Anti-war protests erupted across the
globe following the start of the US-led war against Iraq, with hundreds of
thousands expected to march to demand a quick end to air strikes on
Baghdad.
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An Australian uses his
surfboard as a placard as thousands march towards the U.S. Consulate
and the Prime Minister's office in Sydney, March 20, 2003. A wave of
anti-war protests began to roll across Europe and the Middle East on
Thursday after the opening salvos of the war against Iraq sparked
angry demonstrations in Asia and Australia. Barely three hours after
the first U.S. missiles struck Baghdad, a crowd that organizers put
at 40,000 and which police said numbered 'tens of thousands' brought
Australia's second largest city, Melbourne, to a standstill. (James
Morgan/Reuters)
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Between 80,000 and 100,000 demonstrators
thronged central Athens in response to the launch of targetted strikes
against Iraqi targets, according to initial police estimates, but
organizers put the figure at at least 200,000.
"It's unprecedented. People continue
coming," said Vera Michailidou of the leftist anti-globalization group
Action 2003, as protestors marched past the British embassy to the US
mission, both heavily guarded by riot police.
Greek demonstrators, many of them
high school students, adopted "Bush -- killer" as their slogan of choice,
condemning US President George W. Bush for attempting to disarm Iraq and
topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein by force.
Anti-war groups around the world have
organized protests on Thursday to voice anger over the way in which
Washington and London have defied popular opposition to launch a second
Gulf war.
Millions have marched to oppose the
war in past weekends, dogging world leaders that have backed Bush's
campaign, like Prime Ministers Tony Blair of Britain, Jose Maria Aznar of
Spain and Silvio Berlusconi of Italy.
The protest in Athens, the biggest so
far for the day, followed angry anti-US demonstrations across Pakistan and
spirited marches in Australia, which has contributed some 2,000 troops to
the US-led coalition against Saddam.
"Saddam Hussein is a hero of
Muslims," shouted one protestor in the Islamist-ruled city of Peshawar in
northwest Pakistan, where hundreds of students, lawyers and journalists
denounced US "aggression" in Iraq.
A coalition of secular anti-war
groups launched a boycott of US fast food outlets like McDonald's and
Kentucky Fried Chicken, which are enormously popular with Pakistanis. More
rallies were expected later Thursday.
In Indonesia, the world's largest
Muslim-populated nation, about 1,000 protestors gathered outside the
heavily guarded US embassy in Jakarta, carrying signs reading, "Bush, go
to hell" and "Terrorism No, Justice Yes."
In Australia, thousands took to the
streets just hours after the first air strikes against Iraqi targets, with
more than 10,000 protesting in central Sydney and 20,000 in the country's
second city Melbourne.
One woman was arrested at the US
consulate in Melbourne for splashing red paint and scrawling "killing has
started" on statues outside the building, police said.
"It's about sending the Americans a
message, and this is their address," said one demonstrator outside the
consulate, Catherine Robson.
Security has been stepped up at US
embassies and consulates around the world as many anti-war groups have
called for demonstrations outside the diplomatic missions to show contempt
for the US insistence on ousting Saddam by force.
Some 20,000 students in Berlin
peacefully marched toward the US embassy near the city's Brandenburg Gate,
carrying placards reading "Give peace a chance" and "War is not the
answer".
Another 5,000 students rallied
outside the US consulate in the southern city of Munich, with 7,000
demonstrating in Saarbruecken in the west. Peace groups said some 250
protests would be staged in Germany -- where opposition to war in strong
-- throughout the day.
Thousands of students streamed out of
classrooms across Denmark, Switzerland, Spain and Italy, with Swiss
schoolchildren carrying the rainbow-striped flags which have become a
symbol for peace in Europe.
In Italy, the country's main unions
called for a two-hour general strike due to begin at 3:00 pm (1400
GMT).
The US embassy in central Paris,
where French police have set up a tight security cordon, was closed to the
public on Thursday ahead of a demonstration planned for 1700
GMT.
In Russia, two hundred Communists and
ultra-nationalists -- confronted by three times as many police -- decried
what they called the "barbaric" US-led military campaign in Iraq, chanting
"Yankee go home" and "No to war".
A major
protest is planned for
Saturday in New York City, following the success of a similar march one
month ago that drew around 250,000 demonstrators.
�2003 AFP
