LONDON March 22 —
Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in cities around the
world and outside U.S. military bases Saturday, but their rallies
for an immediate end to war in Iraq were far smaller than recent
protests.
"Bush, murderer," chanted protesters in Paris, while protesters
in Helsinki, Finland roared, "George Bush, CIA, how many kids did
you kill today?"
Despite large turnouts in some cities, the mostly peaceful
marches were dwarfed by anti-war protests Feb. 15, which saw some of
the largest demonstrations in history.
Organizers said there had not been much time to plan protests,
but there was little sign of people responding to calls to pour into
the streets or responding spontaneously to the start of war.
Jaakko Kartano, a student marching in Helsinki, said, "People ask
what's the use of this, but our task is to instill faith in people
and try and prevent anything like it (the war) happening again."
In London, marchers expressed frustration. Turnout was well down
from last month's mass rally, which drew at least 750,000 people.
Police estimated turnout Saturday at less than 100,000, while
organizers claimed 150,000.
Many protesters said they did not expect British Prime Minister
Tony Blair or President Bush to listen to them.
"I don't think there is a snowball's chance in hell this march
will stop the war but it's going to send out a message to next time,
maybe," said Ernie Vandermass, a student who marched in London.
Protests would grow as the war continued, organizers said, but
some marchers said people were discouraged and support may be
ebbing.
Saturday's biggest protests were in Europe, with dozens of
demonstrations involving tens of thousands of people in Britain,
France, Germany, Finland, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway,
Denmark and other countries.
A few radicals scuffled with police on the fringes of some
rallies, but there were no reports of significant clashes or
arrests. Dozens of protesters hurled rocks and paint at police who
used tear gas and dogs to stop them reaching the U.S. Embassy in
Oslo, Norway.
Police said 90,000 people marched in Paris.
French protesters singled out the McDonald's fast food chain as a
symbol of American influence. Protesters pelted rocks at a
restaurant in Strasbourg and others burst into a McDonald's in
Lyon.
Protesters also gathered outside U.S. military bases in
Europe.
About 5,000 people protested at an Air Force base in Fairford,
England, from where U.S. B-52 bombers have been flying sorties. They
laid flowers at the main gate for "the death of democracy."
In Santiago, Chile, more than 4,000 people marched through the
city center. Some burned a U.S. flag and placed signs reading
"boycotted" at the entrance to a McDonald's.
In Asia, the largest demonstrations were in Indonesia, the
world's most populous Islamic nation, but only a few thousand people
took part. Some burned U.S. flags and photos of Bush.
"Fight back, Americans are killers," protesters chanted outside
the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta.
Protests were considerably smaller than anti-war demonstrations
in recent weeks. Some 400 people protested in Tokyo, police said,
compared to about 30,000 at a demonstration earlier this month.
Protests continued for a second day in the Middle East after
violent anti-American clashes Friday, mainly involving students in
small demonstrations.
Riot police used tear gas against some 200 high school students
who threw stones near the U.S. Embassy in Bahrain. Hundreds of riot
police watched as about 5,000 students gathered at Al-Azhar
University in Cairo, Egypt.
"Oh Arab army! Where are you?" the Cairo students chanted,
calling on Arab nations to send troops to support Iraq.
Some protests singled out Britain and Australia, the only nations
fighting with U.S. forces. Italian police used tear gas to break up
protesters who tossed paint at the British consulate in Venice and
4,000 people marched to the Australian embassy in New Zealand.
Denouncing the Australian prime minister, they chanted: "John
Howard, you can't hide. We charge you with genocide."
photo credit
and caption:
Some of the nearly 40,000
demonstrators who marched up the central avenue of Gothenburg,
Sweden, Saturday, March 23, 2003, to protest against the war
in Iraq. Gothenburg is the second largest Swedish city,
located on the west coast. (AP Photo/Pressens Bild/Bobbo
Lauhage)
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