Australia PM jeered By Geoff Spencer in Bangkok 24mar03
PROTESTERS jeered Australia's prime minister in Parliament for supporting the US-led war in Iraq.
A priest poured blood in the shape of a cross on the carpet of a US diplomat's office in New Zealand.
And Thailand's leader predicted worldwide anti-war protests might soon convince Washington to end the fighting.
Protests were held in Australia, Thailand, Indonesia and Bangladesh today. They were smaller and less intense than previous demonstrations. Nonetheless, activists across Asia said a new wave of rallies was being planned.
"Hatred against America is increasing," said Shahid Shamsi, spokesman for the United Action Forum, a hardline Islamic grouping in Pakistan, where an estimated 100,000 people marched through the eastern city of Lahore yesterday.
In Bangkok, 1000 farmers protested against the war today and Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said global opposition "will make the Americans end the war as soon as possible. This war will not be prolonged."
In Auckland, a Roman Catholic priest and another man said they used their own blood to make a one-metre-long cross on the carpet of the US Consul's office after they made an appointment to see the diplomat purportedly to read him an anti-war statement.
Father Peter Murnane and a Catholic activist Nicholas Drake accused the United States of "spilling great quantities of blood on the soil of Iraq."
The US embassy in Wellington said the men's protest did nothing to contribute to constructive dialogue about the Iraq crisis.
In Canberra, Prime Minister John Howard was repeatedly heckled and abused from the public gallery inside Parliament while police outside pushed back hundreds of demonstrators protesting Australia's combat role in Iraq.
Officers linked arms and formed a line that stopped protesters from entering the legislature. Security guards formed a second line behind its closed entrances.
The protesters demanded that 2000 Australian troops fighting alongside American and British forces be brought home.
Inside, debate in the House of Representatives was interrupted three times when people watching proceedings from the public gallery stood up and shouted at Howard.
"You're a liar Howard. Coward Howard," screamed one woman before she was dragged out by security guards.
A total of 12 people were also removed and Howard ignored the abuse.
Despite a series of big protests in Australia, the start of hostilities in Iraq seems to have dramatically shifted public opinion from overwhelming opposition to a fairly even divide for and against the war.
A Newspoll taken last Wednesday and Thursday found 47 per cent of respondents were against the military action and 45 per cent were in favour, while the remaining 8 per cent were uncommitted. That compares with a Newspoll from the previous week which showed 70 per cent opposed the war.
Mainly Muslim Bangladesh told foreign diplomats to seek police escorts whenever they leave their compounds after a string of anti-war protests.
There have been no reports of violence directed toward diplomats so far. About 1000 student protests today and riot police stopped dozens of women from marching on the US embassy. Security has been tighten ahead of more demonstrations expected this week.
"Bangladesh stands against any war," Foreign Minister Morshed Khan said today. "We want an immediate, peaceful solution to the problem through the United Nations."
Today, several hundred anti-war protesters rallied in Surabaya, Indonesia's second most populous city. Smaller demonstrations took place in Jakarta and in Makassar on Sulawesi island.
Australia, Britain and the United States say they received intelligence information about a plot to stage a terror attack against westerners in Surabaya.
Also today, the Japanese consulate in the city was closed after a bomb hoax.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,6182672%255E1702,00.html
