World gets together for peace

Several million demonstrators took to the streets of Europe and the rest of the world on Saturday in a vast wave of protest against the pros...

Several million demonstrators took to the streets of Europe and the rest of the world on Saturday in a vast wave of protest against the prospect of a US-led war against Iraq. The largest rallies were in London, Rome, Berlin and Paris 8212; the heart of Western Europe 8212; where the generally peaceful demonstrations illustrated the breadth of opposition to US policies among traditional allies.

But there were also protests in dozens of other cities on five continents, from Canberra to Oslo and from Cape Town to Damascus, in an extraordinary display of global coordination.

In London, a sea of protesters estimated by police at more than 7,50,000 flooded into Hyde Park and clogged streets for several miles on a crisp, clear day in what observers and organizers said was probably the largest political demonstration in British history. It was aimed not just at President Bush but also at Britain8217;s PM, Tony Blair, who has been Bush8217;s staunchest ally in the campaign against Iraq but who is besieged by opposition at home from virtually every part of the political spectrum.

Nearly 1 million people turned out in Rome, where Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has also supported the US position. Between 300,000 and 500,000 people demonstrated in Berlin, at the largest rally since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

About 100,000 demonstrators poured through the streets of Paris. Germany and France have emerged as the most vocal opponents of military action against Iraq. Demonstrators in London sang, chanted and shouted slogans while carrying flags, banners and posters with slogans ranging from 8216;8216;Bush and Blair Wanted for Murder8217;8217; to 8216;8216;Make Tea, Not War.8217;8217;

8216;8216;Tony, Listen to the People,8217;8217; pleaded one poster, while another read, 8216;8216;I8217;m American and I Care 8212; Please don8217;t think that we are all like Bush.8217;8217;

Posters calling for 8216;8216;Free Palestine8217;8217; were also widespread.

The demonstrators seemed to represent a cross-section of modern British society. There were entire families 8212; fathers and mothers with small children in tow 8212; and elderly people moving slowly but deliberately.

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Some wore costumes and others jeans. There were veteran activists and people who said they had never been on a march before. 8216;8216;We explained to them what this was about and they wanted to come,8217;8217; said Julie Isherwood, whose 4-year-old twins, Jack and Robert, walked alongside her with hand-lettered signs reading, 8216;8216;Boys Against War.8217;8217;

Lisa Rosen, a lawyer from New York who has lived here for five years, said she felt a strong sense of anti-Americanism from many in the crowd. 8216;8216;Some of my American friends decided not to come, but I thought it was important to show that you can be pro-American and antiwar at the same time,8217;8217; she said. Radicals and moderates shared the speaker8217;s platform.

In Rome, the protesters massed in the city center in an atmosphere that was half-demonstration, half-carnival. Young and old marched arm in arm, some wrapped in rainbow peace flags, while marching bands played and whistles blew. In Brussels, tens of thousands of protesters braved freezing temperatures and fierce winds.

Many residents placed white handkerchiefs in the windows of homes, stores and pubs as an expression of support. Patricia Tarabelsi, 23, an American student, said she couldn8217;t help but feel uneasy as anti-American sentiment has intensified in Europe. 8216;8216;It makes you feel like your country8217;s a target,8217;8217; she said, 8216;8216;and I don8217;t really think Americans back home realize just how angry the world is at us right now.8217;8217;

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There were also demonstrations in Ukraine, Bosnia, Cyprus, Ireland, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain, Greece, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Japan, India, Bangladesh, Hungary, South Korea, Australia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand. Many of the rallies were organized by peace groups around the world, with the Internet playing a key role in the coordination. LATWP