Millions - Protest Bush - War - FW: Bird's Eye From London, 2 million...other World Numbers

[PLGTF]

New York - millions !  Go to indymedia.org; webactive.com; unitedforpeace.org; afsc.org            Love Rita    -----Original Message----- From: Daniel del Solar [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Saturday, February 15, 2003 4:23 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Bird's Eye From London, 2 million...other World Numbers Dublin:  100,000 Barcelona & Madrid:  3 million London:   1.5 million(or was it 2 million) Rome:   1 million Berlin:   500,000   *************   Report from London: 15 February 2003   18.00   Dear friends,   Just arrived back home from the biggest protest ever on these shores. Police estimate that three-quarters of a million people marched with many more joining the rally in Hyde Park (which the Labour bovernment tried to ban.) Protest organisers say over two million participated. We arrived at one of the two assembly points at 11.30 and the march was already well underway. We stopped halfway along the four mile route for lunch and arrived at Hyde Park at 15.30. At 16.30 we left but the stations were al closed so we had to march against the current back one and a half miles to find an open station. The march was still so thick it was unbelievable. In fact at 15.30 it was announced at the rally that people were still stuck on the bridges at the beginning of the protest, not even having reached the assembly point!!   Labour MP for Glasgow East, George Galloway threatened that war would split the party and that out of it he would participate in building a new and genuine party of labour, committed to socialism. Other speakers included London Mayor, Ken Livingstne (kicked out of the Labour Party), Bianca Jagger, playwright Harold Pinter, U.S. Democrat Jesse Jackson and ex-Cabinet Labour MP Mo Mowlem.   National trade union leaders spoke and threatened mass labour walk-outs during any war.   A huge tent had been erected by The Daily Mirror, a mass circulation U.K. tabloid that has campaigned against the war. The Daily Mirror also provided thousands of plavards for the protesters. That is just one of the peculiar factors in this protest which marked it out as a mass movement of ungeard of bredth in this country. Organisers included the Muslim Association of Britain, the Stop The War Coalition and others.   In addition to the London march, 100.000 protested in Glasgow, Scotland, and a huge rally was held in Belfast, northern Ireland. Other mass protests took place (atre still taking place) in over 60 cities throughout the world. It is said that over 6 million will have taken part by the end of the day.   Whether the government backs off is another matter. To some extent pursuing a war against the backdrop of such huge public dissapproval itself sends out a clear signal to all third world nations who would defy the will of the empire.   "Look!" they say "Do not think we will be swayed from our course by your resistance, by world opinion or by our own electorate. We have strengthened the power of the executive to such an extent that our people no longer matter, except as ballot fodder. We will act in our own perceived interests against any current. We mean business."   But our opposition counts. For this reactionary wave is pushing too far, too fast. It is almost inconceivable that the ideologues of military omnipitance will win this time, any more than they did over Vietnam. We will be there to pick up the pieces and decide how to put them back together, in what form and in whose interests.   Paul Davidson