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From: USA Today

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-02-15-protests_x.htm

Anti-war protesters hold global rallies LONDON (AP) -- Millions of protesters -- many of them marching in the capitals of America's traditional allies -- demonstrated Saturday against possible U.S. plans to attack Iraq.

The protests that started Friday in Australia continued through the weekend with a massive Sunday demonstration of more than 100,000 people in Sydney. The protests were the biggest in Australia since the Vietnam War three decades ago.

In a global outpouring of anti-war sentiment, Rome claimed the biggest turnout -- 1 million according to police, while organizers claimed three times that figure.

In London, at least 750,000 people demonstrated in what police called the city's largest demonstration ever. In Spain, several million people turned out at anti-war rallies in about 55 cities and towns across the country, with more than 500,000 each attending rallies in Madrid and Barcelona.

Spanish police gauged the Madrid turnout at 660,000. Organizers claimed nearly 2 million people gathered across the nation in one of the biggest demonstrations since the 1975 death of dictator Gen. Francisco Franco.

More than 70,000 people marched in Amsterdam in the largest Netherlands demonstration since anti-nuclear rallies of the 1980s.

Berlin had up to half-a-million people on the streets, and Paris was estimated to have had about 100,000.

In New York, rally organizers estimated the crowd at up to 500,000 people. City police provided no estimate of the crowd, which stretched 20 blocks deep and two blocks wide. "Peace! Peace! Peace!" Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa said while leading an ecumenical service near U.N. headquarters. "Let America listen to the rest of the world -- and the rest of the world is saying, 'Give the inspectors time.'"

In Los Angeles, thousands of chanting marchers filled Hollywood Boulevard from curb to curb for four blocks. Organizers estimated the crowd at 100,000, although police put it at 30,000.

London's marchers hoped -- in the words of keynote speaker the Rev. Jesse Jackson -- to "turn up the heat" on Prime Minister Tony Blair, President Bush's staunchest European ally for his tough Iraq policy.

Rome protesters showed their disagreement with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's support for Bush, while demonstrators in Paris and Berlin backed the skeptical stances of their governments.

"What I would say to Mr. Blair is stop toadying up to the Americans and listen to your own people, us, for once," said Elsie Hinks, 77, who marched in London with her husband, Sidney, a retired Church of England priest.

Tommaso Palladini, 56, who traveled from Milan to Rome, said, "You don't fight terrorism with a preventive war. You fight terrorism by creating more justice in the world."

Several dozen marchers from Genoa held up pictures of Iraqi artists. "We're carrying these photos to show the other face of the Iraqi people that the TV doesn't show," said Giovanna Marenzana, 38.

Some leaders in German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's government participated in the Berlin protest, which turned the tree-lined boulevard between the Brandenburg Gate and the 19th-century Victory Column into a sea of banners, balloons emblazoned with "No war in Iraq" and demonstrators swaying to live music. Police estimated the crowd at between 300,000 and 500,000.

"We Germans in particular have a duty to do everything to ensure that war -- above all a war of aggression -- never again becomes a legitimate means of policy," shouted Friedrich Schorlemmer, a Lutheran pastor and former East German pro-democracy activist.

In the Paris crowd at the Place Denfert-Rochereau, a large American flag bore the black inscription, "Leave us alone."

Gerald Lenoir, 41, of Berkeley, Calif., came to Paris to support demonstrators. "I am here to protest my government's aggression against Iraq," he said. "Iraq does not pose a security threat to the United States and there are no links with al-Qaeda."

In southern France, about 10,000 people demonstrated in Toulouse against the United States, chanting: "They bomb, they exploit, they pollute, enough of this barbarity." Police estimated that 60,000 turned out in Oslo, Norway; 50,000 in bitter cold in Brussels; and about 35,000 in frigid Stockholm, Sweden.

About 80,000 marched in Dublin, Irish police said. Crowds were estimated at 60,000 in Seville, Spain; 40,000 in Bern, Switzerland; 30,000 in Glasgow, Scotland; 25,000 in Copenhagen, Denmark; 15,000 in Vienna, Austria; more than 20,000 in Montreal and 15,000 in Toronto; 5,000 in Cape Town and 4,000 in Johannesburg in South Africa; 5,000 in Tokyo; and 2,000 in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

"War is not a solution, war is a problem," Czech philosopher Erazim Kohak told about 500 people in Prague, the Czech Republic.

In Mexico City, as many as 10,000 people -- including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rigoberta Menchu -- snarled traffic for blocks before rallying near the heavily guarded U.S. Embassy. Demonstrators beat drums, clutched white balloons and waved handmade signs saying, "War No, Peace Yes." ...

In Damascus, the capital of neighboring Syria, an estimated 200,000 protesters chanted anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli slogans while marching to the People's Assembly. Najjah Attar, a former Syrian cabinet minister, accused Washington of attempting to change the region's map.

"The U.S. wants to encroach upon our own norms, concepts and principles," she said in Damascus. "They are reminding us of the Nazi and fascist times."

An estimated 2,000 Israelis and Palestinians marched together against war in Tel Aviv on Saturday night.

In Ukraine, some 2,000 people rallied in snowy Kiev's central square. Anti-globalists led a peaceful "Rock Against War" protest joined by communists, socialists, Kurds and pacifists. In divided Cyprus, about 500 Greeks and Turks braved heavy rain to briefly block a British air base runway.

Several thousand protesters in Athens, Greece, unfurled a giant banner across the wall of the Acropolis -- "NATO, U.S. and EU equals War" -- before heading toward the U.S. Embassy. ...

About 900 Puerto Ricans chanted anti-war slogans against the possible invasion of Iraq. One man waved a U.S. flag on which the stars were replaced with skulls.

In Brazil, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva began efforts to unite South American nations against a possible U.S.-led attack on Iraq. Police estimated 1,500 marchers.

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Subject: A personal report on THE LONDON PEACE RALLY 15th February 2003

Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 09:33:58 -0000

(one of 600 cities holding Peace rallies)

What an amazing day it was!!! The entire event was incredibly well organised and ran so smoothly. A peaceful and fun day was had by all. No hassles. The police were friendly, helpful and happy and basically were just around if directions were needed. They were not policing or controlling anything. They really just let everyone get on with it. The whole event was a sharing of hearts and minds.

It was quite cold, around 2 to 4 degrees above 0 (it is winter here!) but we had an accurate weather forecast and everyone came prepared with their woollies on. I had my ultra warm comfortable boots on, which probably made me look a bit like the Yeti, but I was warm and cosy and could easily walk the miles of the march. Even the police had extra warm clothing on, which must have made them more comfortable for their very long day. There was no rain predicted for the entire British Isles, so all the coaches could arrive easily in London and in good time. A miracle or what!

It is always hard to estimate numbers. The organisers, news teams and Satellite TV reports have said between 1 and 2 million people attended. This seems right to me. The sea of people seemed to go on forever. Scotland Yard has said there were only around 750, 000 but perhaps that was to help make the government feel a little better! People came from all over Britain. Coaches were hired all over the country and were parked along the full length of Hyde Park - and that is a big park. The rest of the coaches (far too many to park) came back into Hyde Park area, allowed through the barricades at the end of the day to collect their passengers. I noticed a few coaches had signs on them - saying 'We sing on this coach - join us'.

The fun started on the train heading for London. Normally, the early morning Saturday trains have only a handful of people on board. This one was packed. A happy bunch of enthusiastic people, many sporting placards, all determined to be a part of this opportunity to have their say. Everyone chatted. laughing like old friends (rather unusual for the English), sharing details of which London stations were closed and where the Rally start points were. That was just the beginning of a truly wonderful day.

Words fail me (almost!). I have never seen so many people! - and they just kept coming. It was fabulous. The London streets were closed off to cars. The feeling of freedom to walk on the streets was great. These roads are wide and they were packed with people across their width from pavement to pavement.

There were 2 main gathering points. The crowd starting from The Embankment stretched back for miles over the London Bridge, so the organisers decided to start them off much earlier than their 12.30 planned start. A clever move. The last of them were still rolling into Hyde Park 7 HOURS LATER!

I managed to mix with many individuals and various groups throughout the day, from the very young to the elderly. I kept dropping back in the massive sea of people sprawling through London, in order to capture the overall feeling. There were musicians, jugglers, great costumes, stilt walkers, singers, loud whistles, children having a ball, peace badges, colourful clothing, wonderful creations of slogans and signs, flags showing support from other countries including French and Russia. It seemed everyone had a presence from Muslims and Iraqis, Palestinian groups, various churches, universities and peace groups. But for me this great voice of people power did not come mainly from groups. It came from a huge mass of individuals, in their one ones, twos and threes - the British voice rang out loud and clear. It rang out with many musical instruments (a father and small daughter drumming near me were brilliant), some with megaphones, great whistles, and many voices raised in songs like, "All we are saying, is give peace a chance." Chants ranged from "People power' This is what it feels like. This is what it looks like" and "One, two, three, four, we don't want no bloody war" (this changed now and again to 'we don't want no racist war') and, well yes, they didn't escape - 'Bush and Blair have got to go.' The banners were many and varied, some very funny and witty, some saying 'Peace for the whole world', but probably the bulk were saying 'Not in My Name' and 'Don't attack Iraq'. Personally, I had gone to London to say 'Do not kill people in my name.' I was very happy to carry a 'Not in My Name' banner, which someone kindly gave me.

One thing was evident from all the chanting, all the banners and placards and the communication I exchanged with people on the day. I can only speak for myself, but personally I did not see or hear anyone, of any nationality, support Saddam Hussain in any way. The consensus was that he is a tyrant that needs to go. There didn't appear to be any doubt about that. But the reason was not because anyone was in fear about possible weapons of mass destruction reaped upon us, but because he kills and tortures his own people. This huge voice was saying 'We don't need to kill Iraqi people (or our own), in order to handle Saddam Hussain.' Tony Blair (UK Prime Minister) attended a conference in Glasgow, Scotland on the day of the rally, having chosen to be out of London for the day! The TV news that evening showed him encountering a huge demonstration in Glasgow instead!! No escaping life, eh! Mr. Blair made a statement at the conference saying he felt the people who marched in the rally were misguided and they wouldn't protest if they realised Saddam was a tyrant and was killing his own people. This was, to my mind, perhaps an attempt to undermine the impact of the rally. It really was obvious that the people do know, Mr Blair. They are simply saying - 'there has to be another way, a better solution.'

Some people were saying war has to be a last resort, but many others were saying it is never the answer. If I could sum up the day in London, it was the voice of the people saying 'Surely as human beings we have moved beyond needing to kill people. The power has always been in the hands of the people. Maybe we have reached that place where we realise it.

The people are speaking 'There has to be another way - a better solution. We have to move on. Let us create a world of peace and harmony, compassion and love.'

With rainbows of Light, Sandy S.

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