alongside
white flowers.
Among the crowd, which stood between four and five deep,
was singer David Gray.
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