d squarely at George W. Bush and Tony Blair who have taken it upon themselves to push the world to the brink of war. Both actions appear to be the largest those cities have ever seen. -- ma.)

Anti-War March 'to be UK's Biggest Ever'

Simon Jeffery and Agencies

Guardian UK

Saturday February 15, 2003

London today became the scene for what is expected to be the biggest peace rally in British history. Throughout the world, millions gathered to protest at the prospect of a war in Iraq.

In hundreds of cities, including Damascus, Athens, Seoul, Rome, Tokyo and Sydney, demonstrators marched, chanted and unfurled banners to protest against conflict in the Middle East.

The London demonstration, which is currently estimated to be 750,000 people strong and could eventually attract 1m, began ahead of its scheduled starting time as the numbers congregating at Embankment forced police to allow them to march through Westminster and Whitehall earlier than expected.

Organiser John Rees, of the Stop the War Coalition, said the atmosphere was "great", and added: "The march is huge. People are cheering and making lots of noise. Ken Livingstone is up at the front of the march."

A second march started in Gower Street, central London, and met with the first at Picadilly Circus. There were loud cheers from the thousands who gathered around the statue of Eros when the two marches joined up.

All around them, main streets were packed with people walking 20 abreast. All ages were represented among the marchers, from babies to pensioners. Many had travelled with family or friends to voice their concerns.

A few thousand people had already gathered in Hyde Park, where a rally and speeches will be held later this afternoon.

Speakers will include US civil rights campaigner the Rev Jesse Jackson, former Labour MP Tony Benn and Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader.

Other high-profile figures expected at the rally are musicians Damon Albarn and Ms Dynamite, model Kate Moss, peace campaigner Bianca Jagger, politician Mo Mowlam, playwright Harold Pinter and Mr Livingstone, the London mayor.

British Transport Police said that railways around London were extremely busy, with extra services being put on to accommodate the protesters.

"They're jam-packed," a spokesman said. "The people are coming from all over."

Bearing placards featuring slogans including "make tea, not war", protesters have travelled from all parts of the UK.

For thousands, it will be their first protest march, with many having joined new anti-war groups formed in their villages, churches and colleges.

Marchers will include a group of Bedford taxi drivers called Britons Versus Bush and a collection of DJs dubbed Ravers Against the War.

The London demonstration has been organised by Stop the War Coalition, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and the Muslim Association of Great Britain.

More than 450 other organisations have affiliated themselves to the coalition including Greenpeace, the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and the SNP.

But concerns have been expressed in the Jewish community that the anti-war march has been linked to the "Freedom for Palestine" campaign. Some Jewish and Arab protesters will, however, be marching together.

Thousands of anti-war protesters also took to the streets of Glasgow, marching through the city centre towards the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, where the Labour party's spring conference is being held.

Organisers predict that more than 25,000 people will take part in what is set to be the largest-ever peace demonstration ever staged north of the border.

The prime minister, Tony Blair, speaking in Glasgow, said that he "respected and understood" people's desire to march.

"I ask the marchers to understand this: I do not seek unpopularity as a badge of honour," he said. "But sometimes it is the price of leadership and the cost of conviction."

Millions Protest Possible War as US Looking Sidelined Over Iraq

Agence France-Presse

Saturday February 15, 23:19 PM

Anti-war protestors came out in their millions in cities around the world as the United States looked increasingly isolated over a possible invasion of Iraq.

A day after the historic UN Security Council session in New York which was an effective slap in the face for US hopes of gathering support for the forcible overthrow of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the protests and the procession of politicians professing support for further weapons inspections only added to Washington's woes.

Even British Prime Minister Tony Blair, considered US President George W. Bush's staunchest ally on Iraq, accepted Saturday that UN inspectors should be given more time -- but not too much time -- to ferret out Saddam Hussein's alleged stocks of weapons of mass destruction.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf told Bush war against Iraq was "not a good option", Russian Foreign Minister Ivan Ivanov said the Security Council meeting had held out the prospect of "a unique opportunity to solve this most burning world problem politically", and Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes said it would now be "inconceivable" for the United States to attack Iraq.

German Foreign Mininster Joschka Fischer, who chaired Friday's meeting, said there should be no time limit for UN weapons inspectors to complete their work in Iraq.

"We believe that efficient inspections will lead Iraq to cooperate fully," he said. "So we have to give the inspectors as much time as they need."

However, there was better news for the Americans from Brussels where a diplomat said NATO ambassadors should reach a compromise solution to their damaging deadlock over Iraq by Tuesday after France, Belgium and Germany sparked a crisis by blocking US proposals to begin military planning to defend Turkey in case of war.

Iraq was quick to make political capital out of Friday's UN Security Council session, in which the United States found itself in a distinct minority after Blix's mixed report on Iraqi disarmament, with most other nations on the 15-member body in favour of extending weapons inspections.

Iraq can claim to have won a round in the fight against the United States at Friday's Security Council meeting, a ruling Baath Party official said.

"The round was in Iraq's favour," said Saad Kassem Hammudi, who runs the government-backed Organisation of Popular Arab Forces. Hammudi said the session had "tamed the runaway American bull ... and given the inspectors the opportunity to purse their mission in line with Resolution 1441."

He added: "It's a victory for peace in the face of death, murder and destruction as sought by Bush and Blair."

The reports by chief weapons inspectors, who noted increased cooperation from Iraq, had "exposed the evil intention of the Washington-London axis against international public opinion," he said.

The influential Babel newspaper, run by President Saddam Hussein's elder son Uday, saw in the chief inspectors' report fresh ammunition for those opposed to a US attack on the Baghdad regime.

"The inspectors' report ... offers a chance for all forces opposing the aggressive US policy," the paper wrote. "They can take advantage of it to prevent the evil US administration from using the United Nations as a cover for aggression against us.

"The Iraq issue may be an important chance ... for countries like Russia, France, China, Germany, and groups like the European Union and the Arab League and others, to rise up and carry out their duties effectively."

But defiant US Secretary of State Colin Powell had said after the session that Washington would only wait "weeks" before deciding whether to launch its own action and Bush also expressed his exasperation at the UN debate.

"Saddam Hussein is a danger and that's why he will be disarmed one way or the other," he said.

Protest organisers around the world were expecting to see people march for peace on Saturday on a scale not seen since the demonstrations against the war in Vietnam.

The mass protests kicked off in New Zealand, in Wellington and Auckland, as well as across Australia in Perth, Hobart and Canberra to be followed on Sunday by others in Brisbane, Darwin, Adelaide and Sydney, spreading through Asia and on to Europe, with major demonstrations taking placed in key capitals and other big cities.

In the Italian capital Rome, organisers said three million people took to the streets, while police in London said half a million people had turned out.

New York is the focus of the main United States anti-war demonstration, with hundreds of thousands expected at a rally near UN headquarters.

In Baghdad, which saw not one but two massive anti-war demonstrations, Papal envoy Cardinal Roger Etchegaray held two hours of talks with Saddam in an effort to "guarantee peace".

Afterwards he said: "In the name of Pope John Paul II, I dare to appeal to the conscience of all those who, in these decisive days, carry weight for future peace. Because, when all is said and done, it's conscience which will have the final say, over all strategies, ideologies and even religions."

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.)

© : t r u t h o u t 2002

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