NO TO COWBOYS WAR
Anti-war protests continues worldwide
Regional-Iraq, Politics, 3/31/2003
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in many parts of the world yesterday to protest against the US-led war on Iraq. The demonstrators, who continued their protest for the tenth day running, chanted slogans against the United States and Britain.
They called for putting US President George W.Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair on trial as war criminals.
Tens of thousands of French people gathered at the Concord square in Paris on Saturday in protest against war on Iraq.
The demonstrators raised placards with anti-war slogans such as "No to Bush's illegitimate war", "No to destruction of Baghdad", "Drop Bush from the warplanes instead of bombs", "Bush is an assassin and a war criminal", "No to cowboys war".
The demonstrators stayed for one and a half hours outside the heavily-guarded American embassy in Paris before taking to nearby streets.
Organizers put the number of demonstrators at some 100,000. Saturday's march is the third of its kind organized by anti-war activists since the start of the war on Iraq. Many French cities also witnessed massive anti-war protests.
In Berlin 50,000 people turned out, police reported. In Osnabruck and Munster around 40,000 protectors formed a 50 kilometer long human chain stretching between the town halls of both German cities.
Around 7,000 protested in Athens, gathering in front of the U.S. embassy with chants of stop the war.
In Warsaw over 3,000 people gathered in the city center before marching to the U.S. embassy. Clashes with police were reported after some demonstrators threw eggs and fireworks at the embassy building.
Protestors called Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller and President Alexander Kwasniewski puppets of Bush and chanted "That is our world, we will not let you destroy it".
At least 15 people were injured on Saturday in clashes between Moslem clerics and police at a thwarted anti-war march on the United States embassy in the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka.
The clashes began as police set up barbed wire barricades to prevent protesters from entering north Dhaka's exclusive zone for diplomatic missions where the US embassy is located.
The march was called by the United Islamic Alliance, a member of the ruling four-party coalition, to protest the US-led invasion of Iraq. An estimated 10,000 Islamic activists carrying placards inscribed with anti-US slogans rallied in central Dhaka before embarking on a five kilometer march to the embassy.
In a rare step, the Chinese authorities allowed nearly 100 people to demonstrate in the capital Beijing to protest war on Iraq.
Large demonstrations were staged in Lebanon's Mount and Western Bakaa' shouting slogans condemning the aggressive acts of US and British on Iraq. The participants delivered many speeches asserting that this aggression aims at partitioning Iraq to rob its wealth and calling for the Arab nation to follow the lead of the national Syrian- Lebanese stance.
An Australian city witnessed a massive demonstration led by opposition figures to express rejection of war on Iraq. The Australian protesters, numbered 15,000 set the U.S. flag ablaze.
Thousands of people demonstrated yesterday in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur in protest against Iraq war. The protesters chanted slogans such as "Down with USA" Down with Israel.
Nearly 6,000 people gathered in the Indian capital New Delhi to protest against the US-led war on Iraq.
Hundreds of protesters took part in an anti-war demonstrations in Seoul, South Korea and clashed with the police. They dubbed President Bush as a neo Nazi.
The American cities also witnessed demonstrations in protest against war on Iraq. Reports said 15000 demonstrated against the war in Boston. Other cities in the US witnessed protests as well. The U.S. police arrested 13 protesters near the White House.
Other countries including Indonesian, Britain and Philippines also witnessed demonstration to protest war.
There is no doubt that the majority of the Swiss people opposed war on Iraq, said Radio Switzerland yesterday. The radio added that the results of the public opinion polls and demonstrations in Switzerland indicated that the Swiss people, especially youths, are against war. The radio said that some quarters such as Luther King Center in Laussane proposed boycotting some American and British oil companies. |
