"Cities jammed in worldwide protest of war in Iraq..February 15, 2003"

[KoKo]

'Million' march against Iraq war

Some marchers took hours to reach Hyde Park
Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets of London to voice their opposition to military action against Iraq.

Police said it was the UK's biggest ever demonstration with at least 750,000 taking part, although organisers put the figure closer to two million.

I thought I needed to show that we were against the war so the prime minister can't say that he has the backing of his people
Francesca Morrison

There were also anti-war gatherings in Glasgow and Belfast - all part of a worldwide weekend of protest with hundreds of rallies and marches in up to 60 countries.

They came as UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, in a speech warning of "bloody consequences" if Iraq was not confronted, directly addressed those marching.

He did not "seek unpopularity as a badge of honour", he said, "but sometimes it is the price of leadership and the cost of conviction".

Shortly after he spoke, at around midday GMT, a tide of banner-waving protesters began surging through central London.
They cheered, shouted, sounded horns and banged drums, waving signs with slogans 'No War On Iraq' and 'Make Tea, Not War'.

Contingents arrived in the capital from about 250 cities and towns across the UK.


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Cities jammed in worldwide protest of war in Iraq
IRAQ
February 15, 2003

Huge crowds of anti-war demonstrators jammed into midtown New York on Saturday as protesters in dozens of U.S. cities joined large crowds worldwide in voicing opposition to war with Iraq.

Demonstrators converged near the United Nations to protest the possible war in just one of the more than 600 anti-war rallies around the globe. Organizers estimated the crowd at more than 375,000, but Police Commissioner Ray Kelly estimated turnout at 100,000.

Besides protests in large cities such as Chicago, Illinois; and Los Angeles, California; rallies were held across the United States in smaller towns such as Gainesville, Georgia; Macomb, Illinois; and Juneau, Alaska, according to the anti-war group United for Peace and Justice. (Full story)

In New York on Saturday, a giant puppet depicting President Bush holding buckets of blood and oil towered over the cheering crowd that was pressed against police barricades near U.N. headquarters. The main demonstration stretched 20 blocks down First Avenue, and overflowed onto Second and Third avenues as more people tried to reach the rally.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu and actors Susan Sarandon and Danny Glover were among the speakers at the New York demonstration.

Bundled in a heavy coat and scarf against the freezing cold, Tutu told the cheering crowd, "We are members of one family, God's family, the human family."

"How can we say we want to drop bombs on our sisters and brothers, on our children?" the South African bishop asked.

After leading the crowd to cheer "No!" as a response to "What do we say to war?", Tutu urged Bush to listen.

"President Bush, listen to the voice of the people, for many times the voice of the people is the voice of God," Tutu said. "Listen to the voice of the people saying, 'Give peace a chance.'"

CNN's Maria Hinojosa said the crowd was diverse, with older men and women in fur coats, parents with young children, military veterans and veterans of the anti-war movement.

Adele Welty, whose son, a firefighter, was killed in the attacks of September 11, 2001, said she believed Saddam Hussein was a ruthless dictator but that the United States should work with the United Nations to find a peaceful solution.

"Timothy was at the World Trade Center on September 11 to save lives," she said. "I don't feel that he would sanction innocent lives either in this country or in Iraq being shed in his name."

http://articles.cnn.com/2003-02-15/us/sprj.irq.protests.main_1_anti-war-rallies-anti-war-movement-police-use-pepper-spray?_s=PM:US


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[KoKo]

1. Millions Across the WORLD even in Hamlets across America!

Deserves to be remembered for those too young to know...

[idwiyo]

2. K&R

[niyad]

3. the media and the powers that be would like us all to forget that day, and all the other protests

all around the world as the drums of war started beating.