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Politics : Stop the War! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sojourner Smith who wrote (5142)	3/29/2003 12:59:49 PM
From: Doug R	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 21614

Here's what's going on in Iran... 'Death to America, death to Saddam' Iranians demonstrate in their hundreds of thousands, with protesters denouncing what they called 'Bush's barbarism' and 'Saddam Hussein's dictatorship' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tens of thousands of Iranians chanted "Death to America" and "Death to Saddam" in Tehran on Friday in the first major anti-war rally to be held in Iran since U.S.-led forces began their attack on Iraq. Around 300 gathered outside the embassy of Britain, Washington's main ally in the war, chanting "Death to Britain" and "British hypocrites should be expelled from Iran." At least a dozen windows on an embassy building facing the street were smashed by stones but police said an attempt to break into the walled compound was thwarted. A British diplomat said a man climbed onto the wall but was pulled down by police. Cheers erupted each time a window was hit. Several stone throwers were arrested and about 20 riot police guarded the embassy's main gate as calm was restored. Violent protests are unusual in Iran, where authorities generally keep a firm hand on street rallies. The British Embassy bore the brunt of the protesters' anger because Washington has had no diplomatic presence in Iran since shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution, when students stormed the U.S. Embassy and held 52 people hostage for 444 days. Anti-war sentiment had previously been muted in the Islamic Republic. Few Iranians have much sympathy for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who ordered the use of chemical weapons against Iranian troops in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. But Friday's state-organized demonstration emphasized Iran's opposition to the attack on its western neighbour, without offering any support for Saddam. Iran has vowed to remain neutral in the conflict. US flags burned "We consider the U.S.-British attack on Iraq to be illegal and we condemn it," a speaker bellowed through a megaphone as some of the crowd set fire to U.S. and Israeli flags and burned an effigy of U.S. President George W. Bush. "What I am saying to the Americans and British is, don't you care about your children? If so, why are you killing Iraqi children?" said housewife Franak Mohammadi at the march. Protesters carried placards, many in English, reading "No War" and "Down with USA." One large banner depicted missiles and the U.S. flag with the words "Cruise Democracy." Washington last year included Iran on its "axis of evil" list, along with Iraq and North Korea. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei earlier this week denounced U.S. policy as a new form of "Hitlerism." Revolutionary Guards Chief, Major-General Yahya Rahim Safavi on Friday warned: "The Americans will not be content with their achievements in Iraq. They have evil plots to gain control over the region." Some in Iran fear that Washington could train its sights on Iran after dealing with Iraq. "I'm afraid of America because it is possible that we will be next after Iraq," said Roya Shasian, 40, at the march. Tehran - Reuters