LONDON (Feb. 15) - Thousands of Australians kicked off global protests on Saturday against a looming U.S.-led war on Iraq in the biggest mass peace demonstrations since the Vietnam conflict. In the Australian city of Melbourne, 100,000 people demonstrated in a peace movement expected to spread to around 600 towns and cities around the world stretching from the far south to Iceland. ''This is a truly global movement. We are in contact with peace movements in the United States and across Europe,'' Stop The War UK leader Andrew Murray said. In New York, U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix gave fuel to both hawks and doves in his assessment to the Security Council on Friday of whether Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had concealed weapons of mass destruction, leaving alive the threat of war. Men, women and children joined in the Melbourne protest, chanting anti-war slogans and waving banners that read: ''No blood for oil,'' ''Don't bomb Iraq,'' and ''We are all one.'' The main target of the demonstration was President Bush and his thrust for war, but it was also directed at Australian Prime Minister John Howard who has joined British Prime Minister Tony Blair in committing troops. In the Bahraini capital of Manama, home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, about 200 protesters held an evening vigil in front of the U.N. buildings as Blix gave his report to the Security Council in New York. ''We are Arabs and we think Saddam should go, but that is for the Iraqi people to decide and not the United States,'' said retired banker Ebrahim Al Sayed. MASSIVE RALLIES TO COME The protests provided a foretaste of the massive rallies planned through the time zones around the world. New York is gearing up for a large anti-war rally opposite U.N. headquarters, with more demonstrations planned across the United States. In London, protest organizers said they expected a huge turnout. ''We believe that the London demonstration will be one of the biggest and the most pivotal because the British government is actively involved in the build up to war and the British people definitely do not want war,'' Murray said. Blair has unflinchingly supported Bush's tough stance on Iraq and has seen his popularity plunge in successive opinion polls as a result. Blair was set to launch a staunch defense of his hawkish stance to wary members of his Labour Party at a conference in Glasgow in Scotland on Saturday, but he was likely to get a chilly reception from many of them. Prominent American peace campaigner Jesse Jackson was in London to address the throng, which some expect could top one million people. Police have said more than 500,000 people could attend the march. ''Bush and Blair must listen to people around the world as they speak. Mr. Blair suggested that Saddam was just buying time. Well, time is cheaper and better than war,'' Jackson told British television. London Mayor Ken Livingstone backed the marchers. ''I am deeply concerned to protect the security of Londoners and safeguard the economy of the capital. That is why I am opposing this war.'' MARCHES ACROSS EUROPE Across Europe, protesters were expected to turn out to show their distrust of Washington's motivations for war and their fears that the world could be engulfed in a wider conflict. Protesters in Rome said they expected more than a million people to attend Saturday's peace march. ''This is not a political or union rally, this is a mobilization of feeling,'' organizer Carlo Testini said. In Germany, where Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder opposes the war, peace groups expected more then 100,000 people to join protests around the country. ''People think it's time to finally do something themselves,'' organizer Kathrin Vogler said. In Paris, organizers expected more than 50,000 to take to the streets. ''All the signs are extremely encouraging,'' said Arielle Denis, joint president of the Peace Movement, which is coordinating Saturday's marches in over 40 cities in France. Protests were also due to be held in Russia, whose President Vladimir Putin agrees with France that more time is needed for U.N. inspectors to complete their work in Iraq, with war as a last resort. Demonstrations were also planned in South Africa.
Nice to see I can still be proud of my country. Accurate description of yourself, and your president.
I'm marching tomorrow remind me again who owns all the guns and how many americans die from gun shots each year and you want to call people who want a non violent resolution r****ded
I don't think so ZRB, but you can be disillusionized like usual if you like...but I'm talking about signs saying "No blood for oil", when it is certain the United States is not aiming for this...it's simple, back up resolution 1441 in full compliance or else...that is the aim...Iraq has only relented due to threats solely by U.S. and Britain. Like Powell stated, they aren't being nice because of concessions, it is because of a tough stance and they will continue to play games with time on their sides. Signs that say "we are all one", don't necessarily account for the Kuwaitt POWs...Where are the voices demanding that Iraq let captives from Kuwaitt get back with their families and really become one as a family unit? I'm really gonna be proud of my country when we stand up to the real and documented threat that Iraq is...We need to deal with the dictator by force since playing games is going no where...
I'm cleaning my gun tomorrow I'm gonna remind you of all the deaths from gun shots pales in comparison to the capability of tons of precursor WMD which is unaccounted for to this very minute...
I think most american has to get out more and see the world and not be brain washed by Bush and the media. The media is just a propaganda machine to support war. How come it doesn't shock the american that no other country except britain and australia are supporting the war. Do they think people in other country are all idiots that they do not know saddam is bad? When nobody is supporting your action, maybe it's time to sit down and reflect on yourselves instead of just keep on pointing fingers at others. A war would shield Bush from the ever-deterioting economy 'cause when it comes to supporting their own country during war time, most american are blind. That's why the president's approval rating soars during war time. Let the iraq people decide whether saddam should go or not. People wants the freedom to decide their own fate. I certainly don't want my fate decides by another country's government. One thing that is lost in all this mess is ordinary iraq citizen's voice. Those are the one who would suffer the most, not saddam hussein. Afterall, the president has to find a way to thank those fire-arm industries supporters. ;-) and to thank those oil and gas company. Just my 2 cents. swhwong
That would be fine if Saddam was not pursuing WMDs. Look at the US policy towards Iraq and towards Cuba. We don't like both dictators, however one is trying to get more WMDs and won't disarm and the other does not have military aspirations. If Saddam was not being the militant person he was then we would not be responding with this force. Make any sense?
all those millions of peoples around the world that is anti war is all anti american n all of them are r****d n evil, brainwashed, and all of them support saddam.........
Just curious, do the people who oppose war on this board oppose just "this" war due to the circumstances. If you do, then I'm assuming either you think the evidence is not conclusive enough to verify that Suddam wants/can launch an attack on us (direct or indirect), or you recognize the evidence but do not think we should strike first because Suddam is not an immediate threat. I have seen many good post from people defending the notion to go to war, yet the anti-war people have never given a clear response. The only thing these anti-war peeps keep hinting at is that... since the rest of the world oppose, there has to be something wrong with this war... yet, what is exactly wrong with this war, nobody can point out. Summary of events: 1) Based on Blix and Elbaradei's report, UN Inspector has found jack-****, which to them, means Iraq "doesn't have weapon of mass destruction, or any weapon for that matter, since we couldn't find it". 2) Based on Powell's report, whether you beleive it fully or not, there is no doubt that some deceiving has been done by the Iraq government. 3)The one thing the Bush administation keeps repeating but ignored is that Iraq hasn't even shown the inspectors the gases that WE gave them. So we should believe they aren't hiding anything else because...... 4) Whether you believe any terrorist groups has ties or not with Iraq, it is known to all that Suddam has a bad track record in keeping his weapons to himself. Well, I don't even know what my point is, not like this stuff isn't known. I just wanted some actual responses from the opposite camp, something to let me think about. Flame away...
SaFe: I'm assuming either you think the evidence is not conclusive enough to verify that Suddam wants/can launch an attack on us (direct or indirect), YOu got it. Iraq is not an important threat to the World's greatest superower backed up by all our allies. Many of us feel that our humiliation of the Arabs through such policies as our oversupport of hardliners in Israel and other policies, a very bad example of which would be this war on Iraq, against Arab and world opinion, makes us less safe from terrorism, not more safe.
an interesting artilce about how the birth of this worldwide movement could lead to other things after this immediate crisis. ***************************************** ***************************************** A Global Antiwar Movement By Ruth Rosen, AlterNet February 13, 2003 Many of us will never forget when the people of the world welcomed the dawn of the new millennium. As the Earth turned, we watched televised pictures of people celebrating and cheering as the sky lit up with fireworks – from Asia to Europe, from Africa to North America. And, for the first time in human history, we understood, in a deeply visceral way, that we really do inhabit the same planet and that we are, in fact, members of a global society. That is what's going to happen again on Saturday. In 316 cities in 60 countries – Cairo, Bangkok, Beirut, Jakarta, Prague, Budapest, Tokyo, Moscow, London, Cape Town, Kigali in Rwanda, Madrid, Warsaw, Kiev, Lisbon, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, New York, Sydney, Barcelona, to name but a few – more than a million people are expected to march and rally against an American invasion of Iraq. Even McMurdo Station in Antarctica will hold a protest against the war. Such a global outpouring against the threat of war is unprecedented. Without the Internet, of course, such a global protest would be unimaginable. But the Internet is only the messenger. Clearly, there is strong opposition here and abroad to an American invasion of Iraq. What's truly surprising are the concise slogans posted on the Web sites of the coalitions that have helped organize this protest. No America bashing. No defense of Saddam Hussein. No solidarity with al Qaeda terrorists. In dozens of languages, the message is simple and direct: "No war in Iraq." "Stop the war in Iraq." People around the world now feel a right to express their opposition to war. They clearly believe Hussein is a ruthless dictator. But they also understand that the greatest threat is terrorist attacks from elusive networks that cannot be stopped by American bombs or U.N. weapons inspections. The Bush administration, of course, will try to discredit this global uprising against an American war with Iraq. But it won't be so easy. The coalitions assembled in these cities include business, labor and religious groups; veterans of former wars, environmentalists, human rights activists and mothers against war; and thousands of ordinary people who are asking the U.N. Security Council to pursue further weapons inspections in Iraq, not war. Expect a tiny band of adolescent anarchists, who would rather spray graffiti and smash windows than join others in a peaceful march. We should condemn such antics. There is nothing less persuasive than using violence in the name of preventing war. Why, you may ask, should you participate in this demonstration? Because you are a citizen of a great nation that is violating its own democratic ideals, treating the rest of the world with dismissive contempt and refusing to be restrained by international law. Because you are a citizen of a new global society. Globalization is about more than free trade. What we are witnessing is the birth of a grassroots global democracy. To emphasize our membership in this new global society, many protesters around the world will be carrying the U.N. flag, a fitting symbol for a new era. When people ask, as they eventually will, who stood up for human rights, let your name be among those who opposed an unjust and unnecessary war. For information on anti-war protests in San Francisco and around the world global movement
For those who believe it's all about backing up UN Resolutions, <a href="http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=11&ItemID=2417">are we going to go to war with these other countries for their UN Security Council Resolution Violations?</a> Will we go attack Turkey to get them to leave Cyprus? Or Morocco for keeping Troops in the west Sahara? Anyone who is interested in joining the protest, <a href="http://www.tuaw.org/f15hou/">here is the Houston protest website</a>.
vengeance, what time will you be there? Going to be there at 1:30 at the Fed building? I'll be looking for you. I'll be wearing a black cotton jacket and probably have a black umbrella, if it is raining.
Looking outside my window at around 11:30 AM today, I noticed about 15 different police vans, corrections buses, police cruisers, and unmarked police cars parked directly below my building. There was also a phalanx of mounted police and a hovering police copter nearby. I went downstairs to see what the fuss was all about, and there must've been at least 100+ cops (in riot gear) milling on my street and around 6th Ave. It was pure insanity. Turns out there was an anti-war protest marching up my street organized by Columbia University. Whether or not they were going to link up with the rest of the UN protest crowd remained to be seen (they were walking west instead of east). It was a fairly big crowd with posters and chants. It troubles me that so much police attention could be paid to a group of under-25 students walking around shouting anti-war protests. God forbid someone needed some real help. 20% of NYPD's finest must've been congregated on my corner...
Invading Iraq goes much deeper than complying with 1441. No one is going to be fooled by that are they...
